Saturday, March 2, 2013

Draft report for 28 February 2012

Host:
Singapore Management University (SMU)

Reporter:
No match reports

Players:
Jonlim, Terry, Wei Xiang, Mark, Qizhong, Kuang Kai, Jeremy, Haoxing

Photobucket Photobucket Photobucket
Format:
Gatecrash draft (3x GTC packs), prizes for top 4 players – 7 rounds of swiss.
 


Round 1 results:
Weixiang 2 Jonlim 1
Haoxing 0 Terry 2
Jeremy 0 Qizhong 2
Kuang Kai 2 Mark 0




Round 2 results:
Weixiang 0 Terry 2
Jonlim 0 Qizhong 2
Jeremy 2 Kuang Kai 1
Haoxing 1 Mark 2




Round 3 results:
Weixiang 2 Haoxing 0
Terry 2 Qizhong 1
Jonlim 2 Kuang Kai 0
Jeremy 0 Mark 2




Round 4 results:
Haoxing 0 Qizhong 2
Terry 0 Kuang Kai 2
Jonlim 0 Jeremy 2
Weixiang 2 Mark 0




Round 5 results:
Weixiang 2 Jeremy 0
Haoxing 0 Jonlim 2
Kuang Kai 0 Qizhong 2
Terry 0 Mark 2




Round 6 results:
Weixiang 0 Kuang Kai 2
Haoxing 0 Jeremy 2
Terry 1 Jonlim 2
Qizhong 0 Mark 2




Round 7 results:
Weixiang 2 Qizhong 1
Haoxing 0 Kuang Kai 2
Terry 2 Jeremy 0
Jonlim 0 Mark 2




Final Standings:
1st place - Mark (5-2, goal difference of +5)
2nd place - Weixiang (5-2, goal difference of +4)
3rd place - Qizhong (4-3, goal difference of +5)
4th place - Kuang Kai (4-3, goal difference of +3)
5th place - Terry (4-3, goal difference of +2)
6th place - Jonlim (3-4, goal difference of -2)
7th place - Jeremy (3-4, goal difference of -3)
8th place - Haoxing (0-7, goal difference of -13)















Wednesday, December 19, 2012

Draft report for 17 December 2012


Host:
Singapore Management University (SMU)

Reporter:
Jonlim, Terry, Wei Xiang, Mark

Players:
Jonlim, Terry, Wei Xiang, Mark, Qizhong, Kuang Kai, Soon Yoong, Haoxing (left early)

Format:
RTR draft (3x RTR packs), prizes for top 4 players – 7 rounds of swiss.

*SPECIAL* Santa hat prize! HOHOHOHO!
Santa hat will be given to a random player at the beginning of the draft. Any player who beats the player in possession of the hat will take over the hat for himself. The player who is holding on to the hat after all rounds have ended wins a special prize.

Photobucket Photobucket Photobucket Photobucket Photobucket Photobucket Photobucket
SCORES

Round 1 results:

Haoxing 2 Qizhong 0*
Terry 2 Weixiang 0
Mark 2 Kuang Kai 1
Jonlim 2 Soon Yoong 0
Haoxing was given Santa hat at the start and defends it.
Photobucket  
Round 2 results:

Haoxing 0 Kuang Kai 2*
Terry 2 Mark 0
Jonlim 2 Qizhong 0
Wei Xiang 1 Soon Yoong 2
Haoxing loses Santa hat to Kuang Kai.
 
Photobucket Photobucket Photobucket
Round 3 results:

Haoxing 0 Jonlim 2*
Terry 2 Kuang Kai 1
Mark 2 Soon Yoong 1
Qizhong 0 Wei Xiang 2
Kuang Kai loses Santa hat to Terry.
 
Photobucket Photobucket
Round 4 results:

Haoxing 2 Soon Yoong 1*
Terry 0 Jonlim 2
Mark 2 Wei Xiang 1
Qizhong 0 Kuang Kai 2
Terry loses Santa hat to Jonlim.
 
Photobucket
Round 5 results:

Terry 2 Soon Yoong 1
Mark 2 Qizhong 0
Jonlim 1 Kuang Kai 2
Wei Xiang takes a break.
Jonlim loses Santa hat to Kuang Kai.
 
Photobucket
Round 6 results:

Terry 2 Qizhong 1
Soon Yoong 2 Kuang Kai 1
Jonlim 2 Wei Xiang 0
Mark takes a break.
Kuang Kai loses Santa hat to Soon Yoong.
 
Photobucket Photobucket Photobucket
Round 7 results:

Kuang Kai 1 Wei Xiang 2
Qizhong 2 Soon Yoong 0
Mark 2 Jonlim 1
Terry takes a break.
Soon Yoong loses Santa hat to Qizhong.
*Note: all matches involving Haoxing are not counted in calculating final standings.
 

Path of the Santa hat:

Start of the day: Haoxing
End of Round 1: Haoxing
End of Round 2: Kuang Kai
End of Round 3: Terry
End of Round 4: Jonlim
End of Round 5: Kuang Kai
End of Round 6: Soon Yoong
End of Round 7: Qizhong

Photobucket Photobucket
Final Standings:
1st place – Terry (5-1, goal difference of +5)
2nd place – Mark (5-1, goal difference of +4)
3rd place – Jonlim (4-2)
4th place – Kuang Kai (2-4)
5th place – Wei Xiang (2-4)
6th place – Soon Yoong (2-4)
7th place – Qizhong (1-5) *Santa hat prize winner*


Qizhong wins a Rakdos booster pack with Dreadbore in it and a promo foil Carnival Hellsteed for being the last player with the Santa hat! Well done Qizhong!

Cards of the day (in terms of influence):
1st place – Traitorous Instinct (almost always precedes 10+ points of combat damage)
2nd place – Deathrite Shaman (a pain in the ass when left unmolested)
3rd place – Mercurial Chemister (another pain in the ass when left unmolested)


Upset of the day:
Haoxing having to leave halfway through the draft – hope you can stay till the end next time!

Player of the day:
Terry – Terry’s deck was not flashy but had good synergies and functionality. Running like clockwork, he was the most cool and compoced player today and made very good in-game decisions. Fully deserved to win today’s draft.

Deck of the day:
Jonlim – built a boros deck even though this meant he had to give up the multicolored cards of guilds featured in RTR. Relying on the bread-and-butter rakdos creatures such as Gore-House Chainwalker and Splatter Thug to do the heavy lifting, the ragtag cast of underrated enchantments such as Pursuit in Flight and Ethereal Armor bemused many unsuspecting opponents. He finished in 3rd place but deserves credit for daring to try something different.

 

Thank you all for drafting today! Hope to see you guys again sooner rather than later!


And now we have our decklists and Feature Match Reports.


Terry – 1st place (5-1)

U/W/R Azorius/Izzet control

Maindeck:
4 Plains
3 Mountain
7 Island
1 Transguild Promenade
1 Azorius Guildgate
1 Steam Vents
2 Voidwielder
2 Frostburn Weird
1 Nivix Guildmage
1 Stealer of Secrets
1 Skyline Predator
1 Mercurial Chemister
1 Arrest
1 Essence Backlash
2 Azorius Arrester
1 Tower Drake
1 Dispel
1 Inspiration
1 New Prahv Guildmage
1 Izzet Charm
1 Dramatic Rescue
2 Trostani’s Judgment
1 Knightly Valor
1 Righteous Authority
1 Vassal Soul

Notable SB cards:
1 Mizzium Skin
1 Keening Apparition
1 Crosstown Courier
1 Cancel

 

Mark – 2nd place (5-1)

GBW Golgari/Selesnya midrange

Maindeck:
6 Forest
5 Swamp
4 Plains
2 Golgari Guildgate
1 Selesnya Guildgate
2 Centaur’s Herald
2 Gatecreeper Vine
1 Korozda Guildmage
1 Axebane Guardian
1 Sewer Shambler
1 Sluiceway Scorpion
1 Towering Indrik
1 Golgari Decoy
1 Desecration Demon
1 Zanikev Locust
1 Archweaver
1 Selesnya Charm
2 Common Bond
2 Rootborn Defenses
2 Launch Party
1 Chorus of Might
1 Rites of Reaping
1 Horncaller’s Chant

Notable SB cards:
1 Golgari Charm
1 Druid’s Deliverance

 

Jonlim – 3rd place (4-2)

R/W Boros aggro

Maindeck:
8 Mountain
8 Plains
1 Rakdos Cackler
2 Ethereal Armor
2 Splatter Thug
2 Guttersnipe
4 Annihilating Fire
1 Martial Law
2 Pursuit of Flight
1 Traitorous Instinct
2 Gore-House Chainwalker
1 Fencing Ace
2 Azorius Arrester
2 Arrest
1 Knightly Valor
1 Trained Caracal

Notable SB cards:
1 Street Spasm
1 Rootborn Defenses
1 Keening Apparition
1 Dynacharge
1 Izzet Guildgate (to allow Pursuit of Flight to give flying)
1 Gore-House Chainwalker

 

Kuang Kai – 4th place (2-4)

RB Rakdos aggro

Maindeck:
10 Mountain
7 Swamp
1 Bellows Lizard
1 Grim Roustabout
1 Rakdos Shred-Freak
1 Gore-House Chainwalker
1 Rix Maadi Guildmage
3 Splatter Thug
1 Rakdos Keyrune
1 Bloodfray Giant
1 Rakdos, Lord of Riots
2 Dead Reveler
1 Tenement Crasher
1 Batterhorn
1 Spawn of Rix Maadi
1 Necropolis Regent
1 Deviant Glee
2 Explosive Impact
1 Annihilating Fire
1 Electrickery
1 Ultimate Price

Notable SB cards:
1 Electrickery
1 Daggerdrome Imp
1 Launch Party
2 Rakdos Ragemutt

 

Wei Xiang – 5th place (2-4)

Jund Midrange

2 Forest
8 Mountain
6 Swamp
2 Golgari Guildgate
1 Rakdos Guildgate
1 Centaur’s Herald
1 Deviant Glee
1 Dynacharge
1 Giant Growth
1 Slitherhead
1 Drudge Beetle
1 Golgari Charm
1 Rakdos Shred-Freak
1 Thrill-Kill Assassin
1 Annihilating Fire
1 Dead Reveler
1 Underworld Connections
1 Viashino Racketeer
1 Dark Revenant
2 Launch Party
1 Ogre Jailbreaker
2 Traitor’s Instinct
1 Spawn of Rix Maadi
1 Assassin’s Strike

Notable SB cards:
(none)

 

,span lang="EN-US" style="color: #222222; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 16pt; mso-ansi-language: EN-ES; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-SG;">Match Reports:

Round 3 feature match:
Terry vs Kuang Kai – (Note taker: Jonlim)

Photobucket Photobucket
This match was important because Kuang Kai was hoping to defend the Santa hat from falling into Terry's hands.
We join the game in G3 with Terry grinding out G1 before Kuang Kai raced to a quick win in G2. Terry opted to play for G3.

Photobucket Photobucket
Game 3

Terry dropped Azorius Guildgate on T1 and Kuang Kai played Mountain. Terry played a Transguild Promenade on T2. Kuang Kai played Mountain, and summoned a Rakdos Shred-Freak to draw first blood.

Terry 18 Kuang Kai 20

Terry untapped, played Plains and summoned a Frostburn Weird on T3. This should keep the Rakdos Shred-Freak quiet for a bit, provided Kuang Kai didn’t find an answer. Sure enough, Kuang Kai passed the turn after playing a Swamp.
Photobucket Photobucket
On T4, Terry decided to go for some damage. He summoned Azorius Arrester to detain Rakdos Shred-Freak, and rumbled in with Frostburn Weird, opting not to pump and leaving a mana open.

Photobucket
Terry 18 Kuang Kai 19

Kuang Kai’s T4 was uneventful. “Swamp, go” was all he could manage.

Photobucket Photobucket
Terry pressed on in T5, attacking with Azorius Arrester (which Kuang Kai opted not to block) and followed up with a postcombat Tower Drake.

Photobucket
Terry 18 Kuang Kai 17

Kuang Kai responded bi playing Mountain and tapping out for a Spawn of Rix Maadi, choosing not to unleash.

Photobucket Photobucket
On T6, Terry played a Mountain (after missing 2 land drops). He poked in with Tower Drake for another 2 damage.

Photobucket Photobucket
Terry 18 Kuang Kai 15

Kuang Kai played Swamp and swung in with Spawn of Rix Maadi, which was blocked by Frostburn Weird. Terry used the ability to turn his Frostburn Weird into a 4/1, but Kuang Kai had the Annihilating Fire to save his fatty.

Terry’s T7 saw him playing a Mountain and attacking with his Tower Drake and Azorius Arrester. All damage went through.

Terry 18 Kuang Kai 11

To solidify his position, Terry played a postcombat Voidwielder to bounce Spawn of Rix Maadi and set Kuang Kai back further.

Photobucket
Kuang Kai played Swamp but did not recast Spawn of Rix Maadi. Instead, he dropped a bomb: Necropolis Regent. Would it be enough?

Terry doused those hopes when he untapped for T8. Island, and then a Trostani’s Judgment saw Necropolis Regent going for an early shower before being able to do anything. Once again, Tower Drake and Azorius Arrester went to town. This time, Kuang Kai, traded his Rakdos Shred-Freak with the Azorius Arrester to stem the bleeding.

Terry 18 Kuang Kai 9

Kuang Kai used his T8 to recast his Spawn of Rix Maadi (without unleash) and shipped the turn.

Terry pressed on with his advantage. On T9, he cast Arrest on Spawn of Rix Maadi. Going to town with Frostburn Weird and Tower Drake for another 3 damage.


Terry 18 Kuang Kai 6

Postcombat Nivix Guildmage from Terry elicited a sigh from Kuang Kai.

Photobucket Photobucket
Kuang Kai tried to Explosive Impact, but Terry cast Dispel to rub salt in wounds. Kuang Kai packed up the cards and had to give up the Santa hat.

Terry wins Game 3.

Terry wins match 2-1 (?, ?, 18-6 concession).

 

Round 4 feature match:

Haoxing vs Soon Yoong – (Note taker: Terry)

Game 1

Soon Yoong was mana screwed in Game 1 and had no plays in the first 5 turns besides a Civic Saber. In the meantime, Haoxing played Azorius Arrester.
Photobucket Photobucket Photobucket
And then. Selesnya Sentry, Vitu-Ghazi Guildmage and Knightly Valor. Once the Knightly Valor hit, it was a fast death for Soon Yoong.

Photobucket Photobucket
Hao Xing 20 Soon Yoong 0

Haoxing wins Game 1.

Game 2

Soon Yoong had the early fliers, a T3 Vassal Soul and T4 Runewing, to apply `ressure, while Haoxing had Trained Caracal, Stonefare Crocodile and Korozda Monitor to race from the ground.

A T5 Soul Tithe from Soon Yoong got rid of Korozda Monitor, after Haoxing decided not to pay for the tax effect. Haoxing then made a Gobbling Ooze on his turn, but it was bounced with Dramatic Rescue before it could do anything useful.

Photobucket
Soonyoong had Knightly Valor to make a blocker and increase his flying clock to 6 damage a turn.
Photobucket
Haoxing could do no better than to replay the Gobbling Ooze.
Photobucket
Ultimately, the 6 damage a turn clock proved too much for Haoxing to race, as the Ooze was exiled via Detention Sphere shortly after its reappearance.

Photobucket
On his penultimate turn, Haoxing drew and played Trostani, Selesnya’s Voice. However, he was unable to immediately utilize the first ability and the next attack from Soon Yoong brought him to 1 life. He still had a chance if he could topdeck a land and play the Horncaller’s Chant in his hand, which woeld gain him 8 life and give him a chance to alpha strike the next turn, but he did not topdeck the land he needed and that was game.

Soon Yoong wins Game 2.

Game 3

Soonyoong kept a great hand with 2 Sunspire Griffin + combat tricks, and was ready to rumble out of the blocks. However, it was more than matched by Haoxing, who curved out with Fencing Ace, Selesnya Sentry, Selesnya Sentry, Phantom General and Knightly Valor (on Fencing Ace).

Photobucket
In what was to be a hugely eventful combat phase, Dramatic Rescue swooped down on Fencing Ace (dealing with Knightly Valor permanently in the process), the 2 Sunspire Griffins blocked the 2 Selesnya Sentrys (Birds vs Elephants), and then Soon Yoong’s Rootborn Defenses virtually blew out Haoxing’s board, while keeping the Sunspire Griffins alive.

However, Haoxing was not out of gas and the life totals were still 18-11 in his favour. Haoxing replayed Fencing Ace and added Korozda Monitor the subsequent turns to rebuild his board, getting through with the Phantom General and Fencing Ace once. Soon Yoong was fighting hard too and aimed Avenging Arrow on Phantom General after combat. Soon Yoong also attacked with his Sunspire Griffins.

Life totals were now at..

Haoxing 10 Soon Yoong 7

With near lethal on the board (3/3 trample Korozda Monitor, 1/1 double strike Fencing Ace), Soonyoong had to stop attacking.

A Blustersquall did allow for 4 more damage to sneak through from Soon Yoong’s 2 Sunspire Griffins.

Haoxing 6 Soon Yoong 7

Soon Yoong also used Paralyzing Grasp on Fencing Ace to slow the clock. Korozda Monitor swung in for 3 damage while the 2 Sunspire Griffins were tapped.

Haoxing 6 Soon Yoong 4

Haoxing added a topdecked Drudge Beetle to the board.

This was really going down to the wire. Soonyoong thought hard and attacked with only one Griffin.

Haoxing 4 Soon Yoong 4

Soon Yoong was apparently keeping the other one behind to block the Drudge Beetle. Haoxing duly swung with just the Korozda Monitor, bringing Soonyoong down to 1 life.

Haoxing 4 Soon Yoong 1

Barring any tricks, the player who had the next turn would win. This should be Soon Yoong, so he turned his 2 Sunspire Griffins sideways…

…but unfortunately for Soonyoong, Haoxing had the Druid's Deliverance to blank out the damage and reverse alpha for the win in a well fought match.

Photobucket
Haoxing 4 Soon Yoong 0

Haoxing wins Game 3.

Haoxing wins match 2-1 (20-0, ?, 4-0)

 

Round 4 feature match:
Qizhong vs Kuang Kai – (Note taker: Jonlim)

Photobucket
Kuang Kai won the roll and opted to play.

Game 1

Kuang Kai signaled his aggressive intent by playing Mountain and Bellows Lizard on T1. Qizhong replied with Forest. On T2, Kuang Kai played Swamp, swung, and pumped for first blood.

Qizhong 18 Kuang Kai 20

Qizhong responded by playing Plains and summoned a Gatecreeper Vine (tutoring up Island).

Photobucket
T3 saw Kuang Kai laying a Swamp before swinging with the Bellows Lizard again. Qizhong blocked with the Gatecreeper Vine and Kuang Kai tapped 2 mana for the pump, sending the plant into the graveyard.

Qizhong’s T3 saw him play Island and summon a Centaur Healer, gaining 3 life. This was a good way to silence the Bellows Lizard.

Photobucket
Qizhong 21 Kuang Kai 20

Kuang Kai added reinforcements on T4, playing a Swamp before summoning a Splatter Thug (unleashed).
Photobucket
Qizhong’s own T4 wasn’t too shabby. He played a Forest and summoned a Deathrite Shaman (foil).

Photobucket
Kuang Kai made a move on T5. He played Swamp and swung in with the Splatter Thug (3/3 first strike). Qizhong blocked with the Centaur Healer and cast Common Bond to make it a 5/5. Kuang Kai raised his eyebrows and placed his Splatter Thug in the graveyard. He summoned a postcombat Batterhorn to replace the dead Splatter Thug and shipped the turn.

Photobucket Photobucket
Qizhong played Transguild Promonade and attacked with the 5/5 Centaur Healer, which went unblocked. Kuang Kai’s position doesn’t look too good at this point.

Photobucket
Qizhong 21 Kuang Kai 15

That changed on T6 however. Kuang Kai swung in with Batterhorn for 4 damage, and cast a postcombat Spawn of Rix Maadi (no unleash).

Qizhong 17 Kuang Kai 15

Qizhong played a Forest and cast Soul Tithe on Spawn of Rix Maadi. Deathrite Shaman made his first contribution by eating up a Common Bond in the graveyard and deal 2 damage to Kuang Kai.

Qizhong 17 Kuang Kai 13

Photobucket
On T7, Kuang Kai untapped and thought long and hard about whether to pay for Soul Tithe. He opted to do so after some deliberation and swung in with Spawn of Rix Maadi without hestitation, getting as much value out of it as possible. Qizhong took the damage and cast an EOT Hussar Patrol when Kuang Kai shipped the turn.

Qizhong 12 Kuang Kai 13

Qizhong played a Forest and a 2nd Deathrite Shaman (non-foil this time). He swung in again with the 5/5 Centaur Healer. Kuang Kai opted for no blocks.

Photobucket Photobucket
Qizhong 12 Kuang Kai 8

On T8, Kuang Kai decided to pay for Soul Tithe again. He attacked with Spawn of Rix Maadi and Batterhorn. Qizhong chumped the 5/3 with a Deathrite Shaman. Obviously, it was the non-foil one, since it was better to have the foil one stick around longer for swag purposes. Qizhong tapped Deathrite Shaman do eat up a Splatter Thug in the graveyard and gain 2 life. Overall he took 2 damage. (4 from Batterhorn, gain 2 life from Deathrite Shaman).

Qizhong 10 Kuang Kai 8

Now it was Qizhong’s turn to get some action. He played a Forest and a 6/7 Axebane Stag, and then went to town with the 5/5 Centaur Healer and a Hussar Patrol. Kuang Kai chumped the 5/5 with his Bellows Lizard and took 2 damage.

Photobucket
Qizhong 10 Kuang Kai 6


On T9, Kuang Kai finally did not want to pay for Soul Tithe and Spawn of Rix Maadi was sacrificed.
Photobucket
He played a Grim Roustabout (no unleash) to serve blocking duty and shipped the turn, looking to defend Qizhong’s next attack.
Photobucket
Sure enough, Qizhong showed no mercy and attacked with the 6/7 Axebane Stag (which was chumped by Grim roustabout, who then regenerated), and the 5/5 Centaur Healer (which was chumped by Batterhorn). Kuang Kai cast a Electrickery to finish off the Centaur Healer. Qizhong used his foil Deathrite Shaman to eat up the Electrickery after it went to the graveyard, dealing 2 damage to Kuang Kai.

Photobucket
Qizhong 10 Kuang Kai 4

On T10, Kuang Kai summoned a Dead Reveler and passed the turn. Qizhong passed his own T10 without any action, aware that Grim Roustabout could simply block and regenerate.

On T11, Kuang Kai played Mountain and passed. Qizhong played another Hussar Patrol. Foil Deathrite Shaman ate up Batterhorn in the graveyard to gain 2 life. Qizhong shipped the turn back.

Photobucket
Qizhong 12 Kuang Kai 4

On T12, Kuang Kai finally got the bomb he needed. He calmly tapped lands and cast Necropolis Regent. Qizhong could only eat up a Spawn of Rix Maadi in the graveyard for another 2 life. That foil Deathrite Shaman has been playing support duty all game! But it would be all for nought if Qizhong couldn’t deal with Kuang Kai’s bomb.

Qizhong 14 Kuang Kai 4

13 was an unlucky number for Qizhong. On T13, Kuang Kai swung with the Regent and took Qizhong down to 8. It then grew to be a 12/12.

Photobucket
Qizhong 8 Kuang Kai 4

Drawing his card for his own T13 and finding no answers he quickly conceded and decided to spare Kuang Kai the trouble of going through the motions.

Kuang Kai wins Game 1.

Game 2

Qizhong chose to draw for the game. He kept a one-land hand that curved out brilliantly, but needed help from the top of his deck to make those dreams a reality.

Kuang Kai kicked things off with a Mountain and Qizhong played his Forest. Kuang Kai then played a Swamp and Rix Maadi Guildmage on T2. Things went pear shaped for Qizhong as he was stuck on 1 land.

Kuang Kai showed no mercy and swung in with his Rix Maadi Guildmage on T3.

Qizhong 18 Kuang Kai 20

Kuang Kai then played Swamp and a Daggerdrome Imp on the postcombat phase before passing the turn. Qizhong still couldn’t find a land, but cast a Centaur’s Herald. Unfortunately, Kuang Kai had the Electrickery to zap it away.

On T4, Kuang Kai swung in with Rix Maadi Guildmage and Daggerdrome Imp.

Qizhong 15 Kuang Kai 21

Kuang Kai played a postcombat Rakdos, Lord of Riots.

Photobucket
Qizhong stared at his 1 land…

Qizhong stared at the 6/6 Flying Trampler…

Photobucket
Qizhong conceded the game and the match, in rather anticlimactic circumstances after such a pulsating first game.

Kuang Kai wins Game 2.

Kuang Kai wins match 2-0 (4-8 concession, 21-15 concession).

 

Round 5 feature match:

Jonlim vs Kuang Kai – (Note taker: Wei Xiang)

Jonlim was hoping to hold on to his Santa hat by the time Round 6 comes around.

Game 1

On T1, Jonlim plays a Plains and passes. Kuang Kai plays a Mountain followed by Bellows Lizard.

On T2, Jonlim plays his own Mountain and Azorius Arrester, detaining the Bellows Lizard. Kuang Kai plays a Swamp and passes, unable to attack. Jonlim plays another Plains on T3 followed by Guttersnipe, then attacks with the Azorius Arrester. It trades with the  Bellows Lizard.

Kuang Kai misses his third land drop (!) but Ultimate Price was used on the Guttersnipe, leaving the board blank. Jonlim plays a Plains T4 but no creature, while Kuang Kai misses his land drop again and remains stuck on two lands.

On T5, Jonlim plays another Mountain and passes, while Kuang Kai finds his third land at last, a Mountain, and unleashes a Splatter Thug from his hand. Jonlim plays a Plains T6 and passes, and gets hit by the Thug for 3. Kuang Kai puts down his fourth land and an unleashed Bloodfray Giant to pile on the pressure.

Jonlim 17 Kuang Kai 20

On T7 Jonlim plays another Mountain (!) while Kuang Kai attacks with both his creatures. Annihilating Fire hits the Splatter Thug but the Bloodfray Giant connects and another Thug replaces his dead brethren.

Jonlim 12 Kuang Kai 20

Jonlim plays another land T8 and passes! Kuang Kai attacks with the Splatter Thug and Bloodfray Giant.

Jonlim 7 Kuang Kai 20

Kuang Kai adds a Rakdos Keyrune postcombat. Jonlim scoops after an unfortunate mana flood locked him out of the game.

Kuang Kai wins Game 1.

Game 2

Jonlim plays, and leads with Mountain. Kuang Kai also plays a Mountain. On T2, Jonlim plays Plains followed by unleashed Gore-House Chainwalker. Kuang Kai responds with Swamp and Rakdos Guildmage. Jonlim plays another Mountain and attacks. Kuang Kai opts to trade his Rakdos Guildmage with the Gore-House Chainwalker, which gets replaced by an unleashed Splatter Thug. Kuang Kai plays his own Swamp and Splatter Thug, choosing to unleash it as well.

On T4, Jonlim plays another Splatter Thug unleashed and attacks for three.

Jonlim 20 Kuang Kai 17

Kuang Kai plays a Swamp and attacks back with Gore-House Chainwalker, then adds a Grim Roustabout with no unleash.

Jonlim 17 Kuang Kai 17

Jonlim plays Azorius Arrester T5, detaining the Grim Roustabout, and attacks with both of his Splatter Thugs to deal 6 to Kuang Kai.

Jonlim 17 Kuang Kai 11

Kuang Kai passes. Jonlim plays Guttersnipe T6 and attacks with both Splatter Thugs again, one gets chumped by Grim Roustabout, who survives due to regenerate but sadly cannot kill the Splatter Thug.

Jonlim 17 Kuang Kai 8

Kuang Kai attacks with his own Splatter Thug which gets chumped by Azorius Arrester. He puts down a Dead Reveler with no unleash.

Jonlim plays Traitor’s Instinct! Kuang Kai knew it was over and saved Jonlim the trouble of going through the motions.

Jonlim wins Game 2.

Game 3

Kuang Kai ­plays and starts with Mountain. Jonlim plays Plains. Kuang Kai plays another Mountain followed by unleashed Gore-House Chainwalker. Jonlim plays Mountain and drops Azorius Arrester detaining the Gore-House Chainwalker. On T3, Kuang Kai plays Dead Reveler unleashed. Jonlim plays a second Azorius Arrester detaining Reveler and passes. Kuang Kai plays a Swamp and passes. Jonlim adds on to his Azorius Arresters with Arrest on Dead Reveler! (At this point it seemed as if Jonlim was playing arrest.dec) One Azorius Arrester attacks and draws first blood.

Jonlim 20 Kuang Kai 18

Kuang Kai plays Mountain and passes. Jonlim plays Plains, Pursuit of Flight on an Arrester but eats Ultimate Price from Kuang Kai. He follows it up with a Gore-house Chainwalker and passes.

On T6, Kuang Kai puts down a Swamp and plays Necropolis Regent. He attacks with his Walker which trades with the Arrester. Jonlim plays a Mountain and attacks with his own Walker.

Jonlim 20 Kuang Kai 15

Kuang Kai opts to hold back with his Regent (this is to avoid Regent becoming 12/12 because if Jonlim has Traitor’s Instinct in hand, he wins the game). Kuang Kai plays a Splatter Thug unleashed. Jonlim responds with Ethereal Armor on Gore-House Chainwalker, boosting it up to 4/3 first strike and attacks. Kuang Kai blocks with the Regent, but Annihilating Fire appears and first strike cleans her up.

Unfazed, Kuang Kai retaliates with his Splatter Thug and plays a Mountain.

Jonlim 17 Kuang Kai 15

Jonlim strikes with the 4/3 Gore-House Chainwalker again, but eats Explosive Impact.

On T9, Kuang Kai attacks with his Thug, which eats another Annihilating Fire. He plays a Rakdos Keyrune. Jonlim plays a Plains and passes. Kuang Kai activates the Rakdos Keyrune and attacks, then plays an unleashed Dead Reveler.

Jonlim 14 Kuang Kai 15

Jonlim musters a Splatter Thug with no unleash as he is on the defensive. Kuang Kai attacks with Reveler, then adds Daggerdrome Imp, while Jonlim plays another land and passes.

Jonlim 11 Kuang Kai 15

On T12, Kuang Kai attacks with both Reveler and Imp, then plays Spawn of Rix Maadi with no unleash. Jonlim plays another Chainwalker with no unleash. Kuang Kai’s board position was superior now.

Kuang Kai plays Electrickery EOT, but Jonlim saves his stuff with Rootborn Defenses. However, one more turn was all it took and Jonlim decides to concede after seeing nothing to help him out of the hole.

Kuang Kai wins Game 3.

Kuang Kai wins match 2-1 (20-7 concession, 8-17 concession, 15-11 concession).

 

Round 6 feature match:

Jonlim vs Wei Xiang – (Note taker: Terry)

Game 1

This was a blowout that ended within 1 minute. Wei Xiang was unfortunate to have to mulligan to 5 and keep a subpar 5-card hand. Jonlim showed no mercy and went for the jugular. A T3 unleashed Splatter Thug was followed by T4 Pursuit of Flight and two Ethereal Armor, transforming a 3/3 thug into a 11/11 first striking monster in the blink of an eye. Wei Xiang did not have any forthcoming removal and was only able to offer chump blockers that Jonlim burned away with Annihilating Fire, clearing the way for a perfect win.

Jonlim 20 Wei Xiang 0

Jonlim wins Game 1.

Game 2

The 2nd game was a much closer, tightly-contested affair. Both players had early creatures, with Jonlim having a Fencing Ace and a Gore-House Chainwalker and Weixiang having a Slitherhead, Rakdos Shred-Freak and a Daggerdrome Imp. Early on, Jonlim responded to Wei Xiang casting Dynacharge on his Slitherhead with Annihilating Fire. A turn 4 Martial Law from Jonlim was answered by Wei Xiang’s Golgari Charm the next turn. Unfortunately, from then on, Jonlim had much better topdecks, with an Arrest to deal with Wei Xiang’s Ogre Gatekeeper. Jonlim’s Rakdos Cackler traded with Viashino Racketeer from Weixiang and subsequently, Ethereal Armor on Jonlim’s Fencing Ace creating a 6 damage a turn clock. Widh life totals at 15-4 in Jonlim's favor on the final turn and Jonlim tapped out after attacking, Weixiang topdecked a Traitorous Instinct to take control of Jonlim’s Fencing Ace and deal 10 damage. But it was not enough as Wei Xiang fell resoundingly to the reverse alpha strike.

Jonlim 5 Wei Xiang 0

Jonlim wins Game 2.

Jonlim wins match 2-0 (20-0, 5-0).

 

Round 7 feature match:
Wei Xiang vs Kuang Kai – (Note taker: Mark Leong)

Game 1

Wei Xiang gon the roll and opted to play, while Kuang Kai was forced to mull to 6.

Wei Xiang got off to a fast start with a T1 Slitherhead, which was matched by Kuang Kai's Bellows Lizard. Bellows Lizard, usually unplayable, had been pretty good in such an aggressive deck. Wei Xiang's T2 was spent laying a land and attacking - however, Kuang Kai could not find a second land and had to settle for evening up the life totals via a swing from Bellows Lizard.

Wei Xiang 19 Kuang Kai 19

Wei Xiang then played a Swamp - he now had access to all three of his Jund colors. He played a Viashino Racketeer but opted not to discard a card, instead simply attacking with the Slitherhead. After Kuang Kai again failed to find a land, Wei Xiang dropped a Rakdos Guildgate and swung with both creatures.

Wei Xiang 19 Kuang Kai 15

Kuang Kai finally found a second land but only attacked with his Bellows Lizard, dropping Wei Xiang to 18 life. He seemed to pass the turn without anything interesting happening. However, he revealed what had been saving his mana for when he used an Overloaded Electrickery to drop both of Wei Xiang's creatures (Slitherhead and Viashino Racketeer) during Wei Xiang’s combat step. Having to rebuild, Wei Xiang then proceeded to play a Dark Revenant.

Wei Xiang 18 Kuang Kai 15

Kuang Kai was still stuck on 2 lands but was doing a good job of staying in it. He played a Rakdos Shred-Freak and attacked. Wei Xiang made the decision to trade with his Dark Revenant, which returned to the top ofLnthe deck. Wei Xiang promptly redrew and replayed the Dark Revenant, and with Kuang Kai still unable to find lands, Wei Xiang scavenged his Slitherhead onto the Revenant and then played a  Rakdos Shred-Freak of his own, swinging in for 5. A Daggerdrome Imp then made an appearance for Wei Xiang’s team.

Wei Xiang 18 Kuang Kai 10

Kuang Kai finally found a land, a Mountain, and played a Splatter Thug without unleash, hoping to keep Wei Xiang at bay for one more turn, but Wei Xiang would have none of that as he found a Traitorous Instinct to steal the blocker and alpha strike for enough damage to take the game.

Wei Xiang 18 Kuang Kai 0

Wei Xiang wins Game 1.

Game 2

Kuang Kai, of course, chose to play Game 2. Both sides kept their opening hands this time for another game of Magic.

Kuang Kai kicked things off by simply laying a Mountain, whereas WX had the Turn 1 Slitherhead again to apply some early pressure. However, Kuang Kai's aggressive Rakdos deck finally showed itself with the optimal Turn 2 play - Gore-House Chainwalker unleashed. After Wei Xiang could only play a Forest, Kuang Kai promptly swung in - only for Wei Xiang to block with his Slitherhead and play a Giant Growth, killing the Gore-House Chainwalker. That must’fe been a really big-headed Slitherhead.

Kuang Kai played a Daggerdrome Imp during his postcombat and passed. Wei Xiang played a third land and a Rakdos Shred-Freak before attacking with it and Slitherhead, drawing first blood as Kuang Kai opted not to block.

Kuang Kai 17 Wei Xiang 20

Kuang Kai swung back in with his Daggerdrome Imp, but the damage was only to allow him to play his trump card - postcombat, he played a Swamp and then dropped Rakdos, Lord of Riots himself, placing huge pressure on Wei Xiang with a 6/6 flying trampler suddenly on the board.

Kuang Kai 18 Wei Xiang 19,/div>
Wei Xiang, however, was not to be fazed, and nonchalantly played Traitorous Instinct on Rakdos, Lord of Riots before swinging with everything, dropping Kuang Kai to a precarious 7 life in one fell swoop.

Kuang Kai 7 Wei Xiang 19

However, with Rakdos, Lord of Riots back on his side of the field after the brief show of disloyalty, Kuang Kai returned the attack (Rakdos, Lord of Riots and Daggerdrome Imp) and then played a Bloodfray Giant without Unleash, which meant it could play the dual roles of a blocker and a subsequent threat.

Kuang Kai 8 Wei Xiang 12

Wei Xiang swung right back in though, and Kuang Kai placed Bloodfray Giant in the way of Rakdos Shred-Freak. Wei Xiang had the overloaded Dynacharge to pump all his creatures, meaning that Rakdos Shred-Freak traded with the Bloodfray Giant, while Slitherhead got in for 3 damage.

Kuang Kai 5 Wei Xiang 12

Facing just a 1/1 Slitherhead, Kuang Kai attacked with Rakdos, Lord of Riots, forcing Wei Xiang to topdeck an answer immediately or lose.

Kuang Kai 5 Wei Xiang 6

Wei Xiang drew a card and passed the turn. Kuang Kai simply turned his Rakdos, Lord of Riots sideways one last time and that settled things.

Kuang Kai 5 Wei Xiang 0

Kuang Kai wins Game 2.

Game 3

Wei Xiang chose to play and again Kuang Kai was forced to mulligan to 6. Hopefully, the game would not go like Game 1 for him.

Fortunately for Kuang Kai, Wei Xiang this time had the slower start, only playing lands on Turns 1 and 2. Kuang Kai himself played a Grim Roustabout unleashed on his second turn. Wei Xiang, still without a Turn 3 drop, opted to cast Annhilating Fire on the Roustabout before KK had the mana to regenerate it, which paid off as Kuang Kai could only play a land on Turn 3. This was to continue on Turn 4, as Wei Xiang played his first permanent, a Dark Revenant.

Both players were slow to come out of the blocks in this game, compared to the intense action in the early turns that we saw previously.

Kuang Kai again only found a land, so Wei Xiang swung in with Dark Revenant for 2 damage before playing a Viashino Racketeer, this time opting to discard a Swamp and draw a card. However, Kuang Kai destroyed the 2/1 with an Electrickery at Wei Xiang's end step.

Wei Xiang 20 Kuang Kai 18

Kuang Kai then hit back, playing a Bloodfray Giant - unleashed, threatening to swing in for 5 next turn. However, Wei Xiang was more than prepared for this and had the Assassin's Strike to remove the 5/4 trampler and poke in for 2 more damage with Dark Revenant. The 6 mana removal spell also caused KK to discard an Explosive Impact, which must hurt quite a bit.

Wei Xiang 20 Kuang Kai 16

After Kuang Kai could only pass his Turn 6 away without doing anything meaningful, Wei Xiang hit in for another 2 with Dark Revenant before unleashing a Spawn of Rix Maadi, a bad sign with Kuang Kai's empty board. It seems that unexpectedly, Dark Revenant was playing a very central role in this game.

Wei Xiang 20 Kuang Kai 14

While Kuang Kai was able to find an Annihilating Fire to finally put away the Dark Revenant for good, he was then hit for 6 damage on the next turn thanks to Wei Xiang’s Spawn of Rix Maadi, an unleashed Dead Reveler joined the party for Wei Xiang, threatening lethal damage to Kuang Kai next turn.

Wei Xiang 20 Kuang Kai 8

Kuang Kai finally found his 6th land... and then played another bomb, Necropolis Regent, which could at least buy him a turn and save him from death...until WX played a Launch Party, sacrificing the Reveler and taking Kuang Kai to 6 life - just enough for the Spawn of Rix Maadi to gleefully hammer the nail into Kuang Kai’s coffin with aplomb.

Wei Xiang 20 Kuang Kai 0

Wei Xiang wins Game 3.

Wei Xiang wins match 2-1 (18-0, 0-5, 20-0).

 

Round 7 feature match:

Jonlim vs Mark – (Note taker: Wei Xiang)

This final round match was instrumental in determining 1st, 2nd and 3rd place. With Terry completing all his matches before this match was played, the equation was as such:

If Mark wins 2-0, Mark wins 1st place, Terry 2nd, Jonlim 3rd
If Mark wins 2-1, Terry wins 1st place, Mark 2nd, Jonlim 3rd
If Jonlim wins, Jonlim wins 1st place, Terry 2nd, Mark 3rd

As such, it was a high pressure match. Jonlim was to eventually be undone by mulligan issues despite battling valiantly, but everybody knows that unpredictability is both the good and bad side of Magic: the Gathering, and perhaps this is why it remains such an alluring game 20 years on. Here’s how it happened.

Game 1

Mark starts first and snapkeeps, Jonlim mulligans to 3. Yes you read it correctly. THREE CARDS. This was after he saw hands which consisted of either 1 or no land.
Ln
On T1, Mark plays Forest followed by Centaur’s Herald. Jonlim plays Plains.
On T2, Mark plays Plains. Jonlim plays Mountain and unleashes Gore-House Chainwalker.

On T3, Mark plays Swamp. Jonlim plays Moentain and attacks with Gore-House Chainwalker. Mark blocks with the Centaur’s Herald and sacrifices it to create a Centaur token. Jonlim plays Guttersnipe.

On T4, Mark attacks with the Centaur for first blood.

Jonlim 17 Mark 20

Jonlim retaliates with both his creatures, Mark casts Druid’s Deliverance. Jonlim responds with Annihilating Fire on the Centaur token, preventing populate and pinging Mark with the Guttersnipe.

Jonlim 17 Mark 18

On T5, Mark plays Golgari Decoy and Plains. Jonlim plays another Plains and attacks for 5 with Gore-House Chainwalker and Guttersnipe. Remember that Jonlim mulliganed to 3 and was largely playing off the top of his deck!

Jonlim 17 Mark 13

Mark plays Towering Indrik and passes. Jonlim attacks again. Decoy blocks Guttersnipe and Towering Indrik blocks Chainwalker, leaving only Towering Indrik alive o0.

On T7, Mark attacks with the Towering Indrik and puts down Selesnya Guildgate. Jonlim plays an unleashed Splatter Thug.

Jonlim 15 Mark 13

Mark attacks with the Towering Indrik and plays Centaur’s Herald.

Jonlim 13 Mark 13

Jonlim attacks with the Splatter Thug, which is blocked by the Centaur’s Herald and sacrificed to make another Centaur token appear.

On T9, Mark scavenges the Golgari Decoy onto Towering Indrik, making it a 4/6, and attacks with both. Jonlim casts double Ethereal Armor on his Thug and attacks back.

Jonlim 6 Mark 6

However Jonlim is one turn too slow and concedes. Though considering the fact that he mulliganed to 3 cards and Mark starting with a +4 card advantage, this was closer than expected. Top points for unpredictability!

Mark wins game 1.

Game 2

Jonlim plays this time with no mulligan (after the horrible handicap earlier). He starts with Mountain and unleashed Rakdos Cackler. Mark responds with Forest and Herald again.

On T2, Jonlim plays Plains and Pursuit of Flight on the Cackler, boosting it to 4/4! He attacks and Mark takes 4 damage. Mark plays a Golgari Guildgate and passes.

Jonlim 20 Mark 16

On T3, Jonlim plays Mountain, Ethereal Armor on the Cackler and attacks for 6! Mark plays Swamp and passes.

Jonlim 20 Mark 10

Jonlim plays a Plains and attacks again. Mark does the Herald blocking trick (chump and make token) as Jonlim has no Island to make the Cackler flying, creating a Centaur token. Mark plays Swamp and Sluiceway Scorpion, then attacks back with Centaur.

Jonlim 17 Mark 10

On T5, Jonlim plays Plains then uses Arrest on the Sluiceway Scorpion. The 7/7 Cackler attacks, cackling evilly at the same time.

Jonlim 17 Mark 3

Mark summons another Centaur’s Herald and attacks back with Centaur token.

Jonlim 14 Mark 3

On T6, Jonlim attacks again and Mark does the Herald trick (chump and make token). Jonlim plays Gore-house Chainwalker unleashed. Mark attacks with one Centaur token and casts Sewer Shambler.

Jonlim 11 Mark 3

Jonlim reveals a Traitor’s Instinct, grabbing the untapped Centaur token, and Mark does not have enough blockers to prevent lethal.

Jonlim 11 Mark 0

Jonlim wins Game 2.

Game 3

Mark plays and snapkeeps, while Jonlim mulligans twice. Jonlim had to mulligan a total of 6 times, which was a big hole for him. He deserves some applause for not wailing around in pity despite this, and was thoroughly focused on the game. It speaks volumes about his experience.

Mark starts with Forest, Jonlim starts with Mountain. Mark adds Plains and Gatecreeper Vine, yanking a Swamp out of his deck. Jonlim plays Plains and Fencing Ace.

On T3, Mark plays Korozda Guildmage. Jonlim plays Mountain and attacks with the Fencing Ace, Mark lets it through, then unleashes Splatter Thug when it was his own turn.

Jonlim 20 Mark 18

Mark plays Forest and attacks with the Korozda Guildmage.

Jonlim 18 Mark 18

Jonlim plays Plains, then uses Ethereal Armor on the Ace, but Mark responds with Golgari Charm to 2-for-1 and kill the Fencing Ace. The last thing Jonlim needed after handing a +2 Card Advantage to Mark at the start of the game was to get hit by a 2-for-1. Jonlim’s weakened Splatter Thug attacks for 2.

Jonlim 18 Mark 16

Mark plays Selesnya Guildgate and attacks with the Korozda Guildmage again.

Jonlim 16 Mark 16

Jonlim plays Plains and casts Annihilating Fire on the Korozda Guildmage. The Mage however sacrifices itself to spawn two Saprolings. Jonlim attacks with the Splatter Thug.

Jonlim 16 Mark 13

On T6, Mark plays Rites of Reaping, killing the Thug and boosting a Saproling. Saprolings attack for 5. Jonlim just passes his turn.

Jonlim 11 Mark 13

On T7, Mark attacks with Saprolings again for 2 damage, then plays Golgari Decoy.

Jonlim 9 Mark 13

Jonlim plays Plains and Guttersnipe. However he concedes after that after deciding there was no way out.

Mark wins Game 3.

Mark wins match 2-1.

 

 

 

Round 7 feature match:

Soon Yoong vs Qizhong – (Note taker: Terry)

This final round match would be instrumental in determining not only the 4th placing but also the winner of the Santa hat (and the associated prize). Soon Yoong could seal 4th place (a booster pack prize) and the Santa hat prize with a win here, while Qizhong, being out of the running for top 4, was fighting to at least have some festive cheer and snatch the Santa hat prize. The equation for both players was simple: win and get prizes, lose and go home empty handed.

Soon Yoong's deck featured lots of fliers and combat tricks while Qizhong's deck consisted predominantly of groundpounders with very few spells. Ultimately, Qizhong prevailed in two very close races, with his pair of Deathrite Shaman (1 foil and 1 nonfoil) proving instrumental with the second and third abilities. This gave him the Santa hat prize and the 4th position to Kuang Kai, while Soon Yoong went home empty handed (without either 4th position or the Santa hat prize). However Soon Yoong can take heart from the fact that this was a very keenly contested battle and he gave it his best shot.

Game 1

Qizhong curved out almost perfectly in the opening game, going Drudge Beetle into Centaur Healer into Centaur's Herald + 3/3 Centaur into Towering Indrik. Soon Yoong was only able to offer a Paralyzing Grasp on the Drudge Beetle and a Runewing on Turn 5. By turn 6, the life totals were…

Soon Yoong 12 Qizhong 23

Seller of Songbirds and Runewing double blocked Qizhong’s Centaur Healer the next turn. Soon Yoong used Knightly Valor on his 1/1 Bird token (from Seller of Songbirds) and looked to turn things around, giving him a vigilant flying 3/3 clock and an additional vigilant 2/2.

However, Sundering Growth from Qizhong at end of turn shrunk the bird, and Qizhong populated the 3/3 Centaur token (from Centaur's Herald) once again to put himself firmly back in the driver’s seat. After an attack from the two Centaur tokens the life totals were…

,span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 16pt; line-height: 115%;">Soon Yoong 4 Qizhong 22

Qizhong continued his almost perfect curve by successively casting Risen Sanctuary and Axebane Stag, but Soon Yoong was not ready to give up yet. He disposed the two 3/3 Centaur tokens and prevented the damage from Axebane Stag with a well-timed Rootborn Defenses during a Qizhong attack. Soon Yoong dealt with the Risen Sanctuary first with Dramatic Rescue (gaining 2 life in the process), and then with Avenging Arrow after chump blocking. Additionally, a Vassal Soul and Eyes in the Skies added to Soon Yoong’s flying clock, and two additional 2/2 Knight tokens were created to fight for his team from Populate mechanics.

An overloaded Blustersquall stopped Qizhong's attack for a turn and allowed Soon Yoong to rumble in the jungle for 10 damage with all his creatures.

Soon Yoong 6 Qizhong 12

Unfortunately, at this stage, Qizhong's creatures still outsized Soon Yoong's, meaning that he could not attack without combat tricks and had to give up chump blockers or trade unfavourably every turn. To add insult to injury, Qizhong added another Centaur Healer and a Selesnya Keyrune and also drew into one of his Deathrite Shamans, which threatened to end the game in 3 turns on his own simply by eating the horde of cards in the graveyard. This he duly did, with his creatures gradually taking away Soonyoong's, who could only offer token resistance with a Downsize. Soon Yoong lost the game without doing any more damage since that 10 damage attack.

Soon Yoong 0 Qizhong 12

Qizhong wins Game 1.

Game 2

Game 2 started on a more even footing, with Soon Yoong having a pair of Runewings and a Jace, Architect of Thought while Qizhong had Deathrite Shaman, Gatecreeper Vine, Sluiceway Scorpion and Centaur Herald. Unfortunately, the game progressed in exactly the same way. Jace's +1 ability was good for stalling, and the pair of Runewings presented a decent clock, but Qizhong was drawing well, finding the heavy hitters when it mattered. Risen Sanctuary, Axebane Stag and Centaur Healer all made an appearance on Qizhong’s team. Eventually, they were able to overpower Soon Yoong’s Jace, Architect of Thought.

This was shaping up to be a dramatic finish: on the penultimate turn, the life totals were…

Soon Yoong 15 Qizhong 5

At this stage, Soon Yoong had just bounced the Risen Sanctuary with Dramatic Rescue and used Soul Tithe on the Axebane Stag, essentially forcing Qizhong to enlist the services of only one of the two fatties.

With a heavy sense of déjà vu, Qizhong once again had the clutch Sundering Growth that was so backbreaking in Game 1. With Soon Yoong tapped out, Qizhong was able to swing in for 11 damage in a single turn. Deathrite Shaman did his part by eating up Dramatic Rescue for another 2 damage.

Soon Yoong 2 Qizhong 5

Knowing that he would be dead from another Deathrite Shaman activation, Soon Yoong did his best but was only able to force through 4 damage.

Soon Yoong 2 Qizhong 1

He was powerless to prevent the Santa hat from slipping away.

Soon Yoong 0 Qizhong 1

Qizhong wins Game 2.

Qizhong wins match 2-0 (12-0, 1-0).

That’s all folks!!! Join us for the next draft!!!