Tourny Report from Cameron Miller

This is a booster draft report called Red/White Beating.dec
Here is what I played

• 1 Wave of Reckoning
• 1 White Informer (Returns Mercenaries)
• 1 Laccolith Warrior
• 2 Blaster Mages
• 2 Seal of Fire
• 1 Rhystic Lightning
• 2 Spur Grapplers
• 1 Rock Badger
• 1 Ridgeline Rager
• 1 Orim's Cure
• 2 Flaming Sword
• 1 Troubled Healer
• 1 Keldon Berserker
• 1 Fault Riders
• 1 Flowstone Armor
• 1 Laccolith Grunt
• 1 Shock Troops
• 1 Lightbringer
• 1 Viseling
• 1 Kor Haven
• 11 Mountains
• 5 Plains

My deck was fairly solid. I was happy with it, but in the draft I green came in amazing in the end. I opened up a pack of Prophecy with Mungha Wurm, Darba, Pit Raptor, and I ended up taking a Rhystic Lightning. An odd fact is that I was passed three lightnings, but needed creatures I only took one. I chose not to take a Third Pick Tidal Kracken, because I wanted to solidify Mike Ruffdaddy into Blue (I took a shock troops over it). I would have taken it to solidify my chances of a blue deck even though I probably would not use it (really high casting cost), but my first and second pack should have set Ruff up into blue. Althought for some odd reason Ruff took a second pick Nightwing glider over amazing green and blue, Ruff did end up drafting blue white. Here is the setting for 5 players. Albro-u,g,r: Ruff-u,w: Myself:r,w: McCarthy:b,w: Dewey-g,b. An interesting side not is that Steve McCarthy opened up 2 rare green foils (Saproling Burst, and Vine Dryad, but did not draft green)

On to round one:

Dewey vs. Miller

Game one: Dewey mulliganed, and was then manascrewed. I applied Grappling Berserker beatdown, and by the time he drew a black mana source for a seal of doom he was gone.

Game two: Dewey drew a mediocre hand of mercenaries and started to apply beatdown with a treetop bracered death charmer. That is when Mercenary Informer hit the table. I returned the charmer to the bottom of Dewey's library, and eventually returned a Rathi Fiend to the bottom. I used the amazing Flowstone Armor to kill off a Plague Witch, and it later killed a plague fiend. I was then in the process of drawing a lot of mana. I drew a Troubled Healer, and then a Kor Haven, and then started to serve with the Informer, Rock Badger, and the Healer, and even though Dewey used a Rejuvenation Chamber to gain some life, I eventually beat him down with the three creatures (Dewey was blocking with a Ribcage Spider, to delay the onslaught).

Miller: 1-0 (2-0 w)

Round two:

Albro vs. Miller

I felt I had a good chance going into this round ( I always should think I have a good chance against anyone, no matter how unfavorable the matchup) mainly because Albro was playing three colors which SHOULD mean mana trouble. This observation did come true in this case.

Game one: I get a gairly good hand and Albro has trouble finding a swamp. He plays a Seal of Strength on his first turn. The game turns to a slight halt when he has a Thresher Beast on the board and I have a Spur Grappler and some other small creature (I think a Blaster Mage). I proceed to attack with a Spur Grappler; Albro blocks with the Beast, before damage is dealt I seal the beast (my error of the day, but I learned something/was more enlightened on a rule) and also cast a trick card in the shape of a Flaming Sword, plus add a red to my mana pool. After the beast died I finished Albro off without too much difficulty.

Game two: Albro comes out raging with a Rushwood Dryad, Feral Stalker (3,2 Prophecy Creature), and a Thresher Beast. I play a Flowstone Armor and kill the dryad. I drew Wave of Reckoning, and am playing around it throught the first five turns. I do have a Spur Grappler on the board, and attack with it, Albro takes two. I then proceed to cast my "TRUMP CARD" and his big creatures die. I know this will hurt him, since he remarked earlier of not having many creatures in his deck. A Rock Badger, Shock Troops, and a Troubled Healer make short work of Albro as he fails to draw a mountain this game, which he responds to by slamming the table with his fist, and remarking that against all people he wanted to draw a mountain against myself.

2-0 (4-0)

Round Three:

Ruffdaddy against Miller

This probably ranks within my top 5 anti-climatic loses of all time to this date.

Game one: I double mulligan which is really unmising, and Ruff then mises a Island off the top of his deck. If anyone reading this has played Ruff more than twenty times one knows that when Ruff needs a land he gets really shaky and sort of timid when he needs a land. He then casts a Prophecy Enchantment which allows him to draw a card unless I pay one mana for each spell I cast, and on top of that he casts a Rishadan Footpad when I am tapped out. Have a better draw against a manascrewed player. On to game two.

Game two: I mulligan, and he mulligans. I am drawing and keep a 2 Plains hand with a Wave of Reckoning, Lightbringer, and Red Removal and Creatures, and I DO NOT draw a land for 4-5 turns. Ruff mised a strong hand of Oraxid, Lightbringer, Defiant Falcon, and another creature. I almost win this game if I could have drawn a land after the 5th turn mark. I would have WAVED out all of his creatures except Oraxid, and the next turn I would have killed Oraxid Via Flaming Sword on a Lightbringer. This is not true, and on Ruff's next turn he mises a Troubled Healer. That's game.

2-1 (4-2)

I do not make top 4 to the cheer of the other players as my tiebreakers where horrible. Dewey went 0-3, and Albro went 1-2. Boldo gave me a free Voltaic Key and a Snicker's Bar, and I did gain some experience, and humility in losing horribly to Ruff. That's Magic, but one really hates when they almost quadruple-mulligan within two games.

Props:

• Steve McCarthy-for not talking during the draft
• New Guy-giving me good new cards for bad Exodus and Legends ones.
• Boldo-for free Voltaic Key and candy bar
• Mike-for not cheating in the draft

Slops:

• Ruff-topdecking when needed
• For not making top 4 even though 2-0 in a 10 man booster draft.

That's all for now

-Miller