A handful of players showed up bright shiny Sunday morning on August 4, 2008 for a shot at bragging rights, invitation to Pro Tour: Berlin and a flight ticket there or the US$375 travel award - only to find the doors to the Comics Corner Tournament Center II closed and locked!
Without a venue, tournament organizer Michael Toh announced that the event was cancelled and everyone went home sad and disappointed. :(
Wait, don’t go!
I’m just kidding!
PTQ: Berlin happened and here’s my tournament report!
39 players showed up for the tournament which means players will have to battle through 6 Swiss rounds to reach the elimination rounds, where only one player will get the ultimate prize. Failure to do so will only get you a few consolation booster packs and a ‘thank you for coming’.
Extremely under-prepared, I was ready to give up and not play. But with Nationals coming in 2 weeks time, I decided to play Faeries because one, there’s a very good reason why it’s totally tearing up the PTQ season – it’s just too good, and two, I reasoned that I will have to play (hopefully not) or play against Fearies in Nationals’ standard portion anyways, so getting some competitive experience in with the deck is a very good thing. I hastily made 4 decks up on Friday night before the PTQ, copying the lists from the PTQ at Springfield, called up friends, shuffled up and had great fun playing all day Saturday to get a feel of the decks.
I thought about posting my decklist, but I figured that with Faeries being everywhere, with little difference between them all, and mine being the standard build that everyone but the Japanese seems to go with, so I’m not going to. Drop me a message if you must have the list.
Whey Whey and I arrived early Sunday morning, met up with another friend, Jo and we went and accompany Jo for breakfast before going to the now opened Tournament Center. We mingled around, Whey Whey looked around for and bought some Stillmoon Cavaliers for this sideboard, traded and soon enough the pairings went up.
Round 1 – Victor Gan (Mono Red Burn/Demigod)
It was almost ominously prophetic as I met the deck I didn’t wanted to meet the most on the very first round as I sat down at table 111. Especially when I didn’t prepare myself for it at all (which I should have been – it was a stupid decision not to play Faerie Trickery in the sideboard or at least Faerie Macabre. For some reason, it totally slipped my mind).
Game 1 gave me some false hope that I might just pull through this round when I won on the back of an early Bitterblossom and a draw of multiple Scions who ate burn spells all the way to the ‘yard. After a Demigod of Revenge met a Cryptic Command and a Puncture Bolt was fizzled by another Scion of Oona that I just drew, Victor scooped.
A string of stupid plays saw me punt away game 2 as I stupidly traded a Stigma Lasher with an animated Mutavault which I tapped for mana with damage on the stack because I was so confident that I can deal with whatever’s coming that turn with a Command in my hand forgetting that the floating mana doesn’t last past combat phase. Doh! I played a Sower of Temptation to try and stop the bleeding but it ate a Tarfire at the end of my turn. Victor uptaps, played a Demigod who attacked with the Ashenmoor Gouger he took back control of, smashed in to for a lethal 9 damage.
Game 3 was another game that I made a bad play when I Thoughtseize’d a Demigod from Victor’s hand. A Flame Javelin burned my face for 4, before Victor played a 2nd Demigod bringing back the one I oh so graciously sent to the ‘yard earlier. I took one of them on the chin and then Snakeform’ed the other, killing it with a block from a Sprite, but on the following turn, Victor played his third Demigod, and with 3x 5/4 haste flyers that I have no answer for, I conceded.
(0-1 matches, 1-2 games)
It was a mistake to Thoughtseize the first Demigod, but I honestly felt that I had a chance before Victor played the 3rd one. But I guess you can say I deserve to lose that match. Victor also went on and made top 8.
Round 2 – Yuen Chern (Homebrew control’ish deck with lots of scary dudes)
Seated at table number 111 again, I was slightly amused.
I thought Yuen Chern was playing Kithkin when he started off with a Figure of Destiny. That’s why I was shocked when I saw a handful of unexpected spells when I Thoughtseize’d him. Yuen Chern was playing cards like Archon of Justice, Oona, Queen of the Fae, Oversoul of Dusk, Divinity of Pride, and Hallowed Burial with Unmake and Oblivion Rings. Although there’s little synergy between the cards, each of them are scary even on their own, if they manage to resolve.
In game 1, Figure of Destiny took me down to 10 while my turn 2 Bitterblossom met an Oblivion Ring. I cursed myself as I pass the turn as I remembered seeing the Ring when I Thoughtseize’d him last turn. I even had a Broken Ambition in my hand. I got back my Bitterblossom by countering a spell and bouncing the Ring with a Cryptic Command, and when he tried to Ring it again, I have my Scion ready to save it this time. My Scion and tokens made quick work of Yuen Chern and the both of us reached out for our sideboards.
Game 2 started off with my opponent playing Figure of Destiny (lovingly called Ultraman by many) early, who was followed by Oversoul of Dusk and Divinity of Pride. Fortunately for me, Sower of Temptation, Mistbind Clique, Scion of Oona and Bitterblossom managed to take the game home for me, but just barely.
(1-1 matches, 3-2 games)
Round 3 – Yew (Kithkin)
Huh, I got table 111 again. That makes 3 rounds in a row.
Game 1 was the game where I stupidly decided to squander my chances to qualify away. I am often advised to think things through and never play too hastily like I always do. I took the advice to heart and it backfired on me. I spent too much thinking time instead and ended up finishing game 1 with 15 minutes left in the round playing too fast and didn’t think things properly towards the end of game 1 as I panicked for time. Yew dropped a Harrier and a Forge-Tender which never really threatened until he dropped an Ajani while I was stuck with mana issues. Turns went by torturously slow as the both of us spend most of the time thinking. Yew’s creatures chipped my life away while I chipped his with my fliers.
Yew was a master with his Mirrorweaves as he countered my Sower of Temptation’s ability by copying my Scion, giving my target shroud as well as stealing the game with a timely Cenn + Mirrorweave kill when I was just one combat phase away from me winning the game.
I was really mad at myself for playing so sloppily towards the end of the game. I was stuck at 4 mana sources for most of the game which was all the more reason to play the game more carefully, rather than not think things properly as I was panicked for time. I forgot to counter a spell with my Sprite, use my Nameless Inversion more advantageously on a better target, and most importantly, I didn’t play around Mirrorweave. Another well-deserved game lost.
Game 2 was a quick, fast and brutal game. Yew’s deck wasn’t much of a threat as I play my guys hard and fast, steals his guys with multiple Sowers and quickly put that game in the bag.
Game 3 was unfortunate, but again, I made a mistake (pointed out by Whey Whey later) which killed any chance of me actually be able to win that game. My opening hand consisted of Bitterblossom, Spellstutter Sprite, Broken Ambitions, Nameless Inversion, Cryptic Command, Secluded Glen and Mutavault. (See picture below) Yew played land-go for the first 2 turns and instead of holding back mana for a Broken Ambitions on turn 2, I went for Bitterblossom, eager to start pumping tokens. Yew played Spectral Procession and my next 6 draws are Mistbind Clique, Sower of Temptation, Bitterblossom, Plumeveil, Spellstutter Sprite and Scion of Oona. In the meantime, Yew played more creatures, two Thistledown Lieges that made my Bitterblossom tokens useless despite killing one of them with a Nameless Inversion and I conceded with lethal damage on the board and no way out.
To add insult to injury, the next card I could have drawn was an Island.
(1-2 matches, 4-4 games)
Round 4 – Clement (Doran/Bitterblossom ala Rock)
Surprisingly, I ended up at table 110, instead of 111 which was what I was hoping for. Clement was a great guy to play with, he was cool enough to remind me to put my Bitterblossom tokens in play when I forgot to even after deducting my own life. You rock, dude.
Game 1 appeared to be quite evenly matched as Clement traded threats with my countermagic and removals. We both played Bitterblossom on our 2nd turns, while Clement took it a step further by playing a second. A pair of Wren’s Run Vanquisher was making quick work of me, but timely removals dealt with them while I managed to apply pressure and stole some life points away through the air with my tokens and Scion of Oona. Clement almost got me with Cloudthresher but luckily for me, Cryptic Command prevented a massacre he would have loved to see. My Scion met removal, and with a Doran entering play on Clement’s side which turned Treefolk Harbinger from an unassuming tree to a monster, I was soon struggling to survive as I was forced to chump block Doran every turn, until eventually I managed to survive long enough for Clement to lost his last 2 life from his pair of Bitterblossoms.
Gamebreaker, whole day long
Game 2 was a heartbreaker. The game started off with a pair of Vanquishers pummeling me down to 8 before I could deal with them. I played a late Bitterblossom gave me a 8 turn clock to either finish Clement off or find Mistbind Clique to turn off the clock or lose. With Scions and tokens, I took Clement down to 8 and a Clement played a critical Nameless Inversion that killed my scion before my 4 1/1 tokens could kill him off on the last combat step I have before I die to my own Bitterblossom.
My trend of making stupid game decisions continues in Game 3 when I Thoughtseize’d Clement and didn’t take his Thoughtseize. Instead, I took a Doran and Clement in return took my Bitterblossom. Way to go, genius. It was a quick and brutal game as Doran and company sealed the deal for another depressingly much deserved game lost.
(1-3 matches, 5-6 games)
Round 5 – Joshua (Quick’n’Toast)
Depressed and totally out of contention, I was lucky to find myself playing another friendly player. Game 1 was totally one sided as Joshua skillfully maneuvered himself out of a mana flood to put a Kitchen Finks into play and then brought into play a Cloudthresher who got countered just moments earlier via a Makeshift Mannequin, which swiftly put me down in two quick combat phase.
Game 2 I chipped off Joshua’s life turn by turn on the back of a turn 2 Bitterblossom. Joshua’s Kitchen Finks met a Sprite, and I made a mistake by not playing around Joshua’s Cryptic Command, allowing a Cloudthresher to hit play and cleared my side of the board. I went from being on the offense, to the defense, chump blocking each turn so that I can somehow find a way to turn things around before dying to my own Bitterblossom again. Fortunately for me, an end of turn Vendilion Clique met a Cryptic Command gave me the chance to play a Mistbind Clique under Joshua’s countermagic to allow me to give exactly power on my side of the board to do lethal damage to Joshua.
I remember game 3 to be a very exciting and evenly matched game but unfortunately I could barely remember much of it. My notes’ life score changes suggested as we traded creatures and spells aggressively and that I probably won the game on the back of Bitterblossom again.
(2-3 matches, 7-7 games)
Round 6 – Eddy (Quick’n’Toast?)
Perhaps it was the mental exhaustion, or maybe I just didn’t take enough notes, because sadly I can’t seem to recall much about this round at all. I wasn’t even sure what my opponent was playing. My notes say I won game 1 with ‘Sower+Scion+Cryptic’ although I can’t seem to recall what it is suppose to represent. Game 2 Eddy chose to draw first, surprising me, and I also remembered being knocked down to 14 by Stillmoon Cavalier, but what I do remember is that I was riding on Cryptic Command to victory as I tapped all his creatures clear of blockers and swung in for exactly whopping 12 lethal damage.
Players on the verge of making the top 8 battling it out during the last round
(3-3 matches, 9-7 games)
Final results: 22nd with 3 wins and 3 loses out of 6 matches; with 9 game wins and 7 loses out of a total of 16 games played.
In the mean time, both Whey Whey and Jo made it to the elimination rounds. It’s a shame that both of them only made it to the semis, since being on different brackets, they could have met in the finals. Terry Soh, Malaysia’s own international Magic: The Gathering star, won the PTQ and I will hopefully be posting my coverage on the Top 8 within the near future.
Terry Soh (stripes and collared shirt) playing a practice game before the elimination rounds with Whey Whey (dark blue shirt)
I’m really glad I wrote this tournament report despite the awfully long time it took me to write it because it has been a really a nice sobering reflection of what happened yesterday, without all the emotional baggage that came with the mental exhaustion and the tournament. It also reminded me about what is more important than being depressed over not playing well.
Corny as it may sound, I love playing Magic because its fun and looking back, I really had fun during the PTQ, mentally exhausted and depressed (over my bad plays) as I may have been yesterday.
"You lost to triple Demigod of Revenge? This is my 'I lost to FOUR Demigod of Revenge at one time' pose."
Thank you very much for reading and my sincere apologies to everyone mentioned if I messed up the details and/or your names. I’m also very sorry if you didn’t like to be mentioned in the report nor have your pictures posted. Please contact me at QJ.wong@gmail.com and I’ll remove them as soon as I can. Comments, suggestions or complaints are all very appreciated and welcomed.
Until next time,
Good luck, have fun.Read more!
Posted by:
QJ Wong
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