ProTour Kyoto

Since I am a casual player through-and-through, it is rare that I take in the Pro-Tour coverage. This weekend was an exception however and am I ever glad to have caught the webcast. There was an interesting (unexpected) blend of fresh faces and old veterans in the top eight. The unstoppable Luis Scott-Vargas and the experienced vetran Gabriel Nassif were heavily favoured to win the 2009 Pro-Tour Kyoto.


Of the top eight, I would select the most interesting deck as that belonging to Brian Robinson. Brian, although new to the Pro-Tour had built a 'Four-Colour Doran' or 'Dark Bant' deck. Others at the tournament nick-named this new / fun deck 'Doran of the Many'.

Although the final match-up between LSV and Nassif was very good to watch, it was somewhat anticlimatic especially when compared to some of the earlier quarter-final matchs. LSV played at a blistering-hot speed with some games over in less than 3 minutes with his Black-White token deck.

By far, the best game was the match-up between Matteo Orsini Jones and Gabriel Nassif. This pair had 2 games a piece and were facing their final fifth game to determine who would go on. I think it best to borrow the coverage from the very eloquent Nate Price who covered this most epic of games.

Nassif was at 8 and taking 4 a turn. Before Orsini Jones dropped Nassif to 4, he Thoughtseized him, revealing a Reflecting Pool. Orsini Jones was one turn away from advancing to the Semifinals, and Nassif only had one draw to find something to stop him. Nassif put his top card in front of him, face down, and then went about arranging his lands. “I’m preparing my Cruel Ultimatum mana.” He slowly peeled the card back before snapping it into his hand and hiding it behind his Reflecting Pool, all without looking at it. He then dropped the Reflecting Pool, tapped seven mana, and blindly dropped his card onto the table. The roar from the spectator packed observation area threatened to level the Arena with a wall of sound. Nassif had topdecked the Cruel Ultimatum he had set up the mana for. The stupid grin that seems to be the human body’s natural reaction to BEING ABSOLUTELY AMAZING still had yet to fade from his face. Barely audible under the still raucous crowd in the next room, Nassif simply managed to utter, “Ridiculous.” After resolving the superfluously cruel Ultimatum, Orsini Jones and Nassif exchanged fortunes, and within one more turn, and under the crushing wings of a pair of Dragons, Orsini Jones finally fell in one of the most epic finishes to a match I’ve ever witnessed. Gabriel Nassif defeats Matteo Orsini Jones 3-2 and advances to the Semifinals!

Here is a video of this most amazing 'called shot'.



I actually feel somewhat sorry for Matteo who essentially had lost to a top-decked card, but hey - it's the luck aspect of the game.

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Of the 381 players in the tournament, only 6 fellow Canadians were in attendance. Unfortunately, none had made it into the Top 8. Speaking of the final standings, here they are.

1. Nassif, Gabriel
2. Scott-Vargas, Luis
3. Yamamoto, Akimasa
4. Robinson, Brian
5. Phillips, Cedric
6. Ruess, Jan
7. Orsini Jones, Matteo
8. Tanahashi, Masayasu

Be sure to check out the Top 8 Decklists and the dossiers of the Top 8 Players.

Divine Wallpaper

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As promised on Wednesday, Wizards delivered a special Divine vs Demonic surprise on Magic Arcana today - Desktop Wallpaper ! I did have a feeling that the 'surprise' was to be either a) booster packaging or b) wallpaper. (I have lived through several Magic the Gathering set releases.)

Anywho, we now have TWO very cool desktop wallpapers is two Divine vs Demonic wallpapers both from the Angelic side. Check out Akroma, Angel of Wrath (by Chippy) and Luminous Angel (by Jason Chan). The art is very nice and a whole lot better than the original art work (sorry Ron Spears and Matt Wilson - I know it was not your fault).
Akroma is just about an awesome an angel as one could expect - flying, vigilance, trample, haste (?), and of course protection from R 'n' B. Luminous Angel on the other hand is overpriced jank. Let's have a look . . .

Akroma, Angel of Wrath, 5WWW
Creature - Angel Legend, Rare
Flying, first strike, trample, haste, protection from black, protection from red. Attacking doesn't cause Akroma, Angel of Wrath to tap.
6/6

Luminous Angel, 4WWW
Creature - Angel, Rare
Flying, At the beginning of your upkeep, you may put a 1/1 white Spirit creature token with flying into play.
4 / 4

With the whole good / evil thing happening, Wizards will have to strike a balance. As Lord of the Pit is pretty much unplayable, we should (hopefully!) expect another demon more at par with Akroma. To this end, we may expect the likes of the very decent Reiver Demon perhaps.

We speculate a further balance and matched cards along the lines of . . .
Black Knight : White Knight, etc.
Perhaps - Damnation : Wrath of God (doubtful though)

Next week, we will be hit with some Demonic wallpapers from Wizards. I guess its the whole ying-yang thing.

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Also . . . I do not often follow Pro-Tour play (as I am a total Casual player), but I pop in from time to time to see what directions the metagame is taking. While checking out the 2009 Pro Tour–Kyoto Coverage happening right now, I came across this very cool image taken by Craig Gibson / Josh Bennett in their photo-essay from Kyoto.
Let's see . . . a Rafiq of the Many, a Progenitus, and a Dramatic Entrance (!). This should NOT be the face you would wear.