by Will Brinkman
The classic matchup: Mage vs. Warrior. Brains vs. brawn. The intellectual Mage attempts to outsmart brute force, sometimes outmaneuvering the angry fighter. Sometimes the haughty Mage ends up split in two--such is life. Raphael Ait Slimane sat down in the EUCC Quarterfinals with Vor’na the Wretched, a favorite control deck amongst Europeans. Stefan Urban sat down with Bloody Mary, a deck that can be explained by its hallmark card: Death Wish.
Both players mulliganed, and Stefan’s hand didn’t offer much in terms of threats. Raphael was content to sit on his hand and place a few quests. Stefan had a turn 1 Guardian’s Plate Bracers, and eventually he was able to Darkness Calling a Broderick into the yard. Stefan played Death wish with 3 resources up, and Raphael attempted Counterspell. Urban declined to run his Pummel, content with laying down Greaves of Ancient Evil. He remembered to attack, dealing the first point of damage in the match.
Zapped Giants revealed a Brittilize, Raphael taking the ability over both The Taste of Arcana and Nether Fissure. “Not my shoes!” cried out Urban, the boots shattering in the cold. Mary attacked for another point, and Urban played out Perdition’s Blade to increase the beats on the Traitor Mage. Raphael announced Meltdown for 2 resources, and Bloody Mary used her ready dagger to Pummel rather predictably. Counterspell protected the Meltdown, and P-Blade went to the yard. Urban declined to Reconstruct his weapon, saving it for later. Mary put the Mage at 4 damage, and the mind games continued.
A second Brittilize blew up the Plate Bracers, and Stefan replaced them with an honest payment. Mary continued the beatings, and Call to Arms: Arathi Basin revealed another Bracers with Jin’rohk, the Great Apocalypse. A second Call to Arms revealed double Death Wish, and Stefan stuck both. Eye of the Storm prevented Mary’s attack, saving Vor’na a lot of health.
Munkin Blackfist blew up the Bracers, and a third Call to Arms revealed Greaves of Ancient Evil, Broderick, and Vindicator’s Brand. The sword stuck, but Raphael said “no” to Greaves with a Nether Fissure. Munkin died from a Mary attack fueled by Death Wish and Broderick; Keys to the Armory fetched Greaves of Ancient Evil, and Raphael’s hands trembled as Stefan passed the turn.
“Transformation!” called out Raphael, spreading his arms like wings. He was now Illidan Stormrage, the Betrayer. The master hero immediately slammed into Bloody Mary, and Urban had the option to activate Death Wish to speed up the game. He decided to simply strike back with Vindicator’s Brand, making damage totals even at 8 apiece.
Raphael was low on cards, but one of them was Flickers from the Past. Unfortunately for Slimane, he had no ongoing abilities in his graveyard! If Stefan could go toe-to-toe with Illidan and his friends, he’d be victorious. Jin’rohk, the Great Apocalypse sent V-Brand to the yard, and the Brittilize destroyed in response to deal 2 to Mary. Lady Vashj joined the Betrayer, and Raphael revealed that he had ripped his second Munkin Blackfist to blow up Jin’rohk. This also improved Slimane’s Eye of the Storm to 4 counters, and Illidan ran in for another 5-shot of damage.
Reconstruct rebuilt Jin’rohk uncontested, and Puncture blew a fatal hole through the Naga queen. Greaves of Ancient Evil came on board, but not before Brittilize hit Mary for another 2 damage. Illidan passed on recruiting any of his epic friends, instead calling on Priestess of Dementia. “I think that’s your game,” laughed Urban as he shuffled up for game 2.
Ait Slimane – 1, Urban – 0
Urban kept a hand featuring Broderick, Plate Bracers, and two quests. Slimane threw away his hand and received a hand with a decent spread of counters, Brittilize, and quests.
Stefan opened with the 2/1 and the Bracers. A turn 2 Brittilize shattered the Bracers, and Broderick attacked. Death Wish made it 7 damage to 3 in favor of the German. Spell Suppression stopped Death Wish, and Stefan tried to armor up with Greaves of Ancient Evil after a Broderick beatdown. Zapped Giants revealed Brittilize, and Stefan reeled a bit from his opponent’s good fortune. The Greaves went to the graveyard, and the Brittilize also stopped Mary’s attack when she equipped Edge of Oblivion. Broderick continued to be the Warrior’s only offense, taking Vor’na to 11.
Munkin sent the axe to the scrapyard, from which it returned thanks to Reconstruct. Brittilize stopped the Warrior attack, and Keys to the Armory fetched Girdle of Razuvious. Conjured Cinnamon Roll sat on Vor’na’s board, the snack prepared to undo all of Urban’s work. Spell Suppression landed on Call to Arms: Arathi Basin, attempting to stop Mary from reloading. Ait Slimane held Brittilize, Flickers from the Past, and Counterspell. He couldn’t stop what was going to happen next.
Mary took 2 to clear out Munkin Blackfist, and Broderick put Vor’na to 13 damage. Girdle hit play, and the armory coughed up World Breaker. Mary went to 12 damage, and she equipped the two-handed mace. Vor’na healed while she could, going to 7 damage. Raphael played Flash of Brilliance and Brittilize destroyed the Plate.
Eye of the Storm prevented any attacks, but the damage was about to happen on both sides of the board. Vindicator’s Brand blew up the Flash of Brilliance and Keys coughed up Amani Mask of Death. That destroyed the two Spell Suppressions, and Raphael breathed a sigh of relief.
A half-pleasant “Thank you!” hinted at the impending car wreck, and Urban asked “Flickers?” Slimane showed him the Mage ability and Vor’na’s graveyard blew the doors off the place. Brittilize blew up the Mask, and Spell Supressions hit World Breaker and Call to Arms respectively. Cinnamon Roll stayed in the graveyard. Mary knocked the Mage to 16 damage, herself going to 13 damage.
Flash of Brilliance turned into Mana Ruby. Darkness Calling allowed Urban to dump a Broderick in the yard, and the live one pushed the Mage to 18 damage. One of the two Brittilizes stopped Mary’s attack, and Stefan attempted Reconstruct for Amani Mask of Death. Raphael used his final card in hand to Counterspell the Warrior ability, and a Keys to the Armory turned into Vindicator’s Brand. Unfortunately for the German, he was one resource short of blowing up the Mana Ruby. This allowed Ait Slimane to draw 7 cards. Munkin blew up World Breaker, and Munkin protected Vor’na from the ensuing Mary attack. After the melee, both heroes were at 20 damage.
Eye of the Storm exhausted Urban’s attackers, and he simply showed Reconstruct and uttered “World Breaker.” Raphael dug for a counter with his new Mana Sapphire and hit Nether Fracture. Stefan simply showed Pummel and the world blew up. Rapahel confirmed that they were both at 20 damage, and the two went to game three.
Ait Slimane – 1, Urban – 1
Raphael shuffled, a little stunned that he lost that game after the blowout with Flickers From the Past. Stefan spent his shuffling time laughing at the series of events, celebrating his comeback victory.
Urban had Guardian’s Plate Bracers in game one, and both players laughed that he always came equipped. Urban simply commented that it meant Raphael got more action on his Brittilizes. The Bracers stuck, and Raphael took the time to play Mana Sapphire. Keys to the Armory found Girdle of Razuvious. Raphael blew his Sapphire at the end of Stefan’s next turn, and Brittilize blew up the Bracers just like so many times before. Poor guy couldn’t keep out of the cold!
Nether Fracture made sure that Mary’s feet kept cold, sans Greaves. That cleared the way for Death Wish, and the heroes each took 3 damage. Urban’s hand was very reactionary with Pummels and Punctures, so he lacked the ability to get any early game going. Flash of Brilliance threatened, well, anything! Greaves of Ancient Evil stuck this time, but Eye of the Storm prevented any Death Wish ridiculousness.
Flash of Brilliance turned into Metalmorph targeting the Greaves. A hard-cast Pummel tried to stop it, but Counterspell made it stick. Raphael finished his turn with Blizzard, locking down Mary for a turn. Girdle of Razuvious found Vindicator’s Brand, Mary going up to 7 damage. Reconstruct brought back a broken Greaves, sending the morphed ones to the graveyard.
Twin Munkin Blackfists blew up the Girdle of Razuvious and Greaves of Ancient Evil. This charged up Eye of the Storm to 4 counters and allowed Raphael to use Brittilize to prevent Mary’s attack. The Mage ability blew up in response to a Reconstruct for Greaves, and Darkness Calling allowed Urban to dump a Broderick into the yard. Puncture blew up one of the protectors, and Eye of the Storm exhausted to protect the other. Perdition’s Blade allowed Mary to ready, with Greaves combined with Tanks for Everything, Dalaran, and Death Wish giving Mary the power to punt the second protector to the yard.
Stefan passed the turn in control of the board, but Raphael had been preparing for a massive Flickers from the Past. Brittilize blew up the boots, Metalmorph landed on Vindicator’s Brand, Mana Sapphire provided future draw power, and Flash of Brilliance gave Vor’na options.
Edge of Oblivion replaced the morphed V-Brand, and time was called as Mary attempted to attack. Brittilize stopped the beatdown, and Flash of Brilliance sent Raphael to his collection. Stefan told him not to bother and conceded the match, demolished by the massive Flickers from the Past.
Ait Slimane - 2, Urban - 1
Raphael Ait Slimane marches through the cold and into the Semifinals!
The classic matchup: Mage vs. Warrior. Brains vs. brawn. The intellectual Mage attempts to outsmart brute force, sometimes outmaneuvering the angry fighter. Sometimes the haughty Mage ends up split in two--such is life. Raphael Ait Slimane sat down in the EUCC Quarterfinals with Vor’na the Wretched, a favorite control deck amongst Europeans. Stefan Urban sat down with Bloody Mary, a deck that can be explained by its hallmark card: Death Wish.
Both players mulliganed, and Stefan’s hand didn’t offer much in terms of threats. Raphael was content to sit on his hand and place a few quests. Stefan had a turn 1 Guardian’s Plate Bracers, and eventually he was able to Darkness Calling a Broderick into the yard. Stefan played Death wish with 3 resources up, and Raphael attempted Counterspell. Urban declined to run his Pummel, content with laying down Greaves of Ancient Evil. He remembered to attack, dealing the first point of damage in the match.
Zapped Giants revealed a Brittilize, Raphael taking the ability over both The Taste of Arcana and Nether Fissure. “Not my shoes!” cried out Urban, the boots shattering in the cold. Mary attacked for another point, and Urban played out Perdition’s Blade to increase the beats on the Traitor Mage. Raphael announced Meltdown for 2 resources, and Bloody Mary used her ready dagger to Pummel rather predictably. Counterspell protected the Meltdown, and P-Blade went to the yard. Urban declined to Reconstruct his weapon, saving it for later. Mary put the Mage at 4 damage, and the mind games continued.
Munkin Blackfist blew up the Bracers, and a third Call to Arms revealed Greaves of Ancient Evil, Broderick, and Vindicator’s Brand. The sword stuck, but Raphael said “no” to Greaves with a Nether Fissure. Munkin died from a Mary attack fueled by Death Wish and Broderick; Keys to the Armory fetched Greaves of Ancient Evil, and Raphael’s hands trembled as Stefan passed the turn.
“Transformation!” called out Raphael, spreading his arms like wings. He was now Illidan Stormrage, the Betrayer. The master hero immediately slammed into Bloody Mary, and Urban had the option to activate Death Wish to speed up the game. He decided to simply strike back with Vindicator’s Brand, making damage totals even at 8 apiece.
Raphael was low on cards, but one of them was Flickers from the Past. Unfortunately for Slimane, he had no ongoing abilities in his graveyard! If Stefan could go toe-to-toe with Illidan and his friends, he’d be victorious. Jin’rohk, the Great Apocalypse sent V-Brand to the yard, and the Brittilize destroyed in response to deal 2 to Mary. Lady Vashj joined the Betrayer, and Raphael revealed that he had ripped his second Munkin Blackfist to blow up Jin’rohk. This also improved Slimane’s Eye of the Storm to 4 counters, and Illidan ran in for another 5-shot of damage.
Reconstruct rebuilt Jin’rohk uncontested, and Puncture blew a fatal hole through the Naga queen. Greaves of Ancient Evil came on board, but not before Brittilize hit Mary for another 2 damage. Illidan passed on recruiting any of his epic friends, instead calling on Priestess of Dementia. “I think that’s your game,” laughed Urban as he shuffled up for game 2.
Ait Slimane – 1, Urban – 0
Urban kept a hand featuring Broderick, Plate Bracers, and two quests. Slimane threw away his hand and received a hand with a decent spread of counters, Brittilize, and quests.
Stefan opened with the 2/1 and the Bracers. A turn 2 Brittilize shattered the Bracers, and Broderick attacked. Death Wish made it 7 damage to 3 in favor of the German. Spell Suppression stopped Death Wish, and Stefan tried to armor up with Greaves of Ancient Evil after a Broderick beatdown. Zapped Giants revealed Brittilize, and Stefan reeled a bit from his opponent’s good fortune. The Greaves went to the graveyard, and the Brittilize also stopped Mary’s attack when she equipped Edge of Oblivion. Broderick continued to be the Warrior’s only offense, taking Vor’na to 11.
Munkin sent the axe to the scrapyard, from which it returned thanks to Reconstruct. Brittilize stopped the Warrior attack, and Keys to the Armory fetched Girdle of Razuvious. Conjured Cinnamon Roll sat on Vor’na’s board, the snack prepared to undo all of Urban’s work. Spell Suppression landed on Call to Arms: Arathi Basin, attempting to stop Mary from reloading. Ait Slimane held Brittilize, Flickers from the Past, and Counterspell. He couldn’t stop what was going to happen next.
Mary took 2 to clear out Munkin Blackfist, and Broderick put Vor’na to 13 damage. Girdle hit play, and the armory coughed up World Breaker. Mary went to 12 damage, and she equipped the two-handed mace. Vor’na healed while she could, going to 7 damage. Raphael played Flash of Brilliance and Brittilize destroyed the Plate.
Eye of the Storm prevented any attacks, but the damage was about to happen on both sides of the board. Vindicator’s Brand blew up the Flash of Brilliance and Keys coughed up Amani Mask of Death. That destroyed the two Spell Suppressions, and Raphael breathed a sigh of relief.
Flash of Brilliance turned into Mana Ruby. Darkness Calling allowed Urban to dump a Broderick in the yard, and the live one pushed the Mage to 18 damage. One of the two Brittilizes stopped Mary’s attack, and Stefan attempted Reconstruct for Amani Mask of Death. Raphael used his final card in hand to Counterspell the Warrior ability, and a Keys to the Armory turned into Vindicator’s Brand. Unfortunately for the German, he was one resource short of blowing up the Mana Ruby. This allowed Ait Slimane to draw 7 cards. Munkin blew up World Breaker, and Munkin protected Vor’na from the ensuing Mary attack. After the melee, both heroes were at 20 damage.
Eye of the Storm exhausted Urban’s attackers, and he simply showed Reconstruct and uttered “World Breaker.” Raphael dug for a counter with his new Mana Sapphire and hit Nether Fracture. Stefan simply showed Pummel and the world blew up. Rapahel confirmed that they were both at 20 damage, and the two went to game three.
Ait Slimane – 1, Urban – 1
Raphael shuffled, a little stunned that he lost that game after the blowout with Flickers From the Past. Stefan spent his shuffling time laughing at the series of events, celebrating his comeback victory.
Urban had Guardian’s Plate Bracers in game one, and both players laughed that he always came equipped. Urban simply commented that it meant Raphael got more action on his Brittilizes. The Bracers stuck, and Raphael took the time to play Mana Sapphire. Keys to the Armory found Girdle of Razuvious. Raphael blew his Sapphire at the end of Stefan’s next turn, and Brittilize blew up the Bracers just like so many times before. Poor guy couldn’t keep out of the cold!
Nether Fracture made sure that Mary’s feet kept cold, sans Greaves. That cleared the way for Death Wish, and the heroes each took 3 damage. Urban’s hand was very reactionary with Pummels and Punctures, so he lacked the ability to get any early game going. Flash of Brilliance threatened, well, anything! Greaves of Ancient Evil stuck this time, but Eye of the Storm prevented any Death Wish ridiculousness.
Flash of Brilliance turned into Metalmorph targeting the Greaves. A hard-cast Pummel tried to stop it, but Counterspell made it stick. Raphael finished his turn with Blizzard, locking down Mary for a turn. Girdle of Razuvious found Vindicator’s Brand, Mary going up to 7 damage. Reconstruct brought back a broken Greaves, sending the morphed ones to the graveyard.
Twin Munkin Blackfists blew up the Girdle of Razuvious and Greaves of Ancient Evil. This charged up Eye of the Storm to 4 counters and allowed Raphael to use Brittilize to prevent Mary’s attack. The Mage ability blew up in response to a Reconstruct for Greaves, and Darkness Calling allowed Urban to dump a Broderick into the yard. Puncture blew up one of the protectors, and Eye of the Storm exhausted to protect the other. Perdition’s Blade allowed Mary to ready, with Greaves combined with Tanks for Everything, Dalaran, and Death Wish giving Mary the power to punt the second protector to the yard.
Stefan passed the turn in control of the board, but Raphael had been preparing for a massive Flickers from the Past. Brittilize blew up the boots, Metalmorph landed on Vindicator’s Brand, Mana Sapphire provided future draw power, and Flash of Brilliance gave Vor’na options.
Edge of Oblivion replaced the morphed V-Brand, and time was called as Mary attempted to attack. Brittilize stopped the beatdown, and Flash of Brilliance sent Raphael to his collection. Stefan told him not to bother and conceded the match, demolished by the massive Flickers from the Past.
Ait Slimane - 2, Urban - 1
Raphael Ait Slimane marches through the cold and into the Semifinals!
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Posted by: Kimberlyleak1 | 05/19/2011 at 07:30 PM