I thought I posted before now? ANYWAY:
////////////////
The next 3 rounds are a bit speckled, because they went to time and I couldn't write them down immediately after.
Round 5
There was Ashleigh, a nice german fellow who looked like an aussie german blend. His deck lost two games straight, the first one because my fliers got there quite well, and the second because I got my Delver of Secrest flipped and equipped with Butcher's Cleaver straight away. He managed to amass a defense and smash me for plenty, but a Boiling Oil and a (3 kill an attacker) destroyed his attack, so instead of 12 it was for 3, then he died.
I had a Mikaeus who was huge, with the Cleaver, but he got a SilverclawGriffin that was bigger, and thanks to first strike who cares about life gain? I pumped Mikaeus some more, he put Inquisitor's Flail on it, and then I handed my Cleaver to my own Silverclaw Griffin. Thanks to the Flail it would deal enough damage at the same time to clean it up.
Games 2-0
Matches 3-1-1
Round 6
I forget. Maybe it'll come to me later. But I genuinely forget. He had stuff, that's right! Joe, my opponent named Joe. We had the same kind of cards, with both had Blasphemous Act, and we could both play around it. My Mikaeus was huge, and his team was good, and quicker but not quick enough to NOT deal with my junk, and then um...
Game 3, we go to time. It's 3 and 2 meaning 3 turns for me, 2 for him. He's low, near death. On my turn I gte Invisible Stalker to pair with Mikaeus. He can't attack seeing Mikaeus is 8/8ish. He has two blockers. Next turn I attack with just Mikaeus, which he doesn't raise an eyebrow at. He blocks with one creature, I use Blazing Torch on his remaining creature and then that's it -- if he doesn't have a blocker I'll win. Invisi-stalker could only deal 1, not enough, but he windmills his card for the turn...
And everybody can guess that it was a swamp.
Games 2-1
Matches 4-1-1
Round 7
This round I'm against Brendan, who I've been playing beside all day thanks to both of us being in the draw bracket. I even joked about it winding up that way, and there we are paired up.
Game 1 is great because he has many creatures, but I get the combo going, Cleaver for my Invisible Stalker. You think someone would see the digested meat, right? I'm swinging, he's only doing an effective one damage a turn, and surmouts an INCREDIBLE offense that I survive.
His mistakes: not flipping a Cloistered Youth. He was already into his main phase and playing a land, and I didn't mind it not flipping. The second was when he didn't play a Tragic Slip he had, and the third was masteful on my part.
I counted, and he had lethal next turn assuming I couldn't block. It's his turn, I smash him down to next turn letha and then attacks all out, tapping all my creatures...
Except for my Gargoyle. I look at his creatures, count up the power and say "So we're in blockers?" He says "That's lethal right?"
I draw the Gargoyle over to his 3/3 and block, saying "That shouldn't be." We count up, I take 7 in the end, go to 3. I swing back for the win next turn with my team, including my Galvanic Juggernaut. He came down early and just stayed tapped, yay!
Game 2 I win the 39 card bingo, as he sideboards for a while and seems angry. I count his cards, find 39 and call a judge. They take him away and yeah, it's only 39 so a game lose for him. Match to me.
Games 1-0
Matches
5-1-1
Assuming I win the next round I'll make day, being above all the 6-2-2 players, which is great and fun. Ammy is presumably 7-0 at this point, HAS made day two, and James as well. Wish me luck!
Saturday, March 31, 2012
Friday, March 30, 2012
OK, here we have Round 1!
This is all posts written thus far:
9.10
So we're all taking out seats to begin the deck registration. Well over a hundred players, about to open 6 boosters a piece, register what's in the deck and THEN pass it to another player to build with. Sounds easy, yeah?
The number of international and female players has risen sharply, compared to, say, normal Magic. Didn't manage to eat breakfast this morning as we hopped a taxi to get here on time. Shame, but my mate Gibs has a bye so he'll do a food round while I'm forced to win round 1. Easy pie.
This is exciting.
10.21
Deck built. Nice blue white flyers, with the Invisi-stalker/Butcher's Cleaver combo :)
Now everyone else can leave, the allow the poor saps without any round 1 byes to battle it out, for dignity, honour, and all that other stuff.
////////////////
My deck:
8 Islands
6 Plains
1 Mountain
2 Evolving Wilds
---
17 lands
2x Juggernaut
2x Stormbound Geist
Dungeongeist
Invisible Stalker
Angel of Flight Alabaster
Relentless Skaabs
Mikaeus, the Lunarch
Stitcher's Apprentice
Nephalia Seakite
Thraben Sentry
Selfless Cathar
Silverclaw Griffin
Delver of Secrest
---
15 creatures
Rebuke
Blazing Torch
Divination
Butcher's Cleaver
Blastphemous Act
Burning Oil
Feeling of Dread
Warden of the Wall
---
8 other
//////////
Round 1 v Dave
My opponent sports a black red deck that get's out dorks, but I get out a Seakite (he didn't run anyone into it) that I suit up with a Butcher's Cleaver (I wanted my Stalker to have it!) and he sets up a minor defense with Occultist and Nearhearth Stalker, only I've got Feeling of Dread to tap him out.
Game 2 he makes that Walking Undead, but I match that with Selfless Cathar and Stitcher's Apprentice, both going 2 a turn until 4 when Juggernaught shows up. He takes the first, and I write "2x Juggernaut" next to the life change on the life pad. He asks why? and I show him, next turn, the second Juggernaut. Along with the Stitcher's Apprentice for untapping, it looks well and truly over. Both bash in, he double blocks to trade but I use the Selfless Cathar from turn 1 and it's a blow out.
2-0 games
1-0 match
SO CONSIDERING how well the build went, getting that "round 1 bye" everybody was so hyped about wasn't really that profitable. Sure Dave is down one round, but he's not out yet, and everyone who's NOT played a proper match yet isn't quite warmed up. So here's hoping, hey?
9.10
So we're all taking out seats to begin the deck registration. Well over a hundred players, about to open 6 boosters a piece, register what's in the deck and THEN pass it to another player to build with. Sounds easy, yeah?
The number of international and female players has risen sharply, compared to, say, normal Magic. Didn't manage to eat breakfast this morning as we hopped a taxi to get here on time. Shame, but my mate Gibs has a bye so he'll do a food round while I'm forced to win round 1. Easy pie.
This is exciting.
10.21
Deck built. Nice blue white flyers, with the Invisi-stalker/Butcher's Cleaver combo :)
Now everyone else can leave, the allow the poor saps without any round 1 byes to battle it out, for dignity, honour, and all that other stuff.
////////////////
My deck:
8 Islands
6 Plains
1 Mountain
2 Evolving Wilds
---
17 lands
2x Juggernaut
2x Stormbound Geist
Dungeongeist
Invisible Stalker
Angel of Flight Alabaster
Relentless Skaabs
Mikaeus, the Lunarch
Stitcher's Apprentice
Nephalia Seakite
Thraben Sentry
Selfless Cathar
Silverclaw Griffin
Delver of Secrest
---
15 creatures
Rebuke
Blazing Torch
Divination
Butcher's Cleaver
Blastphemous Act
Burning Oil
Feeling of Dread
Warden of the Wall
---
8 other
//////////
Round 1 v Dave
My opponent sports a black red deck that get's out dorks, but I get out a Seakite (he didn't run anyone into it) that I suit up with a Butcher's Cleaver (I wanted my Stalker to have it!) and he sets up a minor defense with Occultist and Nearhearth Stalker, only I've got Feeling of Dread to tap him out.
Game 2 he makes that Walking Undead, but I match that with Selfless Cathar and Stitcher's Apprentice, both going 2 a turn until 4 when Juggernaught shows up. He takes the first, and I write "2x Juggernaut" next to the life change on the life pad. He asks why? and I show him, next turn, the second Juggernaut. Along with the Stitcher's Apprentice for untapping, it looks well and truly over. Both bash in, he double blocks to trade but I use the Selfless Cathar from turn 1 and it's a blow out.
2-0 games
1-0 match
SO CONSIDERING how well the build went, getting that "round 1 bye" everybody was so hyped about wasn't really that profitable. Sure Dave is down one round, but he's not out yet, and everyone who's NOT played a proper match yet isn't quite warmed up. So here's hoping, hey?
Day 1 of GP Melbourne
8.30am
The phone goes off and I get dressed and meet Gibs downstairs, where I write this and where there is a BEVVY of young girls. Don't get excited, they're all too young for you, but it's obvious there's some girls school event being run here. I keep the door open for three girls who're meeting up with everyone down stairs, and one of them realises that they left their key with the teacher, so how're they going to get back in?
Gibs is finding something to eat while I write this. We're going to walk to the tram, catch that down to Flinders street then walk the rest of the way. I have a feeling I may miss the first grinder, but I'm OK with that.
On the topic of grinders I may only do one or two. It's $40 a pop, plus I gotta pay $40 to even enter tomorrow, so I don't wanna do myself in before the main event's even begun. We'll arrive, figure out when they're doing the sealed, and then maybe float around until then.
11.55am
Finally found a chance to sit and do nothing. This is after:
Finding the MCE and realising that it's the wrong place. We DID venture there, Amy and I, for the Dr Who in january but it's not the same place. So after an hour of walking to the wrong place, we had another half hour of walking the correct way.
After the finding the real place, finding which section of the place was the real actual location for all the Magic fun.
After finding the event, finding a cash machine (still unfound as I write this)
Giving up and sitting down after consuming my second bottle of coke for the day and a jam filled chocolate doughnut.
SO let's just say it's very tiring walking around with your bag for far longer than you imagined, but we'll be better planned for tomorrow. I'm signed into the third grinder of the day (Sealed) and after I've had a break I'll look for the ATM again. Maybe. I hates it.
Anyway, the help here was non-existant. There is ZERO signs to an atm. I asked one fella where the atm was, and he pointed kind of THERE. I asked a second, who pointed there as well, but said don't go that way and they mentioned a players lounge. That was closed, for sure. Then I asked another person who said "Melbourne Cricket Ground" and that was a first, some solid location, before 3 more people joined in and tried to give us further directions.
Apparently you need to go back around the front and INSIDE as if you were buying a ticket from ticketek, and there's an ATM in there. You also need to want to walk around there for the third time. At the moment, I lack this desire.
2.41pm
Sealed number 3
Well I sat down, opened my card pool and it had both Brimstone Volley, Fires of Undeath, Skirsdag Flayer and Thraben Doomsayer. But that's OK because I got passed a pool with foil Liliana of the Veil, so I was set and sold that to my mate to pay for my next sealed.
My pool was great, but didn't win. Game 1 I get an early Vorapede out, but my opponent Matt makes a Fortress crab who can block all day. I formulated a plan to sack it to my Falkenrath Torturer, as this would make him big enough to bash in, but I didn't want to kill it the first time for my opponent. In the end, bad choice. He takes game 1, game 2 I take real quick and game 3 goes to time as beat down early, Lili and such to kill his blockers but he assembles the Invisible Stalker and Butcher's Cleaver.
The race was very exciting, players all waiting on us (last match) and I bash, lose a creature so he gtes morbid'd for 5 to Brimstone Volley, then Fires of Undeath, but he bashed next turn, then Brimstone and Snapcaster'd it back. Bad beats, so close oh wells.
Now for sealed 2!
7.14
I'm writing this a BIT after it happened.
Sealed grinder number 2 gets off to a far more humble start, and there's less buzz seeing I've already done the open, register, pass and build that occurs. My pool isn't anything amazing and I build a red/green/white/black thing, which isn't super bad but is really rather inconsistent. I play a few too many red splashes, like Mondronen Shaman and Rage Thrower, and lose the first round.
It was close-ish though. Game 1 I win convincingly, game 2 he gets Fengraf Monstrosity while I get nothing, and game 3 I mull down to four. Nobody likes that, it's a boring fight, there's minor hopes that the underdog can pull it out, and some times they will, but most often it's just the simple thrashing everyone expects, as this was.
After this I got myself and Gibbers, or he got me, and we left to find a pub. Alone with his came Shane, a mate of his. We spent AGES finding a pub, also trying to follow people directions which were about as useful as those given earlier about the ATM.
I did also find the ATM btw. Thanks to the heavenly saints I know up in Lismore, they walked me very much right up to it, where it charged me $2 to check my account, then another $2.50 (why increase?) to actually take some monies out.
Aside aside, we find a pub called insignia, where I'm so starved and done in from the day (Gibbs eventually traded my bag off me, considering how damn heavy it was) that I ordered a beer without considering the shout's rights. So Craig started the shouts and I have yet to return them, though I have just noticed that his glass is empty.
So the day has been a joy and success. I played Magic, met players, cheered my mates on and found no real success myself, though only paying for one event (my openings from the previous paid for the second) was good.
I imagine tonight will devolve into unrecordable events, so I'll maybe remember them, but most likely not.
10.42
So day 1 has ended. I didn't win any grinders, but Ammy did (proud of her) and Tim did (a lismorian, must be proud of him) and I've gotten two more loads of cards for only the one payment (Lilli paid for the second go).
We had a few drinks (too many?) before trekking home. I find the way pretty easy enough, while we pass a few suggestive places with names like "The main course" and well, ya know. We found the Melbourne equivalent of Kings Cross, lessay.
So, tomorrow we awake for an early trip in to the city, we know the way there a lot better but have to be there by 8.45, we think. I need to drink a lot of water, before retiring for the night and changing into the GP shirt that we all got when we registered today.
The phone goes off and I get dressed and meet Gibs downstairs, where I write this and where there is a BEVVY of young girls. Don't get excited, they're all too young for you, but it's obvious there's some girls school event being run here. I keep the door open for three girls who're meeting up with everyone down stairs, and one of them realises that they left their key with the teacher, so how're they going to get back in?
Gibs is finding something to eat while I write this. We're going to walk to the tram, catch that down to Flinders street then walk the rest of the way. I have a feeling I may miss the first grinder, but I'm OK with that.
On the topic of grinders I may only do one or two. It's $40 a pop, plus I gotta pay $40 to even enter tomorrow, so I don't wanna do myself in before the main event's even begun. We'll arrive, figure out when they're doing the sealed, and then maybe float around until then.
11.55am
Finally found a chance to sit and do nothing. This is after:
Finding the MCE and realising that it's the wrong place. We DID venture there, Amy and I, for the Dr Who in january but it's not the same place. So after an hour of walking to the wrong place, we had another half hour of walking the correct way.
After the finding the real place, finding which section of the place was the real actual location for all the Magic fun.
After finding the event, finding a cash machine (still unfound as I write this)
Giving up and sitting down after consuming my second bottle of coke for the day and a jam filled chocolate doughnut.
SO let's just say it's very tiring walking around with your bag for far longer than you imagined, but we'll be better planned for tomorrow. I'm signed into the third grinder of the day (Sealed) and after I've had a break I'll look for the ATM again. Maybe. I hates it.
Anyway, the help here was non-existant. There is ZERO signs to an atm. I asked one fella where the atm was, and he pointed kind of THERE. I asked a second, who pointed there as well, but said don't go that way and they mentioned a players lounge. That was closed, for sure. Then I asked another person who said "Melbourne Cricket Ground" and that was a first, some solid location, before 3 more people joined in and tried to give us further directions.
Apparently you need to go back around the front and INSIDE as if you were buying a ticket from ticketek, and there's an ATM in there. You also need to want to walk around there for the third time. At the moment, I lack this desire.
2.41pm
Sealed number 3
Well I sat down, opened my card pool and it had both Brimstone Volley, Fires of Undeath, Skirsdag Flayer and Thraben Doomsayer. But that's OK because I got passed a pool with foil Liliana of the Veil, so I was set and sold that to my mate to pay for my next sealed.
My pool was great, but didn't win. Game 1 I get an early Vorapede out, but my opponent Matt makes a Fortress crab who can block all day. I formulated a plan to sack it to my Falkenrath Torturer, as this would make him big enough to bash in, but I didn't want to kill it the first time for my opponent. In the end, bad choice. He takes game 1, game 2 I take real quick and game 3 goes to time as beat down early, Lili and such to kill his blockers but he assembles the Invisible Stalker and Butcher's Cleaver.
The race was very exciting, players all waiting on us (last match) and I bash, lose a creature so he gtes morbid'd for 5 to Brimstone Volley, then Fires of Undeath, but he bashed next turn, then Brimstone and Snapcaster'd it back. Bad beats, so close oh wells.
Now for sealed 2!
7.14
I'm writing this a BIT after it happened.
Sealed grinder number 2 gets off to a far more humble start, and there's less buzz seeing I've already done the open, register, pass and build that occurs. My pool isn't anything amazing and I build a red/green/white/black thing, which isn't super bad but is really rather inconsistent. I play a few too many red splashes, like Mondronen Shaman and Rage Thrower, and lose the first round.
It was close-ish though. Game 1 I win convincingly, game 2 he gets Fengraf Monstrosity while I get nothing, and game 3 I mull down to four. Nobody likes that, it's a boring fight, there's minor hopes that the underdog can pull it out, and some times they will, but most often it's just the simple thrashing everyone expects, as this was.
After this I got myself and Gibbers, or he got me, and we left to find a pub. Alone with his came Shane, a mate of his. We spent AGES finding a pub, also trying to follow people directions which were about as useful as those given earlier about the ATM.
I did also find the ATM btw. Thanks to the heavenly saints I know up in Lismore, they walked me very much right up to it, where it charged me $2 to check my account, then another $2.50 (why increase?) to actually take some monies out.
Aside aside, we find a pub called insignia, where I'm so starved and done in from the day (Gibbs eventually traded my bag off me, considering how damn heavy it was) that I ordered a beer without considering the shout's rights. So Craig started the shouts and I have yet to return them, though I have just noticed that his glass is empty.
So the day has been a joy and success. I played Magic, met players, cheered my mates on and found no real success myself, though only paying for one event (my openings from the previous paid for the second) was good.
I imagine tonight will devolve into unrecordable events, so I'll maybe remember them, but most likely not.
10.42
So day 1 has ended. I didn't win any grinders, but Ammy did (proud of her) and Tim did (a lismorian, must be proud of him) and I've gotten two more loads of cards for only the one payment (Lilli paid for the second go).
We had a few drinks (too many?) before trekking home. I find the way pretty easy enough, while we pass a few suggestive places with names like "The main course" and well, ya know. We found the Melbourne equivalent of Kings Cross, lessay.
So, tomorrow we awake for an early trip in to the city, we know the way there a lot better but have to be there by 8.45, we think. I need to drink a lot of water, before retiring for the night and changing into the GP shirt that we all got when we registered today.
Wednesday, March 28, 2012
GP Melbourne: Day 0
Or "pre day." Tonight I share a nice dinner/drink with my gal before tomorrow I speed home and pack my bags for many a day of Magic fun!
Friday is grinding all day. This means atleast $80 on new cards I wont care about moments after making the top 1 spot and claiming my three free byes, yee!
Saturday is THE big day. Sealed, a few rounds, then hoping that I make day 2. I'll keep you posted.
Sunday is either day 2 to some mild monies and success, or travelling around Victoria and having a look at her beautiful beauties. Eitherway, success and much fun to be had, assuredly!
Keep checking back here for updates through out the week.
I'm travelling with C Gibs, as I said, and our flight isn't til 8.10pm tomorrow night. Before then, mad panic as we weigh up what we need more: clothes or cards?
Friday is grinding all day. This means atleast $80 on new cards I wont care about moments after making the top 1 spot and claiming my three free byes, yee!
Saturday is THE big day. Sealed, a few rounds, then hoping that I make day 2. I'll keep you posted.
Sunday is either day 2 to some mild monies and success, or travelling around Victoria and having a look at her beautiful beauties. Eitherway, success and much fun to be had, assuredly!
Keep checking back here for updates through out the week.
I'm travelling with C Gibs, as I said, and our flight isn't til 8.10pm tomorrow night. Before then, mad panic as we weigh up what we need more: clothes or cards?
Tuesday, March 27, 2012
Melbourne GP 2012!!
Tomorrow we set flight! Victoria is a brilliant little state, and I love Melbourne ever since I visited back in January. (Doctor Who symphony orchestra, beautiful geek love there).
I'm travelling with man C Gibs (he's not a rapper) instead of the usual go-to guru Rony because he's gotten a life and a job and has to deal with that. Which is rather funny, considering my own switch from "nothing but work" last to "nothing but play, at the possible expense of work" this year. Let's rock this!
Now I haven't updated since January 19, which was a shock because I didn't think it had been that long. Eitherway, the explanation is that I stopped playing FNM once I visited Lismore to help with the Dark Ascension prerelease, and without even realising it I've been doing some very good level 2 judge stuff.
Namely mentoring Lismore and her judge lvl 0s enough for them to pass their lvl 1s. They haven't passed yet, but I'm being pulled over to help assess their abilities at GP Melbourne, so that's fun stuff for them and was entirely unnoticed by myself. I was just helping a mate to run his store and his Magic games, and it came naturally.
So expect a good write up of the event, the flight, the location we stayed and some geek love for Melbourne. My sweety wont be with me this time (she was for Doctor Who) but that's OK, it's always good to have a small smidgen of time apart so you can miss the other person properly.
ALSO if you love Magic cards that rip on Magic cards, here's Nyxathid Goes to Town by a budding artist and designer extraordinare Petr Joura.
http://nyxathidgoestotown.wordpress.com/
We'll see you after the jump.
Fox.
I'm travelling with man C Gibs (he's not a rapper) instead of the usual go-to guru Rony because he's gotten a life and a job and has to deal with that. Which is rather funny, considering my own switch from "nothing but work" last to "nothing but play, at the possible expense of work" this year. Let's rock this!
Now I haven't updated since January 19, which was a shock because I didn't think it had been that long. Eitherway, the explanation is that I stopped playing FNM once I visited Lismore to help with the Dark Ascension prerelease, and without even realising it I've been doing some very good level 2 judge stuff.
Namely mentoring Lismore and her judge lvl 0s enough for them to pass their lvl 1s. They haven't passed yet, but I'm being pulled over to help assess their abilities at GP Melbourne, so that's fun stuff for them and was entirely unnoticed by myself. I was just helping a mate to run his store and his Magic games, and it came naturally.
So expect a good write up of the event, the flight, the location we stayed and some geek love for Melbourne. My sweety wont be with me this time (she was for Doctor Who) but that's OK, it's always good to have a small smidgen of time apart so you can miss the other person properly.
ALSO if you love Magic cards that rip on Magic cards, here's Nyxathid Goes to Town by a budding artist and designer extraordinare Petr Joura.
http://nyxathidgoestotown.wordpress.com/
We'll see you after the jump.
Fox.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)