FM: Round 1 - Noah Senzel vs. Chris Pear

The Invitational began inauspiciously, with just the Top 8 themselves and no other observers but yours truly. Soon enough, the pairings called for two best friends to square off in a matchup they were both quite familiar with.

Noah Senzel was playing a modified version of his blue/black Tezzeret deck that had earned him a third-place finish in Block Wars, while Chris was playing his long-time Standard deck: mono-white Knights. Chris opened his Invitational with a roll of one, and Noah chose to play first, as both players were satisfied with their opening seven.

Both players led with nonbasic lands; Noah had an Inkmoth Nexus while Chris had Emeria, the Sky Ruin. Chris played the first spell of the game in the form of White Knight on turn two, but Noah countered it with Mana Leak. Chris went for an Accorder Paladin on his next turn, but it met the same fate.

Noah had no plays on his fourth turn, but he bashed in with his Inkmoth Nexus (20-20 life, 0-1 poison). Chris finally resolved a spell in the form of Leonin Skyhunter, but he did get his Emeria destroyed by Noah's Tectonic Edge at the end of his turn.

Noah appeared a bit flooded, and had no action yet again. Chris cast a Mirran Crusader and then enchanthed his Skyhunter with a Hyena Umbra and bashed (17-20, 0-1). Noah looked to slow the assault with a Tumble Magnet, and attacked again with Inkmoth Nexus (17-20, 0-2), passing the turn tapped out.

Chris looked to take advantage, casting a Knight Exemplar and entering combat. Noah used the Magnet's first counter to tap the double striking Crusader, but still took a hit from the Skyhunter (13-20, 0-2). Noah cast a naturally-drawn Brittle Effigy and passed back.

Chris went to attack again, but again got his Crusader tapped. Still, his other two creatures got in for six (7-20, 0-2). At end of turn, Noah chose to use his Effigy on the Crusader, exiling it. He finally topdecked some gas, slamming down a Wurmcoil Engine off the top of his library.

However, it was easily dispatched, as Chris had the Journey to Nowhere to clear the way for his attackers. Tumble Magnet's final counter tapped the Skyhunter, leaving just a swing from Knight Exemplar unblocked (5-20, 0-2). Things looked grim for Noah has Chris cast a second Exemplar after combat. Noah had a potential out in the form of Black Sun's Zenith, but it was not on top of his library and we were on to game 2.

Chris Pear 1, Noah Senzel 0

Both players kept their openers again, and Noah led off with a sideboard specialty in the form of second-turn Ratchet Bomb. But, it was immediately removed by Chris's sideboarded Divine Offering, though Noah shrewdly sacrificed it in response to prevent Chris from gaining the life. Noah spent his next turn casting Trinket Mage, which fetched up an Elixir of Immortality.

Chris began applying pressure, casting Student of Warfare and levelling it twice. After Noah had no plays but the Elixir, Chris cast both Honor of the Pure and Leonin Skyhunter on his next turn. He attacked with Student of Warfare, and it was chumped by Trinket Mage. Chris passed the turn, and his Skyhunter was removed by Noah's Go for the Throat at end of turn.

Noah still had no action, apparently flooded on lands again. He did, however, counter an Honor of the Pure with his Stoic Rebuttal, and gained 5 life off his Elixir (25-20). Chris took a chunk of that back with Student of Warfare (21-20). Noah still had no spells, but got in with an Inkmoth Nexus (21-20, 0-1).

Chris continued on the Student of Warfare path, casting a second one and then levelling the first one to 7. Upon swinging with his 5/5 double striker, Noah chose to sacrifice his other Inkmoth Nexus, as he had plenty of other lands anyway. He cast another Trinket Mage, finding and casting Brittle Effigy, and then passed back, hoping he was prepared for the next onslaught.

Chris went for a big attack, exiling the Trinket Mage with Journey to Nowhere, levelling his second Student to two, and then attacking with both for a potential 14 damage. However, the remaining Inkmoth Nexus blocked the big Student, mitigating most of the damage (17-20, 0-1). On the next attack, Brittle Effigy dealt with the double-striking Student, but Noah still had no answer to the other one (13-20, 0-1). Chris cast White Knight and levelled his remaining Student to 4.

Noah hoped to stop the bleeding with Tumble Magnet, but Chris cast the first planeswalker of the Invitational: Ajani Goldmane. Ajani's second ability pumped all of Chris's creatures and gave them vigilance. Vigilance didn't help Student of Warfare against Tumble Magnet, but White Knight got in unmolested (9-20, 0-1). All Noah had was a Ratchet Bomb on his next turn, and that looked to be too slow given the board state.

Chris leveled Student to 5 and cast Mirran Crusader, using Ajani's second ability again. Noah used Tumble Magnet to stop Student of Warfare again, but White Knight brought him one hit from lethal (4-20). Noah put a counter on his Ratchet Bomb at end of turn, but after finding yet another land on top, he extended the hand, lamenting the lack of Tezzeret draws for his Tezzeret deck in both games.

Chris Pear 2, Noah Senzel 0

FM: Round 2 - Joe Hammond vs. Michael Carney

I had an interesting perspective as I watched these two players brew throughout the week for this event. In the end, both players asked me separately to borrow many of the same cards, despite having somewhat different decks.

Both players were playing a red/green ramp strategy. Carney's was creature based, relying on traditional creature beatdown to finish the job. While Joe's deck used many of the same ramp spells, he was playing the powerful combo of Primeval Titan and Valakut, the Molten Pinnacle. Joe won the roll but had to mulligan to 6, while Michael was happy with his first seven.

Red/green dual lands hit the table in a hurry, and Carney had a turn-two Overgrown Battlement to get things started. Joe used an Explore to get to 4 lands on turn 3, including 2 Valakut. Carney surprisingly had no play on his third turn, but Joe had an equally unexciting fourth turn to even things up.

Carney finally went on the war path, casting a second Overgrown Battlement and then Koth of the Hammer, who animated a Mountain into a 4/4 Elemental, which got an attack in (16-20). Joe fired back with Primeval Titan, who grabbed two Mountains out of Joe's library, since he already had 2 Valakuts in play.

However, Carney threw a wrench into that strategy by removing one Valakut with Tectonic Edge. He then used two Lightning Bolts to bring down the Titan, and put Koth to 5 loyalty to attack again with a 4/4 Mountain (12-20). Joe had a second variety of Titan, however, this time an Inferno Titan, who brought Koth down to 2 loyalty upon entering the battlefield. Joe also cast an Overgrown Battlement of his own before passing.

After a long trip to the think tank, Carney chose to use Koth as a mini-Garruk, untapping a Mountain to let him cast a Wurmcoil Engine. Joe then made an interesting play, animating his Raging Ravine twice and attacking with it and Inferno Titan, killing Koth and putting two +1/+1 counters onto the Ravine with one swing. Carney chose to trade his Engine for the Inferno Titan (12-26), and chumped the Ravine with one of his Battlements. After combat, Joe played his sixth Mountain and used his Valakut trigger to kill the 3/3 deathtouch Wurm.

On his next turn, Carney had his own Inferno Titan, which domed Joe since it had no other targets (9-26). Joe played an Evolving Wilds and declined to attack. Carney then went on the offensive, attacking with his Wurm token and Inferno Titan, doming Joe again (6-26). It was time for Joe's Battlement to chump, while he animated his Ravine to block the Wurm (6-29). After combat, Carney used Slagstorm to kill the Ravine, but the 3 damage it dealt to his Titan let Joe pop his Evolving Wilds for a Mountain and kill it with Valakut.

Joe had an opening, but all he could do was play another Valakut and pass. That was immediately removed by another Tectonic Edge, and Carney's Ravine attack put Joe near the brink (2-29). However, Joe drew Green Sun's Zenith, and cast it for X = 6, finding another Primeval Titan, which brought along another Valakut and a Mountain. He used his two Valakut triggers to shoot Carney's last Overgrown Battlement, and played a Mountain from his hand to dome Carney for six (2-23). However, the game came to an anticlimactic end when Carney revealed the Lightning Bolt he could've cast last turn if he had tapped his mana correctly.

Michael Carney 1, Joe Hammond 0

Joe elected to play first in game two, and both players kept their starting hands. This time Joe had turn two Overgrown Battlement, while Carney had an Explore. Joe played a Lotus Cobra and followed it up with a land and a Harrow, floating more mana to cast Viridian Emissary.

Carney tried to keep up by casting another Explore and his own Overgrown Battlement. But, it was futile, as Joe had the turn 4 Primeval Titan, which grabbed Valakut and Mountain from Joe's library. He got in for a couple points of damage, attacking with both of his 2/1's to Carney's lone 0/4 blocker (20-18).

Carney tried to recover with Koth of the Hammer, who he used to ramp into a kicked Goblin Ruinblaster, which took down a Valakut. Still, Joe was far ahead, casting Inferno Titan to join his green one, killing both Koth and the Ruinblaster, and another Primeval Titan swing brought out a Valakut and a Mountain (20-15), plus Joe's squad of attacking creatures all got in as well (20-5). Carney took a look at his top card and packed it in.

Michael Carney 1, Joe Hammond 1

Carney went first in game 3, and had turn 2 Overgrown Battlement. Joe countered with Lotus Cobra, while Carney had a second Battlement. Joe cast his first one, passing back.

This time it was Carney's turn for turn 4 Titan, and his Inferno Titan hit Joe for 2 and disposed of Lotus Cobra (20-18). Joe just had a Valakut, and appeared unable to reach the critical six-mana threshold.

Carney cast Goblin Ruinblaster to kill the Valakut, but Joe responded by sacrificing it to Harrow. Still, Carney had a good board position, swinging his Inferno Titan (20-15) and Ruinblaster. The 2/1 was nullified by the 0/4 wall, but Inferno Titan connected (20-9).

Joe had another Valakut to replace the one lost to Harrow, and tapped out for a Wurmcoil Engine, which looked like enough to stop Carney's assault of red creatures. But, Carney had a clutch Tumble Magnet, and once Belugatron was tapped, no amount of protest from its blowhole could stop Inferno Titan from cleaning up shop for the day.

Michael Carney 2, Joe Hammond 1

Draft Recap

Honestly, I didn't see much of the draft and subsequent matches, as I was busy running Magic Jeopardy!, but I have some general knowledge. Here were the records leading into it:

2-0: Carney, Jordan

1-1: Smith, Joe, Chris, Jason

0-2: Hunter, Noah

In the draft, most players tried to settle into what they were used to playing in Scars of Mirrodin block. Jason found a Flesh-Eater Imp and went straight into Infect, and was rewarded with a Skithiryx later on. Jordan did the same thing as the previous week as well, taking burn and Signal pest, moving into red/white aggro. Michael Smith again followed the control route, drafting blue/red and finding a Koth of the Hammer in pack 3. Noah drafted a blue/black deck featuring unblockable creatures, which was strangely reminiscent of his Standard deck. Carney drafted something he couldn't really explain, and I forget what Hunter and Chris drafted (sorry!). Oh, and of course, Joe drafted a mill deck. Unless you've been hiding under a Magic-shunning rock for three years, you shouldn't be surprised.

The pairings were done independently of the Standard results, setting up a rematch of the Fall Invitational final, but this time with Hunter's tournament life on the line facing Carney. The result was the same, and Hunter was the first player eliminated from Top 4 contention. Joe was quickly felled by Noah, who took advantage of his opponent's severe mana issues, while Smith knocked Jordan from the ranks of the unbeaten. Jason's poison attack also pushed him to 2-1.

I pretty much entirely missed round 4, but I remember that Carney took his first loss to Smith, and Chris was eliminated from contention in this round by Hunter, who still kept playing his best despite not having a chance to advance. He had a chance to eliminate a second player in round 5, but Joe's mill deck was able to grind and shriek a place into the Top 4. Jason won a match he had to win game Carney, but Carney still moved on via tiebreakers. Smith's win over Noah made him 3-0 for the draft and the number 1 seed going into the finals. Unfortunately, despite a last round win and a 3-2 record, Jordan's tiebreakers did not advance him to the Top 4.

FM: Semifinal #1 - Jason D'Mellow vs. Joe Hammond

After a several-week absence from competitive Magic, it seemed Jason D'Mellow had returned to form, and sought to chase down yet another victory with his mono-green Elf deck. Sitting across from him was Joe Hammond, who was already in prime form, having taken full advantage of his win last week in the Qualifier to make the elimination rounds of the Invitational. Only one would advance to the finals.

Joe won the roll and both players chose to keep. Jason had a first turn Llanowar Elves, which he followed up with Elvish Archdruid after Joe cast a turn 2 Lotus Cobra. Joe cast Explore into a Viridian Emissary on his third turn, who represented a nice road block for the Elf onslaught.

Jason missed his third land drop, and after some debating chose to tap out for Asceticism, keeping his creatures safe from burn. However, Joe was prepared to attack from a different angle, using a Harrow to ramp big with his Cobra and cast Green Sun's Zenith for 6, finding a prolific turn 4 Primeval Titan. The Titan found a Valakut and a Mountain, dealing 3 to Jason (17-20) before his 2/1's also rolled into the red zone (13-20).

Jason hoped to recover with Joraga Treespeaker and Arbor Elf, and then tapped his Archdruid for 4 mana to cast Nissa Revane. He put her up to 3, searching out a Nissa's Chosen. Joe seemed undeterred, swinging with his Titan and Emissary and finding another Valakut and another Mountain, doming Jason once with a Valakut and sending the other trigger to Nissa (10-20). Jason declined to block (2-20), but then drew his card and scooped, apparently citing made some sort of play mistake along the way.

Joe Hammond 1, Jason D'Mellow 0

Jason chose to play first, and this time both players took a mulligan before keeping on six. Jason again opened on Llanowar Elves, which he followed up with a Nissa's Chosen and an attack for one (20-19).

Joe stymied the assault with an imposing Overgrown Battlement. Jason could only attack through for one again, as Llanowar Elves got through but the Battlement stopped Nissa's Chosen (20-18). Joe had a second Battlement and a Lotus Cobra before passing back.

Jason's pressure was all gone, and he had no way to add to it on his turn. Joe then cast Harrow, cashing a Forest in for two Mountains and then casting a Green Sun's Zenith for 6, finding Primeval Titan, who in turn found 2 Mountains. Using Lotus Cobra mana, Joe cast an Explore, and then played a Terramorphic Expanse, killing Llanowar Elves with a Lightning Bolt off another Cobra mana.

Jason again had no plays, and Joe poured on the burn with another Green Sun's Zenith for Primeval Titan. A Mountain and a Valakut cleared most of Jason's field, and a swing from the original one threatened to do the rest of the damage. Upon realizing that Joe could rack up Valakut triggers faster than Charlie Sheen could rack up disorderly conduct citations, Jason conceded and Joe was on to the finals.

Joe Hammond 2, Jason D'Mellow 0

FM: Semifinal #2 - Michael Carney vs. Michael Smith

Not that you'll need me to tell you after reading more than a couple sentences, but thanks to Skye for featuring this match for us.

What an exciting day this has been, full of Magic and mystery and intrigue, all at the hands of yours truly! Well, okay. It’s really all thanks to the magnanimous Dominic Casali for bringing us together for this fine occasion. By this point, we have reached the semifinal round of the FITSSFF Magic Invitational of 2011.

This first match pits the roguishly handsome Michael Smith vs. the equally attractive Michael Carney. But keep your hands to yourselves, boys and girls! These two fine chaps are already taken! For now, settle yourselves with some intense Michael on Michael action. Let the Magic duel of the century begin!

Oh, by the way, did I mention Smith was playing white? Ugh… I shudder in revulsion. From what I’ve been told, Smith’s deck is a modernized form of Alara’s Bant-colored “Mythic” deck, which pretty much just plays every money card in those colors. Carney, on the other hand, is playing some kind of Red/Green deck, the details of which were shrouded in mystery. Isn't that so much more awesome than playing white cards?

Smith wins the initial die roll and opts to make the first play. He happily keeps his opening hand while Carney ships his off. With a grimace, he decides to send back his 6-card hand as well.

Already at a sizeable advantage, with opening hand sizes of 7 against 5, Smith opens the game with a Razorverge Thicket, rolling into a Birds of Paradise. Carney draws his card and lays down an unassuming Copperline Gorge before passing the turn.

Smith throws down a Lotus Cobra, then plays a Seachrome Coast, electing to end his turn rather than make use of his snake-borne mana. Things are already looking dire for our hero, as Smith has prepared what could be a lethally explosive start. Carney draws his next card and plays a Tectonic Edge. Unfortunately, that was all he was able to do, and passed the turn back to Smith.

The very same Smith who proceeded to play a second Seachrome Coast, making sure to float White mana just for me, in order to cast the most despicable of all high-end backbreakers – a Baneslayer Angel! Carney anxiously picked up the top card of his library. For his first main phase, he played… another Tectonic Edge. Well, so much for colored mana. Still unable to cast his spells, Carney ended his turn.

Smith confidently untaps his lands, plays an Island and, after floating some Blue mana, casts a Jace, the Mind Sculptor. This was enough to draw a concession out of Carney, and they were quickly shuffling up for game 2.

Smith – 1 Carney – 0

After a bit of sideboarding, both players shuffle up and start their second game. Carney decides to play first and, after seeing his opening hand, decides to keep. This time it is Smith’s turn to mulligan, though he decides to do so only once.

Carney starts things off simply with a lone Forest before ending his turn. Smith sees his Forest, and raises him a Llanowar Elves.

Not to be outdone, Carney quickly throws down another Forest, casting Explore to draw an extra card and ramp into a Tectonic Edge. Smith plays a Misty Rainforest, pops it for an Island (-1), and casts a Sword of Feast and Famine with the help of his elf. (20-19)

Carney draws for his turn, casts a Cultivate with his three lands, grabbing two Mountains, one of which comes into play tapped, the other of which Carney immediately plays. It looks like Carney is about to set up for something big of his own, albeit in a more budget-friendly way. Smith starts his turn off by popping a second Misty Rainforest (-1) for yet another Island. He taps an Island and his Forest to equip the sword to his elf. Carney doesn’t like this plan, and attempts to Lightning Bolt the critter before the sword lands, but Smith has the Mana Leak to defend, though he had to tap his elf in order to cast it. With no more mana and a lazy elf polishing his shiny new toy, Smith passes back to Carney. (20-18)

Carney casually drops an Acidic Slime onto the table and pops the sword before ending his turn. Smith tries to keep on the pressure by summoning the mighty Garruk Wildspeaker to assist him. Garruk goes down to 2 loyalty in order to bring out a 3/3 Meowth token, that grizzly beast! Then, the turn is over.

Carney doesn’t seem to phased by the opposing planeswalker, and chooses to attack Smith with the slime and ignore Garruk entirely. Well, that is until he reaches his second main phase, where he casts a timely Inferno Titan, scorching Garruk and the Llanowar Elves as it makes its grand entrance. All Smith has in play now is his beast token (who decided to let the slime through) and a bunch of lands. For his turn, all he could do was play a Seachrome Coast, which regrettably came into play tapped. (20-16)

Carney charges in with the slime and the titan, exploding Smith’s beast token in the process (-8) and follows up the traumatic blow by ruining Smith’s freshly played Seachrome Coast, courtesy of the turn 2 Tectonic Edge. On Smith’s turn, he casts a Jace, the Mind Sculptor, bouncing the titan, but Carney sends a Lightning Bolt over Jace’s way, and Smith ends the turn with nothing but lands on the field. (20-8)

Without a moment’s hesitation, Carney untaps his lands and throws down a Koth of the Hammer, sending a very angry Mountain and Acidic Slime into the red zone. At a precarious 2 life, Smith lays down a last-ditch defender in Lotus Kitty and, realizing he has no way to survive the next turn, concedes the game.

Smith – 1 Carney – 1

Michael and Michael do a little bit of re-sideboarding and prepare themselves for their climactic battle. Smith elects to play first, and mulligans his first hand. Carney keeps, and the duel commences. Smith opens with a Stirring Wildwood and passes. Carney plays a Forest and passes back.

On his second turn, Smith plays a Seachrome Coast and passes the turn with counterspell mana at the ready. Carney lays down a Mountain and attempts to fast-forward his mana with an Overgrown Battlement, but Smith is ready with a Flashfreeze to counter it. Smith untaps and plays a Forest before passing the turn, threatening another counterspell. Carney’s only move for his turn is to play another Mountain.

Finally ready to start some action, Smith plays an Island, taps all his lands for mana, and throws down Thrun, the Last Troll. Not wanting to be completely left in the dust, Carney plays a Rootbound Crag and taps out for a kicked Goblin Ruinblaster to destroy Smith’s Seachrome Coast.

Smith untaps his three lands and swings in with Thrun before playing another to replace his W/U dual land. Despite being at a very healthy 20 life, Carney decides to block the troll with his goblin, and Smith ends his turn having missed what was probably a very important land drop. On his turn, Carney plays a Forest and attempts to cast an Acidic Slime to further ruin Smith’s mana base, but Smith is ready to defend himself with a timely Mana Leak.

Smith swings in for an uncontested 4 damage, and ends his turn still stuck on 3 lands. Carney can only play a forest and pass the turn back, seeming to have no relevant plays available. (20-16)

At last, Smith draws into another mana source – a Birds of Paradise. He plays it, then swings in for another 4 with Thrun. Carney plays a Tectonic Edge and then casts a very intimidating Wurmcoil Engine, which threatens to turn the game around. (20-12)

Or so it would have seemed. If only Carney had been able to kill the mana-bird, because Smith’s next play is Jace, the Mind Sculptor, which unsummons the Wurmcoil and allows Thrun another potshot at Carney. Once Smith passes the turn, Carney drops down a Forest, recasts his Wurmcoil Engine, and uses his Tectonic Edge to take out Smith’s Stirring Wildwood, tragically dooming the Wurm to be returned to the AEther next turn. (20-8)

Smith does exactly that, and knocks Carney down another 4 points before casting a Stoneforge Mystic and searching out a Sword of Body and Mind. Carney recasts his Wurmcoil Engine and tries a final Lightning Bolt on Jace to keep his blocker and stay alive, but Smith has a second Flashfreeze to protect his mighty planeswalker. (20-4)

Smith bounces the wurm for the third turn in a row, swings with Thrun against an empty field for fifth turn in a row, wins the game, and the match.

Great job to both players for making it this far, and good luck to Smith in the finals! Of course, I say that, but I really hope he dies a horrible, fiery death by the hands of his sworn nemesis, Joe Hammond, who will meet him in the final round with a Red/Green Valakut deck, which is supposedly very strong against Smith’s Mythic concoction. No offense, Mikey – it’s just that, you know, you’re playing White, and I’m as intolerant as the most stalwart of mono-White tyrants or bigots. Hmm… I smell hypocrisy.

- Skye Kutner

FM: Finals - Joe Hammond vs. Michael Smith

After six rounds of Magic, it had all come down to this. Joe Hammond had emerged victorious in the Qualifier, and despite long odds to be anywhere near this position just a week ago, was suddenly in the finals of the Invitational after a day of grinding, hard-fought matches. After losing his opening round against Joe's Valakut deck, Michael Smith had won five matches in a row, defeating the defending champion in the Semifinals to reach this last match. Only one would emerge as Spring 2011 Invitational champion.

Joe won the die roll and chose to play first, keeping his opening seven. Smith, however, looked hard at his opener, showed me his one-lander of two drops, and sent it back for six. Both players traded land drops one turn one before Joe's second-turn Overgrown Battlement, a card that had been a stalwart in multiple decks throughout the day. Michael Smith responded with the one-card combo that had gotten Joe into the Invitational to begin with: Stoneforge Mystic, tutoring up a Sword of Feast and Famine.

Undeterred, Joe cast an Oracle of Mul Daya, flipping up a Mountain and getting a second land drop for the turn, giving him a chance at the prolific play of fourth-turn Primeval Titan. Smith appeared to have no way to stop it, playing a land and ending his turn. However, Joe apparently had no lands in hand, and when the top of his library gave him no help, all he could do was attack with his Oracle (20-18) and play a second one. Smith put the Sword into play with his Mystic at the end of the turn.

On his next turn, Smith gave the Sword to his Mystic, and attacked in undeterred (17-18). Joe discarded yet another copy of Oracle, while Michael untapped his lands, but had no further plays. Joe drew his card, flipped over the top card of his library...and missed again, revealing Thrun. He decided to cast a Green Sun's Zenith for 2, to get a mana producer and a shuffle, but Michael countered it with a Mana Leak. Deciding the shuffle was more important, he cast a second copy, which resolved and shuffled back into his deck. In a cruel twist of fate, he flipped up Green Sun's Zenith and still couldn't find his land.

Since they couldn't block anyway, Joe attacked with both Oracles (17-14) and ended his turn. Michael used a Misty Rainforest (17-13) to find an Island and then attacked with his Mystic (14-13). Joe discarded a Lotus Cobra, and Smith apparently had nothing to do with his plethora of extra mana, so he passed back. Joe finally hit a land in the form of Evolving Wilds, and used it to fetch a Mountain and try for a second land, but this time he hit a Lightning Bolt on top. He attacked with both Oracles, but one was crushed by an animated Stirring Wildwood (14-11).

Smith attacked again with his Mystic (11-11), and this time Joe was forced to discard the Primeval Titan that the mana gods just hadn't given him fair chance to play. Upon Smith casting Wurmcoil Engine, Joe knew the Lightning Bolt atop his deck wasn't going to cut it, so he packed it in and got ready for game 2.

Michael Smith 1, Joe Hammond 0

The pregame logistics were identical to game 1, as Joe chose to play and kept his opener, while Smith mulliganed down to 6. The openings were quite different, however, as Joe used a turn two Explore to ramp his mana. Smith tried to equal it with a Lotus Cobra, but Joe immediately dispatched the snake with a Lightning Bolt.

Joe cast another Explore on his next turn, but did not have the extra land in his hand to take advantage of it. Smith cast a Birds of Paradise on his next turn. Joe followed up with a Harrow and yet another Explore, this time hitting on his extra land. The players continued with rampy green spells, as Smith cast Garruk Wildspeaker, but chose to make a 3/3 Beast token instead of more mana. But, Joe had another Lightning Bolt to take care of Garruk before he could do any more damage.

Joe continued setting the world on fire, casting an Inferno Titan and choosing to kill the Birds of Paradise and hit Smith for 2 rather than removing the token (20-18). Smith had other plans, using a Verdant Catacombs to get a fourth land (20-17), replacing Garruk with a second copy, and untapping two lands to cast Journey to Nowhere, removing the Inferno Titan. He attacked with his Beast (17-17) and passed.

On his next turn, Joe pulled a timely Nature's Claim, destroying Journey to Nowhere (17-21) and using his Inferno Titan's return to the battlefield to finally destroy the Beast token. Instead of replacing it, Smith used Garruk to untap two lands so that he could cast Jace, the Mind Sculptor off of his single blue source. After a Brainstorm with Jace, he used another fetch land to shuffle (17-20), and cast Stoneforge Mystic to find the infamous Sword of Feast and Famine. He finished his extensive turn by using his last land to Oust the Inferno Titan (20-20).

Joe regrettably had no plays on his next turn, and Smith cast and equipped the Sword to Stoneforge Mystic, and attacked. Joe took the hit and discarded Ulamog, the Infinite Gyre (17-20), shuffling his graveyard back into his library, but also sending back his Inferno Titan. Smith took full advantage of his extra mana this time, casting a Baneslayer Angel and equipping it after another Brainstorm with Jace.

On his turn, Joe was only able to cast a Green Sun's Zenith for 2 to find an Overgrown Battlement. Smith used Jace to Unsummon it, and then activated Garruk's ultimate, giving his creatures a free Overrun. A full swing, including Stirring Wildwood, put Joe to the brink (1-30) and made him discard the Overgrown Battlement. When the top card of his library wasn't a miracle, he extended his hand, making Michael Smith the Spring 2011 Invitational winner.

Michael Smith 2, Joe Hammond 0

Invitational Final Results

The final standings for the Invitational are as follows:

1. 6-1 Neo-Mythic by Michael Smith

2. 4-3 Valakut Ramp by Joe Hammond

3. 3-3 Elves by Jason D'Mellow

4. 3-3 Red/Green Ramp by Michael Carney

5. 3-2 Mono-White Aggro by Jordan Arnold

6. 2-3 Blue/Black Tezzeret by Noah Senzel

7. 1-4 Black/White Control by Hunter Garrett

8. 1-4 Knights of the Old Republic by Chris Pear

Congrats to Michael Smith and to all of our Top 8 on what was an excellent semester of Magic, possibly the best we've had in my four years at Florida Tech. Thanks to everyone who participated throughout the semester and I hope everyone who isn't graduating keeps coming back next year!

- Dom

Qualifier Swiss Rounds Recap

An unfortunately small pool of players without byes arrived for the first round of the Qualifier. However, players were still in high spirits, glad to be playing Magic and hoping for the chance to earn the final spot in the Top 8. Some players at this event had been gone for a while and were hoping to return to form. Alex Kerns, who had missed the last few events, put up an impressive win in the first round with one of my old favorites: mono-green Treefolk.

However, it turned out to be newcomer Garrett Zynca who seemed to be en route to playing spoiler. Despite having never played in a FITSSFF Magic event before, Garrett's mono-white soldier deck was serving him well and led him to back-to-back wins to open the tournament. Another mono-white deck, Joe Hammond's Sun Titan/Flickerwisp concoction, also earned him a second round win following his first-round bye.

As round three began, the favorites, each with two byes began their matches. Two players immediately earned a spot in the playoff rounds, becoming the only players paired at 9 points. Dane Newton, fresh off a strong appearance at the recent PTQ, defeated Liz's Jund deck with his blue/black reanimator combo, using Makeshift Mannequin and Rise from the Grave on targets like Empyrial Archangel, Woodfall Primus, and Sphinx of the Steel Wind. John Kreinbring revamped his Naya deck that earned him runner-up in block wars, and also earned a spot in the playoff after a hard-fought match against Garrett.

Other players had to wait until the last round to earn a trip to the playoffs. Kevin Hoover advanced after picking up a win with his mono-black control deck. Liz defeated Joe in the fourth round, but both advanced, as Joe had been paired down at 3-0. Another player moving on was Max Kruger, whose mono-blue artifact deck had lost in the first round, but had won three consecutive games to back into the elimination rounds. Who would earn the coveted 8th spot in the Invitational? I'll tell you by way of the feature matches below...

FM - Quarterfinals: Kevin Hoover vs. Liz DiGangi

Both Kevin and Liz posted 3-1 records, earning them a place in the quarterfinals. Kevin was wielding a mono-black control deck that was effective at trading life for cards and then recovering the life with lifelink creatures. Liz was piloting Jund, the grinding black-red-green midrange deck focused around incremental card advantage and the cascade mechanic.

Liz won the roll and elected to play first, but had to take a mulligan to 6. Kevin kept his opener. Liz had the first nonland play in a turn 2 Putrid Leech, while Kevin summoned a Nantuko Shade. Liz applied some fast pressure with a hasty Boggart Ram-Gang, sending both of her creatures into the red zone. Liz pumped her Leech, and Kevin declined to make any blocks (13-18). Kevin then looked to stabilize with a Vampire Nighthawk, leaving his shade back to block.

Liz had other plans, however, disposing of the Nighthawk with a Maelstrom Pulse and repeating her attack from the last turn. Kevin had to protect his life points, and chose to block the Leech with Nantuko Shade. Liz pumped her Leech to allow it to survive combat (10-16). On his next turn, Kevin attacked Liz's hand with a Duress, but whiffed after the Jund mage revealed only three creatures in hand.

Liz then cast a second Boggart Ram Gang and attacked with her team. Kevin disposed of the Leech with Go for the Throat, but took the rest (4-16). However, he managed to clean the field on his turn with a Black's Sun Zenith for 3. Liz drew yet another Ram Gang on her turn, casting it and attacking, putting Kevin to the brink (1-16). Kevin killed the Ram-Gang with another Zenith, but Liz peeled a Lightning Bolt, sending us to game 2.

Liz DiGangi 1, Kevin Hoover 0

Kevin chose to play first and kept his seven again, while Liz needed a mulligan. After two turns of land-go, Kevin cast a Duress on turn 3, taking Blightning. Liz cast a Putrid Leech on her third turn. Kevin continued attacking Liz outside the battlefield, casting Sadistic Sacrament on his next turn, exiling Stillmoon Cavalier, Great Sable Stag, and Sword of Feast and Famine from her library.

Liz, however, still had cards in her hand to play, summoning Bloodbraid Elf and cascading into a Blightning (17-20). Kevin discarded Grave Titan and Phyrexian Rager. She then pumped her Leech hand attacked with it and the Bloodbraid Elf (10-18). Kevin took a Lightning Bolt with another Duress, and then played a Phyrexian Rager (9-18).

Liz cleared it out of the way with a Maelstrom Pulse and repeated her previous attack, pumping the Putrid Leech again (2-16). Kevin was down to his last chance. He drew his card and conceded, revealing two Wurmcoil Engines that he lacked the mana to cast.

Liz DiGangi 2, Kevin Hoover 0

FM - Semifinals: Joe Hammond vs. Dane Newton

Both Joe and Dane took advantage of their byes and fought their way into the Final Four. Joe was piloting a mono-white deck that revolves around incremental card advantage gained from Sun Titan and creatures with enter-the-battlefield ability. Dane was playing a more direct strategy - blue/black Reanimator, where his goal was to dump a powerful creature into the graveyard and bring it back to play cheaply.

Joe won the die roll and chose to play first, and both players were not satisfied with their opening seven. Both kept on six, and Joe had the first play with a second-turn Stoneforge Mystic, which found a Sword of Feast and Famine from his library. Dane chose to dispose of the Mystic with an evoked Shriekmaw, and the board was back to being clear.

That didn't last long, however, as Joe cast a Kitchen Finks, gaining him 2 life upon its entrance to the battlefield (22-20). Dane had no plays, and Joe pushed his board by casting a Sword of Feast and Famine and attacking with his Finks (22-17). Dane again had no plays on his turn. Joe went to equip the Sword, but Dane killed it in response with Agony Warp...until it Persisted (24-17) and Joe equipped the 2/1 Finks.

Dane cast a Clone to copy the Kitchen Finks (24-19), but Joe attacked anyway, realizing that Dane's Finks couldn't block because Joe's had protection from Green (24-15). Dane discarded Sphinx of the Steel Wind after being hit by the sword, setting up a pretty daunting reanimation target. Joe cast a second Finks (26-15) and passed. Dane drew his card and passed back.

After fetching a fifth plains with Arid Mesa (25-15), Joe cast a Baneslayer Angel and attacked again with the Sworded Finks (25-11), forcing Dane to discard a land. Joe equipped the Baneslayer and passed. At end of turn, however, Dane played Makeshift Mannequin on his Sphinx and then Agony Warped the Finks, causing it to persist...and change shape into a second Sphinx.

The pair of Sphinxes were still no match for a 7/7 Baneslayer with Protection from Black, and Dane was only able to summon Cunning Lethemancer before passing. Joe swung in with the Baneslayer (32-4) and then cast Day of Judgment, clearing the board except for his Persisted Finks (34-4). After using an Arid Mesa (33-4) to get another land, he equipped the 2/1 Finks with the sword and passed. Dane drew his card and then scooped.

Joe Hammond 1, Dane Newton 0

Dane chose to play first in game 2, and both players again had to mulligan. Joe kept on 6, but Dane had to go down to 5. He led with a Halimar Depths, and the first play was again Joe's Stoneforge Mystic for Sword of Feast and Famine. Dane did nothing the next two turns, while Joe put the Sword into play with his Mystic. When he went to equip it, however, Dane was ready with an Agony Warp. However, Joe had a second Mystic, and used it to find Sword of Body and Mind.

Dane decided to Clone the enemy Stoneforge Mystic, but failed to find an equipment. His four-mana Squire wasn't too impressive, and it had to chump Joe's mystic after it picked up the Sword of Feast and Famine. On his next turn, Joe cast Sword of Body and Mind after using a fetch land (19-20) and then attacked with the Mystic (19-17). Joe made a Wolf token, while Dane discarded Empyrial Archangel and cast a Mulldrifter on his turn to refill his hand.

However, Joe simply equipped the second sword to his mystic, and swung in undeterred thanks to his protection from blue (19-12). Dane attacked back with his Mulldrifter (17-12) and evoked a second one before passing. Joe retaliated with his Mystic and wolf token (17-5), making a second wolf, and it was clear he was winning the race. He added a Flickerwisp to his board, threatening more than lethal next turn.

Dane knew he had to act quickly, and used Rise from the Grave to recur his Empyrial Archangel. However, Joe's full swing of four creatures meant that the Angel would take 8 damage, so Dane blocked a Wolf and the Flickerwisp with his Angel and Mulldrifter, but his Angel bit the dust. Joe reinforced his commanding position by casting a Sun Titan, recurring Flickerwisp, which in turn flickered Sun Titan, who then brought back Stoneforge Mystic, fetching a Mortarpod. Confusing, no?

Dane made a last ditch effort by Cloning Sun Titan and bringing back a milled Merfolk Looter, but it proved to be too little, too late, as Joe used Path to Exile on both of his blockers and swung in for lethal.

Joe Hammond 2, Dane Newton 0

FM - Finals: Joe Hammond vs. Liz DiGangi

After six rounds of Magic, it all came down to this last match. Joe and Liz played well against talented opponents to reach their spot in the finals, perhaps drawing on their experience from last semester's Invitational. However, this time around, only one of them would qualify for in the Top 8.

Despite not having a single identical card in their lists, both players' decks attacked the opponent in similar ways. Liz's Jund deck has spent time as an infamous menace of last year's Standard format and this year's Extended format, with its grinding midrange approach. Joe's mono-white deck attacked in a similar way, using trades and long-term card advantage to slowly wear the opponent down. Who would endure the battle in this final match?

Joe won the roll and elected to play first, but both players would have to hold their horses and take a mulligan. Both players kept their six and just had lands on turn 1. Joe cast a second-turn Mortarpod, while Liz had Sygg, River Cutthroat. Joe cast Pilgrim's Eye on his third turn to grab a Plains, and Liz fired back with Kitchen Finks (20-22).

Joe happened to have a Finks of his own (22-22), and swung in with his flying Pilgrim's Eye (22-21). On Liz's turn, she first used a Maelstrom Pulse to remove the Mortarpod, but Joe got a poke in by sacrificing his Germ token in response (22-20). Liz then attacked with Sygg and her Finks. Joe chose to block Sygg with his Finks, which Liz chose to kill in response with Lightning Bolt. Joe's Finks persisted (24-20), but then he took 3 from Liz's Finks (21-20), and Liz drew a card thanks to Sygg's ability.

Joe barreled in with his Thopter again (21-19), and got to reuse it after casting a Flickerwisp. Liz cast Bloodbraid Elf on her turn, and the Cascade Lottery was good to her, revealing her second Kitchen Finks (21-21). Liz attacked with Bloodbraid Elf and the first Finks, and Flickerwisp traded with the hasty Elf Berserker (18-21). Her 3 damage netted Liz another card.

However, after using an Arid Mesa to find a sixth Plains (17-21), Joe took a commanding board presence with a Sun Titan, which recurred a Flickerwisp, which in turn reset the persisted Finks (19-21). Liz continued the stream of hasty creatures, casting a Demigod of Revenge and attacking with it and both of her Kitchen Finks. Joe used Flickerwisp to chump the Demigod, and his Sun Titan and Finks to block the two incoming Finks from Liz. After the battle, one Finks persisted for Joe and both did for Liz (21-23).

On his next turn, Joe dealt with the Demigod thanks to an Oblivion Ring, and cast a Wall of Omens to draw a card. He then attacked with Pilgrim's Eye and Sun Titan, recurring a Flickerwisp and blinking Wall of Omens. Liz took the one in the air and blocked Sun Titan with one of her 2/1 Finks (21-22). Liz had nothing but a land on her turn.

As if this state of semi-infinite Kitchen Finks weren't bad enough, Joe cast his second one (23-22) and repeated his attack from the previous turn - this time bringing Mortarpod back with his Sun Titan. Liz's remaining Finks blocked Sun Titan and Liz hit the Pilgrim's Eye with a Lightning Bolt. However, it was clear that she was low on resources.

She did, however, draw a second Demigod, though it didn't bring back the first one since it was in Oblivion instead of the graveyard. She attacked, but Joe blocked with the 5/4 with his 3/1 Flickerwisp and then shot it for the fourth point of damage with his Mortarpod's Germ token. Joe then launched his most aggressive attack, swinging with 2 Finks and Sun Titan (recurring Flickerwisp on the Wall of Omens). The long forgotten Sygg blocked Sun Titan (23-16), but things were getting out of hand as Joe's steady stream of advantage had finally run Liz out of steam.

After Liz had no play on her next turn, Joe went in for another big hit, equipping his Titan with a newly found Sword of Feast and Famine. He attacked, flinging the Flickerwisp with Mortarpod (23-15) and then bringing it back again. Liz couldn't block (23-7) and discarded a land. She drew yet another one and then packed it in.

Joe Hammond 1, Liz DiGangi 0

Liz chose to play first, but drew poor opening hands and had to mulligan twice, putting her 5 cards at a serious disadvantage against Joe's 7. Joe summoned a Burrenton Forge-Tender on turn one, and had Stoneforge Mystic for Sword of Feast and Famine on turn two, though it ate a Lightning Bolt. Liz removed the pro-red Kithkin with Maelstrom Pulse, but Joe followed it up with a Mirran Crusader, showing his plethora of protection creatures from the sideboard. However, Liz had another Lightning Bolt to stop it.

Liz then went aggressive, casting a Thoughtseize and taking Joe's Sun Titan (20-18). Joe cast Sword of Feast and Famine but had nothing to equip. Liz killed it with another Pulse just to be safe, but Joe had both Burrenton Forge-Tender and another Mystic, this time fetching Sword of Body and Mind. After Liz could only summon Sygg, Joe put the Sword into play, and, after an Arid Mesa activation (19-18), got in with his sworded Forge-Tender (19-15), milling 10 cards and making a Wolf token.

Liz summoned a Boggart Ram-Gang on her next turn and attacked with it, and Joe allowed her to get in the 3 damage and draw a card. However, on his next turn, he played a Kitchen Finks (18-15) and attacked again with his BFT (18-12), making a second Wolf. Liz had no plays, and Joe got in with the 3/3 yet again (18-9). He pressed his board further by blinking Kitchen Finks with a Flickerwisp (20-9).

Liz went for one last assault, casting Bloodbraid Elf and cascading into a second Ram-Gang, attacking with all three. However, Joe had an army of Wolves to block with, and once he cast a Flickerwisp to bounce Sygg, the path was clear for his lethal damage.

Joe Hammond 2, Liz DiGangi 0

Qualifier Final Results & Invitational Preview

Following the playoff rounds, the final standings of the Qualifier were:

1. Mono-White Flicker by Joe Hammond

2. Jund by Liz DiGangi

3. UB Reanimator by Dane Newton

4. Naya Aggro by John Kreinbring

Congrats to Joe for taking the last spot in the Invitational. I hope lots of people will come on Sunday, as there will be lots of fun for everyone, even those not in the top 8. The Top 8 will play 2 rounds of Standard, 3 rounds of Draft, and then a Top 4 Playoff in Standard.

Side events will begin with a 3-round Standard event at 10 A.M. After a brief break, we will have a couple fun and exciting new events. First, around 1 P.M., I will host the inaugural Magic Jeopardy! event, where you can test your knowledge of Magic against your peers and see who is the nerdiest planeswalker of them all. After Jeopardy! is over, we will attempt to play the largest multiplayer game in FITSSFF history, doing a Chaos EDH game. The winner will receive one pack for each player in the game.

Thanks for reading and I'll see you Saturday!

- Dom

Draft Results & Final Spring Standings

Despite the unfortunate failure of the U.S. Postal Service to get us the assorted booster packs we intended to use for the Uber Draft to my house on time, 14 players came out for an impromptu draft of the block du jour, Scars of Mirrodin. Some added excitement came from the group of people in the race for the top 7. Nearly everyone ranked between 4th and 12th was in attendance, trying to earn automatic qualification for the Spring Invitational. There was also supposed to be drama among the top two players who were to be fighting one last time for the semester points lead, but unfortunately Hunter was unable to attend the event due hasty homework beats, and thus Michael Carney has become the final semester points leader, so congrats to him.

To add some excitement and parity to the players trying to qualify, we decided to put all the players near the bubble at the same table. This made for an exciting event, as players only played against their own tables in the first two rounds. In the end, however, yours truly finally pulled out of his Magic slump and got to do his two favorite things - tap Islands and draw cards:

4/11/11 Top Finishers: SOM/MBS Draft

1. 4-0 UR Control by Dominic Casali

2. 3-1 GB Infect by Mike Mooty

3. 3-1 Rw Aggro by Jordan Arnold

4. 2-1-1 BGW Midrange by Bryant Benson

Among the bubble players, we saw the return of Jason D'Mellow, who came out of his Magic hibernation to earn three league points and secure his spot in the Invitational. Skye Kutner, the player sitting in eighth place at the start of the event, had an uncharacteristically large number of Plains in his deck, and despite Dispensing some Justice, he was unable to pass any of the players in front of him. The same went for John and Kevin, who had rocky drafts and were unable to put multiple wins together.

Thanks to an unusual number of matches ending in draws, me, Mooty, and Jordan were the only players at 2-0 after the second round. The third round saw me use a slow, grinding approach with Vedalken Anatomist and Steel Hellkite to escape Mooty's impressive poison onslaught, which included Skithiryx and Phyrexian Crusader. Jordan's "limited Kuldotha Red" deck stormed by Kevin's poison deck to join me at 3-0.

In the finals, I lost a very anticlimactic game one after a mulligan to five while Jordan opened on turn 1 Kuldotha Rebirth, turn 2 Contested War Zone. In game 2, Jordan was the player taking the mulligans, and I stymied an early Goblin onslaught and put nine power of flyers into play with a Sky-Eel School and two Serum Rakers. However, Jordan summoned a Hoard-Smelter Dragon and stopped my flying assault. But, eventually I was able to trade two flyers for the dragon and soon afterwards clean up with Steel Hellkite. Game three was the best game of the match, with Jordan applying pressure with Concussive Bolts and a Kuldotha Flamefiend. However, after Turning the Flamefiend to Slag, Steel Hellkite came down just in time to save the day yet again, and when Jordan couldn't forge a removal spell, my dragon soon took down the match.

So, the Top 7 is set, as are the byes for Sunday's Invitational Qualifier. Here are the final League Standings with some extra annotations to indicate byes and the like:

1***. 73 - Michael Carney (18)

2***. 67 - Hunter Garrett (13)

3***. 58 - Michael Smith (14)

4***. 48 - Jordan Arnold (10)

5***. 44 - Chris Pear (15)

6***. 43 - Noah Senzel (15)

7***. 42 - Jason D'Mellow (7)

8**. 39 - Skye Kutner (11)

9**. 38 - Bryant Benson (9)

10**. 37 - John Kreinbring (12)

11**. 36 - Liz DiGangi (10)

12**. 35 - Kevin Hoover (13)

13**. 35 - Dane Newton (7)

14*. 32 - Scott Record (7)

15*. 30 - Joe Hammond (11)

16*. 30 - Mike Mooty (5)

17*. 25 - Kevin Crowley (7)

18. 16 - Roy Mustang (9)

19. 14 - Hannah Sharp (6)

20. 12 - Helen Croce (2)

21. 11 - Max Kruger (5)

22. 11 - Will Sturges (4)

23. 10 - Anna Hallahan (4)

24. 9 - Michael Cambata (4)

25. 9 - Haren Lalchand (3)

26. 8 - Alex Kerns (3)

27. 7 - Steven Nelson (5)

28. 7 - Alycia Johnson (1)

29. 6 - Tyler Deforge (5)

29. 6 - Joe Kozlowski (5)

31. 6 - Ethan Pepmiller (3)

32. 6 - Alex Siphom Chi (2)

33. 5 - Richie Harper (4)

34. 5 - Nick Catalfano (3)

34. 5 - Emile Paul (3)

36. 4 - Jason Navarro (1)

37. 3 - David Jacobsen (2)

38. 3 - Andrew Capik (1)

39. 2 - Kareem Elashmawy (1)

39. 2 - Luke Glesener (1)

39. 2 - Will Siu (1)

42. 1 - Zach Barton (1)

42. 1 - Gus Bora (1)

42. 1 - Kyle Coleman (1)

42. 1 - Joao Alberto de Faria (1)

42. 1 - Dan Gorelik (1)

42. 1 - Dan Hooghkirk (1)

42. 1 - Megan Moreno (1)

42. 1 - Glen Parker (1)

42. 1 - Christina Termini (1)

42. 1 - Greg Voskuhl (1)

* = Player has earned 1 bye in Qualifier

** = Player has earned 2 byes in Qualifier

*** = Player has automatically qualified for Invitational

As I mentioned last week, the Qualifier will be Extended format, this Sunday beginning at 2:30 (registration begins at 2; try to be there by 2:15 if you have no byes, 3:15 if you have 1 bye, or 4:00 if you have two byes). There will be some alternate activity for the Top 7 players to do (probably just some EDH matches), and that will also be announced later in the week, but it will not be a draft as previously announced, as I had to use extra packs for this draft instead. I'll figure something out and include it in the next email.

The long-lost, infamous 2-day shipping box arrived today (a week after shipping), and the Uber Draft will be on the last study day, which is Friday, April 29 at 1 P.M. Thank you all for your patience and understanding regarding this scheduling change.

Thanks for reading and I'll hopefully see many of you on Sunday!

- Dom

Details for Extended Qualifier and Spring Invitational

The semester is approaching its conclusion, and it will soon be time to finish it off with some very exciting events. Some of the logistics and scheduling are fairly detailed and perhaps a little confusing, so I'm going to walk you through everything one step at a time. When you're done reading this, hopefully everything will make sense, but if not you can always contact me with any questions.

This Sunday, April 10, will be the Uber Draft - the last event for Spring League Points. After the Uber draft, I will post the final spring standings, and the top 7 players in the standings will qualify for the Spring Top 8 Invitational (and will get to draft with me during the Qualifier), which will take place on Saturday, April 23. I know what you're thinking..."but Dom, how come only 7 people qualify for the Top 8 Invitational? It is, after all, called the Top 8 Invitational. Why don't you just call it the Top 7 Invitational, then?"

Despite what popular rumors might claim, being able to count is a prerequisite for entry into the chemical engineering program. What I've decided to do is have one last tournament with the final spot in the Invitational on the line - primarily because there are about 14-17 people that are really close to the top 7-8, and they've all worked very hard for their points this semester. So, I want to give the people that fall just short one last chance to qualify.

To reward them further for their diligence throughout the semester, the players near the top of the standings will be awarded byes for the early rounds of the Qualifier, which will be an Extended tournament on Sunday, April 17. Players in the Qualifier with more than 35 League Points will be awarded two byes in the Swiss rounds, while players between 25 and 35 League Points will receive one bye. Players with fewer than 25 League Points will receive no byes, but may enter the event and can still win it the "old-fashioned way" by starting at the beginning. This event will include 5 Swiss rounds followed by a cut to the top 8. All participants must pay the full entry fee ($2 for entry or $5 for an entry plus a pack) regardless of the number of byes awarded to them.

As mentioned before, the winner of the Qualifier will receive the last spot in the Invitational (and there will be the usual set of prizes just like there would be for any other event). The top 8 will then face off in their own separate event on Saturday, April 23. It will consist of 2 rounds of Standard and 3 rounds of MBS-SOM-SOM draft, followed by a cut to Top 4. The Top 4 will then play two rounds of single-elimination Standard to determine the Spring Invitational champion. There will be a $12 Invitational Fee assessed to each player to cover product and prize costs.

Those who do not qualify for the Invitational, however, will still have plenty of Magic to play. While the Invitational is going on, I will be running side events much like I did last year. This time, the side events will include a Standard event, a draft, and 4-man chaos Commander (EDH) pods. All of these will have different entry fees and prizes that will be announced by the time the Qualifier rolls around.

Check the Upcoming Events in the upper right section of the screen for more detailed scheduling and other details. Thanks for reading and I'll see you guys at the Uber Draft on Sunday!

- Dom

Block Wars Results & Big Standings Update

Thanks to the newly-created Magic committee for running the Block Wars event while I was out of town. Since I wasn't there, I obviously can't write a summary of it, but if anyone else wants to do that I'll upload it to the site. Here are the results:

1. 4-0 Allies (Zendikar) by Scott Record

2. 3-1 Naya (Shards of Alara) by John Kreinbring

3. 3-1 Tezzeret (Scars of Mirrodin) by Noah Senzel

4. 3-1 Goblins (Onslaught) by Michael Smith

Here's the first standings update in a couple weeks. It includes Block Wars, Relay for Life, and the events in Orlando:

1. 69 - Michael Carney (17)

2. 67 - Hunter Garrett (13)

3. 58 - Michael Smith (14)

4. 43 - Chris Pear (14)

5. 42 - Noah Senzel (14)

6. 42 - Jordan Arnold (9)

7. 39 - Jason D'Mellow (6)

8. 38 - Skye Kutner (10)

9. 36 - John Kreinbring (11)

10. 36 - Liz DiGangi (10)

11. 35 - Dane Newton (7)

12. 34 - Kevin Hoover (12)

13. 33 - Bryant Benson (8)

14. 32 - Scott Record (7)

15. 30 - Joe Hammond (11)

16. 25 - Kevin Crowley (7)

17. 23 - Mike Mooty (4)

18. 16 - Roy Mustang (9)

19. 14 - Hannah Sharp (6)

20. 12 - Helen Croce (2)

21. 11 - Max Kruger (5)

22. 11 - Will Sturges (4)

23. 10 - Anna Hallahan (4)

24. 9 - Michael Cambata (4)

25. 9 - Haren Lalchand (3)

26. 8 - Alex Kerns (3)

27. 7 - Alycia Johnson (1)

28. 6 - Tyler Deforge (5)

28. 6 - Joe Kozlowski (5)

30. 6 - Steven Nelson (4)

31. 6 - Ethan Pepmiller (3)

32. 6 - Alex Siphom Chi (2)

33. 5 - Richie Harper (4)

34. 5 - Nick Catalfano (3)

34. 5 - Emile Paul (3)

36. 4 - Jason Navarro (1)

37. 3 - David Jacobsen (2)

38. 3 - Andrew Capik (1)

39. 2 - Kareem Elashmawy (1)

39. 2 - Will Siu (1)

41. 1 - Zach Barton (1)

41. 1 - Gus Bora (1)

41. 1 - Joao Alberto de Faria (1)

41. 1 - Dan Gorelik (1)

41. 1 - Dan Hooghkirk (1)

41. 1 - Megan Moreno (1)

41. 1 - Glen Parker (1)

41. 1 - Ryan Ripper (1)

41. 1 - Christina Termini (1)

41. 1 - Greg Voskuhl (1)

A post about the Uber draft and the Invitational Qualifier will be up by Tuesday night. Have a good week!

- Dom