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A song of mighty warriors
of epic bloody fights
while moonlight meets the manor's walls
and I must close my eyes
Hail and welcome back to yet another report in my monthly series. DMF Poznan is finally over and with this tournament we officially bid farewell to the old Core format including Drums of War and Scourgewar. The format will still be there till the release of the Throne of the Tides, but I doubt anyone will seriously play it with Block Constructed coming our way and marking a new era of competitive events.
So how did Poznan go? I’ve slain a couple of dragons, sucked at drafting, defeated my nemesis in a fair fight, got some crazy luck and eventually won it all grabbing another solo DMF title for our Team to have. Below you will find a story of suspense and drama, a story that will move cards in your deck and hopefully make you laugh and have a good time. Enjoy!
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Deck choice and testing.
I was sure that I wanted to play Spider Solitaire even before the new set came out. I was totally positive that new cards wouldn’t undermine the sick interactions that are included in this deck. When we got new cards I started to test if there is anything new I want to include in our list from EUCC. I tried [Dagax the Butcher] and I switched [Sepirion the Poised] with [Akumo of Thunderbluff] to check how it goes. After a couple of games I was quickly back to the original list with the new cards out of the way. I was comfortable with most of the old matchups and I was positive that my testing experience from before Rimini would still be useful. The only thing that could actually surprise me was new deck ideas and there were 2 I knew. Tim Batow’s Gispax the Mixologist and Timriv’s new Death Wish decks were the ones I needed to test against. The testing went fine and I felt prepared even though it was hard to actually get my team to play with me. Bloody addicts spent all their free time playing League of Legends.
I wanted to do some last minute practice from Monday to Wednesday before the event, but this was when I got keratitis! If you don’t know this eye disease it’s not a pleasant one. I was blinded for a couple of days and needed to have my left eye bandaged. On Thursday in Poznan I was wearing an eye patch and I spent the rest of the event in my sunglasses to protect my vision. My catchphrase for the weekend was “I don’t need two eyes to play with Spider Solitaire”, but seriously though the eye was fine on Saturday and on Sunday I didn’t feel disadvantaged at all. I was in my top form.
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The Game!
Round 1 vs Rozman, Richard – [Emek the Equalizer]
The first game is always very dangerous and important. It will define your tie breaker and is also one of the most difficult from the psychological perspective as it’s the first “real” experience of the day for you. I always try to prepare for this game by playing some random games before I even sit in front of my first opponent. It usually works.
Emek in general is a favorable matchup for the Spider Solitaire. It’s a good deck, but it’s following a routine of doing one thing at a time and spiders can easily get the tempo and card advantage from Death Rattle and cards like [Feral Spirit].
I won a roll, but I didn’t find [Broderick Langforth] after a mulligan. Richard had one and played it T1. T2 I tried [Elemental Vision], but missed any Death Rattle cards, so it didn’t look good for me. My opponent completed [Dr. Boom] on T2 and got [Sivandra Darklust], which he played on T3 followed by another [Sivandra Darklust] T4. I had [Grazzle Grubhook] on T3, which got killed by [A Taste of Divinity] but I managed to kill one [Sivandra Darklust] with [Incendiary Totem] discarded. On T4 I got [Feral Spirit] on board. Richard used a lot of resources to clean the wolves with cards such as [Searing Light], [A Taste of Divinity] and his remaining [Sivandra Darklust]. A second [Feral Spirit] T5 was too much for him to handle. The game was mine and it took me only 1 more turn to finish the game.
Even with a lack of [Broderick Langforth], good Death Rattle and [Azjol-anak Champion] T3 I was still able to win with double [Feral Spirit].
1-0
Round 2 vs Szczepanski, Karol – [Souldrinker Bogmara]
Before we even started our game a judge came to us asking Karol about his decklist. It seemed that there were only 56 cards listed. Fortunately for Mr Szczepanski he didn’t get a game loss and we could play as normal. That must have been very stressful for him though.
With Bogmara it’s always a gamble. I need to survive the early turns and then get to [Feral Spirit], which mostly seals the game. An early [Broderick Langforth] is also a very important card.
I didn’t have any Brodericks on my starting hand, but I was fortunate to cycle one with [The Ring of Blood: The Warmaul Champion] quest. He had 3 Brodericks himself and managed to cast [Searing Pain] burning me for 6 damage total with 2 Brodericks on the board and 1 in a graveyard. Even though it looked grim in the beginning as he managed to get me to 18 points of damage total I somehow survived and played [Feral Spirit] on T5. From that point the game was in my favor. A T6 [Azjol-anak Champion] helped me to quickly finish the game without being concerned about ninja Saurfang coming my way.
2-0
Round 3 vs Przybylek, Bartosz – [Zaritha]
With [Zaritha] you just need to know the matchup. It can go pretty bad, but in general it’s in your favor and you should be able to finish them before they play [King Varian Wrynn].
This time I had a good draw and got Broderick + Warmaul T1, [Elemental Vision] T2 and a pumped up Spider T3. Bartosz did nothing on his first 2 turns and then got a [Voice of Reason] on T3. I didn’t have [Calamity’s Grasp], so I decided to go with damage and trample through the shield. I played [Grazzle Grubhook] on T4 and used his power to discard [Stormstrike Mace] to double the Spider’s damage. Irealized a long time ago that Grazzle is the most important card in this matchup as he enables you to not only control the field as a response to [Mikael the Blunt], but also helps you get the exact cards you need earlier. On T5 a blasted Mikael joined Bartosz’s army, which was killed by [Incendiary Totem] discarded on my turn. T6 was the Final Turn. Bartosz had to play [Ancestral Awakening] to get his [Weldon Barov] on the table and when I casted [Squall Totem] he did play a [Wind Shear] fully exhausting his resources. I top decked a second [Squall Totem] and had to do 15 damage to my opponent to score a kill. I did just that, 15 damage spot on and it was over even though [Voice of Reason] was there from T3 and still ticking.
3-0
Round 4 vs Milinski, Dominic – [Jeremiah Karvok]
Unfortunately during this game and the following ones I stopped taking notes. I got much more serious and didn’t want to distract myself.
This game was very one sided. I didn’t draw anything for the whole 6 turns, while Dominic was just bashing me with his full suite of red allies. There was a [Broderick Langforth], [Dreadsteed], [Hesriana], [Dethvir the Malignant] and Saurfang at the end. I was just helplessly casting Squall totems and tried to prevent some damage with [Azjol-anak Champion], which was eaten by the succubus pet. I got utterly crushed and never saw anything that could help me.
The game had a couple of good aspects though. One of them was a chat between Dominic, me and Stuart Wright. When I saw [Jeremiah Karvok] I turned to Stuart who was sitting to my right and asked with a smile “you know this deck, right?” Dominic interjected that it’s not Stuart’s version and that it’s more aggressive. After the game we both asked what he changed as the version really looked like a mirror of the original build.
“I added 1 more [Sava'gin the Reckless]” was Dominic’s reply as he burst into laughter.
3-1
Round 5 vs Gissler, Orian – [Turane Soulpact]
Orian was playing a bunny deck. It wasn’t a bad choice as not many players would expect it. Erik van der Laan and Jan Pałys also made this choice, which only proved it was right at a time. Orian also managed to win against Stuart Wright before he went into super VIP crushing mode.
This game was insane. The first important thing is that my version of the Spider Solitaire ran 4 copies of [Wind Shear], so I felt pretty much comfortable to draw one. Imagine my surprise, when after a mulligan I didn’t have any. It would no matter though as Orian got double [Unending Breath]. I was fortunate to go first and start with a Broderick. Turn 2 I bluffed a [Windshear], but my opponent happily played one of the Breaths from his hand, which entered play uninterrupted. On T3 I got [Azjol-Anak Champion] on board doing some damage with my Broderick and hero. T3 Orian gets [Swift Hawkstrider] on the table and passes. My T4 I get him to 20 points of damage and need to pass as well. The combo goes off at the end of my turn. After 15 minutes of watching I could not help but smile. Orian made 22 bunny tokens only and also got himself to 27 points of damage thanks to [Dr. Boom]. On his turn he tried to get more bunnies and he did get 2 or 3, but it was still not enough to flip-kill me. He had to attack, but I had a [Squall Totem] waiting for him. He didn’t have much choice so he played [Tol’zin] followed by the dragon queen [Alexstrasza the Life-Binder]. He finished his turn by discarding lots of cards.
Orian has asked me “Do you have an [Edge of Oblivion]?”. I didn’t have one, but I did have some other tricks. I attacked with [Azjol-Anak Champion] getting him to 33, then my Broderick did another 2 and I played [Calamity’s Grasp] discarding [Uruka the Cutthroat]. Orian cursed. He did have mounts in his hand instead of leaving just quests. 3 allies were enough to get him to a total of 40 damage, killing my first dragon for the day.
4-1
Round 6 vs Wasilowski, Cezary – [Zaritha]
A fight between teammates is always thrilling! And a feature match at that with Rich Hagon himself noting our moves. The game went very smooth for me and you can check it out here:
http://www.wowtcg.com/live-coverage/darkmoon-faire-pozna%C5%84-2011/round-6-marcin-filipowicz-vs-cezary-wasilowski
5-1
Round 7 vs Skali Lami, Jonas – [Zaritha]
Jonas had a sour expression when he sat in front of me. He was not happy with the deck. We are both aggro players and we mostly have fun by dealing damage. [Zaritha] is a bit of a boring deck to play for us and the last 5 rounds Jonas had always finished after the time was called.
I took a mulligan and drew into a ridiculous hand. It was ridiculously bad with 3 [All things in Good Time], 1 other quest and three 4 cost cards. I had nothing to play for the first 3 turns, but I was able to do a mini mulligan with the All Things quest. I did just that and only traded 4 drop cards for more 4 drop cards. I didn’t have much choice, so I made an indifferent expression and started placing my resources face up. Jonas was the one who won the roll by the way. I don’t exactly remember what happened, but I somehow won this game as well. It seems that even though I didn’t play anything T1 and T2, I did play [Grazzle Grubhook] on T3 and then started pushing with [Feral Spirit]and [Azjol-Anak Champion]. I managed to deal insane amounts of damage and get through Jonas’s [Weldon Barov] with a little help from [Squall Totem]. Some Wind Shears were involved as well, so the finale looked very similar to what I did against Bartosz Round 3.
6-1
Round 8 vs Hopfner, Jorg – [Zaritha]
When I saw another Zaritha I thought that I’m very lucky with my matchups. Another easy [Zaritha] to slay and I’m closer to the top 8. Jorg proved me wrong. He was everything but easy. Getting his [Tuskarr Kite] on the table T3 he easily overtook the field and extended his card advantage. He had so many options to stop my Spider and [Feral Spirit] that he sometimes didn’t even bother to draw a card from the Kite! I was again totally crushed, but the game was happening in a good mood. It was a pleasure to meet Jorg and play against him. He’s a great guy to joke with and he really played well.
6-2
Round 9 vs Sparr, Dirk – [Nicholas Merrick]
“The s*** just got real” as Jan Pałys said before the last round of EUCC. I couldn’t afford to lose any more games, so my back was totally against the wall. Who did I face in this time of struggle? Dirk! A friend from Germany who was running a [Deathwing the Destroyer] deck. Dirk was not only a God of Death and Destruction, he was also approaching me on the wings of revenge after a couple of losses from the previous tournaments. Fortunately for me I’ve seen enough to know where this was going. I mean, I’ve been watching Hans Hoh playing this deck all day long, while he was sitting on my left.
I don’t recall the exact plays that we made, but I was starting the game and Deathwing came on Turn 5 I guess. I did have some Brodericks to fight the dragon without sacrificing my resources and I did have 3 [Grazzle Grubhook] joining my army. A top decked Mikael from Dirk’s side threatened to clear my board and it did kill Grazzles, but it was too late to change anything as with such a powerful draw, I did get my Feral Spirit. 40 points of damage is not that much for the Spider Solitaire and the black dragon was dead soon enough.
I might as well write it here, but from the Spider player’s perspective this decks’ only weakness is its greatest power, which is playing [Deathwing the Destroyer]. While I can’t deal with [Blizzard]s and [Everlasting Cold] effectively, when the Master Hero hits the table I’m on the move and I have a good chance to win. I did exactly that while playing against Hans in the quarter finals. I saved all my strength till that one moment and waited for my chance to strike.
7-2
Round 10 vs Verwoerd, Jeffrey *VIP* - [Lord Benjamin Tremendouson]
The last game of the day was also a very heated one. We both had a 7-2 score, so there was no way for a truce. We had to play the game and decide who goes to the top8. Jeff had great tie-breakers as he’d started with a 7-0 score. He was running our own Tim Riviera’s [Death Wish] featuring [Sinestra] and [Shalug'doom, the Axe of Unmaking] combo. The deck was also running many different dragonkin allies, which were in great synergy with [Etched Dragonbone Girdle]. Overall the deck idea was awesome, but it still did one thing at a time.
I must admit that I had what I needed. The game was in my favor. I was on curve and did score some good Warmaul Champions. Even though Jeffrey did have his preparation armor T1, Girdle T2 and Greaves T3 I was steadily pushing with damage. I made a final push with [Edge of Oblivion] one turn before Jeff could kill me with his Sinestra – Shalug’doom combination. It was a very exciting game and it also was my revenge for losing the first game at the World Cup in Paris.
This win sealed the top 8 for me.
8-2
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Summary.
With regards to the other games I think that both Rich and Dave did an awesome job in picturing what happened on Sunday and all of it is featured here:
http://www.wowtcg.com/live-coverage/darkmoon-faire-pozna%C5%84-2011
Very soon you should also be able to watch some of the other games from the top 8 recorded by Mr Datune who is now in the process of tweaking and editing them.
I can just say that I was really lucky in all 3 top 8 games. I must also admit that the quarter finals against Hans were one of the hardest and most satisfying games that I’ve ever played. I live to play such games and I hope for many more in the future!
And now some fun facts from our trip to Poznan:
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I did slay 4 dragons total during the DMF doing 40 damage: 3 times to Deathwing and once to Alexstrasza. Still I wasn’t able to win against the real Alexstrasza deck on Thursday and got owned on turn 4.
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You may or may not know, but my nemesis was Tomas Kuchta. One of the best players in Czech Republic and an overall nice guy who totally owned my twice during the EUCC last year. I wanted to settle the score and I was finally given the chance on a Team Challenge event. Imagine my Team mates’ laughter when they noticed that fate had placed me and Tomas against each other. The game was fun and I won. Thank you so much Tomas for staying till the end and finishing that game with me.
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I played in 3 iPod drafts and didn’t get to the final game even once. I have a hardcore draft grinding plan for the next two months, so watch me flourish in Rotterdam!
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I won my first DMF with a Troll hero. Problem?
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One of my Team mates had been playing League of Legends all the time before the event. When we got to Poznan he continued to play League of Legends and ignored the iPod drafts. On the main event he did 0-3 drop and went to the hotel to guess what? Play more League of Legends. The only excuse I can find is that he was playing with his girlfriend, but it was so epic anyway! We now call him 0-3 LoL.
If you have any questions about the event, or if you think that I’ve missed something let me know on the forums. Till next time!
Yours trolly,
Gnimsh
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