Game commentary for the first M:TG game on 2002-02-05

Decks used:

Jae Rodgers
Utter Humiliation
Mike Burns
God
Billy Mueller
Nothing Deck
Nate Harkins
Elvish Township

Mike, much to his surprise, won the right to the first turn. This was a boring first turn; Mike played a Hickory Woodlot. Then, it was Jae's turn, during which he played a Plains. Billy went after Jae, also playing a Plains. Finally, Nate played a Vec Townships.

On his second turn, Mike played a Savannah, then tapped his Hickory Woodlot and Savannah to play Whetstone. Finally, he played a Shield Sphere. Jae's second turn consisted of a Swamp. Billy's second turn was a Mountain, then tapping both the Mountain and Plains to cast Arctic Foxes. Nate played a Plains.

For the third turn, Mike put a Hickory Woodlot next to the first. Jae played another Swamp then cast Braidwood Cup by tapping all his lands. Billy played nothing during his turn and Nate played Rushwood Grove. During Nate's turn, Billy cast Sonic Burst, targetting Nate.

Mike played a Savannah on his boring fourth turn. Jae played Reviving Dose then tapped his Braidwood Cup, brining his life up to 24. Billy played nothing but attacked Jae with his Arctic Foxes; Jae took the 1 point of damage. Nate played another Vec Townships.

During Mike's fifth turn, he tapped his other Hickory Woodlot and a Savannah to cast Moonlit Wake. Jae played another Braidwood Cup during his main phase, then tapped both for 2 life. Billy used his turn to hurt Mike: he played Swords to Plowshares on Mike's Shield Sphere, then attacked him with his Arctic Foxes. Mike took the one damage. Nate played a Plains during his turn.

Mike did nothing but draw on his next turn. Jae, on the other hand, played a Plains, which he then enchanted with Caribou Range. He is now tapped out with regards to lands, so he taps his two Cups for two more life and tells Billy to go. Billy draws, then, during his pre-combat main phase, casts Enlightened Tutor to top-deck Mask of Law and Grace. Following that, Mike took his attack from his Arctic Foxes. At the end of Billy's turn, Nate finally tapped his Rushwood Grove to put a counter on it. During Nate's turn, he played a Plains, which he immediately cast Renewal on to bring out a Forest.

A Worry Beads was put into play by Mike after he tapped and sacrificed his Hickory Woodlot. He grinned evilly and told Jae to go. During Jae's upkeep, he lost a Swamp. Jae played a Feldon's Cane, tapped both of his Cups for two last life gained, and finally ticked Mike off by playing Forsaken Wastes. Billy took his upkeep, losing one life thanks to Jae's Waste and also loses the Mask of Law and Grace that he Tutored for during his main phase the turn before. He played a Plains then cast a Sanctum Custodian. He attacks Mike with his Arctic Foxes, and Mike takes the one point of damage as usual. Nate lost his Freyalises Charm and one point of life during his upkeep. He played an Elvish Champion during his main phase.

The person with all the tricks up his sleeve (also the one writing this...) "lost" a Gaea's Blessing, causing him to shuffle his graveyard into his library. He then payed zero mana to cast Ornithopter, sacrificed his Hickory Woodlot for two green mana, tapped his two Savannahs for two white mana, and played Enduring Renewal. He revealed his hand, which contained a Balance that was discussed for some time.

After Mike got some very nice cards out, Jae lost a Forest and played Caltrops. Billy lost a Plains during his upkeep and was about to attack Mike, but was quickly reminded of Caltrops. Nate lost a Plains and another point of life during his upkeep. He played an Earthlore on a Plains he controlled, then played Hero's Resolve on his Elvish Champion, making it a 3/7.

Mike lost a Soul Net and one point of life during his upkeep, but did nothing during his main phase. Slacker. Jae lost a Forest but got an Humility, which he immediately played. This helped Mike the most, making his Ornithopter a 1/1 and weakening all opponents' creatures. Billy lost a Flame Jet to Worry Beads, but put into play Armored Pegasus. Nate lost a Forest, so he put a Plains into play and attacked Billy with his Elvish Champion. Billy took the two damage.

For his 11th turn, Mike did nothing after losing an Enduring Renewal. Jae flipped out when he lost a Multani's Decree. He played a Forsest, Caltrops, and put a Caribou token into play using his Caribou Range. Billy lost a Shock and almost played Tremble until he noticed the Balance in my open hand. Nate lost a Serra's Embrace. As an instant ability, Billy withdrew from the game. Nate played a Fyndhorn Elves and enchanted it with Hero's Resolve.

The upkeep phase cost Mike a Savannah, but he played another Moonlit Wake. Jae lost Reviving Dose during his upkeep, but played a Swamp and put another Caribou token into play. Nate lost to his graveyard a Skyshroud Elf. He put into play another Fyndhorn Elves and enchanted it with Conviction. He then lashed out onto society, attacking Jae with two Fyndhorn Elf and an Elvish Champion. Jae blocks the Fyndhorn Elf that is enchanted with Conviction with his Caribou token and takes four damage.

In the climax of the game, Mike lost a Shield Sphere but drew and played an Ashnod's Altar. To the Altar he sacrificed his Shield Sphere, putting it back into his hand thanks to Enduring Renewal. Next, he sacrificed his Hickory Woodlot for two green mana. He played the Shield Sphere again and repeated until he had a multiple of 3, plus one, colourless mana in his mana pool. As an instant, Nate withdrew from the game at this point. Mike used this mana to Whetstone everyone, causing their libraries to go into their graveyards. Mike had packed two Gaea's Blessings in his deck, though, so he had a nice, full library at the end of this while Jae didn't. To end his turn, he played Balance, leaving Jae with two lands and both with four cards in hand. Jae tried to hold on, activating his Jester's Cap before his turn. His excellent luck caused him to miss his Jester's Cap from Worry Beads. He played Dry Spell in one last feeble attempt, killing Mike's Ornithopter and, thus, putting it into his hand.

For Mike's last turn, he lost a Stream of Life, so he played his Ornithopter again and repeated the same combo. Jae died during his next turn.

Mike Burns <mike@mike-burns.com>