Mirrodin Besieged Prerelease Information

The Mirrodin Besieged Prerelease events will take place this weekend, January 29 and 30. There will be no on-site FITSSFF event this weekend to encourage people to attend the Pre-Releases. However, if you can, please try to schedule your Prerelease attendance around Open Game Day, which is also on January 29 throughout the day.

For those of you who have never played in a Prerelease event before, it is a special event where you can play in Limited events with cards from the new set a week before it is officially released. Additionally, you will have the opportunity to receive league points and a foil promo alternate-art mythic rare from the next set.

Normally, there is only one Prerelease promo, but this time there are two. The one you get is dependent on the faction you choose before the event starts. If you choose the Mirran faction, you will get a promo Hero of Bladehold (and your Mirrodin Besieged packs will be aligned with the Mirrans), and if you choose the Phyrexian faction, you will get a promo Glissa, the Traitor (and you will get Phyrexian-aligned Besieged packs).

I have decided to award more League Points this time for attending events, since there has been some League Point "inflation" due to the increased attendance at events. You will receive 2 points for the first event you attend at each store, and 1 additional point for attending another event at the same store. So, you will still be rewarded for supporting multiple stores in our area, but you will also receive more points for attending even just one event. The schedule of events for each store is as follows:

Wizard's Wall:

Saturday, January 29 @ Noon: $10 Unhinged Draft (this is just for fun, nothing to do with Besieged, but I'll still give you points for going)

Saturday, January 29 @ 5 P.M: $25 Sealed

Sunday, January 30 @ Noon: $25 Sealed

Dogs of War:

Friday, January 28 @ Midnight: $25 Sealed

Saturday, January 29 @ 1 & 4 P.M.: $12 Draft*

Saturday, January 29 @ 7:30 P.M.: $25 Sealed

Sunday, January 30 @ Noon: $12 Draft*

Sunday, January 30 @ 4 P.M.: $25 Sealed

Get Your Fun On:

Friday, January 28 @ Midnight: $25 Sealed

Saturday, January 29 @ Noon: $25 Sealed

Saturday, January 29 @ 3 & 7 P.M.: $12 Draft

Sunday, January 30 @ 3 P.M.: $25 Sealed

Sunday, January 30 @ 7 P.M.: $12 Draft

*Dogs of War is not giving out promo cards for participating in drafts.

To get credit for attending events, ask the tournament organizer for the FITSSFF Sign-In sheet. They should be at each of the three stores for the weekend. After the weekend is over, I will collect these sheets and award points based on the names that appear on them. Therefore, if you do not sign in, you will not receive league points for attending these events, so make sure you do so. I will remind the tournament organizers at each location to offer the sheet to you before the event starts, but you should take the responsibility upon yourself in case they forget.

If you have any questions about the Prerelease, feel free to call or email me and I'll do my best to help you out. After Prerelease weekend, I'll post FITSSFF events for February. I can tell you that the first weekend of February will be the format that everyone but me seems to enjoy: Two-Headed Giant Sealed. I'll post everything else in a few days. Have a great week and good luck at the Prereleases!

- Dom

Standard Event Recap - Swiss Rounds

On the weekend following the largest constructed event in over two years, nobody really knew what to expect next. Would as many people come this week? Would poison finally have its breakthrough weekend? Would justice be dispensed? Would we have to call security again because nobody unlocked the second floor of the SUB? Would Brett Favre unretire and sign with the Dolphins? Many of these questions were about to be answered as the Standard event began to unfold.

Following a 25-player turnout for Extended, I was thrilled to see just one fewer player arrive for Standard, giving us a second consecutive event requiring 5 rounds of Swiss. We were nearly two players fewer than the previous event, but at the last second newly elected FITSSFF President and one of the top players from last semester, Haren Lalchand, decided to enter his first event of the spring just to give us an even number. However, as seems to routinely happen to people that enter at the last second, Haren started the event hot with two 2-0 wins, including a second round event over yours truly, handing my RUG deck its first loss in its last three tournaments.

A couple other players were making some noise. After spending the week testing a blue/black control deck, Michael Smith returned from his previous weekend's absence with a deck that caught many people off guard - Grixis Vampires, featuring the best black Vampires and utility cards from blue and red, including Mana Leak, Lightning Bolt, and the boogey-man himself, Jace the Mind Sculptor. Not to be forgotten, the previous week's winner, Jason D'Mellow, was still wielding Elves with success, and also was high on the leaderboard early.

Some new faces found their way up the ranks in the third round, including one player who made a 180 degree turnaround from the previous week. Kevin Hoover finished dead last among the 25 players in last week's event, but with his re-worked his poison/proliferate deck, he became the first person in 11 rounds of Magic to solve Jason's Elf deck. Joining him and Michael Smith at 3-0 was Noah Senzel, piloting a green/white deck featuring a variety of token generators including Garruk, Elspeth Tirel, and Kazandu Tuskcaller. Just behind them at 2-0-1 was Hannah Sharp, who was playing in her first FITSSFF event with a derivative of the prolific Quest White Weenie deck that splashed red for Cunning Sparkmage, a creature that combos extremely well with the Basilisk Collar already played in the deck.

Going into round four, a variety of players were left jockeying for position to try to crack the elusive top 8. Still within striking distance entering the fourth round of play were eight other players, including Roy Mustang, with a mono-black version of Vampires; Scott Record, with green/white landfall; and Kevin Crowley, playing proliferate control. Several other players sat at 1-2, still mathematically alive, but in need of some draws and other help from the group above them.

However, that help was not to be found. Some tight fourth round matches vaulted several players from the middle of the pack to a group at 9 points, including John Kreinbring's mono-white Aura deck, employing some unloved rares (such as Umbra Mystic and Kor Spiritdancer) and the often-forgotten Totem Armor mechanic from Rise of the Eldrazi, and Michael Carney's blue/white token control deck featuring Emeria Angel and Elspeth Tirel. I also managed to pull out a fourth round win to move to 3-1.

Following the fourth round, exactly eight players were sitting on 9 points or more, meaning that they could all intentionally draw in round five to make the top 8. However, the remaining players showed their Magic pride and duked out a fifth round for pride and the extra League Points that they might be able to earn with an extra win. Two players stood out from this group in the final standings - Dane Newton ended up 3-2 and in ninth place with his Shape Anew combo deck, which promises to become even better with the upcoming release of Blightsteel Colossus. Also having a pretty good day was Michael Cambata, whose blue/white control deck was very resilient on the day, but unfortunately was routinely battling the time limit, finishing 2-1-2 on the day.

With that, the top 8 was set, and food plans were set shortly afterwards. The top 8 players in the Swiss were Hannah, Michael Smith, Kevin Hoover, Noah, John, Jason, Michael Carney, and myself, and we prepared to do single elimination battle after completing the quest for foods...

Feature Match - Quarterfinal #1: Dominic Casali vs. Hannah Sharp

Much thanks to Skye Kutner for doing the coverage for this match and helping me cope with the awkwardness of writing about myself in the third person.

The first feature match of the Top 8 involved FITSSFF Magic's wonderful, caring, responsible, organized, knowledgeable, and obviously exceptionally humble tournament organizer himself, piloting his trademark red/blue/green Titan ramp deck. His opponent, however, was no slouch, as Hannah Sharp had proven herself more than deserving of finishing atop the Swiss standings, being the only player to go undefeated in the early rounds, having rattled off four consecutive wins following an opening round draw. Her weapon of choice? The relentless white aggro deck featuring Quest for the Holy Relic and Argentum Armor, with the slightest touch of red for access to the Cunning Sparkmage/Basilisk Collar removal package.

Dom won the roll, and excitedly chose to play first after lamenting his previous string of lost die rolls during the Swiss rounds. Both players kept their starting hands, and after Dom rearranged his top cards with a Halimar Depths, Hannah started off with a trademark first turn play - Quest for the Holy Relic. Dom had a second-turn Lotus Cobra, but Hannah was able to cast three creatures on her second turn - two Ornithopters and a Stoneforge Mystic, which fetched up a Basilisk Collar.

Dom needed a quick answer to the Quest, but he had it on his third turn, using a Scalding Tarn to find an Island and float two green mana off of the two landfall triggers (19-20). He then tapped his three lands and cast Acidic Slime to destroy the Quest. He then passed the turn, not wanting to offer a trade of his mana-producing Snake. However, Hannah gave him no choice in the matter, using Arid Mesa to fetch a Mountain (19-19) and cast Cunning Sparkmage, whose haste allowed Hannah to dispose of the Lotus Cobra before Dom could untap.

The loss of the Lotus Cobra stunted Dom's development, but he tried to recover by casting an Oracle of Mul Daya. However, the Oracle came up empty, revealing a Preordain, and all he could do was attack with his deathtouching Ooze, who was chump-blocked by an Ornithopter. Hannah then used her turn to play and equip Cunning Sparkmage with the Basilisk Collar, who shot down the Oracle, and attacked in with her Stoneforge Mystic (18-19).

Dom fought back, using a Misty Rainforest (17-19) to find a second green source, which he used to cast another Acidic Slime, this time destroying the Basilisk Collar. He bashed in with the first Slime, which took down the remaining Ornithopter. Not to be outdone, Hannah cast a second Sparkmage, and used both of them together to destroy an Acidic Slime. She then cast Kor Skyfisher, bouncing and replaying a Plains, and attacked in with her Mystic (16-19).

Dom began his next turn with a Preordain, filtering his draws to try to find a game-ending threat that he was nearing the right amount of mana to cast. He then used a Lightning Bolt to dispatch the Skyfisher and attacked again with Acidic Slime, who connected this time (16-17). In his second main phase, he played Jace, the Mind Sculptor, and used the planeswalker's second ability to Brainstorm.

Hannah reinforced her field with another Skyfisher and a Memnite, and used her Sparkmages and Stoneforge Mystic to take down Jace. However, Dom had the trump card on his following turn, an Avenger of Zendikar, who created seven 0/1 Plant tokens. They all immediately became 1/2's after Dom laid down a Copperline Gorge. Hannah had little further action on her turn, attacking with the Skyfisher (14-17) and then passing.

On his next turn, Dom had a Halimar Depths on his turn to make the Plants into 2/3's. Hannah responded to the Avenger's landfall trigger by using her Sparkmages to take down a Plant token, leaving six plants and the Avenger himself. However, Dom had Lightning Bolts to dispatch the two remaining blockers (Stoneforge Mystic and Memnite), and had exactly 17 damage upon turning Avenger and friends sideways (14-0).

Dominic Casali 1, Hannah Sharp 0

Both players did some sideboarding, and after some shuffling they were on to the second game. Hannah was happy with her starting hand, but Dom immediately sent it back. His six-card hand was at least considerable, but after a long, pensive stare at the six, he again sent it back, eventually keeping his five-card hand.

Hannah started off strong, playing a Memnite and then returning it to her hand to cast a first turn Glint Hawk. The hawk bashed in for 2 (18-20), and was soon joined by a Kor Skyfisher, who bounced the same Memnite back to Hannah's hand. Dom played a Scalding Tarn on his turn and passed. Hannah sent both her creatures into the red zone (14-20), and then played two more creatures: a Kor Duelist and a Stoneforge Mystic, who this time searched up a Sword of Body and Mind.

Dom finally had to take action to prevent being overwhelmed by the white creature swarm. He used his Scalding Tarn to find an Island (13-20), and it joined the Mountain on his side of the table. He then cast Pyroclasm, which brought all of Hannah's assault but the Kor Skyfisher to a fiery halt, but did miss his third land drop. Hannah continued her aggro strategy, bashing with the Skyfisher (11-20) and casting the Sword of Body and Mind.

Dom found a Preordain atop his library, and used it to find a Misty Rainforest before passing the turn back. Hannah had a burn-resistant creature in the form of Kor Firewalker, and also had enough mana to equip the Skyfisher with the Sword. Dom used his Rainforest to find a basic Forest (10-20), and then cast a Nature's Claim to destroy the Sword (10-24). However, he had no answer to the Skyfisher itself, so he still took two damage from its attack (8-24).

Dom was running out of time and needed to get back in the game quickly. However, the top of his deck only provided a Raging Ravine, whose tapped entrance to the battlefield stranded his two four-mana spells in hand. Hannah attacked with both of her creatures (4-24), and also cast a Squadron Hawk. Dom had a Mana Leak for the Hawk, but when the top of his deck did not provide any refuge from the lethal damage sitting across the table, he conceded the game.

Dominic Casali 1, Hannah Sharp 1

Dom chose to play first and kept his starting hand for the final game, but this time Hannah had to mulligan to six. Dom led off with a Halimar Depths, rearranging his top 3 cards, while Hannah had a first-turn Memnite. Dom then used a Scalding Tarn to find a Mountain (19-20) and used a Mana Leak when Hannah attempted a Stoneforge Mystic. She sent the Memnite into the red zone (18-20) and passed the turn back.

Dom Preordained on his turn and kept both cards, drawing and playing a Forest before passing. Hannah spent her turn casting a Glint Hawk, bouncing the Memnite and keeping it in hand for the time being. Dom used another Preordain on his next turn, played another land, and again had no play. Hannah found a Mountain with Arid Mesa (18-19) attacked with the Glint Hawk (16-19), then played Kor Firewalker and Memnite before passing back.

With three creatures across from his empty board, Dom needed to take action soon. He used his turn to cast Jace, the Mind Sculptor and Brainstorm, passing back with one mana open. Hannah then attacked Jace with the Glint Hawk and Memnite while attacking Dom with the Firewalker. A Lightning Bolt dealt with the Glint Hawk, sending Jace to 2 loyalty (14-19). Hannah cast a Sword of Body and Mind and passed the turn.

Dom first put Jace down to 1 loyalty to bounce Kor Firewalker. He then used a Misty Rainforest (13-19) to find a sixth mana source, and then cast an Inferno Titan, destroying Memnite and burning Hannah for 2 (13-17). Hannah replayed the Kor Firewalker, but had to pass back, not having enough mana to equip the Sword to her Kor.

Dom went for a swim in the think-tank, finally concluding that his best line of play was to sacrifice Jace to bounce the Firewalker again, as allowing a creature with protection from red to also gain protection from blue and green seemed extremely dangerous for the RUG deck. He then used his two red sources to pump Inferno Titan to an 8/6, and attacked, dealing 3 more to his opponent for a total of 11 damage (13-6). He cast a Lotus Cobra and passed.

Still stuck on three lands, Hannah decided to cast a Kor Duelist and equip the Sword. This actually allowed the Duelist to trade with Inferno Titan on its next swing, but when the Titan attacked, Dom used all three points of his Inferno Titan's attack-triggered Arc Lightning ability directly on Hannah (13-3). The Inferno Titan fell, but the Lightning Bolt in Dom's hand was just enough to finish the job (13-0) and send him to the semifinals.

Dominic Casali 2, Hannah Sharp 1

Feature Match - Quarterfinal #2: John Kreinbring vs. Noah Senzel

Much thanks to Chris Pear for contributing to coverage of this match.

Both John Kreinbring and Noah Senzel have become regular fixtures of the FITSSFF Magic community, and both have gone about it in the same way, primarily playing green and white on the way to most of their successes. Each of them put together a solid day in the Swiss rounds to go 3-1-1 and reach the top 8 - John playing a mono-white Aura brew and Noah playing a green/white aggro deck centered around tokens. John won the roll and kept his opening seven, while Noah was not satisfied with his opening hand and mulliganed down to 6.

John opened on Emeria, the Sky Ruin, an innocuous play this early but something that could become quite relevant should the game go long. He also had the first spell of the game with a turn 2 Kazandu Blademaster. Noah spent his second turn summoning a creature from the same region of Zendikar: the fragile but powerful Kazandu Tuskcaller. John drew first blood with an attack from the Blademaster (20-18) and then summoned an Umbra Mystic, while Noah had no play but to level his Tuskcaller to 1.

John pushed on the offensive, casting Hyena Umbra on his Umbra Mystic and attacking with both (20-13). Noah again was satisfied to level his Tuskcaller, but this time he got a 3/3 Elephant out of it, as his Tuskcaller had reached level 2. John attacked with his Umbra Mystic, and Noah blocked with his Elephant, effectively trading it for the Hyena Umbra, as its Totem Armor ability prevented the Mystic from being destroyed. John then cast a Totem-Guide Hartebeest, searching up a potentially threatening Armored Ascension.

Noah tried to gain some advantage on the land front, casting Oracle of Mul Daya, which succeeded as he found a Forest on the top of his library. He then used the Tuskcaller to make another Elephant and passed the turn. John then cast his Armored Ascension on the Blademaster, giving it +4/+4 and flying thanks to the four Plains he controlled, and attacked with both of his creatures. Noah blocked the Hartebeest with his Elephant, but still took 8 damage between the Blademaster and Umbra Mystic (20-5). He found no help on top of his library and promptly conceded.

John Kreinbring 1, Noah Senzel 0

In the second game, both players switched play and mulligan, as Noah chose to play first and kept his starting seven, while John had to mulligan to six. Noah started off with a first turn Llanowar Elf, and it hit the red zone on turn two (19-20), while a Stirring Wildwood joined Noah's Forest in the land zone. Noah continued to apply pressure while John had no turn 2 plays, casting an Oracle of Mul Daya and finding a second Stirring Wildwood on top of his library.

John continued to play lands and pass, and Noah kept the beats coming with his Oracle and Llanowar Elf (16-20). He added three 1/1 Soldier tokens to his field by casting Elspeth Tirel and using her -2 ability. John finally had a play on turn 4 that made it quite clear while he hadn't played any creatures yet: a Day of Judgment, clearing Noah's field except for his planeswalker.

Noah rebuilt his field on the following turn, casting a Kazandu Tuskcaller and leveling it to 1 as well as sacrificing Elspeth to make three more Soldiers. John's retort was a Totem-Guide Hartebeest, which fetched a Celestial Mantle from John's library. However, Noah had an answer in the form of Journey to Nowhere, and swung in with his team of 1/1's (12-20).

John went back to work with a Kor Spiritdancer, which he immediately enchanted with Nimbus Wings and Hyena Umbra, making the Spiritdancer a fearsome creature and drawing a card off of each Aura. Noah leveled his Tuskcaller to 2 and used it to make a 3/3 Elephant, then he answered the Nimbus Wings with a Naturalize, bringing the Spiritdancer back to Earth.

However, the Spiritdancer was determined to evade Noah's blockers, and it immediately took to the skies again courtesy of an Armored Ascension, suddenly taking out over half of Noah's life total (12-9). Noah knew he had to act to find a solution quickly or his tournament would be over. He carefully counted up his mana and creatures, did some math, and then went all in. He had just enough mana to animate both of his Stirring Wildwoods and attack with them, the Elephant, and the three Soldiers to represent exactly twelve damage. John had no answers and they were on to the rubber game.

John Kreinbring 1, Noah Senzel 1

The mulligan pendulum swung back for game 3, as John played first and kept seven while Noah went down to six. John led with Emeria, the Sky Ruin while Noah had a first turn Birds of Paradise. John's first creature was a Serra Ascendant, passing back to Noah. Noah used his mana acceleration to cast a second-turn Beastmaster Ascension, and passed the turn back.

John cast Nimbus Wings on his Serra Ascendant and sent his flying lifelinker into the red zone (22-18). Noah had no play on the following turn but to attack for zero with his Birds, putting a counter on Beastmaster Ascension. John swung in with his Serra Ascendant again, but Noah had a Naturalize waiting for the Nimbus Wings, so he cut the incoming damage in half (23-17).

The field appeared to be heavily undeveloped, but things soon turned from benign to ominous as Noah cast Conqueror's Pledge, making six 1/1 Soldier tokens and suddenly threatening a swift resolution of his quest enchantment. John needed a Day of Judgment or way to remove the Beastmaster Ascension, and after deciding to take no action on his turn, it seemed like he had neither. Noah attacked, hoping this was the case, and found out that John had no answer to his creatures or his enchantment. His seven attacking creatures (6 tokens plus Birds) activated the Ascension, and Noah's army of now-6/6's moved him on to the semifinals.

Noah Senzel 2, John Kreinbring 1

Feature Match - Quarterfinal #3: Michael Smith vs. Michael Carney

Much thanks to Alex Siphom Chi for contributing to coverage of this match.

Michael Smith and Michael Carney have become quite familiar opponents in previous events, but both were adjusting to an interesting role reversal in this event. Normally a burn or control player, Smith was being the beatdown on this day, brandishing a Grixis Vampires deck that had been dominating opponents throughout the Swiss and led him easily into the top 8. On the other hand, Carney, who had won two previous Standard events with aggro, was playing a blue/white token control deck with Elspeth Tirel as it's lynchpin. Carney's road to the top 8 was a bit more arduous, but he managed to advance to the playoff rounds at a 3-1-1 mark.

Smith won the roll, and both players took a mulligan before keeping their six-card hands. Smith led with a Duress, which removed Jace Beleren from Carney's hand. Smith followed up with a Pulse Tracker, the first creature of the match, and it got in for two damage on the following turn (20-18). Carney put out a Wall of Omens to slow the bleeding, but though Wall of Omens could block it easily, Pulse Tracker still got a point of damage through upon attacking (20-17).

Smith then went for some card advantage, casting Jace, the Mind Sculptor and using his second ability to "Brainstorm," drawing three cards and then putting two cards from his hand on top of his library. Carney had no plays on his next turn, allowing Smith to Brainstorm again and then cast Kalastria Highborn. Pulse tracker again got blocked by Wall of Omens but got a point of damage through thanks to his ability (20-16).

Carney continued to whiff, doing nothing but play lands, and Smith was content to continue Brainstorming. He then sent Pulse Tracker and Kalastria Highborn into the red zone. The Highborn got Condemned, and Pulse Tracker was blocked by the Wall yet again (22-15). Carney cast a Preordain on his next turn and put out a Celestial Colonnade that maybe could deal with Jace later on.

Smith played a second Pulse Tracker and then attacked again with the first one, but this time it got Condemned (23-14). Carney finally went for a big play, tapping out for a Wurmcoil Engine, but it was met by a Mana Leak from Smith. Smith then went on the offensive, casting a second Kalastria Highborn and an Inquisition of Kozilek, which took Negate from Carney's hand. He then attacked yet again with his Pulse Tracker, who was unsurprisingly blocked by Wall of Omens as the players continued their quest to see how many times the same attack and block can occur in the same game (23-13).

Carney animated his Celestial Colonnade and used it to finally take out Jace, but found his postcombat Wall of Omens countered by a Mana Leak. Smith animated his own man-land, a Creeping Tar Pit, and attacked with it, Pulse Tracker, and Kalastria Highborn. Wall of Omens was overjoyed to get to block something other than Pulse Tracker, but despite preventing the damage from the Highborn, he still took 5 points of damage from the attack (23-8).

Needing a way out, Carney cast a Day of Judgment, which dealt with the field but allowed Smith to drain 4 life from him with two activations of his Highborn (27-4). With his opponent now in range of lethal damage, Smith animated his Tar Pit again and attacked for 3 (27-1). "Bolt?" he asked, finally showing what the red in his deck was for, and when Carney had no counter, it was on to the second game.

Michael Smith 1, Michael Carney 0

Carney chose to play first, and both players kept their opening seven this time. Smith had the first play of the game with a Vampire Lacerator, who dealt Smith a point of damage on his next turn, but successfully got into the red zone (19-18), and this was repeated again on turn 3 (18-16). On his fourth turn, Carney cast a Wall of Omens to stop the Lacerator, which again pinged Smith on his upkeep (17-16).

With Carney sitting on just one untapped land, Smith attempted to resolve Jace, the Mind Sculptor, but had it countered by a Spell Pierce. Carney then cast a planeswalker of his own, Elspeth Tirel, and used her -2 ability to make three 1/1 Soldier tokens. After another ping from Lacerator (16-16), Smith animated his Creeping Tar Pit and used it to take down Elspeth. Carney was content to pass on his next turn, giving the turn back to Smith, who took another point from his Lacerator (15-16).

Smith cast a Bloodghast and a Pulse Tracker on his turn, but Bloodghast was quickly disposed of with a Journey to Nowhere. Smith attempted to add more to his board on the following turn (14-16) by casting a Kalastria Highborn. He then attacked with Lacerator and Pulse Tracker (14-15). Lacerator was stopped by Wall of Omens, while Pulse Tracker traded with a Soldier token. Smith used the Highborn's ability to drain 2 life upon his Pulse Tracker's death (16-13).

Carney continued to embrace his control strategy by playing draw-go, and on his next turn (15-13), Smith decided to animate his Tar Pit and attack, trying to get his opponent to 10 to stop the constant Lacerator damage, but it was Condemned (17-13). Carney finally decided to go on the offensive, attacking Smith with his Celestial Colonnade (13-13). After taking another point from Lacerator (12-13), Smith attacked with Highborn, Lacerator, and a second Tar Pit.

Carney went into the tank on how to block, eventually choosing to Condemn the Tar Pit, block Lacerator with Wall, and trade his two remaining soldier tokens for the Highborn, who drained two more life upon its death (16-11). Carney attacked again with Colonnade (12-11), and Smith took another point from Lacerator at his upkeep (11-11). Smith animated yet another man-land, this time a Lavaclaw Reaches, but it soon met its end from Carney's Tectonic Edge. Smith cast a Pulse Tracker and passed.

Carney cast a Jace Beleren on his turn, using his -1 ability to draw a card, and then passed back. Smith took his point of damage (10-11) and then cast Memoricide, which was promptly countered by a Mana Leak. Smith attacked Jace with Lacerator and Pulse Tracker (10-10). Wall of Omens blocked Lacerator and Jace went down to 1 loyalty. Carney used that last loyalty to draw another card, put down a Mystifying Maze, and cleared the field with a Day of Judgment.

Smith finally found a threatening creature in the form of Wurmcoil Engine, but Carney attacked back through the air with his Colonnade (6-10). On his next turn, Smith used a Scalding Tarn to find a land (5-10), animated a second Lavaclaw Reaches, and attacked with both. Mystifying Maze took Wurmcoil Engine out of the picture, but Carney had no answer to the Reaches, which Smith pumped 3 times (5-5). Carney had no play on his next turn.

Smith animated the Reaches again and made the same attack. Carney again used Mystifying Maze to stop Wurmcoil Engine's attack, and this time used his Colonnade on defense to trade with the Reaches, who Smith pumped to 4 power to ensure the trade. Smith cast a Vampire Lacerator and passed the turn.

Searching for answers, Carney played a Preordain, and found a Journey to Nowhere to exile the Wurmcoil Engine. He then passed the turn, needing enough mana available to activate his Maze. Smith drew Inquisition of Kozilek, and used it to take Jace Beleren from Carney's hand. He then played an unkicked Gatekeeper of Malakir and passed. Carney had nothing to play on his next turn. Smith attacked with both of his 2/2's, and Carney used his Maze to stop one of them (5-3), but when Smith revealed a Lightning Bolt, Carney had no counter and Smith was on to the semifinals (5-0).

Michael Smith 2, Michael Carney 0

Feature Match - Semifinal #1: Michael Smith vs. Jason D'Mellow

Much thanks to Chris Pear for contributing to the coverage of this match.

This semifinal featured two accomplished players playing fast aggro decks, with Jason D'Mellow running mono-green Elves and Michael Smith playing Grixis Vampires. Michael won the roll and chose to play first, and both players kept their opening hands.

Both players started quickly, Michael with a Vampire Lacerator and Jason with a Llanowar Elves. Michael took one from his creature (19-20) and then attacked unblocked (19-18). Jason attempted a second turn Elvish Archdruid, but it was Mana Leaked by Michael. After taking another point from Lacerator (18-18), Michael attacked it through again (18-16) and cast a Kalastria Highborn.

Jason spent his third turn casting Nissa Revane and using her +1 ability to search for a Nissa's Chosen. After another ping (17-16), Michael cast a Bloodghast and another Lacerator, but his assault was currently halted by the 2/3 on the other side of the table. On his turn, Jason fetched another Nissa's Chosen, putting her to 4 loyalty, and cast Elvish Archdruid and Arbor Elf.

Now taking two pings (15-16), Michael attacked Nissa to 1 with his Creeping Tar Pit and passed. Jason put Nissa Revane up to 2, finding a third Nissa's Chosen from his library. With his large amount of Elves, he had enough mana to cast both an Asceticism and a kicked Mold Shambler to destroy the Creeping Tar Pit. After taking 2 more at his upkeep (13-16), Michael attacked with the Bloodghast, used the Highborn's ability after it was blocked (15-14), and returned it to play with a land, and then played a second Bloodghast.

Michael had prepared a potential path to victory down the line, but Jason had a much quicker plan in mind. He played an Arbor Elf, and then tapped his Archdruid for 8 mana. He used 3 of it to cast Ezuri, Renegade Leader, and then used the remaining 5 to activate his second ability, giving all of his Elves +3/+3 and trample until end of turn. After doing some math, Michael realized that a full swing would be lethal and thus conceded the first game.

Jason D'Mellow 1, Michael Smith 0

Both players kept their 7 card hands again, and Michael started off game 2 with a Lavaclaw Reaches. Jason had a first turn Arbor Elf, but it soon met its end to a Burst Lightning, and the stunted mana development caused Jason to miss his second turn play. Michael had a Bloodghast on turn 3, while Jason had an Elvish Archdruid across the table.

Michael had a Lightning Bolt to remove the Archdruid, and attacked in with his Bloodghast (20-18). Jason, however, had a second Archdruid to replace the first one. Michael got in again with Bloodghast (20-16) and then cast Jace, the Mind Sculptor, using his third ability to return the Archdruid to Jason's hand. Jason spent his next turn casting Asceticism to prevent future burn and bounce effects on his creatures.

Michael used his turn to Brainstorm with Jace, keeping him at 2 loyalty, and used a Scalding Tarn to grab a Mountain and shuffle away the two unwanted cards from the Brainstorm (19-16). He then attacked again with Bloodghast, who connected again since Jason's field was empty (19-14), and played a second one. Jason rebuilt his field with another Archdruid and a Fauna Shaman.

Michael attacked with both Bloodghasts, one of which was destroyed by a 3/3 blocking Fauna Shaman while the other got through (19-12). Michael then used Jace to Brainstorm and cast a kicked Gatekeeper of Malakir, causing Jason to Sacrifice his Fauna Shaman. Jason came back with a big turn, however, as he cast Ezuri, Renegade Leader, Ezuri's Archers, Fauna Shaman, and Nissa Revane, using her second ability to gain 2 life for each of the 4 Elves in play (19-20).

Michael again used Jace to Brainstorm. He then played a Kalastria Highborn, attacked his 2 Bloodghasts into blockers, and used the Highborn's ability twice (23-16), then returning the Bloodghasts to play with a land. Jason cast another Archdruid and another Ezuri's Archer's on his turn, as well as using Nissa to search up a Chosen.

Michael repeated his previous turn, using a Brainstorm with Jace, attacking his Bloodghasts into blockers, and using the life drain from Kalastria Highborn (27-12) before returning his Bloodghasts by playing a land. However, Jason had bigger plans for his next turn, using Nissa Revane to find another Nissa's Chosen, then using his Fauna Shaman to search up everybody's favorite 15-drop: Emrakul, the I Win Lols. With two Archdruids in play, Jason had enough mana to cast Emrakul immediately, prompting a concession from Michael.

Jason D'Mellow 2, Michael Smith 0

Feature Match - Semifinal #2: Dominic Casali vs. Noah Senzel

Much thanks to Skye Kutner and Alex Siphom Chi for contributing to the coverage of this match.

After a close call with the Quest deck, Dom's RUG deck had advanced to the semifinals. His opponent was Noah Senzel, whose close Beastmaster Ascension-fueled victory over John Kreinbring had also secured him a spot in the top 4 with his GW Tokens deck. Dom won the roll, chose to play first, and kept his starting hand, while Noah needed a mulligan to six before keeping.

Dom led with a Misty Rainforest, though he didn't crack it immediately, while Noah started with a Forest and a Basilisk Collar. "Not that card again," Dom sighed. He played a second Rainforest, cracked both of them (18-20), and cast Lotus Cobra off of his fetched Island and Forest. Noah spent his second turn casting one of his deck's stalwarts - Kazandu Tuskcaller.

However, Dom was not in the mood to face down Elephants, so he played yet another Misty Rainforest and floated a red mana with his Cobra. He used this mana to Lightning Bolt the Tuskcaller, managing to cast the red instant despite not controlling a red land courtesy of his landfall Snake. Dom then popped the Misty Rainforest (17-20), found a second forest, and floated a blue mana. "You obviously know what's coming..." Dom teased, then surprising Noah and the onlookers by casting an Oracle of Mul Daya - not the Jace everyone in the room was looking for. He played a Raging Ravine from atop his library, beat down with his Cobra (17-18), and shipped the turn..

Noah used his next turn to cast Sylvan Ranger, finding a Forest from his library. Dom then spent his turn casting a chain of Preordains and Explores, hoping to find a fifth land and second blue source, but his quest failed despite filtering through seven cards. He attacked with Oracle (17-16) and passed back. However, Noah had little more to play on his turn, equipping Sylvan Ranger with the Collar and then passing the turn.

This time, Dom found the land he was after in the form of Scalding Tarn. He used it to float a blue mana and cast Jace, the Mind Sculptor, then also playing a Copperline Gorge from the top of his library. He then used his Scalding Tarn (16-16) and Lotus Cobra mana to cast Acidic Slime, destroying the Basilisk Collar. Dom then attacked with his Oracle, which was chumped by Sylvan Ranger.

Noah attempted to rebuild his field by casting Elspeth Tirel and using her second ability to create three 1/1 Soldiers. On his next turn, Dom found two more lands on top of his library and attacked Elspeth with both of his creatures. Noah used two of the Soldiers to chump, but soon realized the attack was just a ruse, as Dom removed Elspeth with a Lightning Bolt. Noah tapped out for a Wurmcoil Engine on the following turn, hoping to turn the tide of combat.

Dom had other ideas, playing two Halimar Depths off the top of his library and floating two mana with Lotus Cobra. He than used his Scalding Tarn (15-16) and floated a third mana upon the new Island's landfall. After using Jace to Brainstorm, he found a Frost Titan, which he could easily cast thanks to the additional three mana floating in his pool. Frosty the Snowman tapped down the Wurmcoil Engine, and Dom's army of 2/2's entered the red zone. The last soldier chumped one of the attackers (15-12). Noah attempted a Garruk Wildspeaker on his next turn, but it was countered by Mana Leak, and he then conceded after surveying the lethal army that would be bashing in next turn.

Dominic Casali 1, Noah Senzel 0

Both players kept their hands for game 2, and Noah started off with a Llanowar Elves. The Elf entered the red zone on the following turn (19-20), and Noah played a Stirring Wildwood, giving each player a man-land, as Dom had opened on Raging Ravine. Dom had no play on turn 2, and Noah beat down again with his Elf (18-20) and cast a Sylvan Ranger, finding a Plains.

Dom then cast a Lotus Cobra on his third turn before playing a Mountain, off which he floated a blue mana and cast Preordain before passing. Noah attacked with Sylvan Ranger (17-20) and cast a Wolfbriar Elemental without kicker, hoping to apply immediate pressure. However, this plan backfired, as Dom used a Scalding Tarn (16-20) and his Lotus Cobra to power out a fourth turn Inferno Titan, who took down both of Noah's Elves and also hit him for one (16-19).

Noah had no plays on his next turn, and used the Wolfbriar to chump Inferno Titan next time he attacked, though Noah was domed by the Arc Lightning triggered by the Titan's attack (16-16). Dom also cast Jace, the Mind Sculptor and used Jace's first ability to put the top card of Noah's library on the bottom. Noah again had no plays on the next turn, appearing to be short on mana, and Dom went for the throat on the following turn.

He first used Jace again to fateseal, leaving Noah's top card in place. Dom then cast an Oracle of Mul Daya, playing a Misty Rainforest from the top of his library. He then Preordained into a Mountain, which he also played, using the two red mana to pump Inferno Titan to 8/6. He then attacked with it and the Cobra, again doming Noah for 3 (16-13) and dealing 10 from the attack (16-3). Yet again, Lightning Bolt was just enough to finish the job (16-0) and send Dom to the finals.

Dominic Casali 2, Noah Senzel 0

Feature Match - Finals: Dominic Casali vs. Jason D'Mellow

Much thanks to Skye Kutner for contributing to coverage of this match.

The Standard finals featured two previous event winners. Jason D'Mellow had picked up his wins recently, having won his last two events entered - the Extended event the previous week and the Standard side-event at the invitational, both of which he had won with his mono-green Elf deck. Though he had made several top 8's, Dom hadn't won an event since the Fall Extended event, which he took down with Doran Zoo back in September. This time, he was wielding his RUG Ramp deck, hoping to again go all the way after finishing 8th place in the Swiss.

Dom again won the roll, having reversed his fortune from the Swiss rounds throughout the top 8, and played first. Both players kept their opening seven. Dom started with a Halimar Depths, while Jason surprisingly had no first turn play. Dom played a Scalding Tarn and passed, while Jason had a lone Llanowar Elves. Dom played a Raging Ravine on his next turn, evidently waiting for his opponent to make the first move.

Jason obliged on his next turn, casting Nissa Revane and using her first ability to fetch a Nissa's Chosen from his library. However, Dom found a Mountain with his Scalding Tarn (19-20) and took advantage of her low starting loyalty of 2 and disposed of her with a Lightning Bolt before she could get above 3 loyalty. Dom then used his fourth turn to cast Jace, the Mind Sculptor and return the Chosen to Jason's hand. Jason decided he needed to prevent Dom from targeting his creatures anymore, so he spent his next turn casting Asceticism.

However, Dom had a more direct way around that plan, using a Misty Rainforest (18-20) to fetch a fifth land, allowing him to cast Acidic Slime to destroy the Asceticism. Jason used his next turn to re-cast the Nissa's Chosen and play a Joraga Treespeaker. Dom then used Jace to Brainstorm, finding a sixth land for his Frost Titan, which came down and tapped the Treespeaker.

Jason continued rebuilding his field, casting Fauna Shaman and Elvish Archdruid on his next turn, as well as leveling his Treespeaker to 1. However, with the Asceticism gone, Dom was able to unleash his Lightning Bolts on Fauna Shaman and the Archdruid, significantly weakening Jason's field. Dom then played a Halimar Depths and attacked with Frost Titan, keeping the Treespeaker tapped (18-14).

Jason had no plays on his turn but to keep leveling the tapped Treespeaker. Dom continued pressing his advantage by casting another Frost Titan to tap the Nissa's Chosen, and then attacked with the first one, keeping Treespeaker down (18-8). Jason found no answer atop his library, and it was time for the second game.

Dominic Casali 1, Jason D'Mellow 0

Both players kept their starting seven again, this time with Jason playing first and starting with Llanowar Elves. Dom had a rare turn one play, choosing to Preordain on the opening turn. Jason had a second turn Elvish Archdruid, but Dom had the trump card, using Pyroclasm to consume Jason's board in one fell swoop, severely hindering his mana development.

Jason cast a Fauna Shaman on his next turn, while Dom was content to cast Explore and play two lands. Jason then tapped out to cast Nissa Revane, whose first ability fetched a Nissa's Chosen from his library. He then attacked with Fauna Shaman (18-20) since he couldn't pay for its ability. However, Dom took advantage of Jason's inability to pay for Fauna Shaman, dispatching it and Nissa with a pair of Lightning Bolts whose casting required a Scalding Tarn activation (17-20).

Jason again used all his mana on the next turn, casting Asceticism, and attacked with Nissa's Chosen (15-20). However, the green enchantment met the same fate as it did in the first game, being destroyed by Acidic Slime after a Misty Rainforest activation (14-20). Jason then decided to attack with his Chosen, which Dom was happy to trade his Slime for. Jason then cast Llanowar Elves and Elvish Archdruid, but they both fell victim to a second Pyroclasm on Dom's next turn.

Jason was finally running out of gas, as he simply played a Forest and passed. Dom finally went on the offensive, casting Avenger of Zendikar for 7 plant tokens. Jason topdecked and cast Asceticism, but it was fairly irrelevant, as he controlled no creatures. Dom topdecked a Halimar Depths, which he used to make all his Plants into 1/2's, and then attacked with them and the Avenger (14-8). When Jason found yet another land atop his library, he extended his hand in defeat.

Dominic Casali 2, Jason D'Mellow 0

Final Standard Results & Standings Update

After factoring in the top 8 results, these are the final standings:

1. RUG Ramp by Dominic Casali

2. Green Elves by Jason D'Mellow

3. UBR Vampires by Michael Smith

4. GW Tokens by Noah Senzel

5. WR Quest Combo by Hannah Sharp

6. UB Poison Control by Kevin Hoover

7. White Enchantments by John Kreinbring

8. UW Token Control by Michael Carney

This event caused an interesting shift in the standings (through 6 events), including giving us a new points leader:

1. 34 - Jason D'Mellow (5)

2. 32 - Michael Carney (6)

3. 18 - Hunter Garrett (3)

4. 17 - Chris Pear (4)

5. 16 - Joe Hammond (5)

5. 16 - Kevin Hoover (5)

7. 16 - Michael Smith (4)

8. 14 - John Kreinbring (4)

8. 14 - Noah Senzel (4)

10. 11 - Dane Newton (3)

11. 11 - Jordan Arnold (2)

12. 9 - Liz DiGangi (3)

12. 9 - Scott Record (3)

13. 8 - Kevin Crowley (4)

14. 8 - Skye Kutner (2)

15. 7 - Bryant Benson (2)

16. 7 - Hannah Sharp (1)

17. 5 - Max Kruger (3)

18. 4 - Roy Mustang (3)

19. 4 - Emile Paul (2)

20. 4 - Alex Siphom Chi (1)

21. 3 - Alex Kerns (2)

21. 3 - Joe Kozlowski (2)

23. 3 - Michael Cambata (1)

24. 2 - Tyler Deforge (2)

24. 2 - Richie Harper (2)

24. 2 - Steven Nelson (2)

27. 2 - Haren Lalchand (1)

27. 2 - Will Siu (1)

27. 2 - Will Sturges (1)

30. 1 - Gustavo Bora (1)

30. 1 - Joao Alberto de Fario (1)

30. 1 - Anna Hallahan (1)

30. 1 - Megan Moreno (1)

30. 1 - Glen Parker (1)

30. 1 - Ryan Ripper (1)

30. 1 - Greg Voskuhl (1)

Next weekend will be the Mirrodin Besieged Pre-Release events off site, and details about those will be posted soon. The next event at FIT will be 2-Headed Giant Sealed on February 5; details will be posted after the Pre-Release weekend is over. Thanks to Alex, Chris, and Skye for helping out with the Top 8 coverage, and I hope you all keep coming back to more events. Have a great week and good luck to everyone at the Pre-Release!

- Dom

P.S. Start thinking about building decks for Pauper and Commander (formerly known as EDH), as these Constructed formats will probably be coming up sometime in February. I'll have more details soon!

Extended Event Recap - Swiss Rounds

FITSSFF Magic returned with a bang this weekend, with 25 players ready to do battle in the newly changed Extended format, featuring Lorwyn, Alara, Zendikar, and Scars blocks along with the two most recent core sets, M10 and M11. There were several familiar faces present, including 5 of last semester's top 8 players (Skye, Hunter, Joe, John, and Liz) along with the top 4 players in the spring standings, (Michael C., Jason, Chris, and Kevin H.). Also, to my great excitement, were several new and eager faces ready to cast spells in an organized event for the first time. Everyone was extra motivated by the opportunity to earn credits that can be turned into Mirrodin Besieged packs once the new set is released during the first week of February.

Due to the large number of players, 5 rounds of Swiss were played with a cut to the top 8. After the first two rounds, some early contenders emerged, each winning their first two matches 2-0. One of those players happened to be myself, sporting an old friend that I rode to victory in last semester's Extended event: Doran, the Siege Tower. Due to the loss of Tarmogoyf, the Doran Zoo strategy hasn't worked as well in this Extended format, so I elected to battle with a more midrange version of Doran that was more balanced. Despite starting 2-0, I wasn't even near the power level of Scott's deck, which hardcast Eldrazi Conscription twice in a row to take round two. His weapon of choice? None other than one of my old favorites, Mythic Conscription. Another undefeated was Jordan Arnold, playing the deck I almost played - Elementals - to resounding success, including a strong round 2 win over last semester's points leader, Skye.

Round 3 saw the rise of some familiar faces, in terms of both players and their cards. One of the perennial decks to play and beat is Elves, and both Joe and Jason used their prolific mana-producing abilities to move to the top of the standings - Jason with a more traditional mono-green Elf aggro build and Joe with a landfall-based variant that used Elves to power out Scapeshift and Genesis Wave to trigger Ob Nixilis and Avenger of Zendikar many times. Unlikely invitational winner Michael Carney also moved to 3-0 with his "Heavy Metal" artifact aggro deck, a deck which had also put the artifact connoisseur himself, Kevin Crowley, at 2-1 and well within striking distance of the top 8.

Three more familiar names from last semester's standings - John Kreinbring, Hunter Garrett, and Skye Kutner - overcame early losses to put themselves into position at 3-1 each after round 4, with John wielding a GW Ramp deck, Hunter playing an interesting mono-blue artifact ramp strategy, and Skye playing a slightly modified version of the red/blue/green aggro deck that put him into the finals of the Planeswalker tournament last semester. Many players also sat at 2-2, including newcomers Alex Kerns, Joe Kozlowski, and Will Siu, giving themselves a chance to crack the top 8 with a third win and some good tiebreakers. Also in this boat were Noah, who was the lone player in the field sporting Jund, Bryant with an aggressive UG ramp brew, and Liz with her latest version of poison control.

However, only one player made the jump from the middle of the pack to the top 8 in the fifth and final round of Swiss, and that was Dane Newton, who overcame early adversity in this event and a tough day at the Orlando PTQ on Saturday to take full advantage of being paired up in the final round. After winning a close match with his Esper-colored Master Transmuter deck, Dane pulled himself to the top of the 3-2 players, putting him into the playoff rounds. The fifth round also saw an incredibly exciting back-and-forth match between Hunter and Skye in a rematch of the finals of the Planeswalker event. Hunter pulled out the match at a precarious 2 life in game 3, but both players ended up advancing to the top 8, as Skye took 8th place from me by the slimmest of tiebreaker margins.

After 5 rounds of Swiss, the top 8 were decided, with Jordan, Jason, Hunter, John, Michael C., Joe H., Dane, and Skye making the cut, with me, Scott, Noah, and Kevin C. on the outside looking in. It was time for a dinner break, to be followed shortly afterwards by the top 8 playoff!

Feature Match - Quarterfinals: Joe Hammond vs. Hunter Garrett

After finishing 9th in the Swiss, I had the choice of either getting angry and sulking in a corner or taking it in stride and doing feature matches of the top 8. Though the first option was quite appealing, I decided that the second was probably in the best interest of everyone else, so enjoy these feature match reports!

This featured quarterfinal match involved two players quite familiar with making top 8's: Joe Hammond and Hunter Garrett. Though both players were playing quite different decks - Joe with GB Scapeshift and Hunter with mono-blue artifact ramp - both decks actually operated on similar principles, trying to generate extra mana to cast large spells earlier than normal. After both players shuffled up their decks, Joe won the die roll and opted to go first. Both players kept their opening seven.

Joe opened the game with Llanowar Elves into Elvish Archdruid, while Hunter only had an Etherium Sculptor by the end of the second turn. Joe was content to attack with both of his creatures (20-16) and pass the turn. Hunter spent his third turn casting a Grand Architect and attacking back with his now 2/3 Sculptor (18-16). Joe again attacked with both of his 2/2 Elves, and one was inconsequentially blocked by the 1/3 Architect (18-14).

Hunter then took the offensive, using his Grand Architect to make enough mana for a Steel Hellkite, and then sending his Etherium Sculptor into the red zone again (16-14). Joe made his first play since turn 2, but made it count, tapping 8 mana to cast a Genesis Wave with X equal to 5. He revealed all relevant targets: Llanowar Elves, Elvish Archdruid, Ob Nixilis the Fallen, Acidic Slime, and a Forest. Ob Nixilis' landfall trigger dealt 3 damage (16-11), and once Acidic Slime took down the Hellkite, the field looked squarely in Joe's favor.

However, Hunter fought back, using his mana accelerators to cast a second Etherium Sculptor, a Master Transmuter, and a Wurmcoil Engine all on the same turn, still keeping two Islands untapped to represent a counterspell. Joe untapped, played a land (16-8), and then cast a potentially lethal Scapeshift. Hunter did have a counterspell in the form of Mana Leak, but Joe simply allowed it to resolve, finally tapping down all of Hunter's mana, and cast a second copy of Scapeshift, which allowed 6 more Ob Nixilis landfall triggers, which were more than enough to take the first game.

Joe Hammond 1, Hunter Garrett 0

Hunter elected to play first in game 2 after both players did some sideboarding. Joe kept his starting hand, while Hunter had to take one mulligan before keeping his six-card hand. Hunter started off with a Ponder, while Joe summoned the first permanent of the game with a Joraga Treespeaker. Both players accelerated their mana on the next turn, as Hunter cast Everflowing Chalice for 1 and Joe leveled his Treespeaker and cast Overgrown Battlement. Hunter spent his third turn casting a Grand Architect, but missed his third land drop.

To try to reduce Hunter's mana-production even more, Joe cast an Acidic Slime to destroy one of Hunter's Islands. Fortunately for Hunter, he drew a replacement Island immediately, and used it to cast a second Grand Architect, but did not attack because of the 2/2 deathtouch creature on the opposite side of the field. Joe was happy to attack with said Slime, doing the first damage of the game (20-18), and leveled his Treespeaker to 4.

Hunter then took advantage of his Grand Architects, using them to cast a Steel Hellkite. Joe sent the Slime into the red zone again (20-16) and then cast another Genesis Wave for 5. However, the results this time were much less exciting, as he found 2 lands, 2 Birds of Paradise, and a Gaea's Revenge whose mana cost was too large to play. He used one Bird to chump the Steel Hellkite on the following turn, while Hunter cast a second Chalice, this one kicked twice.

Joe gave himself access to even more mana, leveling his Treespeaker to 5 and casting a Llanowar Elves. Acidic Slime yet again got through (20-14), but Joe had nothing to do with his excess of mana and had to pass the turn back. Hunter cast a Wurmcoil Engine and forced the other Birds to block Steel Hellkite. Joe got in once again with Slime (20-12), but had nothing to add to his board but another Llanowar Elves.

Hunter turned his artifacts blue and attacked with both, dealing 7 with the Hellkite and gaining 8 with his Wurmcoil (13-20), destroying all of Joe's one-cost permanents. After Joe blanked on another draw, Hunter's artifacts got in again (6-28), destroying the rest of Joe's field. Joe looked at his top card and conceded.

Joe Hammond 1, Hunter Garrett 1

Joe chose to play first in the rubber game, and Hunter had to mulligan to 6 again. Joe led with Birds of Paradise, while Hunter started again with Ponder. Each player again spent their second turn ramping - Joe with an Overgrown Battlement and Hunter with an Etherium Sculptor. The Sculptor, however, was short-lived, as it was taken out by Acidic Slime. Hunter fought back with a Grand Architect, and after Joe spent his turn attacking with Slime (20-18), Hunter was able to cast a fourth turn Wurmcoil Engine.

Joe cast an Elvish Archdruid but then passed, obviously having no immediate answer to the Engine. Hunter traded it for the Slime (20-24), making two 3/3's upon his Wurmcoil's destruction. Joe attempted to cast Nature's Claim on the Deathtouch token at the end of Hunter's turn, but it met a Mana Leak from the blue mage. Joe had no further action on his turn, and Hunter sent Grand Architect and both Wurm tokens into battle on his next turn. Archdruid trivially blocked the Architect, while Overgrown Battlement bit the dust from the lifelink Wurm after Hunter turned them both blue (16-28).

Joe again had no action and this time was hit by both tokens after they were turned blue (8-32). Hunter added an Etherium Sculptor to his field and looked to be well ahead. Joe cast a Genesis Wave for just 3, and it producted two Llanowar Elves to block while he tried to come up with a solution. One Elf chumped a token (4-36), but Hunter played a second Wurmcoil Engine, leaving Joe a turn away from defeat.

However, Avenger of Zendikar came to save the day after fighting through a Mana Leak with Autumn's Veil, and suddenly there were four Plant tokens entering the fight. Two tokens and Birds of Paradise chumped on the following turn (4-42), and Hunter added even more to his field with a Steel Hellkite and a once-kicked Chalice.

Joe was again on the brink, but his topdeck was Nature's Claim, stopping the Hellkite before it could finish him off (4-46). Joe also cast an Ob Nixilis, hoping to somehow set up a Scapeshift to get himself back in the game. He would need it soon, as his remaining plant tokens chumped the blue Wurmcoil Engine and deathtouch wurm on the following turn (4-53). Joe cast Gaea's Revenge, which stayed back on defense.

Hunter mounted one last assault to try to finish the game, casting another Architect and attacking with Wurmcoil and both of his tokens, which forced Avenger of Zendikar, Ob Nixilis, and Gaea's Revenge all to block (4-61). Joe looked at his top card, sighed as he showed his opponent the one-turn-too-late Scapeshift, and extended his hand.

Hunter Garrett 2, Joe Hammond 1

Hunter advanced to face Jordan Arnold in the semifinals, whose mono-red Elementals deck defeated Dane Newton's Master Transmuter deck in the adjacent quarterfinal.

Feature Match - Semifinals: Jason D'Mellow vs. Michael Carney

On the other side of the bracket, the top two players in the spring standings squared off. Michael Carney's Heavy Metal deck advanced by beating John's green/white ramp deck 2-1 in one quarterfinal. Jason D'Mellow's road with Elves was much tougher, narrowly winning a grinding, marathon 3-game match over Skye Kutner's red/blue/green aggro deck - a match whose game 1 was still going when the other three quarterfinal matches were already over! Jason had won his meeting with Michael fairly comfortably in the Swiss, but after talking to Michael during the dinner break, he believed he had a better sideboarding option that he hadn't considered during their first meeting, and he thought that could tip the rematch in his favor.

Jason cleaned up the die roll after Michael led with a 1, and chose to play first. Both players were satisfied with their opening hands and I soon found out why, as they both started strong. Jason led with a Llanowar Elf, while Michael cast both Memnite and Springleaf Drum. Jason had a turn two Elvish Archdruid, but Michael cut into his hand with a Tidehollow Sculler, taking Nissa Revane from Jason's hand.

On his third turn, Jason looked to set up an advantage in combat by casting Llanowar Elves #2 and Asceticism, the unorthodox enchantment from Scars of Mirrodin that had played a huge part in Jason's quarterfinal win against Skye's giant Lorescale Coatls. However, Michael looked to circumvent combat by casting a Thopter foundry. The foundry stopped Jason cold, and he had no plays on his next turn.

At the end of the turn, Michael turned his Memnite into a Thopter, gaining a life point (20-21) and giving him a clear path of attack, which he took on the following turn (19-21). He then cast Trinket Mage, fetching up another Memnite and casting it. Jason played a dangerous permanent of his own: Ezuri, Renegade leader. Michael turned his newest Memnite into a Thopter (19-22).

Michael then turned both his Thopters sideways (17-22), then casting a Ranger of Eos to find two more Memnites, which he cast along with an Ornithopter, leaving him with lots of fodder for Thopter Foundry. Jason cast Joraga Treespeaker and leveled it to 3 and passed the turn. Yet another Memnite grew wings (17-23), and the three thopters cracked into the red zone yet again (14-23). Steel Overseer and Court Homunculus from Michael suddenly made his clock much faster.

Jason had to act soon, and set up a potentially big following turn with a Fauna Shaman, passing the turn. Michael turned his last two zero-cost artifacts into Thopters (14-25), and after a Steel Overseer activation, his Thopters put Jason down to his last turn (4-25). Or so we thought. Jason counted up his mana, finding exactly 16. He used one to activate Fauna Shaman, discarding an Arbor Elf and searching up Emrakul, the I Win Lols. He then cast Emrakul and took an extra turn.

Still, Emrakul wouldn't be enough to stop the onslaught of Thopters. However, Jason drew Nissa Revane off the top of his library, and used it to gain 12 life off of his Elves (16-25). Emrakul then attacked, and Michael sacrificed 2 lands, Springleaf Drum, Trinket Mage, Ranger of Eos, and Steel Overseer to the annihilator trigger. He then took the hit (16-10) and used his last lands to make Tidehollow Sculler, Court Homunculous, and the Foundry itself into Thopters (16-13), fortunate that his opponent failed to use Ezuri's Overrun ability to threaten lethal damage. However, upon drawing his card, he realized that if there were a potential path to victory, it would have involved not sacrificing the Steel Overseer, and he promptly scooped up his cards.

Jason D'Mellow 1, Michael Carney 0

Both players kept their opening hands for game 2, and Michael chose to play first. However, he had an uncharacteristic first turn of "Darkslick Shores, go," and Jason had the first play again with Llanowar Elves. Michael used Marsh Flats to find a second land (20-19), and then cast Steel Overseer and Memnite before passing the turn. To Michael's chagrin, Jason had a second-turn Elvish Archdruid for the second time in the match and apparently the fourth time in four games they had played on the day.

Michael took the offensive, casting his deck's most powerful card, Tempered Steel, then activating his Steel Overseer's ability and attacking for 4 with his Memnite (16-19). However, Jason had access to tons of mana, and spent his third turn casting Llanowar Elves, Arbor Elf, and a kicked Mold Shambler to destroy Tempered Steel. Michael had a replacement for his lost enchantment and played a Court Homunculus after another Marsh Flats activation (16-18). He then used his Steel Overseer again and attacked with his 5/5 Memnite (11-18).

Jason stabilized on his next turn, casting Nissa Revane and searching his deck for Nissa's Chosen with Revane's first ability. He then cast the mighty Relic Crush, a 5-mana double-Naturalize from Worldwake that most decks dismiss as too expensive. However, it worked wonders for the Elf deck, destroying Steel Overseer and Court Homunculous, and leaving Michael with a suddenly unexciting side of the table.

Michael tried to deal with Nissa, attacking her with the Memnite, but it traded with Nissa's Chosen after a double block with the Chosen and Mold Shambler. Michael played another Court Homunculus and passed. Jason continued applying pressure, casting another kicked Mold Shambler, and the second Tempered Steel met the same fate as the first one. "Wow, it's like mono-green control," Hunter commented, as he was observing the match after advancing to the finals with a 2-0 win over Jordan in the other semifinal.

Jason then cast a second Archdruid and attacked with his three 3/3 mana-producing Elves (11-9). Michael knew he was way behind, and after checking his top card, he conceded, searching through his deck and showing his opponent the three Ethersworn Canonists that maybe could have slowed the Elf onslaught if he had drawn one.

Jason D'Mellow 2, Michael Carney 0

Feature Match - Finals: Jason D'Mellow vs. Hunter Garrett

After seven long rounds of Magic, the finals had arrived. Hunter Garrett had found a home in the finals, making his impressive fourth consecutive appearance in them (with four different decks, I might add - this time it was mono-blue artifact ramp). On the other side was Jason D'Mellow, who had cracked the top 8 once and also won a Swiss-style Standard side-event during last semester's invitational, but had not yet played in a playoff final. Jason won the roll and elected to play first with his Elf deck. Both players kept their opening seven, and the finals were underway.

Jason opened with a Llanowar Elf on turn one, followed by two more on his second turn. He then attacked with his first Llanowar Elves (20-19) and shipped the turn. However, Hunter still had no plays. Jason then cast Asceticism on turn three, but it was met by Mana Leak from Hunter, and he had no further plays as he missed his third land drop.

Hunter finally cast a spell in the form of Everflowing Chalice for 1. Perhaps thinking he had baited the counterspell, Jason cast Nissa Revane, only to find the planeswalker countered by a second Mana Leak. He cast an Arbor Elf with his last mana and ended his turn. Hunter started developing his board, casting Ponder and two Etherium Sculptors on his fourth turn.

However, Jason retaliated strongly with a Relic Crush to kill both Sculptors, setting Hunter far behind. After a quick check from me to confirm that Jason hadn't failed to de-sideboard after the previous match (he hadn't - he actually played 2 Relic Crush main), Hunter cast a Ponder but didn't like what he saw, shuffling his deck and then passing after drawing off the spell. Jason played an Elvish Archdruid and passed back, with Hunter playing a Grand Architect on his next turn.

Jason then took advantage of his newfound mana, playing another Archdruid, a Nissa's Chosen, and a Joraga Treespeaker, which he leveled 4 times. Hunter finally put some threats onto his board in the form of Steel Hellkite and Master Transmuter, but when Jason cast his Joraga Warcaller kicked 10 times, he had far more than lethal damage on board and Hunter conceded.

Jason D'Mellow 1, Hunter Garrett 0

Hunter chose to play first in game 2, and both players again kept their opening hands. Hunter opened with Ponder while Jason had the first permanent of the game with Joraga Treespeaker. Hunter then cast Augury Owl and got to scry 3. Jason spent his turn leveling the Treespeaker to 1 and then tapping it to cast Arbor Elf and Ezuri's Archers. Both players did little over the next two turns, with Hunter just playing Islands and Jason leveling his Treespeaker to 5.

Jason finally attempted to break the stalemate, carefully casting Elvish Archdruid with 3 mana up, but it was for naught, as Hunter countered it with Cryptic Command and bounced the Treespeaker, forcing Jason to restart his mana development. Hunter then resolved a Wurmcoil Engine on his turn, while all Jason had was a Nissa's Chosen and the bounced Treespeaker.

Nissa's Chosen chumped the Wurmcoil Engine (20-26), who was joined by his brother, the pre-release foil Wurmcoil Engine who was facing the opposite direction. Jason leveled his Treespeaker to 1 and cast Elvish Archdruid before passing his turn. Hunter swung in with both Wurmcoils, which Jason declined to block (8-38). Jason cast an Arbor Elf and attempted a Relic Crush, but this time Hunter was ready for it with his sideboarded Turn Aside to save both of his Wurmcoils.

Hunter then summoned Grand Architect, turned them blue, and sent them both into the red zone. Jason chumped one with the Arbor Elf and took the other (1-52). Jason played an Asceticism and passed, then conceded a couple seconds later after realizing he could chump both Wurmcoils again, but the Grand Architect would get through for the last point of damage.

Jason D'Mellow 1, Hunter Garrett 1

The third game of the match saw the round's first mulligan, as Hunter went down to 6 before keeping. Jason, playing first, started with Arbor Elf, while Hunter had another first-turn Ponder. This time, Jason had the turn 2 Archdruid, while Hunter had no play. Jason used his third turn to cast a Joraga Treespeaker and level it 3 times.

Hunter played his first permanent in the form of Augury Owl, scrying all 3 cards to the bottom. Jason leveled his Treespeaker to 5 and cast Asceticism, passing the turn. Hunter then played Halimar Depths and cast a foil Grand Architect, sending his Augury Owl into the red zone for the first damage of the game (18-20).

Not to be outdone, Jason played an Elvish Archdruid and then summoned Nissa Revane, who searched up a foil Nissa's Chosen. He also had the mana to cast Ezuri, Renegade Leader, and suddenly had a very formidable team of Elves. Hunter Pondered and then fought back with a Wurmcoil Engine.

Jason then went big on his next turn, casting an Arbor Elf and using Nissa to fetch another Nissa's Chosen. He then tapped both of his Archdruids for enough mana to cast Emrakul, the I Win Lols. On his extra turn, Jason attacked with Emrakul (18-5), leaving Hunter with nothing but a Wurmcoil Engine and the Augury Owl. Hunter attacked with the Wurmcoil just for fun, and Jason chumped it with Nissa's Chosen (18-12), but Hunter realized it was over and extended his hand.

Jason D'Mellow 2, Hunter Garrett 1

Final Extended Results & Standings Update

After the top 8 playoff results were factored in, the final standings for the event are as follows:

1. 7-0-1 Green Elf Ramp by Jason D'Mellow

2. 6-2 Blue Artifact Ramp by Hunter Garrett

3. 5-1-1 Red Elementals by Jordan Arnold

4. 4-2-1 UBW Artifact Aggro by Michael Carney

5. 4-2 GW Ramp by John Kreinbring

6. 3-2-1 GB Scapeshift by Joe Hammond

7. 3-3 UBW Transmuter Combo by Dane Newton

8. 3-3 RUG Aggro by Skye Kutner

The updated League Standings for the Spring semester through 5 events are as follows:

1. 28 - Michael Carney (5)

2. 24 - Jason D'Mellow (4)

3. 18 - Hunter Garrett (3)

4. 14 - Joe Hammond (4)

5. 13 - Chris Pear (5)

6. 10 - Kevin Hoover (4)

7. 9 - Liz DiGangi (3)

7. 9 - John Kreinbring (3)

9. 9 - Jordan Arnold (1)

10. 8 - Dane Newton (2)

11. 7 - Kevin Crowley (3)

11. 7 - Michael Smith (3)

13. 7 - Bryant Benson (2)

13. 7 - Scott Record (2)

15. 6 - Noah Senzel (3)

16. 4 - Emile Paul (2)

17. 4 - Skye Kutner (1)

18. 3 - Alex Kerns (2)

18. 3 - Max Kruger (2)

20. 2 - Roy Mustang (2)

20. 2 - Steven Nelson (2)

22. 2 - Joe Kozlowski (1)

22. 2 - Will Siu (1)

22. 2 - Will Sturges (1)

25. 1 - Gustavo Bora (1)

25. 1 - Joao Alberto de Fario (1)

25. 1 - Tyler Deforge (1)

25. 1 - Anna Hallahan (1)

25. 1 - Richard Harper (1)

25. 1 - Megan Moreno (1)

25. 1 - Ryan Ripper (1)

25. 1 - Greg Voskuhl (1)

It's worth noting that if we keep having turnouts like we did this week, there are going to be relatively large amounts of league points on the line, and with a couple good performances it's not hard to shoot up the list very quickly.

Next weekend we'll be doing almost the same thing, but this time Standard instead of Extended and at 1 PM instead of 2 PM. I'll send out a reminder email in a couple days as well as everybody's Mirrodin Besieged pack receipts that can be redeemed on February 5 when the set comes out. Until then, thanks to everyone who came out and I hope we can continue to have a very active Magic community at FIT throughout this semester. Have a great week!

- Dom