Falling Stars

In Texas, we have two Old School tournaments per year: the Festival of Friendship, held annually on MLK Weekend in Austin and sponsored by the Romancing the Stones group there; and the Hurricane, held annually on Labor Day weekend in my hometown of Houston and hosted by the Falling Stars Group.  The San Antonio TACOS currently don’t hold a formal event (perhaps that can change!) and Dallas doesn’t have an Old School group to speak of, at least not one that interacts with these other aforementioned groups.  I have standing Labor Day plans to attend San Japan in pursuit of my other hobby so I’m only able to play in the Festival of Friendship, or just one in-state event per year.

I was therefore very excited when the Ghost Ships, the Corpus Christi chapter of Texas Old School, announced their first ever tournament! I had to re-arrange some plans with my wife but she was very supportive of my going and we were easily able to accommodate the March 21st date with an easy schedule change.

It’s about a three hour drive from Houston to Corpus and it’s always better to take a friend with you a ride like that.  I had never been to Corpus either and unaware how uneventful the drive is.  Fortunately, Simon Christie, aka mtgmisprint, fearless leader of the Houston Falling Stars group, didn’t want to miss this event either and asked if he could come along with me and celebrate his birthday at the tournament.  I knew that was going to make what would already be a great time even better!

Fortunately there were very clear instructions on how to find the building!  The welcome sign was the best part. Wandering onto someone’s property uninvited in Texas is a very bad thing (you may not survive).

The drive down Friday night was uneventful.  We left Houston around 2:30PM and arrived in Corpus just in time for dinner.  After scouring reviews, Simon found a place just down the street from our hotel with high marks.  But when we got there, we discovered it wasn’t quite what we thought, being a literal drive-through–a giant barn with a bar on the side and room for automobiles to drive through for…something.  We decided to pass and went for a popular steakhouse across the street, which was satisfactory but unspectacular.  A quick stop to say hello to my cosplay friends who own a game shop in town (which was PACKED–they’ve got quite a business going!) and we were off to the venue for some night-before-tournament casual games of AAA and Premodern.

The tournament was held at Tracey’s house.  Prior to arriving, Simon and I were a bit unsure how that was going to go but, actually, it blew all our pre-conceived suppositions away.  The detached game haven was beyond perfect for the event. We didn’t have to worry about parking (plenty on the lawn) or nosey bystanders.  There was plenty of space to be comfortable.  Tracey and his wife also provided A+ first-rate hospitality, providing drinks for double the crowd we had and plenty of snacks.  Then there was all the cool stuff they just happen to have…

To both their benefit and detriment, Old School tournaments are more than just tournaments. They are whole productions, with commemorative cards and raffles for charity and all sorts of hoopla. (I say detriment because it’s a lot of work to put these on, which means they happen less often than they might.)  The first ever Ghost Ships Gathering was no exception.  Tracey and his co-organizers prepared an insane level of swag, with buttons and little film strips made by his daughter, and a totally wicked trophy for first place.  One look at it and I was reconsidering what I chose to play that weekend, wondering if I should play something more serious. 😀 

The raffle was STACKED.  I didn’t even take photos of all the items, but here’s a few!  There was also the original Magic encyclopedia, a Ghost Ships playmat, some alters done by one of the guy’s daughter…

The rule set for the event was Eternal Central! In Texas, we often play Boreal, which is another 4-Strip Mine format with a few unrestrictions compared to EC but is otherwise the same.  I won the Festival of Friendship two months earlier with a Grixis Atog deck.  I had decided to play old favorite this time, something a bit lighter…

Deck Tech

Maindeck
I last (and first) played this deck at the Festival of Friendship in 2024 for a 4th Place finish.  I made a few revisions to that deck for this event. The creature base is very standard as far as one- and two-drops go.  Thunder Spirit is my top of curve and I add one Preacher just to mix that up a bit and help with blocker removal since big creatures can be an issue for this deck.  Some highlights on card choices and quantities:

• Aeolipile
  I ran three copies of this before but decided to swap my quantities with Swords to Plowshares, of which I had run a playset before.  Drawing multiple Plowshares is rarely what you want and Aeolipile accomplishes a lot of the same things with first strikers but can finish off opponents.
• Land Tax
  This isn’t a typical aggro card but it really makes sure your draw steps are relevant in grindy games.  It’s also critical in the Monoblack matchup, which Simon says I’m overly concerned about.  It’s the only way to refill your hand to get out of The Rack in that matchup.  It also synergies with a key sideboard card, to be explained in that section.
• Zero Mishra’s Factory.  One Desert.  I had run  Mishra’s Factories in the past but no Lotus.  I didn’t want to run 14 Plains, feeling it one too few, so I cut a Factory for Lotus because two Factory has never felt great in this deck, having zero synergy with Crusade and competing for mana with the pump knights.  Further,  Factory cannot occupy a true land slot in this deck because all the white pips so supporting four is difficult.  I wasn’t going to play just one Factory and another Plains felt dull, so Desert it was. Mishra’s Factory is helpful against Monoblack and Desert fills that hole nicely, letting you kill those X/1 Orders.
  
  I think I’d look to cut Army of Allah next time, the Desert, and something else and play four Factories.

Sideboard
This is the much more interesting part of the deck, in my opinion!

• Argivian Archeologist 
  In really grindy matchups and aggro mirrors, recurring Aeolipile can win games.  This card might be a little “too cute” but that’s half of what Old School is about, having a bit of off-axis fun.
• Disenchant, Dust to Dust
  Seemingly redundant but not. Disenchant is needed because Moat shuts your deck down entirely so a full set is needed.  Dust to Dust is devastating to artifact decks, whose big guys cause issues.
• Jalum Tome
  Probably the best card in this sideboard.  In long games, this gives you card velocity and late-game reach you need to grind out the last points of damage.  Land Tax fuels this and so this comes in in post-board matchups in which Land Tax stays in to give you a draw engine of sorts.
• King Suleiman
  This is a worse version of City in a Bottle, which I don’t own. I could proxy but I didn’t want to.  Still, it is an effective card (which I’ve still never drawn in a game!), even if extremely narrow.  What was I saying about “too cute” half of what Old School is about? 
• Land Tax
  The third copy here for Monoblack, a way to put cards into your hand and make sure you hit land drops to get out of a Gloom that didn’t wreck you on the first turn.
• Su-chi
  A top-end beater is sometimes what you need.  Your opponent’s Disenchants, if they stay in, will be aimed at your Crusades and no one should have Crumble or Shatter against this deck. (That should remain true even if I go to four Mishra’s Factories.)  Serra Angel is too hard to cast at 5-mana in a four Strip format. Su-chi further does two things she doesn’t:
  • It doesn’t die to The Abyss, which Serra does.  With eight pro-black guys, this deck is fairly ok against The Abyss.  Thunder Spirit is totally soft to it and needs to come out against The Deck and Su-chi offers a resilient top-end in that spot.
  • It isn’t white.  This again helps against Monoblack (do you think Simon was right I’m too worried about it?).  Monoblack really has no way to remove this as well.

• Spirit Link
  For opposing aggro matchups, of course.  But I like to bring it in against any deck with 4+ power non-artifact creatures.  Opposing Serendib Efreet and Juzam Djinn are the best targets!

The Rounds

If you’ve read my reports before, you know this next part, my “disclaimer.” To help make my reports, after each round, I record a voice memo with notes on each game.  But even a few minutes after the round ends, some details and games blend together and the order of events may be off.  I try my best!

Round 1: Keith with RG Midrange

Game 1: I lost the die roll.  My opening hand was close to everything I look for in a hand for this deck: two Icatian Javelineers, White Knight, Aeolipile, and three lands. I lost the die roll and Keith led on a City of Brass. I drew Savannah  Lions for my turn and played that, which he Bolted.  I cast White Knight and he played his second land for a Regrowth on Lightning Bolt.  I attacked for two before my White Knight met that Lightning Bolt that was recurred. I had drawn Lotus for turn and used it for two Javelineers and an Order of Leitbur.  The next turn he played a Knowledge Vault.  I cast Land Tax and attacked.  I Taxed the next turn for three lands and drew another in my draw step. The Icatian soldiers would stay on board with their counters for a long stretch of time, slowly pinging down his life total.   A Ball Lightning stuck in for 6 while they were tapped, putting me at 14.  I taxed two more times past that, with my draw steps netting me a Preacher and an Order of Leitbur.  Keith cashed in the Knowledge Vault for just two cards and they weren’t enough.

Sideboarding: 
-2 Disenchant, +2 Jalum Tome 

I think? I didn’t write this one down. I feel like I did four cards but can’t remember what the other two were.

taking him from 14 to negative. (*I think I have the sequencing in this game wrong, despite my notes.  I know I cast Swords on the Kird Ape the same turn I killed a Ball Lighting with the Javelineer.  I don’t know quite why I did that because I was at a high life total and could take the hit.  Maybe I was worried about burn if I took 6 to the Ball Lightning?  I think I was in some sort of overly cautious mode here and just wanted to make sure I didn’t accidentally die, but my post-game reconstruction doesn’t really make sense with all that. You’ll notice that I don’t have much description on what my opponent did on his turns, so perhaps I forgot stuff that makes my decisions better in the game context.)

1-0

Round 2: David with Robots

My next match was recorded (Table 5 is a camera table) so I made poor mental notes, figuring I’d look at the video.  The video wasn’t available yet when I wrote this, so we will find out if what I wrote lines up later! 

Round 3: Henry with BR Midrange

Game 2: He opened with a Badlands and pass. I cast a turn-1 Javelineers (I did that a LOT today, you notice?  I wish I had more Lions like that!), which ate a Bolt.  I cast an Order of Leitbur and he cast a Royal Assassin from a Dark Ritual, which is why that Bolt was needed on the Javelineers.  I attacked for two on my next turn and with my three mana, I was going to cast Order of Leitbur in my second main phase but I realized I was very vulnerable to Earthquake for 1 (he only had 1 mana), so I cast Crusade, which I should have done before combat.  I cast the second Order the turn after; he cast an Underworld Dreams, for which I had a Disenchant.   The two Orders were 3/2s and with my four mana became 4/2s and I attacked for 8, taking him down to 3.  It ended the turn after.

2-1

Round 4: Jason with Grixis Midrange

been sitting on a Swords to Plowshares the whole game, not using it because giving him five life and removing a Juzam that was damaging him was not the play. I counted carefully: I could attack with two Thunder Spirits and ping him with the Javelineers.  That’s 5.  If I Plowed the Sedge Troll, I could negate the lifegame and net one damage with a four-power Order of Leitbur.  That’s six damage.  The two damage from the Juzams would put him to 1 but I’d be all open for an attack, which was dangerous and unnecessary if he drew a burn spell.  I attacked with just one Thunder Spirit to take him to 7, then he went to 5 with the upkeep triggers.  He thought for a while and just went in for an attack.  I blocked one Juzam with the Order another with the Javelineers, removing the counter to do one damage to him before combat damage, then took 3 from the Sedge Troll.  (In the photo, you see a Lions prior to the Sedge Troll. I think I blocked with it and lost it between then and the end of the game.) I untapped and attacked with my two Thunder Spirits and Order, just in cast one didn’t make it through combat somehow,  and that was the game.

Sideboarding:
-2 Land Tax, -2 something else
+2 King Suleiman, +2 Spirit Link

Game 2: I opened with a Javelineers, which he Bolted.  We traded Strip Mines, which each of us using two Strip Mines on the other.  I drew several lands in a row to make up for that and looked at hand of three Crusades and two Order of Leitbur.  I finally drew my second land and cast one of the Orders.  He was stuck on a land (a Swamp) and a Mox but I didn’t want to get wiped out by Earthquake for one, so I cast Crusade to make my girl a 3/2 and attacked for that.  I cast the second Order the next turn and attacked again..  He may have played a land that turn but didn’t cast any more spells.  I cast a second Crusade and took him down to 3 with an attack for eight damage.  With four lands in play and two attackers that could hit 5 damage each, that was the game.

3-1

Round 5: TC with Bant Erhnamgeddon

I’m at the top table for this round, meaning if I win, there’s no more undefeated players and I can place 1st with some help on tiebreakers.  Presumably my breakers are good because I’m the X-1 paired up.  This round was on video and I made this play-by-play from it (thank you, Doyle, for early, unedited access!)

Game 1: I lost the die roll for the fourth time today.  Not a great look for an aggro deck.  We both mulliganed to six.  TJ opened with a Tropical Island and a pass. My opening hand was a Strip Mine, a Mox Pearl, no other lands but it had Land Tax.  And I’m on the draw so this seems very good.  I don’t think to Strip his land because I fail to realize 1 > 0 and he plays a turn 2 Erhnam Djinn off two Moxes and two lands.  I tax out three

Plains and cast Chaos Orb.  I activate it.

MISS

$@%&*$  NOT GOOD. That is the second time I missed today, meaning I’m 1 for 3.  I wasn’t even drinking…so that’s pretty awful.  He plays a second Erhnam Djinn, and Strips my Strip Mine. I cast a Thunder Spirit and then he untaps and Mind Twists my entire hand away, so I concede.  I really lost when I missed when that Chaos Orb hit on its corner and bounced. I find that missing an Orb flip is utterly devastating and leads to a loss.  If you’re playing it well, Orb will always be used on something that’s causing a huge problem and often on a permanent that’s difficult for your deck to remove otherwise. The tempo loss of three mana plus that makes it as close to the end of the world as it gets.

Sideboarding:
-2 Disenchant, -1 Black Lotus, -2 Army of Allah, -1 Desert (?)
+1 Land Tax, +2 King Suleiman, +2 Spirit Link, +1 Balance

Game 2: I feel better and open with a Plains and a Savannah Lions.  He opens with a land and Mox and a Sylvan Library.  I Strip Mine his land and cast a Land Tax.  He takes one extra card off the Sylvan and passes without playing a land.  I unfortunately don’t have a two-drop creature and play a turn two Aeolipile.  He casts a Chaos Orb after he finds a Mishra’s Factory.  I play a turn three Thunder Spirit and hit for 2 more, bringing him 

Spirit Link on the Serra.  But he has a Disenchant for the Spirit Link to free her–the second time this game that not removing his Birds fast enough enabled him to have white mana to cast a critical spell.  I steal the Birds on his end step after I block with the first one and draw and play a Savannah Lions. He casts a Demonic Tutor and gets Ancestral Recall, which he casts immediately and then casts Time Walk.  On his next turn, he casts an Erhnam Djinn and another Birds of Paradise.  My Preacher is fully ineffective because he keep giving me tapped creatures I can’t use to block, the latest one of which was a Mishra’s Factory he activated in response.  Thinking now, this doesn’t work.  Preacher targets and when the ability is activated, the target must be chosen to go on the stack.  If the Factory isn’t already a creature to be a legal target there’s no time to activate it.  This is my first time to play with Preacher so I missed this.  He attacks for 9 (Serra is a 5/5 thanks to my Crusade) when I was at 11 and I think long and hard. I could block with my Lions and maybe get another draw step but I need to push 7 damage across and the Lions are my only attacker at the moment.  Further, I never got to use my Land Tax to thin my deck because he never plays more than 2 lands, thanks to his abundance of Birds of Paradise.  At 2 life, I don’t know what can save me–maybe Balance?–and I draw a blank for the turn and lose.

3-2

With 19 players, the plan was for five rounds, so this should be the end of the tournament.  But it’s only about 3:45, pretty amazing when we started around 11:45.  The pizza arrives at this point, after a somewhat lengthy wait because the store didn’t open until 3PM.  We decide we will all eat and then decide if we want to play another round after we’ve regained our strength.

Of course we decided to play another round! Let’s go! 

Round 6: Tyson with The Deck

I forgot to make a voice recording after this round because we jumped right into the raffle. Doing this from memory a day later, so I hope it’s ok.

Game 1: I lose the die roll (what’s new) and mulligan to 6.  For the card to bottom, I have to decide between a Swords to Plowshares and a Disenchant.  (I don’t know what Tyson is playing). Tyson opens with a land, mox, Sol Ring, and maybe a Fellwar Stone.  I play an Icatian Javelineer and pass.  I think I play a two-drop the next turn but it’s met with a Swords to Plowshares.  Tyson casts a Jayemdae Tome. I really miss that Disenchant now. He asks how many cards I have and Mind Twists my hand for 4 away. He draws a bunch of cards and I give up.

Sideboarding: 
–3 Swords to Plowshares, -1 Icatian Javelineers, -2 Thunder Spirit, -1 Preacher, -1 Black Lotus
+1 Argivian Archeologist, +2 Disenchant, +2 Jalum Tome, +1 Land Tax, +2 Su-chi

down low enough that I start attacking even though I lose guys. He had a City of Brass he was forced to use that chewed up his life total as well.  He falls to three life and I have two 2/X creatures that will put him to one after my attack and then he will lose from the Serendib’s Upkeep trigger.  I do and he goes to 1.  I cast an Aeolipile or other two drop and he is forced to Mana Drain either my two Drop or my Aeolipile.  He has only a City of Brass for white mana since I had Strip Mined his Tundra a few turns later.  He casts a Swords to Plowshares on his Serendib, responding to the City of Brass trigger (which I explain how to do) so he doesn’t die.  He goes back up to 3 life after the City of Brass damage.  He can’t use the Mana Drain mana and takes 2 points of burn.

I might have some details missing in this match that make it make more sense why he didn’t use the Swords on my creature and block the other.  It might well have been that he was at 3 and just needed life and the Dib gone?

4-2

And then we awaited the final standings… *drumroll*…

6th Place!

One other thing I’m very sure of is that I’ll return for another Ghost Ships organized event!  The hospitality was off the charts and the event very well run.  A+ all around! 

In addition to the Top 8 specific prize cards, there were enough stamped and signed prize cards for the entire tournament to select two card each.  The collection of what was available was quite amazing, going far beyond the usual commons and uncommons we usually see.  For my second selection, I took this amazing FBB Vesuvan Doppelganger, a card whose art I love (and you know I love FBB).  The third pick was harder, with a lot of really cool things still available, but I went with Palladia-Mors because who doesn’t love elder dragons?  

WANTED TO CLOSE ON A BIG THANKS AGAIN TO TRACEY AND LLOYD AND ALL WHO HELPED ORGANIZE THIS! It must have been a ton of work and it really show–it came off like a true labor of love!