No - I'm still here - sorry. It's been a hetic couple of weeks, what with my finacee' and I sorting out wedding stuff (8 months and counting), sorting out her new semester at school and me applying to Wizards for a job.

Yes - that's right. I talked to a few people at Gencon and have submitted a few articles I wrote in my first days of journalism in the UK to their periodicals section. I can only cross my fingers and hope.

Anyway, onto more exciting things.

I've been playing in quite a few tourneys lately. I missed the last MBC format PTQ the other weekend because of a nasty case of stomach flu that kept me housebound for more than a week. After my recovery, I've started to play more and more limited tourneys, and discovered my tiny amount of experience in this game is more suited to the format.

Take last week's FNM tourney at my local store. I open a so-so MM starter (Puffer Extract - WOOO! lol), but end up with a nice amount of evasion and a half-decent creature base. I think the power of Green/Blue is overlooked sometimes - even with my half-cocked playing I still managed to go 3-1, but came forth on tiebreakers - ARRGHHH!

As an afterthought, has anyone but me seen how powerful Excise is? Especially in limited. Players seem more content to tap out playing limited, allowing you to tap two to remove a nasty blastoderm or silt crawler for almost nothing. Give me a handful of these cards anytime.

Oh, I also discovered that as my experience grows, so has the other player's attitudes towards me. Where as before I was lucky to get a handshake at the end of the match, now I seem to be the "prodigal son" - I wonder if they read the articles on MOTL?

The day after I played in another limited tourney - this time for the pleasure of owning a foil, signed Gaea's Cradle. Hmmm, now that would be nice.

I think I'd have a better chance if I offered the store owner $200 for it - not much of a better chance, mind you - but a little one.

This time my MM starter was pretty even. I elminated red and black straight away - my prophecy and nemesis boosters just didn't hold for it. Blue, however with the addition of stinging barrier, alex's cloak, a counterspell, waterfront bouncer,a daze and a rethink was rather nice. Add to that a mass of green fatties (blasty, snapper, thorny ect) and I had a nice deck. To top it off, I opened a foil Rath's Edge - mmmm sweeeeeeet

Round One - Not a local, but seen him make top 8 at various PTQs.

Out comes the bouncer, but I wait until I have the additional mana to play Alexi's cloak just in case he has a snuff or vendetta (he's playing black from the swamps on the table). Bounce a chilling apartition and then lay snapper. Serve, and realise my mistake.

Bye bye, bouncer.

After this, he lays a forest then a plains - eek, this is going to go the distance (I'm terrified of a second plains and CM-Blessing or Story Circle). I drop blasty and my lone flier and manage to barrier him to one before it gets snuffed out. Eh oh, I'm gonna die.

He drops me to one with the seal of strength, and I'm about to scoop, but something tells me to draw. I pick up the card, face down, and put in into my hand and squeeeeeeeezeeeeee slowly to reveal it.

I can't resist it. I ask him his life total.

"I'm still at one," he replies with a smirk.

I lay down my card. The smirk dissapears.

All hail the Edge. Yes, I topdecked it - the *first* time I have done anything like it.

I tell him that I'm sorry, and that the game is really his. He agrees with me two games later after smashing my face in with a variety of nasty cards. Still, I was tempted to get him to sign my Edge just for the hell of it.

Round 2: A nice, young guy (about nine or ten I guess) - think his name was Reece

His deck is huge - I mean, even without protectors, it looks like he's put just about every card he pulled into his deck. I ask him if he would like to cut my deck, and I get a blank look - sometimes my accent doesn't go over well.

Anyway, I win the first easily - waterfront bouncer is just such a powerful card when you hold Alexi's Cloak - I love it. The second game goes the distance, and time is called. I have him at 7 life, while I'm at 17 - there's no way I can loose, but on my last turn I make a terrible mistake - I forget about my little bouncer that could've rid him of his only flying blocker, and with the seal I can cast that turn, I could've hit him for all seven. One of the locals notices my mistake and begins to speak up, but I tell him to be quiet and let the game go.

Did I ever mention how honest I am? Sometimes it does me no good whatsoever.

Round 3 - Best friend of the Rath's Edge victim.
This is all about the bouncer. He kept trying to cast his Giant Catapillar, but I just bounced it away. Then he sac'd it and I bounced the token. Game is soon mine.

Sideboard - this is my second brainstorm of the day, but I wouldn't realise it till the game had started.

Draw my opening hand, and wonder why I'm holding white cards - eeeeeek! I messed up - I put my cards to be boarded in into a small pile, but instead picked up the first four cards off the top of my other stack and added them face down.

Can you say "What a pratt" children?

Somehow the bouncer appears on my first draw and the second game goes very much the way of the first.

Round 4 - My nemesis

We all have one - this kid (a very nice one though) *always* puts me out of the running at tourneys around here. Every week, I'll be paired with him when I'm 1-1 or something - he'll win, and I'll be crushed again.

This was *my* day though

The power of Bouncer, barrier and Rath's edge is enough to win game one. I don't think he ever got a threat on the table that wasn't pinged, bounced or just smashed off it.

I start to fancy my chances...

Game two is the opposite. My deck contains 16 creatures, and I saw exactly one of them - the bouncer. Nothing else - just instants and enchantments. Not a penny. BAH

Game Three is the same as game one - Opening hand of island, island, island, bouncer, barrier, cloak, blasty is a keeper in my book, and the drawn edge the next turn wins it for me.

I'm feeling confident - there are promo foils up for second and third, as well as packs. I check the 'puter and I've come - 4th. ARRRGGGHHH! By 0.23%.

Oh well.

My positive experiences this past week really make me want to go to the first sealed deck PTQ this weekend. After this, it's a long five weeks before the next one within any kind of driving distance, but I just don't have the time to go on Friday night, play, come back on sunday as some of the guys are doing who offered to take me. I guess I will have to wait until the invasion prerelease.

A quick thought - Invasion. Who else thinks that Dust Bowls will rise in price because of all the semi-dual lands that will become common as muck? If not, then please trade me your bowls

Until next time,

Banzi

has someone been misrepresenting a card??

©

Oh well - maybe next time I'll spot it

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"People believe that if I say I'm gonna kill someone in a song, that I actually mean it. Well if you believe that... then I'll kill you." - Eminem