The tournament pics can be found here.

Faytaren, Pete
“Petetotoy”

Lands: 21
4 Moorland Haunt
4 Seachrome Coast
4 Glacial Fortress
9 Island

Artifacts: 2
2 Sword of War and Peace

Spells: 22
1 Dissipate
2 Midnight Haunting
3 Vapor Snag
4 Ponder
4 Gitaxian Probe
4 Mana Leak
4 GUt Shot

Creatures: 15
4 Delver of secrets
4 Snapcaster Mage
4 Phantasmal Bear
1 Phantasmal Image
2 Merfolk Looter

Sideboard: 15
1 Timely Reinforcements
1 Negate
1 Flashfreeze
1 Sylvok Lifestaff
1 Hex Parasite
1 Phantasmal Image
1 Act of Agression
2 Oblivion Ring
3 Dissipate
3 Trinket Mage

 
Suarez, Raoul Simon
“Sligh”

Lands: 22
22 Mountains

Artifacts: 4
4 Shrine of Burning Rage

Planeswalkers: 2
2 Koth of the Hammer

Spells: 14
2 Arc Trail
3 Incinerate
3 Gut Shot
3 Galvanic Blast
3 Volt Charge

Creatures: 18
1 Spikeshot Elder
2 Grim Lavamancer
3 Goblin Fireslinger
4 Stromkirk Noble
4 Stormblood Berserker
4 Chandra’s Phoenix

Sideboard: 15
1 Arc Trail
1 Act of Agression
2 Mana Barbs
2 Traitorous Blood
3 Vulshok Refugee
3 Manic Vandal
3 Dismember

 
Yap, Peter Franz
“Infect”

Lands: 25
4 Inkmoth Nexus
21 Swamp

Artifacts: 6
2 Trigon of Rage
4 Lashwrithe

Spells: 12
2 Doom Blade
2 Tezzert’s Gambit
4 Victim of Night
4 Virulent Wound

Planeswalkers: 3
3 Liliana of the Veil

Creatures: 14
2 Skythiryx, the Blight Dragon
4 Whispering Specter
4 Phyrexian Crusader
4 Plague Stinger

Sideboard: 15
1 Rachet Bomb
1 Curse of Death’s Hold
2 Surgical Extraction
2 Distress
2 Phyrexian Vatmother
2 Spellskite
2 Black Sun’s Zenith
2 Nihil Spellbomb
1 Tumble Magnet

 
Mastilero, Oliver
“Esper Control”

Lands: 27
1 Swamp
4 Island
4 Plains
2 Darkslick Shores
4 Seachrome Coast
3 Ghost Quarter
2 Isolated Chapel
3 Drowned Catacombs
4 Glacial Fortress

Artifacts: 2
2 Pristine Talisman

Spells: 23
2 White Sun’s Zenith
2 Mana Leak
3 Timely Reinforcements
3 Doom Blade
3 Think Twice
3 Forbidden Alchemy
3 Dissipate
4 Day of Judgement

Planeswalkers: 2
1 Jace, Memory Adept
1 Gideon Jura

Creatures: 4
1 Elesh Norn, Grand Cenobite
3 Snapcaster Mage

Enchantments: 2
2 Oblivion Ring

Sideboard: 15
1 Blue Sun’s Zenith
1 Nephalia Drownyard
1 Karn Liberated
1 Devine Offering
1 Timely Reinforcements
1 Doom Blade
1 Volition Reins
1 Rachet Bomb
2 Phantasmal Image
2 Negate
3 Nihil Spellbomb

 
Alloso, “The Pro” Mark Ian
“Token Town”

Lands: 24
1 Island
3 Forest
6 Plains
3 Gavony Township
2 Hinterland Harbor
1 Glacial Fortress
4 Sunpetal Grove
4 Razorverge Thicket

Artifacts: 5
1 Mortarpod
4 Shrine of Loyal Legions

Spells: 11
1 White Sun’s Zenith
2 Day of Judgement
2 Midnight Haunting
3 Rampant Growth
3 Mana Leak

Planeswalkers: 6
3 Elspeth Tirel
3 Garruk Relentless

Creatures: 7
1 Geist-Honored Monk
2 Blade Splicer
4 Hero of Bladehold

Enchantments: 7
3 Oblivion Ring
4 Intangible Virtue

Sideboard: 15
1 Dismember
1 Oblivion Ring
1 Day of Judgement
1 Mana Leak
2 Mental Misstep
2 Naturalize
2 Nihil Spellbomb
2 Celestial Purge
3 Timely Reinforcements

 
Po, Paolo Rafael
“Infect”

Lands: 25
4 Inkmoth Nexus
21 Swamp

Artifacts: 5
2 Contagion Clasp
3 Lashwrithe

Spells: 17
1 Victim of Night
2 Doom Blade
2 Go for the Throat
3 Tezzert’s Gambit
3 Distress
3 Despise
3 Virulent Wound

Creatures: 13
2 Skythiryx, the Blight Dragon
3 Whispering Specter
4 Phyrexian Crusader
4 Plague Stinger

Sideboard: 15
2 Nihil Spellbomb
2 Memoricide
2 Rachet Bomb
2 Tribute to Hunger
3 Black Sun’s Zenith
4 Phyrexian Vatmother

 
Equiña, Yammy
“The Yammy Returns”

Lands: 25
4 Island
6 Plains
2 Moorland Haunt
2 Inkmoth Nexus
3 Ghost Quarter
4 Seachrome Coast
4 Glacial Fortress

Artifacts: 3
3 Sword of Feast and Famine

Spells: 10
2 Midnight Haunting
4 Mana Leak
4 Gitaxian Probe

Creatures: 18
2 Spellskite
2 Hero of Bladehold
3 Blade Splicer
3 Gesit of Saint Traft
4 Mirran Crusader
4 Snapcaster Mage

Enchantments: 4
2 Oblivion Ring
2 Angelic Destiny

Sideboard: 15
1 Oblivion Ring
1 Timely Reinforcements
1 Celestial Purge
1 Negate
1 Sword of War and Peace
1 Sun Titan
1 Revoke Existence
4 Rachet Bomb
4 Flashfreeze

 
Baterna, Jared Marc
“GW Pingers”

Lands: 25
5 Plains
8 Forest
4 Gavony Township
4 Razorverge Thicket
4 Sunpetal Grove

Artifacts: 3
3 Mortarpod

Spells: 2
2 Gut Shot

Planeswalkers: 7
3 Elspeth Tirel
4 Garruk Relentless

Creatures: 19
1 Geist-Honored Monk
2 Mirran Crusader
4 Avacyn’s Pilgrim
4 Birds of Paradise
4 Hero of Bladehold
4 Blade Splicer

Enchantments: 4
4 Oblivion Ring

Sideboard: 15
1 Mikaeus, the Lunarch
1 Sword of War and Peace
2 Sword of Feast and Famine
2 Celestial Purge
2 Naturalize (Nevermore?
2 Gutshot
2 Thrun, the Last Troll
3 Timely Reinforcements

Magic: the Gathering Iloilo Championships 2011
December 29 to 30, 2011
Jaq’s Bar, Smallville Iloilo City

Event Information

Day 1 (December 29, 2011) Main Event
Format: Individual Standard Constructed
Registration Fee: 450php (150 for the food and drinks)
10AM – Start of Registration
12NN – Round 1
Elimination rounds until the Top Eight

Prize Structure (*subject to change. Final list by next week)

5th – 8th Place: 2 Innistrad Booster Packs
1st – 4th Place: 1 Snapcaster Mage
Champion: Trophy and freebies

Every round will raffle one Innistrad booster pack. If we’ll have more players, then more prizes will be given.

Day 2 (December 30, 2011) Side Events and Top 8
Team Event Tourney
Format: Standard, Modern and Innistrad Block Constructed
Registration Fee: 100php per member (300php for the team)

10AM – Start of Registration
11AM – Round 1
12NN – Lunch break
1PM – Succeeding rounds

Rankings after X rounds. Prizes for the 1st place will be trophy & cash.

By demand:
Innistrad Booster Draft
Max of 8 players for the pod.
Reg. Fee is 600php, 3 Boosters, 1 booster pack per win.

The Top 8 matches will start at 4PM. The awarding ceremonies will then follow afterwards.

Anyway, here is the list I came up with:

BR Vamps by Mark Ian Alloso
Lands
1 Stensia Bloodhall
9 Mountain
6 Swamp
4 Blackcleave Cliffs
4 Dragonskull Summit

Creatures
2 Blood Seeker
4 Vampire Interloper
4 Stromkirk Noble
2 Bloodline Keeper
4 Rakish Heir
1 Bloodlord of Vaasgoth
4 Falkenrath Marauders
1 Hero of Oxid Ridge

Spells
3 Doom Blade
2 Arc Trail
3 Incinerate
1 Traitorous Blood
2 Tezzeret’s Gambit
2 Brimstone Volley
1 Tumble Magnet

I partially based the list on a recent States top 8 deck. It may look rough but here are a few things that I considered.

Evasion – this is achieved by the Stromkirk Noble, Vampire Interloper and Falkenrath Marauders. Stromkirk Noble is obviously the best one-drop for the deck can deal lots of damage early when supported by Arc Trails and other spot removals.

Power boost – done by Rakish Heir and (slightly) by the gambits’ proliferate. The good thing is that the nobles and the marauders pump on their own so the Heir is basically a bonus.

Additional damage – is supported by Blood Seeker and Hero of Oxid Ridge. I’ve chosen the seeker as the other two drop since tokens is a very popular archetype lately and the seeker is a big nuisance to them. In addition, the hero can push in large attacks and messes up 1/1 token blocks.

Late game burn finish – done by burn spells and Stensia Bloodhall. Traitorous Blood can act like one too.

You might notice some one-ofs and those are for specific matchups and might seemingly work well. Tumble Magnet is probably my best trump against Wurmcoil Engine as you would not really want to kill it. I’m still considering replacing Arc Trail with an instant burn like Shock or Galvanic Blast as against Wolf Run Ramp, having Inkmoth Nexuses as their win condition.

As for the sideboard, it will look like this (again, an initial list):

2 Tribute to Hunger – against Thrun and Geist of Saint Traft.

3 Ratchet Bomb – for tokens and Tempered Steel

1 Doom Blade – for curving of spot removals, replacing a burn spell.

1 Memoricide – probably for control to rfg Sun Titan.

2 Surgical Extraction – same purpose as Memoricide and used to trump flashback tricks of Snapcaster Mage.

3 Manic Vandal & 1 Shatter – artifact hate support.

1 Blood Seeker – for additional token nuisance.

1 Traitorous Blood – sideboarded against fatties.

Other cards I would consider to sideboard are: Olivia Voldaren, Go for the Throat for Grave Titan, discards like Despise or Mind Rot perhaps. That’ll depend, but I’d still maintain the mana curve below six casting cost.

No sideboard in and outs yet so it is for you to test and adjust to your preference. I’m hoping and I’m pretty sure Dark Ascension can provide more goodies for the deck to improve. As for the moment, just see the list above.

Until next time, see ya..

I’m talking about the Green Stompy aggro. Though this archetype exist before in Zendikar Standard, it were just not popular because of the existence of Cawblade in which the deck’s bad matchup. Let us see what the new Standard offers to the list.

Dungrove Elder from Magic2012 – this awesome three drop fits the theme of the deck to go mono-Forests. Also, Hexproof is an added bonus and needs to be abused by equipping a sword or something.

Skinshifter – the pseudo-Morphling for green. He had seen plays in the RUG Birthing pod decks and with lots of mana dudes in Mono Green, he is too good not to be included in the list.

Thrun, the Last Troll – he is undeniably the strongest four drop of Green in the new Standard. It is auto-add in the deck.

Garruk, Primal Hunter – I think he is the only planeswalker that fits Mono Green, as it is very obvious with the three green mana symbols in the casting cost, so I guess he deserves a slot.

Garruk Relentless – the latest version of Garruk looks promising so I’d give it a shot.

Without further ado, here is the version 1 list:

Dungrove Aggro v. 1 by Mao Gonzalez
Lands
22 Forest
1 Kessig Wolf Run
1 Mountain

Creatures
4 Viridian Emissary
3 Llanowar Elves
4 Skinshifter
4 Birds of Paradise
4 Dungrove Elder
3 Acidic Slime
3 Primeval Titan
3 Thrun, the Last Troll

Spells
1 Green Sun’s Zenith
1 Garruk, Primal Hunter
2 Garruk Relentless
1 Sword of Body and Mind
1 Red Sun’s Zenith
1 Sword of War and Peace
1 Sword of Feast and Famine

Sideboard
SB: 1 Acidic Slime
SB: 1 Batterskull
SB: 4 Bramblecrush
SB: 1 Nihil Spellbomb
SB: 3 Tree of Redemption
SB: 2 Fresh Meat
SB: 3 Creeping Corrosion

The lone mountain is just for the splash color Red for the Red Sun’s Zenith and Kessig Wolf Run. In cases of things getting out of hand in the late game, a huge burn on the dome can be a great finishing touch.

I made a few playtest through the Magic Workstation online and found its weakness against Mirran Crusader, even after sideboard. I’ve improved the list a bit and here is version 2:

Dungrove Aggro v. 2 by Mao Gonzalez
Lands
1 Mountain
23 Forest

Creatures
4 Birds of Paradise
4 Skinshifter
1 Llanowar Elves
3 Thrun, the Last Troll
3 Acidic Slime
1 Stingerfling Spider
1 Bellowing Tanglewurm
4 Dungrove Elder
1 Primeval Titan

Spells
1 Red Sun’s Zenith
2 Garruk, Primal Hunter
1 Sword of War and Peace
4 Green Sun’s Zenith
4 Rampant Growth
1 Sword of Feast and Famine
1 Sword of Body and Mind

Sideboard
SB: 1 Acidic Slime
SB: 3 Bramblecrush
SB: 2 Batterskull
SB: 3 Creeping Corrosion
SB: 3 Tumble Magnet
SB: 1 Naturalize
SB: 2 Tree of Redemption

The problem on mana is fixed by rampant growth (instead of the emissary) and the Green Sun’s Zenith is maxed out for some silver bullets i.e. Bellowing Tanglewurm makes your dudes unblockable, etc. The new sideboard list now has the Tumble Magnets to deal with the crusader. The tree and Batterskulls are obviously for Mono red. I would also consider to side in Fresh Meat against Day of Judgment.

Your comments and suggestions are very much appreciated. Thanks for reading and until next time. Ciao.

Rei Anothony Coo, Mark Ian Alloso, Rheinhard Ruso and Marco Gonzales made it through the field full of Cawblade mirror, Vampires and rogue decks. Rei, Mark and Marco piloted the boggey man in standard which is Cawblade while Rheinhard trusted the aggressiveness of his Elves to beat all odds. It was the last appearance of the King Cawblade since his reign will end on July 1 due to the banning of the mighty Jace, the Mind Sculptor and Stoneforge Mystic (the backbone of the deck) last June 20 just after the event.

It was about a decade and a half since the last Regionals was held in Iloilo. Thanks to Neutral Grounds which gave a National Qualifier to the ecstatic MTG Illonggo players this time of the year. The event was headed by judge Raffy Sarto from Manila, – who popularly got his top 8 appearance at GP Malaysia last year – as he was assigned to maintain peace and order in the tournament, at the same time, answer players queries regarding complicated game/card rulings.

The event was really made special for it was the first time the tournament rose to a new level, courtesy of the coverage equipments from Ramon. For the first time, the local players were able to witness a featured match recorded through a video with a widescreen monitor for the audience (particularly those far from the game table) to clearly see.

It maybe a trial run for greater events to come but it was one of the most memorable MTG event in Iloilo were it was surprisingly covered by GMA, one of the most popular TV network in the country. Kudos to master Ramon Alivio, Jay Trenas and others for bringing one of the best tournament here in Iloilo!

The Metagame Breakdown

 
Photo Essay
 

The Coverage Team with the assistance of judge Raffy Sarto trying to setup and figure out how to make things clearer for the viewers with the help of the 27 inch wide LCD Monitor by Ramon.
 

Even without a video camera, Ramon’s DSLR proved to be multi-functional and effective in covering the feature matches. Upgrade complete! (in Starcraft tone)
 

Meanwhile (Samantala…), Iloilo players seek advice from Master Tonton, who already qualified in Nationals through Total rating but unfortunately not allowed to play in the qualifiers.
 

Team Bacolod congregates to finalize their decklist and formulate their strategies before engaging for battle.
 

The first Ilonggo player to earn his Pro Points from the recently concluded GP Singapore, making it in the Top 64 money finish (54th place), preparing his deck to qualify him to the next level that will give him a chance to represent Philippines at Worlds….Welcome to the Pro Players Club Mark Ian Alloso!
 

The pairings is on and all players were able to find their seats immediately, thanks to the clearer view from the 27 inches monitor, unlike the cute screen of judge Raffy’s laptop.
 

The complete view of the event at JAQs bar after the pairings were posted.
 

The first ever feature match in Iloilo’s history is none other than the Pro himself Mark Ian Alloso battling his own teammate Ericson Carganillo. The match came to the decider which was a close one and guess who won? (Alam na?)
 

Just like GGs Live, the feature matches was covered efficiently for everyone to see. For every good plays, you’ll hear cheers from the crowd while every mistake makes them silent or murmuring. There’s nothing to hide guys!
 

Every coverage is nothing without this hilarious duo of commentators, Franz and Jay, adding flavor to the feature matches. Thinking… thinking… thinking failed. (in Command and Conquer’s tone)
 

The feature match between Rei and Erson was covered by ala-aka “blisterguy” Ramon, keeping track of life totals for the videos and also helping out is Gian who was celebrating his birthday that same day! It’s the Blisterguy and the Birthdayguy!
 

It was a surprise that GMA, one of the most popular TV stations in the country, was covering the match between our local Pro Mark Ian and Raymund…Oh well, there’s no doubt celebrities are always camera magnet….Smile guys you’re on TV!
 

Judge Raffy Sarto interviewed by the GMA crew about Magic the Gathering. I know he has a lot of questions to answer and a lot of interesting stories to tell.
 

The Featured Matches

Round 1: Mark Ian Alloso (Cawblade) vs. Ericson Carganillo (UR Twin)

 

Round 2: Rei Anthony Coo (Cawblade) vs. Erson Junio (Boros)

TOP 8 Player Profiles

Name: Rei Anothony Coo
Hometown: Iloilo City
Age: 28
Occupation: Webmaster

What deck did you play and why? Blue White Cawblade
How did you prepare for this event? Copy decklist from my friend Mao
What do you think should be banned in standard and why? Nothing, standard is fine
Who is the Pro Magic player you wish to play with? Mark Ian Alloso

Name: Mark Ian Alloso
Hometown: Alimodian, Iloilo
Age: 27
Occupation: Webmaster

What deck did you play and why? Cawblade, because I think it’s the best deck in the current standard metagame.
How did you prepare for this event? Played in the recent Grand Prix in Singapore and in National Qualifiers in Cebu, and got some matchup tips from Master Oli (2-time Iloilo Champ)
What do you think should be banned in standard and why? I’m guessing it’s the Stoneforge Mystic. Standard is not so fun with that chic around.
Who is the Pro Magic player you wish to play with? There’s a lot actually. I’m guessing Brad Nelson or PV.

Name: Rheinhard Ruso
Hometown: Bacolod
Age: 31
Occupation: Self Employed

What deck did you play and why? Elves
How did you prepare for this event? Preparing and playtesting against top decks.
What do you think should be banned in standard and why? Stoneforge Mystic, too powerful in second turn.
Who is the Pro Magic player you wish to play with? Raphael Levy

Name: Marco Gonzales
Hometown: Iloilo City
Age: 28
Occupation: Internet Junky

What deck did you play and why? Blue White Cawblade
How did you prepare for this event? Playtest for a day at Rei’s Place
What do you think should be banned in standard and why? Stoneforge Mystic. Standard is not fun.
Who is the Pro Magic player you wish to play with? Mark Ian Alloso!

Name: Master Matthew Sy
Hometown: Bacolod City
Age: 24
Occupation: Self Employed

What deck did you play and why? Aggro Tezzeret, because of Torpor Orb.
How did you prepare for this event? Playtested against meta decks.
What do you think should be banned in standard and why? Nothing.
Who is the Pro Magic player you wish to play with? I don’t know.

Name: David Leslie Lim
Hometown: Silay City
Age: 31
Occupation: Self Employed

What deck did you play and why? Valachiong aka “Valakut”. Friend lend me the deck.
How did you prepare for this event? No preparation.
What do you think should be banned in standard and why? Jace the mind Sculptor – very expensive.
Who is the Pro Magic player you wish to play with? Mark Ian Alloso, very good player.

Name: Ralph Joseph P. Villa
Hometown: Ill City
Age: 23
Occupation: Mark’s Personal Slave

What deck did you play and why?  RUG, Oliver said so.
How did you prepare for this event? Drunk, drunk, drunk.
What do you think should be banned in standard and why? Stoneforge Mystic!!!
Who is the Pro Magic player you wish to play with? Rigz Rivera!!!

Name: Gedi Leonares
Hometown: Bacolod City
Age: 25
Occupation: Instructor; Consultant

What deck did you play and why? Mono Red Control
How did you prepare for this event? Sleep
What do you think should be banned in standard and why? None
Who is the Pro Magic player you wish to play with? Mark Ian Alloso