Anies (aka chatto) was so excited after Raging Bull that he decided to create a tournament report out of it. For a complete coverage & results of the tournament you can click here. Let’s hope we can meet all soon live again but for now please have a read below about his journey at RBS.
Last year, I wasn’t able to make it to Amsterdam, which was a shame. I heard a lot of good stories, so I was determined to join this year. However, Corona entered our live, and a lot of IRL tournaments were cancelled. Say it isn’t so, but unfortunately Richard had to cancel the IRL version of this year. But Richard had a backupplan, and yes! He then announces the online version, and of course I will join! Using Henk’s online tournaments during the early weeks of the lockdown, I play a couple of different decks, mainly using the colours Blue, White, and/ or Green. In the end I settle for Ernie on Ice, and had a good run with it.
I did however played that version with a Mox Ruby, as I didn’t had a Sapphire yet. So knowing that RBS Online was around the corner, I went hunting for that last Mox I needed, putting my Ruby up for trades. You can imagine I was thrilled when my friend Robbie had one Sapphire in his binder, and we could work out a trade! So now I have three on-colour Moxen, and my deck is ready for this year’s RBS Online:
As you can see, the deck plays fourteen creatures, of which the Birds of Paradise are just there for colourfixing (I still need two Tundra, and two Tropical Islands, but you play with what you got, right?). Eight 4cc creatures, and two 5cc creatures makes the curve pretty high. That’s why I think Ice Storm is best suited in this deck: playing on curve is just very good (I discussed this in the past with Joep, who is the first in our group to build and rock Ernie on Ice to some great results, but as far as I know he didn’t play Su-Chi) . But don’t you like Armageddon? I do, and I play Armageddon from time to time, but then my deck is more aggro-oriented. I think it’s a matter of playstyle really, and in the end both cards have their pro’s and cons. Another card I would like to mention is Spell Blast. Evert suggested Spell Blast, and how they performed! You counter 1cc and 2cc most of the time, and only needing one blue mana is a huge deal. Most of my opponents were caught off guard, and that’s precisely where I was aiming for.
To conclude, I am now aiming on the four Duals I mentioned before, and then probably save up for some other Blue Power cards or Dibs. But I’m in no hurry right now: the deck feels solid, and is a blast to play!
Anyway, back to RBS Online. 44 participants, that’s a lot for a one day tournament! As we were not able to gather in a pub, I bought enough beer, put them on ice , started my computer, and joined the livestream of Timmy the Sorcerer on Youtube. Richard made a online spreadsheet, and it was really easy to follow (even after a couple of beers lol). So I started the tournament. I didn’t take much notes, so if any of my opponents spot a hole in my story, please feel free to comment 😊
R1: Wouter Jansen, 2-0 (1-0), a beautiful brew dubbed Diamond Sphere
Wouter is a cool guy from Nijmegen, and I have the pleasure to play his brews before. I know from experience that those brews are no laughing stock. Seeing his first Wall makes me shiver: ‘not again’, but alas it is ‘yes, yet again’. I was correct to assume that Diamond Valley would enter the game as well. Fortunately, I can put enough pressure, and Swords to Plowshares on a 0/x wall literally paves the way. In game 2 Wouter plays a Disharmony on my attacking Su-Chi. Disharmony I only know by name, and have never seen it in a tournament, what a card! Luckily I can counter it with Spell Blast, because there was also a Diamond Valley in the game… From there on, I manage to seal the game.
R2: Eric Östman, 2-1 (2-0), Rg Atog Berserk
First game he is too fast. A Black Vise to start with, and then an Atog takes me from 14 to 5. He quickly finishes the game with burn. In both the second and third game he manages to squees out a Juggernaut in turn 2 or 3. Talking about putting pressure on the board! Fortunately I can handle the Juggernauts. Midgame is where I like to be with my deck, and drawing into Blue Elemental Blast and CoP: Red makes it much easier from there on. I control the board, and eventually manage to take the win.
R3: Robbert, 2-0 (3-0), URbg Atog
Robbert and I met before, and played some casual games at Magic United, the LGS in Rotterdam. First game is a puzzle, but my salvation are great creatures, despite a Black Vise T1. Siding almost the same as the previous round, it again turns out that Blue Elemental Blast and CoP: Red are pretty handy cards. That does not mean that game 2 is an easy victory: with two Dibs and three Atog, plus artifacts, I have to pay close attention to how I block and especially use mana. In my penultimate turn, I cast an Ernie to block, but also to attack on the backswing. That is, if I can keep my Ernie alive. In the last attack by Robbert I do repel the attack, but I lose my Ernie and a Birds of Paradise. However, the backswing is just enough. This was really fortunate, because I was low on life points.
R4: Jaap Brouwer, 1-0 (4-0), UWG Aggro.
I have never played Jaap before, but I know him by name: he was once an L5 Judge (one of two in Europe?). Besides that, he is a very cool guy to meet. Three Ice Storms and a Strip Mine give me a head start. Still it takes me almost 40-45 minutes to close out the first game, and what a game it was! It was admittedly unfair with so much mana-denial, but Jaap made it quite difficult for me … That Time Walk was a special one (you know what I mean, Jaap 😉) With just a few minutes left, we start game 2. Jaap immediately plays Savannah Lions, followed by Argotian Pixies. In the extra rounds I play Balance to take the pressure off, and as neither of us can win in two turns, I end up victorious.
R5: Lukas Baum, 0-2 (4-1) RGb Weenie
Like me, Lukas is blessed with a very understanding girlfriend, and like me he already drank a couple of beers. However, Lukas plays a very aggressive deck, and just went very fast: too fast for me to keep up. Mind Twist also joins in, and as expected all goes wrong. Game two, I take a mulligan (or two? I’m not entirely sure), but could in theory put some big creatures down. He then manages to play Mind Twist again. In the end I do have an Ernie in play, but it’s just not enough. My first loss of the day, but I’m still in a good position to make it to T8.
R6: Juan López Buzón, 2-0 (5-1), Pink Weenie
Juan and I met before at Wincon 2019, where we drank some beers and talked a bit. I believe his teammate bested me in the Top 16 of the Friday Tournament, but can’t really remember as I was pretty drunk. For today, Juan plays an unpowered deck, which is pretty cool if you ask me 😊 But seeing a Mountain during the first game makes me immediately fear a possible Blood Moon… Juan starts game one with a Black Vise, but I manage to empty my hand fast enough. After that, the pressure is gone. In the second game I turn two tap out for a Sylvan Library. I do have two Blue Elemental Blast in my hand, so I’m just hoping for the best. Juan takes the turn, drops a basic land, and plays Blood Moon. Damn, this will be hard. I take the turn, draw three and lo and behold! My newest jewel, the beautiful Mox Sapphire. Lucky me! I blow up his Blood Moon, and play a Birds of Paradise, so to be sure to have a mana-fix if needed. After that I play some fatties, and seal the game. Top 8 is secured, yeah! Fortunately for Juan, he also makes top 8 😊 After the round, Juan presents me with a beautiful badge and a handdrawn Rukh-token. He will take it to Erwin Demmer’s DW-Cup, so let’s hope Demmer isn’t too drunk and remembers to sent it my way, as it looks like I’m not able to join the fun 😉
Quarter Finals: Audun Døssland, 1-2 (5-2), UR Ali from Cairo
First game I see little of his deck, and thus win with some big creatures. Second game he has a very nice lock with Ali and Spectral Cloak (if I’m not mistaken), so I can’t target it. While he is on one life, he takes no damage of his Dib. Audun then proceeds to bash my head in. Third game I don’t find anything, unfortunately. Even if I could find my only out, which would be a Balance, he had enough mana to support counter-backup. Two Dibs are just too much to handle, and I lose horribly.
And so ends my streak, defeated in the Quarter Finals. But boy oh boy, how I enjoyed the whole day 😊 It was nice meeting all my opponents, and we played some good games! I would also like to thank Richard for a superb online tournament: let’s hope the next one will be IRL, because nothing beats slinging cardboard in a pub! Last but not least, I’m grateful my beautiful redhead was okay with me getting drunk on the attic lol.
