Semi Final – Menno Dolstra (NDL) vs Pierre Rensonnet (FRA)
by David Sutcliffe
Menno Dolstra got handed a free pass into the Semi Finals... Pierre Rensonnet began by explaining just how his opponent had found himself entered directly into the Semi-Finals of this Grand Prix, without having played a Quarterfinal. Menno Dolstra had been scheduled to face Romain Lisciandro, who had featured in our very first feature match of the Grand Prix yesterday morning. But Lisciandro was no longer in the building because after the Top-8 draft was done he had dropped out of the tournament.
“Romain had to get home,” Pierre was explaining, “There was no other train for him, he had work in the morning... he just had to go. If he’d dropped out before the Top-8 started he would have finished ninth, and lost out.”
That’s rough. Can you imagine that? Making it to the Top-8 of the largest Magic tournament ever, then having to go home after the draft, knowing that you could have won it? Deary me, that would haunt me for the rest of my life!
Menno Dolstra wasted little time in laying into Rensonnet with his untested deck as the Semi-Final began, leading with an
Akrasan Squire, Deft Duellist, and then a
Waveskimmer Aven from his Bant deck. Across the table, Rensonnet began the slow process of limbering up his Gargantuan Naya deck with a
Rakeclaw Gargantuan and a
Mosstodon. Unfortunately their size was their weakness as well as their strength, and he was already down to 9 life by they time they began attacking.
But Dolstra was in no mood for blocking either, and took all the damage he was dealt, himself going from 20 to 5 in just two attack phases. Both players were now facing down lethal damage, and it would be about what they could do to stop the rot. It was Rensonnet that seemed to have the answer, first destroying two of Dolstra’s men with a
Branching Bolt, then tapping them down with a
Naya Charm to ensure Dolstra could neither attack not block, and sealing the game.
Menno Dolstra 0 – 1 Pierre Rensonnet
As easy as you like, it had taken only three Naya spells to scythe through everything that Dolstra had – the
Branching Bolt had served a purpose, but quite frankly had only existed to draw out a counterspell ahead of the
Naya Charm. From seeming on the verge of victory, Menno Dolstra had just been trampled underhoof. His start to the second game also seemed to be going badly wrong – having given Rensonnet the chance to play first, Dolstra was forced to mulligan.
Rensonnet took full advantage, leading the way with a
Steward of Valeron that unlocked an early
Incurable Ogre. The Ogre was killed by a
Waveskimmer Aven as it attacked, but the Frenchman followed up his Ogre’s assault with a
Goblin Assault. Dolstra played a second
Waveskimmer Aven, and that managed to trade away with both the
Steward of Valeron and a
Branching Bolt. Those two Aven had accounted for three of Rensonnet’s strongest plays and left him reliant on the Goblins his enchantment was spewing out for an offense.
Dolstra seized his opportunity, making a
Cavern Thoctar and
Yoked Plowbeast and heading onto the offensive – two Gargantuans that made the
Guardians of Akrasa that Rensonnet had drawn seem insignificant by comparison! Just to be sure, a
Jungle Weaver threatened to flip the table end-on-end, so great was the difference in size between the two player’s creatures, and the match was only going one way... into a third game!
Menno Dolstra 1 – 1 Pierre Rensonnet
Menno Dolstra got handed a free pass into the Semi Finals... That began with Rensonnet mulliganning his way down to 6 cards, while Dolstra also had to think long and hard before choosing to keep his opening hand of 7. For Rensonnet it was obvious what the problem was – he stalled on two land, and was fortunate to be able to escape the trap he had set for himself with a
Steward of Valeron and then an
Obelisk of Naya.
All that had given Dolstra time to set up an offense without being distracted by blocking, and he had an Akrasan Sire, Deft Duellist, and
Sigiled Paladin online. That made for a lot of Exalted!
Rensonnet, now with mana to burn, hit back with a
Woolly Thoctar. Dolstra attempted to further bolster his Exalted men with a
Waveskimmer Aven but it was removed by a
Bloodpyre Elemental. Undaunted he pressed on, his
Sigiled Paladin attacking as a 4/4 to reduce Rensonnet to 9 life.
Pierre Rensonnnet hit straight back, playing a
Rakeclaw Gargantuan and throwing his
Woolly Thoctar into the red zone, reducing Dolstra to 10 life! Both players were racing hard, and it was a dangerous game... particularly for Dolstra as it was a game he had already lost once to a
Naya Charm!
And it was the Charm again. For a second time, a second set of tapped creatures, and a second Nayan surge across the table that wiped Dolstra off the map.
Naya Charm, GG!
Menno Dolstra 1 – 2 Pierre Rensonnet
Round 14: Kenny Öberg vs Simon Görtzen
by Daniel Ullenius
Kenny Öberg Both players knew that it was high time to win, since whoever lost would be out of the race for champion of the biggest DCI-sanctioned tournament ever. The players discussed their chances and what the best road to top 8 was while shuffling, with Kenny advising Simon to play and not draw if he won.
Game 1:
Simon started of with double
Goblin Deathraiders aginst Kenny’s lands. Kenny however played
Deft Duelist, which both players agreed was a good answer. Seening that his opponent did not play a fourth land, Kenny took the advantage to gain advantage with an Excommunicte on Simon’s
Kathari Screecher.
A third Deathraiders came down for Simon, and Kenny laughed at the situation and commented that it would be a lot of damage if it came through.
Sharuum the Hegemon entered on Kennys side of the board, and thing looked a little better for the Swede.
When Simon played
Executioner’s Capsule, Kenny got into thinking mode and finally played
Metallurgeon. The players commented each other plays a lot, while also keeping careful track of things such as their opponents hand-sizes, life totals, and more.
Things took a turn for the unexpected when Simon charged with everything he had, and it sure looked like he had a trick up his sleeve. Of course he did, and
Agony Warp came down after blockers to make Sharuum a lot smaller. With damage on the stack, Kenny Called his
Sharuum the Hegemon to Heel, which sure made the board a litte less aggressive for Simon. Kenny replayed his 5/5 flier, remarked that Simon still had a lot of damage left on the board, and passed.
Rounds came and was shipped, until Simon out of nowhere made a blowout with a 13/13 Thunder-Trash Elder. Kenny charged with
Sharuum the Hegemon and passed. Simon Unearted a
Corpse Connoisseur to find
Viscera Dragger, which got reanimated as well. Kenny blocked the giant
Thunder-Thrash Elder with
Deft Duelist and went to 7. On his turn, Kenny not flinch and calmly untapped, drew, and played
Coma Veil, to put the Elder out for the rest of the game.
Yoked Plowbeast ensured that no damage from Simon would go through ever again, and commented on the amount of fat in this game, especially since neither of them were playing Naya. Simon did not find an answer.
Kenny Öberg 1 – 0 Simon Görtzen
Game 2:
Simon Görtzen The second game started off with some small attackers and blockers on both sides of the table. When Simon played
Dragon Fodder twice, Kenny might have feared Thunder-Trash Elder, but if he did, he did not show it.
The players battled to and forth with small creatures, bounce,
Cancels, and more. The board did certainly look better for Simon, who had managed to collect 12 power worth of creatures, while Kenny only had a
Windwright Mage. Simon tapped three and played “just” a 10/10 Thunder-Trash Elder.
When Simon attacked for 15, Kenny only cycled
Resounding Wave, returning Simon’s 10/10 Elder and a
Viscera Dragger, and played an
Undead Leotau. Kenny was not out of it yet though, and played
Sphinx Sovereign. Simon was however too far ahead, and his last attack managed to make Kenny scoop up the cards.
Kenny Öberg 1 – 1 Simon Görtzen
Game 3:
Things were getting exiting now, and you could tell that both players felt the pressure. They had replaced their friendly chatting with silence and shuffled a lot faster, a sign of nervousness perhaps?
The last game began as the other two had, with lots of tiny creatures from both players. Kenny kept playing small guys to block Simon’s small guys, and by the fifth round, the board was nothing but a couple of tokens and some 2/2s. Simon kept picking with an islandwalking
Shore Snapper. Not only was this game drawing quite the crowd, but time was ticking away as well. Kenny missed playing a
Sighted-Caste Sorcerer before combat, and his opponent did not let that slip unpunished: Simon played a possibly gamebreaking
Fatestitcher.
Kenny had a
Sphinx Sovereign.
Undead Leotau threathened to make short work of Kenny’s life total of 5, but his favorite Spinx Sovereign made him regain health. Both players went into their respective think tanks often, and the air was so thick with tension you could cut it.
Yet again, the Thunder-Trash Elder came down, this time as a 4/4. Kenny however showed everyone the meaning of the word topdeck, when his deck gave him
Sharuum the Hegemon into
Sharding Sphinx. Simon sighed and it was time. Simon’s time was however not up, and he played a
Corpse Connoisseur into another
Fatestitcher. Simon attacked and before blockers, the double
Fatestitcher did their thing and Kenny offered his hand.
Simon Görtzen wins 2-1!
Quarter Finals: Arthur Cnotalski vs Pierre Rensonnet
by Daniel Ullenius
This is it, the Top 8 of the biggest Grand Prix ever. Arthur Cnotalski were facing off against France’s Pierre Rensonnet. Neither of the players had been in the Top 8 of a Grand Prix before, and since neither of them had thought that they’ll made it this far, they both agreed that the Top 8 was just gravy on a fantastic weekend.
Game 1
The players both praised each other’s decks, but Pierre had to lead off with a mulligan to 6.
The Frenchman drew the first blood with his
Dragon Fodder tokens, and proceeded to add a
Goblin Assault to his team. The pressure was on from the beginning, but at least Arthur tried to slow it down with a
Blister Beetle. Unfortunately for Arthur, Pierre had steady beats with those three tokens a turn, and
Goblin Assault providing more, and when
Rakeclaw Gargantuan came down Arthur was quick to scoop up.
Game 2
Arthur chose to play first. Even if his deck was slower and more controlling, he apparently rather skip the first draw than to let his opponents remarkably aggressive deck go first again.
Game 2 started off a lot slower than game 1. Arthur had to use
Esper Charm mainphase to try to draw him a fourth land. It didn’t, so a turn 4
Mosstodon from Pierre was really a bomb. Arthur sighed when his next draw gave him a tapped
Seaside Citadel.
Call to Heel from Arthur took temporary care of
Mosstodon, and a
Waveskimmer Aven lightened his mood. It was too bad for him that Pierre had a
Cavern Thoctar, which however ended up on the bottom of his library thanks to
Bant Charm. The next turn, Arthur tried to the same thing to Pierre’s
Mosstodon, but in response came a
Soul’s Fire, and that put Arthur out of the tournament and Pierre into the semi finals.
Pierre Rensonnet wins 2-0
Saturday, 5.45p.m.: Drafting with Simon Goertzen
by David Sutcliffe
In an unusual Top-8 packed with relative newcomers to the spotlight, one of the most experienced players left standing is Germany’s Simon Goertzen. He’s already proven himself with a Top-8 finish at a team Pro Tour, in Charleston, and has picked up money several times at other Grand Prix. It was natural that drafting spotlight would fall on his (brightly-camoflaged) shoulders for this Top-8... which turned out to be a very interesting draft indeed!
Pack One
Goertzen has a strong Esper deck. But what's that on top of his sideboard? Goertzen’s draft began with a real mindbender of a first pack, that offered every direction you could want –
Mosstodon,
Jund Charm,
Waveskimmer Aven,
Wild Nacatl,
Windwright Mage. Quite bizarrely, of all those options Goertzen chose to take the
Wild Nacatl! It wasn’t a direction he ever looked to again during the draft, though. His second pick was a
Scourglass ahead of aggressive options like
Rakeclaw Gargantuan, and it became clear that Goertzen had wanted control all along.
Resounding Silence at third pick over a Corpse Connossieur
Jungle Shrine over
Jund Panorama/
Carrion ThrashAgony Warp over
Rakeclaw Gargantuan/Spearbreaker Gargantuan/Jund Obelisk
Sanctum Gargoyle at pick six.
Obelisk of NayaAven Guide
Windwright Mage had tabled to be taken at ninth pick.
Etherium Sculptor had also gone round the table, a strong signal that Esper was wide open. Goertzen took the Sculptor and never looked back, adding
Jhessian Lookout and a second Sculptor before the end of pack one.
At the first draft review, then, it was very clear that Simon had a strong call on the Esper cards if he chose to go that route. He had consistently passed over strong Naya or Jund cards and honed in on the control route of blue and black. The most bizarre choice was his first – the
Wild Nacatl – as it was neither in his deck nor, on the face of it, as big of a threat to face as the
Mosstodon or
Waveskimmer Aven that he could have taken.
Pack Two When you’re the lone player in a shard on the table, the cards that you want suddenly come thick and fast, and deep, and Simon Goertzen felt that edge keenly in the second pack.
And that's what you're NOT playing with? A
Tower Gargoyle was a gift, ahead of an
Agony Warp.
Tidehollow Strix was chosen ahead of a bunch of mana fixers.
Esper Battlemage over
MetallurgeonSanctum Gargoyle over an Executioners Capsule/
Esper CharmDispeller’s Capsule over
Fleshbag MarauderTidehollow Sculler over
Bone SplintersAnd at seven? Surely it couldn’t be... CRUEL ULTIMATUM! At seven? Goertzen dallied long and hard over taking the bonkers Sorcery, eventually taking it for what must have been a mix of reasons. But did nobody play Grixis on the table?
Goertzen took a gift of a third
Sanctum Gargoyle at eighth pick.
Cloudheath Drake at ninth
Esper Panorama tenth
Metallurgeon tabled all the way around for an eleventh pick. And then at thirteenth pick, the warm 4/5 body of a
Steelclad Serpent.
What a booster that was – Esper spells as deep as thirteenth pick, and a
Cruel Ultimatum. The only thing Goertzen may come to regret was leaving an
Executioner’s Capsule for a
Sanctum Gargoyle early in the pack, now that he had seen a third Gargoyle.
Pack Three It was obvious that Goertzen also felt the lack of removal, and his first and second picks were an
Agony Warp and
Executioner’s Capsule. Then, at third pick... oh dear lord, a second
Cruel Ultimatum. Surely Goertzen had to be thinking about splashing red with a second Ultimatum?
Esper Panorama at fourth
Resounding SilenceEsper Obelisk over Filgree SagesNaturalise, counterdrafted at seven
Steelclad Serpent #2
Windwright Mage #2
Guardians of Akrasa.
Jhessian LookoutMore removal, more mana fixing, more powerful artifact creatures, and more
Cruel Ultimatums. Blimey!
Construction From pick two of the first booster things just got better and better for Simon Goertzen in this draft. I watched him constructing his deck, and the only question that there could be was ‘
Cruel Ultimatum or No?’. Would he play
Mountains?
“No, no. It’s just really greedy. I think my deck is good enough in three colours. I’m playing a load of ‘bad’ cards, like
Etherium Sculptor and
Steelclad Serpent, but they work with each other so I guess they will be ok. I don’t really think I have any tough choices making this deck. I think other people would want to play the Aven but I’m thinking that I already have three 2/3 Flying
Sanctum Gargoyles, and two
Windwright Mages – the Aven is just a bad version of those cards.”
I noticed that he was playing the Naya Obelisk, despite not having any red or green spells.
“Oh yes, I definitely want this. It’s going to let me cycle the
Resounding Thunders. In my release event I played lots of Obelisks outside my shard, just to cycle things. It’s important, I think”.
But still, I think it’s amazing to see a draft deck with two sideboarded
Cruel Ultimatums.
Cruel Ultimatum – just not good enough for limited.
“Oh no, I wouldn’t say that!”, laughed Simon, “It’s good enough for draft, just... not this time. If the
Etherium Sculptors turn out to be rubbish I may have to change things, but we’ll see.”
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