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Zach Tartell
09-09-2007, 03:21 AM
Nobody actually reads the pre-tournament jabbering. Suffice it to say that I’m tired, and that I passed up on talking to Mike “WWHD” Herbig to write this report. It’s 3:45 local.

My list:
5 Forest
1 Taiga
4 Savannah
2 Bayou <- Secret, Savage Tech
2 Plains
4 Windswept Heath
2 Serra’s Sanctum
4 Exploration
4 Utopia Sprawl
2 Sylvan Library
4 Sterling Grove
3 Solitary Confinement
2 Ground Seal
1 Leyline of the Void
1 Aura of Silence
1 Seal of Primordium
1 Seal of Doom
1 Moat
1 The Abyss
2 Replenish
4 Argothian Enchantress
4 Enchantress’s Presence
4 Elephant Grass
1 Words of War
1 Sacred Mesa

Sideboard:
2 Leyline of the Void
3 Rule of Law
2 Karmic Justice
2 City of Solitude
1 Aura of Silence
1 Seal of Doom
2 Choke
1 Null Chamber
1 Solitary Confinement

I took Tacosnape (who killed Tacodumbledore)’s idea about adding a more functional color splash, as Red only had one main-boarded Words of War as a win, and the two Seal of Fire’s in the board. He suggested Necra Sanctuary, which, by the way, was a terrible idea. But The Abyss was ridiculous for creature control. And Seal of Doom is an actual answer to Tarmogoyf. So, props to him.

I arrived at the Tourny with Matt “bigbear102” Abold and Bryant “wastedlife” Cook (no relation to Sam Cooke), to find that the place was hopping. Eli (pronounced phonetic “E”-lie) set up his amazing spread of totally sweet cards. I ended up picking up a set of Italian Black bordered Tundras, which was completely great.

Round one goes up, and I’m paired with Adam “I’ve played him in locals” Phillips, with Turboland.

-Game 1: He keeps me off of my sanctums and cool-colored mana sources. I thought he was playing some sort of garden-variant, and was surprised when he dropped a Counterspell on something, and then the blessing made sense. I WOW’d him out at like turn 100.
-Game 2: My notes don’t show much, but it says Enchantress’s + enchantments = too much advantage. Judging by how his life total goes down by eights, I suppose I WOW’d him out too.
Matches 1-0-0
Games 2-0-0

Round 2: v. Nick Patnode w/Breakfast
-Game 1: I openhanded my 1 main-boarded leyline, and I dropped it, thinking he was playing thresh or something, on account of Nick was trading for Trops and Tundra’s at the last local. He doesn’t draw into bounce before I land two groves and a moat, to which he scoops.
-Game 2: I openhand leyline again, he scoops to a quick Ground Seal and double Sterling Grove lock.
Matches 2-0-0
Games 4-0-0

Round 3: v. Colin Chilbert w/Eternal Garden
-Game 1: He gets a really cool start: Fetch into Savannah, Mox Diamond pitching trop, life from the loam. He gets some cool crucible/exploration/wasteland tricks on, but I out-permenant him by drawing more land than I did that one time Friendly Phil Stolze ‘geddoned on turn four. Savage. Scoops to leyline late game.
-Game 2: He burns himself down to 3 with tombs and nomad stadium. He gets engineered explosives nastiness and smokestack craziness, but Replenish > permenant destruction. I don’t’ have notes on how I won, but “Replenish is sick nasty” says about it.
Matches 3-0-0
Games 6-0-0

Round 4: v. Kyle Cappello w/Grim Tutor IGGY Pop.
I’m not going to give you my notes to this one. It’s sad. He wins turn 3 game one, then he won turn one before I dropped my turn two Rule of Law. I hate combo.
Matches 3-1-0
Games 6-2-0

Round 5: v. Kyle Dorgan w/UGw(slightly smaller)r Thresh
-Game 1: He gets some beats down, but I stabilize at seven, he counters Moat, I then replenish it back. Scoop!
-Game 2: He scoops to choke when I get an elephant grass down. SVG.
Matches 4-1-0
Games 8-2-0

Round 6: v. Alix Hatfield (like the thing on his head, then the thing over there, where Adam is pointing)

My notes are his list of Breakfast – we ID’d.
Matches 4-1-1
Games 8-2-3

Top Eight: Kyle Dorgan… again.
I hate taking notes on matches I lose. Kyle gets quick, efficient Tarmogoyf beats. Game two I apparently could have won, though I refuse to recount the situation, lest Rich ridicule me again. He beats me, twice. Fuck.

I take badlands, and sell them back to Eli, and bulk off like my entire two trade binders, and pick up breakfast and other stuff for white thresh.

I think that the black splash is pretty good. I need to talk with both Tacosnape and Spatula of the Ages, but I think I’ll be revising the opening post of Enchantress soon.

Props:
-Jim Lampman, first and foremost, for helping me keep the dream alive.
-Matt, begrudgingly, because he did tell me that Elephant Grass > breakfast
-Eli, for hosting a great tournament.
-Adam and Colin, for being EPIC and making it to the top with me
-Alix Hatfield, for the same thing. And ID-ing with me twice of the three times we’ve done it.
-Tacosnape, for telling me about black
-Kyle Dorgan, for beating me. Good for him.

Slops:
-Eli, for not having Seas. Or, rather, not having FBB seas.
-That obnixous kid who came with Shane. Kid need to shut the hell up somethetimes.
-The Death and Taxes kid. Put on a real shirt.

Jim
09-09-2007, 07:57 AM
Congrats Zach, and Adam and Colin.

Zach, thank YOU for keeping the dream alive.

I wish I could have been there. I'm thinking the next tournament I can finally make is the Epic tournament, which I wouldn't miss, ever.

Watcher487
09-09-2007, 08:28 AM
Slops:
-That obnixous kid who came with Shane. Kid need to shut the hell up somethetimes.


Yeah, Yeah, Yeah. I know but none of the 'I play Legacy, but just not at tournies' dorks from Albany didn't want to come. His nickname is Goblin Gardener, and trust me I really didn't want to bring him along after round 3.

Sims
09-09-2007, 11:07 AM
Cole was there? Oh dear...

I think playing the anxiety ridden 'phobe was a better choice than headding out there, lol.

Deep6er
09-09-2007, 11:14 AM
You have your Cities in the 'board? HOW WILL YOU DRAW THEM NOW! You're a disgrace....jerk.

Nah, I'm just kidding, you're a great guy (jerk). Congratulations on the top8.

troopatroop
09-09-2007, 12:11 PM
Yeah, Yeah, Yeah. I know but none of the 'I play Legacy, but just not at tournies' dorks from Albany didn't want to come. His nickname is Goblin Gardener, and trust me I really didn't want to bring him along after round 3.

I'm bringing some sort of weapon if I go out to any tournament now. Hate that guy.

Bryant Cook
09-09-2007, 03:12 PM
Hate that guy.

Me too! HI-FIVE. Seriously, he was playing Tomb of Urami in 43 Lands. I was like the fuck? He then proceeded to dump tons of sand in his vagina and start his monthly bloody squirts.

Nightmare
09-09-2007, 06:01 PM
Me too! HI-FIVE. Seriously, he was playing Tomb of Urami in 43 Lands. I was like the fuck? He then proceeded to dump tons of sand in his vagina and start his monthly bloody squirts.Is that why you didn't fuck him?

Bryant Cook
09-09-2007, 06:02 PM
Why am I friends with you? ASSHOLE.

Zach Tartell
09-09-2007, 06:05 PM
Why am I friends with you? ASSHOLE.

Because you don't have the balls to run red lights?

Nightmare
09-09-2007, 06:07 PM
Why am I friends with you? ASSHOLE.Dude, you walked into that. I totally gave you sound advice. Press the issue.

Brushwagg
09-09-2007, 10:14 PM
I told him earlier in the day, that's why they have showers. Not dumping on you Bryant just saying.

SpatulaOfTheAges
09-10-2007, 01:20 AM
Did you bring in Choke against Iggy? Rule of Law seems bad against the deck. It's playing a million and a half tutors, and will be able to find an answer like bam, especially with your own combo abilities nerfed by your own card.

Bryant Cook
09-10-2007, 12:07 PM
I hate EPIC. That team is a bunch of douChe-bags.

Learn 2 spell. Kthxbye.

emidln
09-10-2007, 01:45 PM
Did you bring in Choke against Iggy? Rule of Law seems bad against the deck. It's playing a million and a half tutors, and will be able to find an answer like bam, especially with your own combo abilities nerfed by your own card.

Choke appears to cost infinite mana and stops, at most, half of the lands in the deck from untapping. How is that better than stall them while putting down more lock pieces?

SpatulaOfTheAges
09-10-2007, 03:01 PM
Choke appears to cost infinite mana and stops, at most, half of the lands in the deck from untapping. How is that better than stall them while putting down more lock pieces?

Firstly, Choke costs 3 mana and comes down turn 2. IGGy generally doesn't go off before turn 3.

Secondly, every list I've seen in actual tournament play, and it seems 90% of the lists in the thread run, at most, 2 non-island lands, 1 of which is a swamp, which it's doubtful they'll ever fetch against Enchantress.

The problem with Rule of Law "stalling them" is that it slows you both down equally. Slowing them down isn't putting you ahead unless you can pursue your game-plan faster than they can. With RoL in play, you can't.

emidln
09-10-2007, 04:37 PM
Firstly, Choke costs 3 mana and comes down turn 2. IGGy generally doesn't go off before turn 3.

Secondly, every list I've seen in actual tournament play, and it seems 90% of the lists in the thread run, at most, 2 non-island lands, 1 of which is a swamp, which it's doubtful they'll ever fetch against Enchantress.

The problem with Rule of Law "stalling them" is that it slows you both down equally. Slowing them down isn't putting you ahead unless you can pursue your game-plan faster than they can. With RoL in play, you can't.

Speaking as the guy who designed the list that was played at this tourney, There are the following lands in the deck:

4 Polluted Delta
3 Flooded Strand
2 Underground Sea
1 Badlands
1 Scrubland
1 Tundra
1 Volcanic Island
1 Swamp
1 Island

That would make for 7 ways to fetch non-blue lands with 3 actual non-blue lands. This is discounting lotus petals.

Also, sorry about the infinite mana comment. I was under the impression Choke was 2GG.

The list played at the tourney is normally a turn 2-3 protected kill. From talking with the pilot, he chanted twice in his top8 match against Di needing any mana source at all (land, petal, ritual effect) to win the game and couldn't do it. He boarded very wrong for game 2 as well, which contributed part of the loss IMO. The proper board would have been:

-4 Street Wraith
-1 Empty the Warrens
-2 Orim's Chant

+4 Dark Confidant
+1 Echoing Truth
+1 Rebuild
+1 Chain of Vapor

He did not board in Confidant, and in fact boarded in extra copies of Orim's Chant.

Game 1, he apparently did not draw any land outside of his initial 2 of the rest of the game. He kept a turn 3 kill that would have beaten Force of Will/Counterspell.

Tacosnape
09-10-2007, 06:06 PM
I came to about the same conclusion you did and cut Necra Sanctuary. It's only good if all my card draw is shut down and I'm stalling for time, and I'd rather just have a card that increases how often I win.

The Abyss is crack, though. Seriously. It's a brick...house.

I was contemplating the Leyline of the Void myself, but decided double Black might be too hard to get in a 4-color build. So I just let Ground Seal do the job. How's it working out for you?

Pinder
09-10-2007, 06:48 PM
I hate EPIC. That team is a bunch of douChe-bags.

Learn 2 spell. Kthxbye.

I suppose the lesson here is that if you want to be the best, you gotta take shit from the best.

Di
09-10-2007, 09:14 PM
I suppose the lesson here is that if you want to be the best, you gotta take shit from the best.

Actually, Adam edited that post, not me, so I guess the lesson would've been, "if you want to be the best, you gotta take shit from the second best."

Zach Tartell
09-10-2007, 11:55 PM
Conclusions:
-Enchantress is a house
-Black is amazing
-EPIC rocks for top 8-ing thrice
-Bryant needs to man up and just go for it
-One of our team's mods can't spell
-Something about grim iggy

Jander78
09-11-2007, 12:00 AM
Good job Zach.

SpatulaOfTheAges
09-11-2007, 12:35 PM
Did you ever use the Seal of Primordium? Or was there ever a time when fetching it was better than just grabbing Aura?

calosso
09-11-2007, 12:50 PM
Good job Zach, make it rain on them hoes.

herbig
09-14-2007, 03:14 AM
Good job. Miss you bro!

Shriekmaw
09-14-2007, 06:23 PM
Congrads on the top 8 slot. Your one pretty cool dude. :)

Zach Tartell
09-14-2007, 07:33 PM
I love that everyone is telling me how awesome I am. Really - I'm pretty sure I got my sole referral because I was trying to do that myself. However, sweet though the props from Herbig may be, I'd be more flattered if more people would actually play Enchantress.

Matt Elgin and (I suppose) Leif Whittaker (sp?) are the only other two people actually playing Enchantress at the moment. Maybe a Hatfield or two.

Just man up and buy a Moat and an Abyss; I've top 8'd three times - the rule of averages states that you'll be next!

boris23
09-15-2007, 10:01 PM
yes zach ur the man. thanks for the signed grozoth its the most kick ass card i have.