Feature match - colossus colide

Feature Match - Round 13: Shuuhei Nakamura (JPN) vs Raphael Levy (FRA)
by David Sutcliffe

Two of the great heavyweights of the Magic world collide in their Round 13 Feature Match. For Raphael Levy and Shuuhei Nakamura it has been a long fight back into contention from early defeats, knowing that a further loss at any stage would end their tournament. Do these two players require introduction after all these years? I doubt it, but for the sake of tradition here goes!
Raphael Levy has been playing professional Magic since May 1964, when President Kennedy introduced him the game, and is best remembered for being the first Magic player to win a duel in zero-gravity - during his time aboard the Apollo XIII mission to the moon, beating Tom Hanks 2-1 in extra turns. Meanwhile, Shuuhei Nakamura is a retired Vulcanologist, having for years been a leading expert on Vulcans and their Romulan cousins. Shuuhei also has two heads, making him a uniquely dangerous opponent at Two-Headed Dragon tournaments.
Not all the above may be true, but what happened below most certainly is. It was Thunderdome time - the two men entered the feature match circle, but only one would leave.
Shuuhei Nakamura has been loyal to the Japanese love of gadgets and technology, and drafted the Esper deck of artifacts. When that deck is good, it’s very very good, and he certainly began in grand style, winning the dice roll and starting out with a Glaze Fiend and Master of Etherium before Levy could even play a spell. Turn four was a Tower Gargoyle, the gathered masses gasped, while Raphael Levy sighed and shook his head at the slick draw he was facing.
Levy spent a long time on his turn to decide his correct play, before laying a land and passing control back to the master artificer. Nakamura played a Tidehollow Strix and attacked, and Levy offered his hand in concession. It had been a devastatingly quick and synergistic draw from Shuuhei Nakamura and Levy had been as much of a spectator as the crowd gathered around the feature match area!

Shuuhei Nakamura 1 – 0 Raphael Levy
Shuuhei Nakamura - Master of Etherium The second game began entirely differently, with Raphael Levy to play first and Shuuhei Nakamura missing his early Glaze Fiend drop. The first creature to hit play was Levy’s Manaplasm, and then the following turn he cast a Branching Bolt to smash down Shuuhei’s Esper Battlemage and attack with his deadly ooze for 4. It was definitely the Frenchman’s time to push for the quick win and on the next turn he played an Exuberant Firestoker and Dispeller’s Capsule before attacking with his Manaplasm for 5, and doing another 2 damage with the Firestoker. It was Nakamura’s turn to feel the beatdown, and he was on 9 life without reply!
Nakamura stripped away more of Levy’s gas with an Esper Charm and played a Sanctum Gargoyle. If Levy drew land that Manaplasm would be no threat at all. But it wasn’t to be - Levy drew and cast a Druid of Anima, which was good enough to make his Manaplasm a 3/3 that could attack past the Sanctum Gargoyle, and Nakamura was down to 6. The Dispeller’s Capsule accounted for the Sanctum Gargoyle on the next turn, a Cylian Elf off the top of his library bloated the Manaplasm to 3/3 and Levy sent all his creatures into the red zone, levelling the match!

Shuuhei Nakamura 1 – 1 Raphael Levy

Raph Levy - a picture that's worth a thousand words You could not have dreamt of two games so clearly different to one another than those. From a first game where Raphael Levy had been a bystander, to a second game where his Manaplasm had almost single-handedly destroyed his opponent - the deciding game would be... well... decisive!
Things took a familiar turn with a turn two Glaze Fiend of Shuuhei Nakamura’s. That was joined by another Glaze Fiend the next turn – the sort of draw that can very rapidly end a game if he keeps pulling artifacts! Levy managed an Exuberant Firestoker, but Nakamura’s pressure kept building and he cast a Tower Gargoyle before attacking with his two Glaze Fiends, reducing the Frenchman to 14 life.
Levy managed a Rakeclaw Gargantuan, but Nakamura’s next turn was two further artifact creatures – a Strix and a Metallurgeon. The Glaze Fiends became 4/5 and joined the Tower Gargoyle in the red zone - Levy was down to 2 life before his fifth turn!
What was Levy’s ‘out’ from here? Removing the Tower Gargoyle and Tidehollow Strix, and hoping that Shuuhei never drew another artifact for his Glaze Fiends? That seemed Levy’s only hope - he played a Court Archers for the Strix, and Soul’s Fire took care of the Tower Gargoyle. Now for that part about Shuuhei never drawing another artif... oh... Nakamura looked almost reluctant to be the bearer of bad news as he sheepishly cast an Etherium Sculptor, and his Glaze Fiends completed the job they had started scant minutes earlier.

Shuuhei Nakamura 2 – 1 Raphael Levy