In the final round of IPA, Matt Tabak's deck dismantles me and I drop the match in two games.
Draft Record: 5-1
Constructed Record: 4-4
Overall record: 9-5.
Pretty good weekend. Let's see if we win, since Bubba managed to win sweep the multiplier event.
Later dudes,
Friday, November 6, 2009
Seattle's keeping me in tune, part 13
IPA match 2, overall round 13, I play against Aaron Forsythe for the third time in the weekend, and take him down in three games, leaving my overall record at 9-4 on the weekend.
One more to go, can I sweep the draft?
Later dudes,
One more to go, can I sweep the draft?
Later dudes,
Seattle's keeping me in tune, part 12
The final three rounds are IPA draft, and of course I am matched up against Mark Gottlieb, who I have beaten previously in an IPA practice draft. My draft is a decent Dromar concoction, but with no bombs, just good card advantage. I get there in game three with a little (read a lot) of help from Hall of Famer Randy Buehler, we manage to take down MaGo.
Okay, his stunted mana development helped some.
8-4 on the weekend.
Later dudes,
Okay, his stunted mana development helped some.
8-4 on the weekend.
Later dudes,
Seattle's keeping me in tune, part 11
Round 11 against Tom LaPille, I force a game three and keep a hand that is great if I draw one of my 14 green sources in two turns.
I do not draw one until turn 10.
I'm now 7 and 4.
I do not draw one until turn 10.
I'm now 7 and 4.
Seattle's keeping me in tune, part 10
I complete my sweep of WotC employees named Erik/Eric, and run my record to 7-3.
Eric was running a great Mono-White Wrath/Planeswalker/Ascension deck and locked me game one. Game two I am able to force through damage with the unblockable Bear, and game three he stalls on three land and scoops when I kick a Mold Shambler to take him back to two lands.
Not a pretty way to win, but I'm doing this for the community.
Later dudes,
Eric was running a great Mono-White Wrath/Planeswalker/Ascension deck and locked me game one. Game two I am able to force through damage with the unblockable Bear, and game three he stalls on three land and scoops when I kick a Mold Shambler to take him back to two lands.
Not a pretty way to win, but I'm doing this for the community.
Later dudes,
Seattle's keeping me in tune, part 9
Round 9 has me face off against Lee Sharpe in Unified Standard. Thankfully, he's running Warp World which is a deck that I have had some experience with. The games are not very close and in the second one I manage to remove every threat he presents. Good games, and I'm able to run my record to 6-3. Go go community team!
Seattle's keeping me in tune, part 8
First round of Unified Standard is the Bant Mirror.
Against Mike Turian...again.
So I'm 5-3 now, but still smiling.
Later dudes,
Against Mike Turian...again.
So I'm 5-3 now, but still smiling.
Later dudes,
Seattle's keeping me in tune, part 7
So the day ends with a rematch. Aaron Forsythe is dead set on extracting revenge for the defeat he suffered at my hand in round two.
Sure, I can take it to the same fprmer pro twice in one day.
I must be tired, I must be exhausted, I must be bad.
In game one, he goes and tutors for Moat. This is bad because I actually have Aven Mindcensor in hand and just skip my priority, thinking he was just making more tokens with his Sword/Thopter combo. He then gets down a Humility and I rip the Disenchant. Of course, I have no idea what to do. So I call Randy over, and after examining the board position, I take out the Humility. It turns out to be the right play, as eventually I rip and Elspeth and swing over with a flying Soltari Champion that is exactly lethal.
Phew.
Game two he gets a draw that allows him to keep drawing cards thanks to a 5th Dawn Station and Chromatic Star. He cycles Decree of Justice and I am just unable to punch through.
Game three, for all the marbles. I get an aggressive draw and whittle him low on life. However, I blow my Disenchant on a Porphyry Nodes for no reason, even knowing he runs the Grindstone/Servant Combo. It is pointless because I'm holding Stillmoon Cavalier that will not die to the Nodes, and I'm building towards seven Plains for the Sky Ruin, so it can Nodes can never take out my bigger threats. As it stands, he gets the combo and kills me while he is at two life.
No excuses, I knew about the combo and did not think for the long game. I can blame it on being tired, but I should have listened to the voice that said "no."
No excuse, I made a mistake.
But the competition is over for the day. We go to the party which involves wacky drafts and Zendikar 1v1 Sealed. I win some, I lose some, and then I get an EDH game going against Erik and Pete Jahn. Pete manages to win with his Starke deck even after I had an active Citanul Flute. Hopefully, I'll be able to grab some revenge later today.
All things considered, I went 5-2 on the day, getting wins against players who are much better than me (I think), and I am ready to post another positive record today.
Later dudes,
Sure, I can take it to the same fprmer pro twice in one day.
I must be tired, I must be exhausted, I must be bad.
In game one, he goes and tutors for Moat. This is bad because I actually have Aven Mindcensor in hand and just skip my priority, thinking he was just making more tokens with his Sword/Thopter combo. He then gets down a Humility and I rip the Disenchant. Of course, I have no idea what to do. So I call Randy over, and after examining the board position, I take out the Humility. It turns out to be the right play, as eventually I rip and Elspeth and swing over with a flying Soltari Champion that is exactly lethal.
Phew.
Game two he gets a draw that allows him to keep drawing cards thanks to a 5th Dawn Station and Chromatic Star. He cycles Decree of Justice and I am just unable to punch through.
Game three, for all the marbles. I get an aggressive draw and whittle him low on life. However, I blow my Disenchant on a Porphyry Nodes for no reason, even knowing he runs the Grindstone/Servant Combo. It is pointless because I'm holding Stillmoon Cavalier that will not die to the Nodes, and I'm building towards seven Plains for the Sky Ruin, so it can Nodes can never take out my bigger threats. As it stands, he gets the combo and kills me while he is at two life.
No excuses, I knew about the combo and did not think for the long game. I can blame it on being tired, but I should have listened to the voice that said "no."
No excuse, I made a mistake.
But the competition is over for the day. We go to the party which involves wacky drafts and Zendikar 1v1 Sealed. I win some, I lose some, and then I get an EDH game going against Erik and Pete Jahn. Pete manages to win with his Starke deck even after I had an active Citanul Flute. Hopefully, I'll be able to grab some revenge later today.
All things considered, I went 5-2 on the day, getting wins against players who are much better than me (I think), and I am ready to post another positive record today.
Later dudes,
Thursday, November 5, 2009
Seattle's keeping me in tune, part 7
Round 6 on the day has me up against Erik Lauer/Matt Tabak with UG Good Stuff. Game one I get trounced after keeping a bad hand and never recover from multiple Acidic Slimes on my only land.
Game two I get the sick curve and there is nothing he can do, even with two Ravenous Baloths in play.
Game three I make a critical mistaker, thinking my 4/4 Figure had flying. It did not. The game drags out and I have my self on Horoki lock down, but I manage to get both Emeria active and a Shadow creature which, with the help of a topdecked Bonesplitter, goes all the way.
5-1 on the day. I can't complain.
Later dudes,
Game two I get the sick curve and there is nothing he can do, even with two Ravenous Baloths in play.
Game three I make a critical mistaker, thinking my 4/4 Figure had flying. It did not. The game drags out and I have my self on Horoki lock down, but I manage to get both Emeria active and a Shadow creature which, with the help of a topdecked Bonesplitter, goes all the way.
5-1 on the day. I can't complain.
Later dudes,
Seattle's keeping me in tune, part 6
So round 5, I am paired against Mike Turian.
A Hall of Famer.
Running Dredge/Reanimator.
In other words, I have no chance, so I just try and have a good time.
I have a blast, with some witty banter and I manage to resolve Armageddon.
Some quotes from during the match:
As Mike casts Entomb, Lee goes: "There's a reason we banned that card."
After the match and shaking hands with Turian, he tells me "I heard you were the draft champion, so I had to take you down."
That's pretty darn cool.
Later dudes,
A Hall of Famer.
Running Dredge/Reanimator.
In other words, I have no chance, so I just try and have a good time.
I have a blast, with some witty banter and I manage to resolve Armageddon.
Some quotes from during the match:
As Mike casts Entomb, Lee goes: "There's a reason we banned that card."
After the match and shaking hands with Turian, he tells me "I heard you were the draft champion, so I had to take you down."
That's pretty darn cool.
Later dudes,
Seattle's keeping me in tune, part 5
So 100 Card Singleton is underway, and after a scary first game where Chris gets both Sorin and Oona in play to my three lands and not much else, I manage to crack back in two quick games for victory.
Game two he stalls on two land and I 'Geddon with two beaters for on the board for the win. Game three he elects to draw and I punish him for it with a turn one 2/1 Jump Knight thanks to Chrome Mox. I keep his threats off the table, even though he takes two extra turns with Time Walk and Temporal Manipulation. Despite a misplay on my final turn, I seal the match and run my record to 4-0!
Game two he stalls on two land and I 'Geddon with two beaters for on the board for the win. Game three he elects to draw and I punish him for it with a turn one 2/1 Jump Knight thanks to Chrome Mox. I keep his threats off the table, even though he takes two extra turns with Time Walk and Temporal Manipulation. Despite a misplay on my final turn, I seal the match and run my record to 4-0!
Seattle's keeping me in tune, part 4
At the end of the first event, Community is up 59-58 on the back of my 3-0 draft!
Seattle's keeping me in tune...part 3
I somehow have managed to 3-0, 6-1 my Zendikar draft, taking out Adam Dixon, Aaron Forsythe, and Mark Rosewater along the way.
Aside from the sleep deprivation, I'm feeling pretty good about myself.
I got the hook-up and had a sick UW aggressive deck. I had triple Steppe Lynx and enough evasion that no one could really keep up. Cards like Windborne Charge helped me win some games and, well, I'm still on a high right now.
My draft was strange, I first picked the Black Ally Hill Giant over a bevy of great Red cards, and then the Black dried up, but the Azorius kept flowing, so I reaped the rewards to 3-0.
Tired, but doing well.
Later dudes,
EDIT: Here is my draft, just make sure you're looking at CC_Spike:
Aside from the sleep deprivation, I'm feeling pretty good about myself.
I got the hook-up and had a sick UW aggressive deck. I had triple Steppe Lynx and enough evasion that no one could really keep up. Cards like Windborne Charge helped me win some games and, well, I'm still on a high right now.
My draft was strange, I first picked the Black Ally Hill Giant over a bevy of great Red cards, and then the Black dried up, but the Azorius kept flowing, so I reaped the rewards to 3-0.
Tired, but doing well.
Later dudes,
EDIT: Here is my draft, just make sure you're looking at CC_Spike:
Seattle's keeping me in tune...part 2
So here I am, two rounds into the event, and I'm 2-0, including a win over Aaron Forsythe. I'm running hot and managed to not get my Mind Sludged, so I consider myself very lucky.
It looks pretty evenly matched as far as decks/skill go, and even though I'm running on minimal sleep and my body is still on East Coast time, but I'm playing well and getting lucky. Good combos on a day like today.
Later dudes,
It looks pretty evenly matched as far as decks/skill go, and even though I'm running on minimal sleep and my body is still on East Coast time, but I'm playing well and getting lucky. Good combos on a day like today.
Later dudes,
Seattle's keeping me in tune...
I guess it hit me when Randy Buehler congratulated me on the work I have done with Pauper...
It's 4:30 am, NYC time on Wednesday, November 4th. The last hour of sleep has been absolutely terrible as I am unable to stay asleep. I somehow manage to be woken up by my alarm (I'm surprised I was able to sleep) and go through the motions of gathering my thing. I start up Obi-Wan and go to scrape the frost from the windows.
My Late Nite UB ice scraper snapped in two. Yet another thing my old supervisor has done to try and screw me over. This does not deter me, however.
Windows mostly clear I start my trek at an unfamiliar hour, driving the roads I have driven so many times at dusk, but now at dawn.
No traffic, not even at the Whitestone.
I find the parking service no problem, and almost instantly I am on a bus to JFK. I sit next to a man with a Kindle. Turns out he is on my flight, but I do not learn this until much later when we're both at the gate and he comments on the book I had just picked up- Neil Gaiman's "American Gods." He tells me I'm in for a great ride.
He has no idea how right he is.
I grab breakfast at 7am NY time, or 4am Seattle time. I go to my gate and ravenously devour my Dunkin' Donuts approximation of breakfast. With time to kill, I end up at a Chili's and order a Coke. The bartender tries to convince me it costs $200, but I'm distracted by the classic "Saved by the Bell" on the TV. You know, the one where they go to the Attic and get caught by Zach's mom with fake IDs. I leave five bucks for my three dollar fountain soda. I'm a sucker for fountain pop, ever since I started bar tending. It has a soul that the canned stuff lacks.
I meander to the bookstore and pick up the aforementioned Gaiman piece and a novel about biker gangs, fed by my love of "Sons of Anarchy."
I board the plane and change my watch to Pacific time. I turn off my electronic devices and begin to work my way through the new mythology at my finger tips.
The time flies almost as fast as we do. I spend the early half of the flight bemoaning the editing done on our in flight movie- the fantastic "500 Days of Summer." Not a dirty film by any stretch of the means, but they censored some pretty tame stuff, by my count.
I keep looking out my window and am amazed by America. I do nothing but gape at the Rockies as we traverse the range.
We land an hour ahead of schedule and 240 pages in. I get to the hotel and grab a bite, and then sleep.
Two hours later I begin getting ready and make arrangements to meet the crew for dinner. I watch the Yankees on their way to their 27th championship and remember the pain of being a Mets fan. 2010 will be our year.
Dinner time. I make my way to the lobby and meet Erik and Thomas (hamtastic and Tweaker). It is surreal. We make our way to dinner thanks to the lovely Wizards staff (Tolena and Marcella) and are soon joined by Adam and Eric. We're informed that one of our team members will not be playing, so Wizards hired a ringer.
Then Hall of Famer Randy Buehler walks over and introduces himself. I thought he was just in the area. Turns out he's the ringer.
I get to play Magic with a legend on my side.
I fight every urge to text all my friends right then and there, but I manage to e-mail one from the bathroom.
He congratulates me on my work on Pauper. I almost die from the smile on my face.
More people join the party-Mike, Walter, and Sam from our team- Chris and Mike from Wizards. Pete's plane is delayed, but he arrives at some unnatural hour.
We eat, we befriend each other in real life, much as we have done online, and of course, we talk about Magic. There's some smack being talked on all sides of the table, and obscene pieces of cake.
But then the night draws to a close and we make our way to the hotel. I watch the coverage and the champagne on the Bombers. My last thoughts before slumber are:
I can't believe I am here
I love this game
The Phillies suck
I cannot wait for tomorrow
I wake at 4am Seattle time, and cannot return to sleep. It does not matter though, as I am refreshed and ready to go.
I love this game.
Later dudes,
It's 4:30 am, NYC time on Wednesday, November 4th. The last hour of sleep has been absolutely terrible as I am unable to stay asleep. I somehow manage to be woken up by my alarm (I'm surprised I was able to sleep) and go through the motions of gathering my thing. I start up Obi-Wan and go to scrape the frost from the windows.
My Late Nite UB ice scraper snapped in two. Yet another thing my old supervisor has done to try and screw me over. This does not deter me, however.
Windows mostly clear I start my trek at an unfamiliar hour, driving the roads I have driven so many times at dusk, but now at dawn.
No traffic, not even at the Whitestone.
I find the parking service no problem, and almost instantly I am on a bus to JFK. I sit next to a man with a Kindle. Turns out he is on my flight, but I do not learn this until much later when we're both at the gate and he comments on the book I had just picked up- Neil Gaiman's "American Gods." He tells me I'm in for a great ride.
He has no idea how right he is.
I grab breakfast at 7am NY time, or 4am Seattle time. I go to my gate and ravenously devour my Dunkin' Donuts approximation of breakfast. With time to kill, I end up at a Chili's and order a Coke. The bartender tries to convince me it costs $200, but I'm distracted by the classic "Saved by the Bell" on the TV. You know, the one where they go to the Attic and get caught by Zach's mom with fake IDs. I leave five bucks for my three dollar fountain soda. I'm a sucker for fountain pop, ever since I started bar tending. It has a soul that the canned stuff lacks.
I meander to the bookstore and pick up the aforementioned Gaiman piece and a novel about biker gangs, fed by my love of "Sons of Anarchy."
I board the plane and change my watch to Pacific time. I turn off my electronic devices and begin to work my way through the new mythology at my finger tips.
The time flies almost as fast as we do. I spend the early half of the flight bemoaning the editing done on our in flight movie- the fantastic "500 Days of Summer." Not a dirty film by any stretch of the means, but they censored some pretty tame stuff, by my count.
I keep looking out my window and am amazed by America. I do nothing but gape at the Rockies as we traverse the range.
We land an hour ahead of schedule and 240 pages in. I get to the hotel and grab a bite, and then sleep.
Two hours later I begin getting ready and make arrangements to meet the crew for dinner. I watch the Yankees on their way to their 27th championship and remember the pain of being a Mets fan. 2010 will be our year.
Dinner time. I make my way to the lobby and meet Erik and Thomas (hamtastic and Tweaker). It is surreal. We make our way to dinner thanks to the lovely Wizards staff (Tolena and Marcella) and are soon joined by Adam and Eric. We're informed that one of our team members will not be playing, so Wizards hired a ringer.
Then Hall of Famer Randy Buehler walks over and introduces himself. I thought he was just in the area. Turns out he's the ringer.
I get to play Magic with a legend on my side.
I fight every urge to text all my friends right then and there, but I manage to e-mail one from the bathroom.
He congratulates me on my work on Pauper. I almost die from the smile on my face.
More people join the party-Mike, Walter, and Sam from our team- Chris and Mike from Wizards. Pete's plane is delayed, but he arrives at some unnatural hour.
We eat, we befriend each other in real life, much as we have done online, and of course, we talk about Magic. There's some smack being talked on all sides of the table, and obscene pieces of cake.
But then the night draws to a close and we make our way to the hotel. I watch the coverage and the champagne on the Bombers. My last thoughts before slumber are:
I can't believe I am here
I love this game
The Phillies suck
I cannot wait for tomorrow
I wake at 4am Seattle time, and cannot return to sleep. It does not matter though, as I am refreshed and ready to go.
I love this game.
Later dudes,
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