NATIONALS 2001 - SECOND

2 Aggressive urge
2 Gerrards command
2 Armadillo cloaks
1 Harrow
2 Llanowar Knights
2 Nomadic Elves
2 Kavu Agressor
1 Flametongue Kavu
1 Kavu scout
2 Pincer Spider
1 Thornscape Familiar
1 Benalish Lancer
1 Steel Leaf paladin
1 Stone kavu
1 Thornscape Apprentice
1 Quirion sentinel
17 land mainly green and white with 4 mountains…

I was reasonably happy but didn't think 3-0 was on the cards…esp re Ger, John and Noeleens decks were concerned…Anyway…

'You mean you're actually PLAYING that card?'
Ger, when I played Protective Sphere game 2.
Round 1: Ger Norton [G/R/w] 
Game 1: The 1999 Irish Champ [sorry couldn't resist!]
got mana screwed and I capitalised with lots of 2 drops and creature boosters for whatever he did get out. Game 2: I sided in Protective Sphere and a Crimson acoloyte and they were both handy as my cloaked Pincer Spider does at least half the damage for the win.
[1,0,0 - 2-0-0]

'Will you just DIE!'
Me to John as he scrabbles to stay alive for the 4th
turn in a row Game 3.
Round 2: John Larkin [U/W/g] [Feature Match]
Game 1: I got a slow start and before long the 2000 Irish Champ [ditto re resisting!] heralds had drawn him into a stormscape apprentice, 2 silver drakes and a faerie squadron and a hobble for my stone kavu. Game 2: John got stuck for white and I romped hom very fast. Game 3: I drop an apprentice and a nomadic elf, he drops a herald which I flametongue, followed by a
stone kavu and 2 amphibious kavu while he drops a galinas knight that I keep tapping and a succession of chump blockers until I kill him. Nice one.
[2,0,0 - 4-1-0]

'One more land and I was Obliterating, baby'
Garry explains why I was lucky!
Round 3: Garry Jackson [B/R]
Game 1: Whoo hoo! Turn two llanowar knight followed by aggressive urged nomadic elf that kills a lord of the
undead, closely followed by a lickle cloak for my knight…hmmm. Game 2: Turn 3 cloaked llanowar knight followed by a turn four crimson acolyte are the cornerstones of a victory 1 turn b4 he draws the eighth land for the obliterate in his hand….
[3,0,0 - 6-1-0]

Cool. 3-0 after the drafting from a tough table which went some way towards blotting out last years debacle
[1-3 with 2 byes interspersed!] It also means that myself and DQ [who I have just found out has also gone
3-0] just have to win our first game tommorrow to be able to I.D into Top 8 and the Europeans! This is
because only 5 people have 3-0'd from the 8 pods.
After y cousins wedding [20 miles away. Phew!] I get back for 5 hours sleep and then wander into the hall
to see to my horror that I'm player 1 and DQ is player 2! FUCK! We're likely to take each other out! 

'That's a nice lock, Cormac'
Franco Cordillo passing by our table at the end of the round.
Round 4: Mike Brown [Skies]
Thankfully we're kept apart though I'm starting to yearn for a 50-50 match-up like Dq when Mike Brown starts off suspiciously like a Skies player! That BASTARD Dustin must have prepped him as revenge for me playing Angel-Go instead of Skies! Lucky for me he runs out of counters when I WOG for the second time turn 5. Two turns later I play an Angel to deal with
his troublesome spirit which he promptly abducts…I laugh at his 'puny efforts' and rout for SERIOUS card advantage. I counter any other flier he casts that has more than 2 toughness to go all the way. 
Game 2:
Tee-hee! All I'm going to say is that with a troublesome spirit out on one side and a blinding angel out on the other he dropped a Rising waters! I gaped at him and he misinterpreted me and grinned until I asked him to tap all his remaining lands in
his discard phase, and told him to watch me beat him 1-0 unless I draw another Angel…..Meanwhile DQ is SCRAPING by a Zombie Deck! How embarrassing!:)
[4,0,0 - 7-1-0]

'Lights, Cameras, Action!'
James Cameron gets ready to film this epic battle.
Round 5: Diarmuid [4x4]
Table 1… penultimate round…… two gladiators face off….the crowd holds it breath….and Corm and DQ shake hands for the I.D that virtually guarantees Milan! 
[4,0,1 - 7-1-1]

'Is Milan hot in June?'
'Ask me in 3 months dude!'
John asks a stupid question and gets a….
Round 6: John Cowan [Counter-Rebel]
See Round 5 and exchange 'DQ' for 'John Cowan' and make that just one gladiator! [it's also not the
penultimate round but who's cribbing!]
[4,0,2 - 7-1-2]

Whoo Hoo! Guaranteed Milan. Best of Five Double
Elimination with 90 minute rounds except for the final…

'OOOh! Did I get you in the eyes?'
Ye'll know who and when I'm talking about in about 2 mins.
Q-F: John Cowan [Counter-Rebel]
Game 1: I balls it out by playing 2 angels and beating to try and force out as much from a VERY paranoid rebel player as I can…bingo he goes for it and I can wrath again with 2 counters for his searchers and lay my 3rd angel from hand to take a very very long game. Just before the end of the game I drew a card and because I am a sweaty bastard the card underneath it was stuck to the top card and I got a glimpse of the card underneath. John and the Judge hadn't noticed [I
think] but I took no chances and just blurted out 'I saw my next card!' The judge [Darryl] went to the head judge and checked it out with him and went on the net [I think] and because I had only seen my next card and not the next 2 or 3 it was just a warning [n.b for stupidity] and not a match loss…phew what a relief as John had been on about 4 life at the time and about to
die….I don't think I would have forgiven myself for throwing away game One like that…Game 2: I don't
remember this very well except for the fact that with 2 angels and my one recall in my graveyard I had to
cast my third angel in desperation and tap out to counter his counter. He grins, untaps, draws, lays his 8th land and dominates it. I feel like a shark and I show him my teeth, return an island to my hand and ask him to 'spend another mana please, sir!' At this point the judge asks me to go to the toilet and clean up but I tell him I'm comfortable with that stain right where it is. Angel goes all the way. Game 3: he concedes when I wog with counter back up on turn 6 with 10 mins
left after he had overextended.
[5,0,2 - 10-1-2]

'What life are you on? No, wait, I'll just count the cards I've removed from your deck!'
Rootwater Thief provides the entertainment game 2.
S-F David Gray [Dromar-Go]
Game 1: Ughly, Uagghly Match-up! I have no choice here, I must pray to the mana-screw Gods here in a big
way. I keep an average hand as it has one of my 2 main deck last breaths…and go first and lay a land. He skips a land drop turn 3 and I think I'm home free but of course it is the usual 'dump a nether spirit' move so I lay my 4th land and in his upkeep last breath his spirit and powersink his counter. Sweet as…he goes up to 5 mana and then tries again after we've both opted
and probed etc. I let it happen and then in his upkeep last breath again and need both my counters…he he, now all he has is Dromar and I'm scot-free…he hard casts ANOTHER nether spirit and I berate him for playing 3 in a Dromar deck but deep down I know I'm in the shit…I draw no angels till I hit 6 life…I cast it, he Wogs and backs them up with counters. I draw another angel straight afterwards and it gets countered. I go to 2 and then draw ANOTHER angel and cast it..he
forces a rout thru and I'm ready to concede until I draw my 4th angel in 7 turns to cling on and eventually deck dave with 3 cards left in my library on 2 life with him on 10 odd life. Wow! What a game and I was the poxiest son of a bitch all thru
it…sometimes it's your day….Game 2: he goes first and I lay a turn 2 thief hoping he just had absorbs and
charms and no counterspells….he doesn't…I proceed to take out a millstone [he had another in hand that I
managed to disenchant] 2 Wogs, a rout his 3 nether spirits and he concedes as he must have sided out his dromar…..Game 3: Dave eventually kills me despite letting a Light of Day out with counterspells in hand, with Dromar and Angel facing off and the Angel about to attack because he didn't realise that this would prevent him blocking my angel…this delay for him to go
digging for a disenchant meant that Dave had only 5 minutes left to bring it to 3-2 in 2 games so he conceded [I was ahead in the Swiss Rankings.]

'Here, let me get you that!
Dave being a pure gent as I order another beer!
F Dave Coghlan [Fires]
Game 1,2,3,4 & 5: This is all a bit vague as at the beginning of the Top 8 all 8 players had agreed to an even money split between the top 4 so there was no difference between 1st, 2nd and 3rd so I hit the beer for the duration of this match and duly lost 3-2 [but won 6 pints of Guinness and 2 shots of peach schnapps to nil in the drinking stakes!] I remember he made
very solid sideboard choices like last breaths etc coming in against me [he only put in the Pure Refections for one game as I cast a blinding angel for a 5/5 token and then blew up the enchantment and went all the way with my token in game 2 or 3…] He played it very aggressive and fully deserved his win for balls primarily….[By the way: He's playing for less than a year and qualifed for the Nationals thru the 'Grinders! What a fairytale!] A bit disappointed but delighted when I found out that DQ had beaten Rob McKeown for 3rd!

More quotes:
'Congrats to you!'
'No, Congrats to YOU!'
'No, Well done to YOU'
Cormac and DQ ad infinatum Sunday Night.

'Be careful what you wish for!' 
Wookie when I declared after Day one that I would be
over the moon with 2nd.

'I'm going to give you a warning for stupidit-'
'Wait! Darryl? Don't give me a warning for stupidity!
You gave me one already in the quarters!'
'Cormac, I'm going to give you a warning for
Buffoon-like play!'
Cormac narrowly avoids a DQ from the tournament in the
Final [repeat offence warnings rule] for having a
Blinding Angel stuck under his Tsabos Web that is in
play when the Angel should be in his hand!!!

'Cormac, you truly are THE greatest!'
Cormac keeps the chin up at random points of Sunday
night/Monday morning.

'Be careful what you wish for!' 
Wookie after I come 2nd!

'Liverpool for Champions League!'
All the sane people out there.

[P.S Now, of course the lads want City Grudge matches.
I wonder why?:)]

Cormac