B-W-G Arena

Type II Report from Birmingham Tournament 21/10/01 <br><br> Hello all. This last Sunday I participated in a strangely undermanned (23 players) Type II tournament at the Red Lion in Birmingham. I went to the tournament with Tu Nyguen who provided the trading on behalf of DnSCards and Tim. <br> Two weeks ago I took a similar deck to which I would be playing to Bath. I went 3-4 that day with play mistakes and general non-tuning of the deck costing me a decent record, but not to worry, for this tournament I had tuned it properly.:<br><br> First a few Explanations: <br><br> Chromatic Sphere? - This was amazing all day long. A mana fixing cantrip is definitely some good, especially in this deck. We found out early in the deck`s construction and especially throughout IBC that the deck loses if it doesn`t get the right mana configuration early as with many decks. The Arena is the vital card and being 1BB it`s not always easy to cast turn three. These help immensely and also give you the option to be able to Arena/Deed/Wrath etc. without having to top-deck a perfect land draw. Seems good to me. Oh?and it`s a cantrip. J <br><br> Only 3 Vindicates? - Accepted, but the deck works ok with only 3 plus you should always get one when needed and you can even re-use them with the Agenda.<br><br> The deck showed a slight weakness to heavy rush decks and mirror last week but the addition of another Deed and 2 Wraths main with 2 more in the board should make up for that. Anyway on to the report. For those who are interested Tu was playing a B/W Arena deck, which didn`t look like it would do too well without the powers of the Deed. Tim was playing a R/G Rocket-shoes Type Deck.<br> The tournament would be 6 rounds Swiss with a top 4 playoff (Damn?L) <br><br> Round 1 Martin Jones (B/G/U Deed-Go) <br><br> Game 1 <br><br> I take some pain while Duressing him and then drop a Lynx. I get a couple of shots in and manage to force an Arena down. Unfortunately I`m not drawing too many threats off of the Arena and his Undermines start pinching hard. He drops and Anavolver with both kickers but taps out doing it and I have to Wrath of God to stay in the game. I Verdict him a couple of times and he throws land to them. He drops a Nether Spirit and I deed it away. He then drops his Agenda bomb. I`m not too worried but having had me Arena deeded away I cannot race him for card advantage and he`s managed to get 3 Counterspells and Undermines into the graveyard before he drops the Agenda. He makes his Anavolver back but I make him throw 2 lands to a Verdict to put me back up to 11. He Undermines a spell and I`m on 8 and him on 10. I have 15 land and I proceed to lose myself the game by making him counter the Wrath I play and throwing a 9 point Death Grasp at his head, which, due to the Agenda, goes uncontested. WHY DID I NOT JUST WAIT A TURN????!!!! If I had just waited for 1 turn I could have taken the extra draw phase and taken the extra land I would have needed (The next card was a land) to finish him off. Still I only need a Wrath or a Deed or a Vindicate (Had not seen any Vindicates with about 20 cards left in library) in the next 3 draw phases to win. Nope. Loss. When he only had 7 cards left in his library?..and I could have won if I`d have been any good at this game L <br><br> Game 2 <br><br> I drop an Early Spectral Lynx and things are looking quite rosy until he names Engineered Plague....Cats. Arrrrrrrgh. I had another in hand. He was finished if he hadn`t got that. Yeesh. I settle in for a long ride and force the Arena down again but it doesn`t stay with me long. After that very few of my threats resolved and the Anavolver kicked my head in. <br><br> 0-2 LOSS Swiss 0pts. Overall Record (0-1)(0-2) <br><br> I am so annoyed after this match because I know that it`s one I should have won if only I`d been half decent at this game. Anyway on to Round 2. <br><br> Round 2 Darryl Roberts (G/B Beatdown) <br><br> Darryl is a new player who is playing in his first tournament. His deck wasn`t really tournament level but he was a genuinely nice guy to play against and may he continue with the game. <br><br> Game 1 <br><br> Early discard really cramps his style and Deeds and Arenas makes sure that he can`t find a way back before my Necravolver with a bit-of-a-kick beatdown finishes him off. <br><br> Game 2 <br><br> While I set up with a Lynx he over-commits and walks into a Wrath. From there he makes a Corrupt which gives me 5 to the head. I give him 4 back with a Grasp. I then drop 2 Lynxes and go to the head. <br><br> 2-0 WIN Swiss 3pts. Overall Record (1-1)(2-2) <br><br> We break for lunch. The food at the venue is terrific and the bar downstairs makes it worthwhile for those who have dropped, finished their game early etc. <br><br> Round 3 Edward McDonald (G/B/R Beatdown - No Fires) <br><br> Game 1<br><br> I am never really in any danger not presented by my own Arenas. I make first turn Duress taking a Dark Ritual and then proceed to start the attack. The Arena hits the table and he cannot stop me from drawing so many cards that there is virtually no way for him to win. He does threaten a little with beatdown from Phyrexian Ragers but it`s all well in hand when Ye Olde Spirit-Monkey hits the table and after blocking one Rager it smashes through what`s left of Edward`s defense and with the help of a Death Grasp (1 of 2 in hand) I pull the win out on 3 life. A little over-extension on the Arenas maybe there. <br><br> Game 2 <br><br> Arrrrgh. God damn it. Serious case of lack of removal. I manage to try to erect a Lynx wall to stop his Phyrexian Scuta and Kavu Titan (Scuta kicked Titan not) from kicking my head in. I manage to kill the Titan with the Lynx and Vindicate the Scuta but no general removal is falling off of my library, no matter how much I yell for the Arena, which I dropped after the Lynx to help me. Bear in mind that after sideboarding I had 3 Deeds and 4 Wraths in the deck. He drops a Spiritmonger and I manage to hold it off for 2 turns with a Lynx but still no Wrath or Deed. A well-timed Terminate sees my Lynx disappear and I follow it two turns later. <br><br> Game 3 <br><br> This time I get the removal. His monsters can make little inroads into my life total and with the life gain I have in this deck it was only a matter of time until I found what I was looking for which came in the form of 2 Huge Death Grasps after some early Lynx beatdown and Kicking his own Wrathed Scuta had taken him down to 11. <br><br> 2-1 WIN Swiss 6pts. Overall Record (4-3) <br><br> Round 4 Colin Tipton (G/B/R beatdown?.popular today huh?) <br><br> Colin had just beaten Tu in the last round apparently to Tu getting mana-screwed. Rich isn`t it? I`m playing 3 colours, admittedly with Spheres, and my mana had been running fine most of the day but Tu, playing B/W Arena, has had abysmal luck and it wasn`t about to get any better. <br><br> Game 1 <br><br> I get a double Duress start and take a Duress of his and a Saproling burst. He gets very few threats after that and his two Flametongue Kavus still cannot deal with my Lynxes and when I`ve dispatched them and dropped an Arena to get stupid card advantage, my 3/3 Necravolver is free to get me some life and I go on to win. <br><br> Game 2 <br><br> He seems a little disappointed with his draw in the last game saying that he didn`t get enough threats and I agree with him but my 2 Duress start really did not help him. Anyway on to Game 2 I get a God draw, there is no other way to describe it. He makes all kinds of threats such as Burst, Derm and Kavu but none of it is of any consequence as I Vindicate his Burst, a cute moment when he asked Is it worth me getting any counters out to put on it? and I answer in the negative. I Wrath away all of his creatures including mana producers and leave him with 2 forests in play. A Deed and Arena follow in quick succession. Shortly after that my Spiritmonger (That`s a BIG Monkey?please no jokes) takes him down unopposed. <br><br> 2-0 WIN Swiss 9pts. Overall Record (6-3) <br><br> I go over to Tu`s table to see him getting mana screwed again. Sorry bud, had to mention it. J <br><br> Game 5 Paul Evans (B/W/U) <br><br> Paul`s deck is similar to No-Mar from IBC but with less creatures and a bit more control. He went on to Top 4 as First Seed. <br><br> Game 1 <br><br> He gets out an early Spectral Lynx and I struggle to deal with it as my deck isn`t offering me any way to deal with it and Paul isn`t helping with his own Verdicts. Eventually I manage to Verdict back up some life and Wrath away his side of the board and drop a Spiritmonger. He gets a Yawgmoth`s Agenda but it starts cramping him since he can only play one spell a turn and my recently cast Arena is giving me more spells than he can handle in a turn. Unfortunately a series of ravenous Rats fall off the top of his deck and I have to destroy my own Arena. We get into a showdown and it`s my Monger (6/6 still)against his 2 Rats. Unfortunately I`m on 5 life and have to keep swinging. Luckily he can`t take the beats forever as I will kill him before he kills me I have to hope that my deck produces something next turn, but nothing falls off and I have to risk one last swing on 1 life hoping that his one card in hand cannot stop the Monger and that his double swing last turn was a bluff (Unlikely but hey, you gotta try). It isn`t, he has a Dromar`s Charm and the life-gain is enough to see his rats through. I fell annoyed as I could have top-decked any of about 10 cards in the deck during the last 3 turns but just didn`t. Sometimes it just goes that way.<br><br> Game 2 <br><br> Arrrrgh. Bad Karma. Mana Screw from deepest darkest Tusville. One land for first 5 turns. I even had to take the mana burn for sacking a Sphere to draw a card. Eventually I start getting mana and the game starts dragging out again. Unfortunately his position is too strong and he has drawn into a lot of Counter-Magic and I cannot stop him from killing me. He counters my attempt to Wrath as a last act and that`s that. <br><br> 0-2 LOSS Swiss 9pts. Overall (6-5) <br><br> I refuse to take an even record home. The deck is too good for that. Just because I`m a scrub doesn`t mean that I should give the deck a bad name. J <br><br> Game 6 Jonathan Gameson (Fires) <br><br> Jonathan is a young lad playing at his first tournament. I feel like the lowest scum of the earth but when I find out that he is playing Fires all traces of mercy vanish from me. <br><br> Game 1 <br><br> He makes virtually no threats apart from flinging some burn at me and my Spiritmonger takes him down with ease. <br><br> Game 2 <br><br> I start taking a huge amount of Arena damage. I start beating down with a Lynx. He makes a kicked Titan on turn 3 and a Blastoderm on turn 4. I drop another Lynx and Vindicate the Titan. He hurricanes for 7. I follow with a Death Grasp for 4 and then finish him off with double Lynx beatdown after the Blastoderm has faded away. <br><br> 2-0 WIN Swiss 12pts. Overall Record (8-5) <br><br> I finish in 8th overall. Overall it wasn`t too bad but looking back on the tournament I feel that it was one that I could and probably should have won. I made a horrendous mistake in the first round which cost me at least 1 Swiss point and despite riding my luck a little against Colin with the God draw I felt like I got mana-screwed at a really bad moment, however is there ever a good moment to get mana-screwed? <br><br> Overall it was a very well run tournament. Thanks to Steve for running it well. <br><br> Props: All my opponents.<br> Steve on the tournament<br> The Red Lion for being a great venue<br> Spiritmonger for being the biggest monkey of them all. <br><br> Slops: <br><br> I am SUCH A SCRUB!!!!! L <br><br> Contact details: <br><br> Me: Andrew Clayton<br> E-mail: Lynx313980@aol.com<br> Or<br> Axc080@bham.ac.uk<br> <br> DnSCards: Check them out. You won`t be disappointed <br> Web Site: www.dnscards.co.uk<br> E-Mail: Buyit@Dnscards.co.uk <br><br> Birmingham Magic <br><br> Web Site: www.staffsmagic.co.uk <br><br> Thanks for reading those of you who got this far and I hope to see you around. Until next time then. <br><br> Andrew Clayton <br><br> Boomer / Mastahuge on #IRC <br> <br> -----------------------------------------------------<br> Goto...<br> http://DnSCards.mtgpc.com <br> The UK`s Largest Online Magic: The Gathering Community! <br> [Sales] [Trade] [Resource] [Community] <br> E-mail - BuyIt@DnSCards.co.uk<br> Tel Sales - + 44 (0) 7958 68 39 03<br> Website - www.DnSCards.co.uk<br> -----------------------------------------------------<br>