N00bcon qualifier at Kort i Kubik

Among the Christmas miracles and gingerbread baking, there's another kind of Magic going around in the households. Next year, we'll have the 9th annual n00bcon and the old school World Championship that come with it. As the format has grown a lot and we only have 100 seats available at the venue, qualifier gatherings of different sorts have been popping up around the world to decide whom should represent the different communities at the championships. This the story of the qualifier in Arvika. It's my pleasure to present KungMarkus's witness from Kort i Kubik (translated from Swedish and edited by yours truly). Enjoy! /Mg out

It was with a bittersweet feeling that my dear father and I strolled out to the car last Friday. We were to drive to Kort i Kubik to compete in the local n00bcon qualifier tournament. For my pops, it was mostly about his new deck. He thought he hadn't tested it properly and didn't feel that comfortable with it yet. I had brought a new deck as well, but as I already had secured an invite for n00bcon I wasn't that concerned with my results in the tournament (even though it's always sweet to bring a new trophy back to the shelf at home ;)). I was more worried about not getting to bring all my friends down to the championships at n00bcon next Easter.

Kort i Kubik

My old man and I were the last to arrive at the tournament. We met up with Svetzarn and Frasse who stood outside smoking a cigarette. The four of us went inside to say hi to Artelas, who had just been picked up by Berntsson at the train station, and exchanged some pleasantries with the store owner Dan who would also join tonight's fight for the spots. We ended up with ten proud warriors gathering. Everybody was happy to avoid the Bye and we started playing with smiles on our faces.

The deck of the evening

It was with mixed emotions I realized that my first round opponent was my brother JohanGuld. I hadn't played him with my new deck but I knew exactly what he was playing. The Gun. A deck I've previously had some problems beating but I wasn't certain how my new tech would stack up against. It ended swiftly with beatdown from the opposite side of the table; Savannah Lions, Kird Apes and Elvish Archer both high and low. 0-2 loss.

JohanGuld's The Gun

I took a tour around the tables to check out what the other mages had brought to celebrate the evening, new pairings were posted, and I saw that I was facing Frasse in round two. Frasse is mainly a very competent Legacy-player, but he couldn't keep his hands away from 93/94 for long when he heard that a few of us locals were playing the format a couple of years back. Frasse plays Dead Guy Ale and he's playing well! It's usually a 50-50 matchup whenever we meet each other. Might as well flip a coin at this point :P But luck was on my side today and after three tight games I was victorious. 2-1.

Next in line was Tilyna, more commonly known as CH around here. "Oh, 1-1 for you as well?" I ask. "No dammit, four straight duel wins" he replies with a hint of a surprise. CH plays a hyperbudget monored Goblin/Dragon deck. He only has a single Blood Moon for example.

I would describe this duel as a total blood bath. I was utterly slaughtered by Goblins and Dragon Whelps. After a few minutes of suffering CH stood at the top of the standings without a single duel loss. I, on the other hand, had racked up plenty. 0-2.

CH's Monored Goblins & Dragons

In the last round of the swiss I was paired against Berntsson, my dear friend whom I first started playing 93/94 with four years ago. His deck of choice was ErnhnamGeddon with a red splash for Bolts and Wheel of Fortune. A deck which he usually beats me with when we're playing at the kitchen table at home. But he usually has horrible luck when facing me in tournaments. Today was no exception. After two duels with LoA doing what LoA does I picked up the victory. 2-0.

Well well, I though, it was nice playing four matches at least... But then it turned out that I'd managed to slip into the top4 with my 2-2! Good times. I prepared for the semifinals, and who was waiting there if not CH. He had beaten Johan 2-0 in the last game, and now boasted a record of 8-0 in duels with his monored budget deck! Damn, this could not end well. But after a really tight duel I managed to get the deck to start spinning, and after two Time Walks and a juicy Fireball I finally managed to burst his bubble. 1-0.

I sideboarded in a couple of Abysses, a Mirror Universe and two Blue Elemental Blasts, and soon we were at it again. This time it didn't end as well. CH dropped his Blood Moon early and all I could do was to shuffle up for the final duel. 1-1.

This time luck was on my side, and I got to resolve The Abyss turn three. CH knew he had no way to answer it and scooped up his cards. 2-1.

Dan's MonoBlack

Awesome, finals! Just as I was to pick my deck I saw that Johan had defeated Dan in the other semi. I was hence about to face my little brother again, a guy who had already humiliated me once today... We shuffled up, and I can simply say that my deck just went on autopilot and played itself. First turn Library of Alexandria with no answer from Johan in sight, and I quickly built up a solid mana base and and a solid defense with Lightning Bolts and Counterspells. 1-0.

The next duel I was looking at a starting seven of Library of Alexandria, Strip Mine, Mishra's Factory, 2 Moxen, Badlands and a Lightning Bolt. What could I possibly say? The deck played itself again, and I just leaned back and watched it draw cards and keep his creatures at bay until an Abyss hit the table. Then kept drawing cards in peace until the deck delivered a huge Fireball. 2-0, and the trophy was mine! :)

The handsome champion (photo from Pimpvitational three weeks earlier).

In the bronze match for third place, CH managed to defeat the store owner Dan in a really tight match. While I got to take the throphy with me home, I guess that the real winners were CH and Johan who got the two n00bcon invites. Who wouldn't want the chance to battle against 100 old school mages from all over the globe at the World Championship? I wouldn't miss it for the world!

That's all for me this time, but I hope to see a bunch of you readers at my tournament in Arvika the 25th of February next year when we'll fight for a Giant Shark! How cool is that?!

After seven years at the BSK tournament, starting in 2017 one of the two annually awarded Giant Sharks moves from BSK to the Arvika Festival tournament!