June Tournament (tournament complete; scherbchen1 wins)

[discoransom]

Some more final results:
Bracket G:
shantak: discoransom +1 pts shantak +2 pts
TOTAL: DISCORANSOM 24 vs SHANTAK 25

edit: can't add :p it is 24-25, not 24-24. All players got the same scores in all matches except one, where shantak got +2 and disco got +1. Extremely close!

I feel kind of conflicted, since it was me playing my own deck that got one more point for me. Maybe we should all do like yggdrasil and decline playing our own decks in the tournament?

Whether this match ended up tied or you winning, I trust everybody on here to be honest and use their best judgment no matter what deck

[Cognis]

Cognis: 2 points
Monopoman: 1 Point


I enjoy playing both Goblins and Naya so these decks were fun. I feel crappy about the mull from 5 to 4 in Goblins game 1, but with Goblins, you just cannot play Gempalm/Dragon Fodder control against that Naya deck.

I didn't even know this is a naya deck I just took your Kor Skyfisher idea from the first tournament and blended it with a RG deck I made making it in a RWG deck, for now it's good, and who knows how it'll fare in the next round

[discoransom]

Cognis: 2 points
Monopoman: 1 Point


I enjoy playing both Goblins and Naya so these decks were fun. I feel crappy about the mull from 5 to 4 in Goblins game 1, but with Goblins, you just cannot play Gempalm/Dragon Fodder control against that Naya deck.

I didn't even know this is a naya deck I just took your Kor Skyfisher idea from the first tournament and blended it with a RG deck I made making it in a RWG deck, for now it's good, and who knows how it'll fare in the next round

ha yeah I guess Naya is just a generic term I'm used to from Shards block. I'm flattered you liked my deck idea- I wish the AI was just a little better with Skyfisher and Recruiter, but RWG with Bloodbraid Elf is a great deck to put that idea into- the AI plays it very nicely overall.

[thedrigo]

Sorry for not posting the last 2 brackets but my computer died and I just bought a new one yesterday and haven't installed Magic. Aww, is it absolutely necessary to test the last 2 decks? I don't want to be delaying the tournament...

[Cognis]

I think that Aww said Yggdrasil has a 10 point advantage, so if that's correct one match can't even change anything so I doesn't really matter if you play it, but I think that we're waiting for match G to be decided since it was a tie

[aww1979]

Bracket G was a tie, but I have to play the sudden death round, so that's my responsibility. As for Bracket H, since jatill and yggdrasil already said they aren't playing it, and one player's score is not enough to affect the outcome of that matchup, you don't have to test them if you aren't able. That was one of the reasons I saw in favour of this format, is that if people missed some games, it wasn't as big an issue as it was with the previous style.

I'm going to play the sudden death round in G right now, and post the results once it's done.

[monopoman]

Cognis: 2 points
Monopoman: 1 Point


I enjoy playing both Goblins and Naya so these decks were fun. I feel crappy about the mull from 5 to 4 in Goblins game 1, but with Goblins, you just cannot play Gempalm/Dragon Fodder control against that Naya deck.

I didn't even know this is a naya deck I just took your Kor Skyfisher idea from the first tournament and blended it with a RG deck I made making it in a RWG deck, for now it's good, and who knows how it'll fare in the next round

Congrats on beating me but I think your deck being a bit more mid-range was a tougher match up for me. I also think a lot of people neglected to search for sharpshooter which was an easy victory over your deck everytime I got him in play nearly.

[aww1979]

By random determination, I played Shantak's deck first.

Game 1 (shantak): My opening hand has one swamp and a lot of high cc cards, so I mulligan it. My six card hand has mana and Bitterblossom and Duress, but two Ivory Tower that I predict will be totally useless. (I'm right :p) I keep the hand anyway, hoping Duress and Bitterblossom are enough. I Duress turn 1 and see the AI is stuck with a 1 mana hand I gank his Hymn to Tourach, leaving it with swords, edict, baneslayer, vindicate, land, and some other card I forget. (Tombstalker maybe? I'd have to check video) Anyway, it's a fairly interesting game, since we're both short on resources to start. The AI could've done a little better if it had used the Vindicate once it got 3 mana out, but never cast it, and ended the game with 4 lands.
Game 1 (discoransom): My opening hand is awesome. Turn 2 Tidehollow Sculler ganks Bitterblossom, and the rest of AIs cards cost 4 or more mana. My turn 3 Hymn knocks out Grave Pact and Forest, and Shrieking Grotesque knocks out another forest. AI casts nothing but Ivory Tower all game; easy win.
Game 2 (shantak): I'm off to a pretty good start with 2 Bitterblossom, despite the early Hymn I have to eat. When I try to Regrowth Tendrils of Corruption, the game starts doing some really weird shit, and I try to debug back to the state it should be in, but it locks up.
Game 2a (shantak): Lots of land, pulse, tendrils, and monument start me off. I lose Eldrazi Monument and a land to Gerrard's Verdict. A couple Tidehollow Sculler make life difficult, but somehow I manage to work around them. Bitterblossom comes down, but all the faeries have to chump Tombstalker. Garruk comes out and manages to get one beast token out. The next few turns I keep debating whether I should cast Damnation or not. I chose not to, and despite eventually losing them to a Hymn, I win, and that lone beast token gets the kill in the end.
Game 2 (discoransom): Awesome opening hand. Turn 2 Tidehollow Sculler sees AI with huge mana flood, and I gank Maelstrom Pulse. Turn 3 Gerrard's Verdict, and he discards tendrils and a land (he now has only land in hand) It's an easy win from there.
Game 3 (shantak): AI gets manascrewed at 2 for awhile, while I have Bitterblossom turn 2 and Garruk on turn 4 or maybe 5. Then AI goes into a land glut, but strangely still doesn't play much. I throw a Duress down, and to my shock see Vindicate, Hymn, Tombstalker and Baneslayer, none of which it is playing, with six mana down! *facepalm* My token army just rolls over the AI, and all it plays from then on is a useless swords on a beast on its last turn. It could have done a lot better had it used Vindicate on either bitterblossom or garruk, but I did have a tendrils waiting for baneslayer.
Game 3 (discoransom): AI manascrewed at 1 land for several turns. All it casts are two Ivory Tower, which are useless as my discard keeps his hand small. Easiest win of the day so far.
Game 4 (shantak): I get two Bitterblossom and Garruk, and end up with a massive token army for the win. AI did stall long enough that I did tendril my own faerie in response to a tidehollow sculler at one point (AI had no targets) since it was my only card in hand and I was nervous I might die to bitterblossom if I didn't. It turned out that I won at 9 life (would've been 3 without tendrils) so I could've just made it.
Game 4 (discoransom): I keep a one mana hand, hoping I'll draw more, and my spells are pretty nice. Disco's deck has 25 land, which is good in this situation. I get a second land on turn 3. AI ends up doing most of the damage to itself with *three* Bitterblossom and a Phyrexian Arena. My Tidehollow Sculler got a couple hits in, but the rest was all self-inflicted
Game 5 (shantak): I keep a one mana hand, hoping for that second so I can cast the Night's Whisper. I topdeck the land, play whisper, get a 3rd land, and play my Phyrexian Arena turn 3. Turn 4 I draw another land and Tendrils a Sculler. When I try to Regrowth the tendrils a few turns later, the game does the same bullshit it did back in game 2, and I get locked out.
Game 5a (shantak): Okay, lesson learned. DO NOT REGROWTH TENDRILS OF CORRUPTION This game is probably the most intense so far. AI figures out the power of Vindicate, and takes out my Phyrexian Arena. I take some early hits, and am starting to get rather worried, but I manage to stabilize, just barely, and the AI has stopped playing spells. When I get Duress, face smashes into palm, hard, as I see a hand full of goodies that would have probably kicked my ass had it used them. As it is, I win due to AI error.

I have to go for awhile, so I will continue Bracket G: Sudden Death later tonight. Video will be uploaded later, and I'll split it into parts, the first one ending here.

[discoransom]

lol at the epic tie break.

I think the fact that the AI screws up with Vindicate in my deck, and you can't Regrowth Tendrils of Corruption with Shantak's kind of balances out...

[Yggdrasil]

I enjoy playing both Goblins and Naya so these decks were fun. I feel crappy about the mull from 5 to 4 in Goblins game 1, but with Goblins, you just cannot play Gempalm/Dragon Fodder control against that Naya deck.

I didn't even know this is a naya deck I just took your Kor Skyfisher idea from the first tournament and blended it with a RG deck I made making it in a RWG deck, for now it's good, and who knows how it'll fare in the next round

I also believe the name Naya come from Shards of Alara, and more precisely from the card 'Naya Charm' which cost 1 red, 1 white and 1 green mana. It means a GRW deck.

We have also Bant deck (GUW), Jund (BGR), Esper (BUW), and Grixis (BRU).

[scherbchen1]

yes I am going to refrain from making any US vs ENG jokes. one day you guys will show up with a goalie (estimated in 2050) and there will be trouble.

[aww1979]

Game 6 (discoransom): My opening hand is beautiful. Hymn, Sculler, Vindicate, lands, simulacrum. Unfortunately, when I draw a second hymn and try to cast it, it just gets thrown back into my hand and the mana refunded. I screw around a bit trying to get it to work, but eventually I just pass the turn and hope it will correct next time. AI then gains 1 life with Ivory Tower, even though it only has 3 cards in hand... I topdeck scrubland, try to play it, and it won't go into play. wtf? So I restart the match. (I suspect perhaps AI tried to regrowth the tendrils in its grave, because the turn before it went to hell, it tapped 1G and didn't do anything with it)
Game 6a (discoransom): Removal flies all over the place and the game lasts quite awhile, until I get Tombstalker to stick, and it's lights out pretty quickly after that.
Game 7 (shantak): This game is a bit slower, but eventually I have two Bitterblossom and two Phyrexian Arena in play, and I'm gaining life with Tendrils and later Corrupt when I get a couple Regrowth for it, so even though I'm losing 4 life a turn I win with 26 :p
Game 7 (discoransom): Quick game. Early discard followed by early beatings. Baneslayer comes out, and AI chumps Sculler with its two Faeries, letting BA knock him down to 1 life, and then dies to his own Bitterblossom :p
Game 8 (shantak): At first I thought I was doing great this game, but the AI quickly started to outrace me. On a crucial play it Hymned my Corrupt (and a Bitterblossom) and I feared the two Bitterblossom I had in play, coupled with the unanswered Tidehollow Sculler it had would spell the end of me. As I was worrying, AI played Tombstalker. Damn! Then I topdeck Damnation and boom! the board is reset faster than you can say 'robert green fumbles'. I'm still concerned I may die to my own Bitterblossoms, though. I draw Regrowth, get back Corrupt, and buy some time, but when AI slaps down Baneslayer, I'm worried. I chump it a bit, but on the turn where I *need* to draw lifegain, instead I see Bayou, and I concede. With this loss, shantak will be eliminated unless discoransom also loses the next game.
Game 8 (discoransom): Wow, what a hand! Hymn, Gerrard's Verdict, Tidehollow Sculler, Baneslayer, and lands. Turn 2 Hymn, Turn 3 Verdict, Turn 4 Sculler, Turn 5 Baneslayer. (I hit all my land drops) Even with Phyrexian Arena, AI couldn't draw anything useful, and was quickly defeated.

This makes discoransom the winner of Bracket G. Congrats!

Video up soon...

[aww1979]

Bracket H:
taron: nyktorion +0 pts yggdrasil +7 pts
brandon: nyktorion +2 pts yggdrasil +1 pts
juzamjedi: nyktorion +2 pts yggdrasil +1 pts
cognis: nyktorion +0 pts yggdrasil +5 pts
monopoman: nyktorion +2 pts yggdrasil +2 pts
salbei: nyktorion +2 pts yggdrasil +2 pts
nyktorion: nyktorion +2 pts yggdrasil +1 pts
shantak: nyktorion +1 pts yggdrasil +2 pts
aww1979: nyktorion +2 pts yggdrasil +2 pts
scherbchen: nyktorion +2 pts yggdrasil +2 pts
discoransom: nyktorion +2 pts yggdrasil +2 pts
serbitar: nyktorion +2 pts yggdrasil +2 pts
yggdrasil, thedrigo: did not play this matchup
TOTAL: NYKTORION 19 vs YGGDRASIL 29

(And no, scherbchen, I didn't see your comment about USA vs ENGLAND until after I put in that comment in the previous post. I'm also not English or American; I'm neutral as my country did not qualify for the World Cup :p)

[aww1979]

Okay, for some reason rapidshare isn't working, so the videos are unavailable, at least for now, but I do have them saved on my hard drive if anyone wants them posted later.

*** ROUND 2 ***
Round 2:
Bracket AB:
JUZAMJEDI vs SCHERBCHEN

Bracket CD:
JATILL vs TARON

Bracket EF:
COGNIS vs AWW1979 (Jundinator)

Bracket GH:
DISCORANSOM vs YGGDRASIL

Rules: Exactly the same as before. Deadline for these games will be Friday, June 18. It's only 4 matches instead of 8, which is why I'm giving 6 days, instead of 9 or however many it was for round 1, so per bracket you actually have more time than you had for round 1. Also, if you catch any mistakes in the records, please let me know ASAP. I don't think there are any, but I've made numerous goofs already, so I won't rule it out :p

[Shantak]

This makes discoransom the winner of Bracket G. Congrats!

Bummer, but I can't feel that bad about it, since discoransom's deck was probably better built as it got more of those awesome and beautiful opening hands