JSS: Brooklyn 4/30/06
Welcome to Brooklyn…and this is the completely, detailed, mostly honest coverage of the truth and what happened at a JSS on this fateful day in Brooklyn. You will hear the stories of those who won, those who lost, and those who were somewhere in between.
The store the JSS was at, King’s Games, was a great place. They hold a large selection of many kinds of TCG’s, some video game systems, several computers, and one of the most beneficial parts was the owner, Alex Shvartsman, the professional Magic player. It was a great environment to hang out, and take coverage.
There were several interesting people who may be thought of taking home a qualification. One of these people was Spencer Reiss. After having some rough times, he decides to switch back to the deck that he made top eight with at States. I remember him saying, “There is now way I can lose now, I’m playing a deck with Lightning Helix.”
Another interesting player was Pat Younger, who was playing his teched out build of R/G aggro, the deck that won Pro Tour: Honolulu. The only difference was that he put Umezawa’s Jittes instead of Moldervine Cloaks in the main, and two Rumbling Slums instead of Giant Solifuges.
This was sure to be a competitive and intense JSS.
Round 1: Battle of the Q’d
Ryan Rappa vs. Sam Berse
/ Ross PohlingFirst round at the JSS, and already the drama starts. Ryan and Sam had both qualified during the winter season, and now sit across from each other first round at another JSS. Sam, as well as Ryan soon noticed the mistake written on the pairings.
“This is so stupid. They spelled my name wrong,” Sam says.
Ryan chuckles. I sit down and declare them the first feature match of the day.
Game 1
Sam wins the die roll and decides to keep what he must have thought was a very good hand. He thinks that his Magnivore deck will easily beat Ryan’s Beach House creation due Beach Houses’ high mana curve, 3 colors, and multiple karoos. Ryan, not knowing that Sam is playing Magnivore, decides to keep a two land hand on the draw.
Sam leads off with a tapped Steam Vents, and Ryan meets it with a tapped Godless Shrine. Sam then plays an island and bounces Ryan’s Shrine with an Eye of Nowhere. Ryan draws his card with no permanents out, drops an Overgrown Tomb this time, and passes the turn. Sam drops his third land and once again plays an Eye of Nowhere. Ryan looks disappointed, but continues playing. Ryan draws and then replays the Overgrown Tomb.
“Cards in hand?” Sam asks.
“Nine, oops,” Ryan responds.
Realizing that he forgot to discard last turn, Ryan discards two cards and the passes. Sam plays Compulsive Research, discarding Pyoclasm and Genju of the Spires. He then ends without playing a fourth land. Ryan next plays the Godless Shrine and then ends. Sam hits his fourth land and then surprisingly passes. Ryan drops his third land. Sam once again plays a land, and then ends with no other move. Ryan drops his fourth land and then looks at his one maindecked Cranial Extraction, that is in his hand. He knows that if it resolves and hits Magnivore the game is over, yet he doesn’t play it in fear of the Mana Leak. He simply says “go.” Sam then plays land six and then passes once more. Ryan plays his fifth land and keeps hold of the Extraction. Sam plays Tidings and drops a land so he has Mana Leak mana open. Ryan lets down his sixth and drops Kokusho, which gets Mana Leaked. Sam merely uses his turn to play Sleight of Hand and then Steam Vents. Ryan plays his seventh land and attempts Kokusho, which resolves this time. Sam plays a land and then thinks a bit after counting the sorceries in his graveyard.
“You have two Sorceries?” Sam asks.
“Yes, and you?” Ryan replies.
“Seven,” Sam responds.
Sam then plays Wildfire followed by a Stone Rain leaving Ryan with two lands, but a Kokusho out. Ryan takes two from an Overgrown Tomb and then brings Sam to 15 with Kokusho. Sam only plays an Island. Ryan drops a Temple Garden tap and then brings Sam to 10. Sam uses his turn to play a land and play a near lethal Magnivore. Ryan immediately casts Mortify on Sam’s Magnivore. Ryan then quickly untaps, swings, and casts Putrefy on his own Kokusho to win the game.
“I had nothin’ but land,” Sam complained.
Ryan smiled, “You had a good start.”
Sam stares blankly thinking of another reason why he lost, “I didn’t have the other Mana Leak”
“I could tell,” Ryan said.
Ryan 1 - Sam 0
Game 2
Sam keeps, and Ryan doesn’t even think about mulliganing his three land, signet, Castigate hand. Sam starts with two Islands, not revealing a red source, as Ryan drops the second turn signet. Sam finally plays the steam vents and passes without playing anything other than lands for the first three turns. Ryan next plays his third lands and attempts Castigate, which get Leaked. Sam once again plays a land and then passes. Ryan first transmutes Dimir House-Guard for his Nightmare Void. As Ryan shuffles, San impatiently asks if it’s his turn, and Ryan says “yes” without playing the land in his hand. Sam uses his turn to play a land and then pass. Ryan then casts Cranial Extraction, which sees Mana Leak. Ryan ends again with three lands and a signet out, apparently expecting a nearby Wildfire. Sam plays Sleight of Hand into a Stone Rain, which destroys Ryan’s Temple Garden. Ryan then plays a Phyrexia Arena, which gets Sam’s third Mana Leak. Ryan passes, now holding a few lands. Sam then plays a Tidings, drawing him four cards, Followed by a Mountain, leaving him with two mana open. Ryan proceeds to play a Temple Garden, untapped, as his fourth land. Cranial Extraction is put on the stack, not expecting a third Mana Leak, but instead sees a Remand. Sam quickly plays two Sleight of Hands, making Ryan nervous. Sam tapped six lands, and Ryan began dumping all of his lands away due to Wildfire. This taps Sam out and leaves him with three lands. Ryan draws a signet, yet can’t even cast his one land, an Orzhov Basilica. Sam untaps, draws, plays a land, and drops a sideways turned Magnivore, putting Ryan at 8. Ryan simply plays a temple garden tapped, knowing that he can survive one more hit from Magnivore. Sam shows him the Eye of Nowhere and he scoops. They both silently prepare for game 3.
Ryan 1 - Sam 1
Game 3
Ryan, on the play, keeps a debatable two land hand, one of the being a Selesya Sanctuary. Sam quickly mulls, and then the game begins. Ryan and Sam both hit land drop one, and then Ryan topdecks an Overgrown Tomb to play Castigate, a critical move. Castigate takes a Stone Rain from Sam, who plays his second land, a Mountain, and then passes. Ryan makes a topdeck of Vitu-Ghazi this time, but decides to take a risk, so he plays the Sanctuary. Luckily for Ryan, Sam does not have the land destruction, so he only casts Sleight of Hand, plays his land, and then ends. Ryan is left with and Overgrown Tomb and Selesnya Sanctuary out. The only lands in his hand are Orzhova and Vitu-Ghazi, not allowing him to cast his Phyrexian Arena. Instead, Ryan drops Vitu-Ghazi, and then tries Hierarch, which gets Remanded. Sam didn’t have a fourth land drop, so, with no other options he passes. Ryan plays his Orzhova and then tries Hierarch again, but Mana Leak comes back. Sam then goes another turn with no move, leading into Ryan’s Cranial Extraction that gets leaked. Sam topdecks the Stone Rain, which obviously destroys Ryan’s Sanctuary. Ryan then Nightmare Voids Sam, seeing nothing but three Magnivores, an Eye of Nowhere, and two Demolishes. Being it futile to take a Magnivore, Ryan gets rid of an Eye of Nowhere. Sam Draws, Plays Sleight of Hand, and then drops an Island. Knowing what’s coming next, Ryan dredges the Void, and then hits Sam’s Demolish. Sam’s Magnivore hits the table and then comes in, bringing Ryan to 9. Ryan then plays a Hierarch, putting himself at 13. Sam surprisingly attacks without playing the second Magnivore. Ryan takes the damage and goes to 4. Sam then Demolishes Ryan’s Overgrown Tomb, leaving Ryan with three lands and no black sources. Ryan topdecks an Orzhov Signet, which may be a chance for hope as he has a putrefy in hand. He taps his two colorless sources, leaving him with only one land and a signet untapped. Sam then plays Eye of Nowhere on Ryan’s Hierarch, ending the game.
Ryan 1 - Sam 2
It was undoubtedly a fun and exciting way to start the day, as Ryan and Sam both enjoyed the match, despite Sam having drawn a total of 6 Mana Leaks.
Round 2: Burning off the Top
Pat Younger vs. Asher Hecht
/ Ross PohlingPat Younger and Asher Hecht both enter the second round 1-0 and prepare to play against each other for a seat at the 2-0 table. Neither player has qualified, and both desire greatly to do so. Pat is playing his teched-out red/green agro deck, while Asher is playing Heartbeat of Springs with a transformational sideboard.
Game 1
Asher wins the die roll and decides to keep his opening hand. Pat decides to mulligan a slow hand and keeps the faster six card one. Asher leads off with an Island followed by a Sensei’s Divining Top. Pat then drops his ideal Stomping Grounds followed by a Kird Ape and then passes. Asher continues by playing a Forest and drops the Sakura-Tribe Elder. Both players had very good starts. Pat instantly uses his turn to attack with his 2/3 ape, forcing Asher to block it with his Elder and then sacrifice it searching for another Forest. Pat then plays Skargg, followed by a Dryad Sophisticate.
“That card’s pretty good in this matchup,” Asher joked.
“Yup,” was all Pat could respond with.
Asher resumes the game by casting a Kodama’s Reach searching for an Island tapped and a Swamp into his hand. He plays his land and then passes with no other possible move. Pat then attacks with his Sophisticate as well as his Ape, bringing Asher to 16. Pat curves out nicely by ending with Burning-Tree Shaman. Asher sneaks in a look with top in response. Asher draws, and then begins his turn by using his Sensei’s Top to look at the top three cards of his library, putting him at 15. Asher has nothing else to do but play a land and pass. Pat then plays a forest and comes in with the team, dropping Asher to 8. Pat plays a Volcanic Hammer that gets Remanded only to play it again. Asher goes to 5.
Asher starts his turn.
He uses the Top.
He goes to 4.
He plays a Swamp. He casts Heartbeat of Spring. He casts Kodama’s Reach
He uses the Top.
He goes to 3.
He switches the Top.
He goes to 2.
He plays Sakura-Tribe Elder. He sacrifices Sakura-Tribe Elder.
He Goes to 1.
He scoops.
“I was a little scared there, you know at the start of the turn,” Pat admitted.
“I know I wasn’t gonna go off once I was at 3.”
“I thought you might.”
“I would have if I had gotten anything good off of the last top.”
If Asher had a Maga or Invoke the Firemind as well as an Early Harvest, he would have been able to go off.
Pat 1 - Asher 0
Game 2
Before game two, Asher takes a mulligan, and Pat keeps a risky hand with tow Scab-Clan Maulers and no one drops. Asher begins with an Island, and Pat doesn’t topdeck the one drop, forcing him to play a Karplusion Forest and Pass. Asher then just plays a land, and Pat drops a 1/1 Mauler. Asher next transmutes Muddle the Mixture, snatching himself a Sakura-Tribe Elder. Pat finally attacks and then plays a 3/3 Scab-Clan Mauler. Asher drops a Forest, followed by the Sakura-Tribe Elder that he searched for last turn. Pat immediately attacks with both his 1/1 and 3/3 Scab-Clan Maulers. Asher blocks the 3/3, and sacrifices the Elder, but forgets to take trample damage, something that Pat doesn’t see that will hurt him later in the tournament. Pat uses his second main phase to play a land and then a Volcanic Hammer, targeting Asher and dropping him to 15. The Hammer is backed by a third Scab-Clan Mauler to finish Pat's army. In spite of Pat’s army, Asher remained calm, as next turn he played his fifth land followed by a Savage Twister for three, sweeping the board. Despite Asher’s twister, Pat still gained the upper hand by then playing a Skargg that helped play his Rumbling Slum. Asher then drops a Top and looks eagerly at the top cards of his library, but he ends without switching.
Asher and Pat forget to take one during Pat’s upkeep, but then Pat attacks with the Slum, putting Asher at 9. Second main phase Pat plays a Burning-Tree Shaman, which is responded the by Asher putting looking at the top three on the stack, which he himself responded to with switching the Top with the top card of his library. Asher then takes one from the Burning-Tree Shaman by transmuting a Drift of Phantasms, fetching a Heartbeat of Spring. He played Heartbeat and Sakura-Tribe Elder and then ended. This time Rumbling Slum dealt one damage to each player, dropping Asher to 7. Pat topdecked a Giant Solifuge and then attacked with his Shaman, Slum, and Solifuge for the match.
“Did you transform?” Pat asked.
“I’m not supposed to in this matchup,” Asher said.
Asher then goes into the 1-1 bracket and Pat gets ready to play next round for a trip to the Top 8.
Pat 2 - Asher 0
That match wasn’t the only one that was intense and interesting featuring Sensei’s Divining Top. One guy lost, and, apparently he could have won if he had “fettered the Top” according to his friends. Well, that’s only assuming he wasn’t even smart enough the Jitte his opponent had out.