MtG: Zendikar Box Tournament

= MtG: Zendikar Box Tournament
= Sunday, October 11th.

With the release of every new set, we try to run a box tournament. Honestly it was lucky that we managed to pull this off with the high demand for the set, and the box-rationing that is already being followed by the distributor. We had nine people show up for the box tournament, so I decided to join in to make it an even 10 (Recent changes to the official tournament docs allow organizers to participate in their own events provided they make no judge rulings on their own games, and the tournament isn't PTQ or up). I announce that we're going 4 rounds.

So I'm running Bant Aggro, and first round I have two quick games against a mono-white aggro deck (soldiers, angels, etc). All I can say is that game 2 Rafiq and Janara came out ... Ouch! Match 2 I faced off against my good friend Scott, who was running Jund w/white. First game was won on landing Rafiq, and causing a 10 point life swing. Next turn it was over. Second game my friend drew into too much land and I managed a slow win. Round 3 I face off against a green/white deck running lotus cobra and baneslayer. Yeah, I could have died from a turn 3 Baneslayer, If I didn't have Bant Charm in hand.

So here I was, in my own tournament, at 3-0 and heading into the final round. A lot of luck took me here, because at least two of my games I managed to swing for victory while my opponent keeps pulling dead draws (either too much or too little land). I feel a bit awkward playing for and possibly claiming a sealed box in my own tournament (it's not just a handful of packs, after all). So I call everyone over to get a feel for how they see it. My opponent wants to play it out. Most everyone else seems OK with the idea. Someone points out that I run a solid tournament (yes, I do - I always run a very tight ship). So with pressure on and my nerves starting to fray, I sit down for the finals.

Mike, my opponent, is running Jund. Game one I come out swinging with A noble Hierarch quickly replaced by Jessian Infiltrator. I loose the Infiltrator to Lightning bolt, but still manage to continue the pressure with a Pridemage. Eventually I manage a win. We both do some serious sideboard. Game 2 I have trouble drawing into creatures. Mike litters the board with Leaches and Bloodbraids. A Malakir Bloodwitch (pro-white) shows up. This card is the bane of my existence as a Bant mage. I can't keep up and go down a game. So here we are, 1-1-0, in the final round going into game 3 for the chance to win a box. A whole box is resting on this final game.

I get off on a bad start, going to six cards in my opening hand. We both come out of the gate swinging. Him with his putrid leech, and me with my infiltrator. We somehow keep on hitting each other for minor damage with a lot of back-and-forth. I wait for him to swing with two leeches before playing out my stoic angel. At some point he blocks War-monk, Jund charm's everything for 2, and bolts my stoic. Leaves him with an empty board me with War-monk and 3 life, and him at 12. We both dead-draw for two turns. Swinging me up to 12 and him down to 3. He pops a fetchland and terminates the war monk. I'm at 12, he's at 2, and there is absolutely nothing on the field except land. We both dead-draw again for a turn, then I manage to topdeck Battlegrace angel, and play it out. His draw isn't so lucky - and I win the box.

First thing I do is open it up and give the 8 remaining players in the tournament a pack out of my own winnings. I hand Mike 6 packs of M10 as his second place prize and he goes and pulls Jace, Garruk, and A glacial fortress - Damn! I'm saving 18 packs of my box for a casual 6-man draft come Tuesday, but I did open packs and so far I've got Sadistic Sacrament, Kazuul Warlord, Devout Lightcaster, Landbind ritual (foil), Scalding Tarn, Nissa Revane, Celestial Mantle, Lullmage Mentor, Summoning Trap, Hellkite Charger, Pyromancer Ascension, and Sphinx of Lost Truths.

Good Game all, GOOD GAME!