Well predicted ben_tyrer, and congratulations on the third place!
I was also a Wizard at the tournament (Adam - Air Wizard). I had the pleasure of a modified loss to JC, an Earth Wizard, in the first round and gave him a bit of trouble by being a slippery customer. He couldn't pin me down, but managed to get enough damage on me to get the modified win. It was my first ever competitive game and I thoroughly enjoyed it. I also picked up some good techniques from JC including how important and effective it is to guard with a [mwcard=MWSTX1CKC08]Gargoyle Sentry[/mwcard] and effective placement and use of the [mwcard=MWSTX1CKJ02]Wizard's Tower[/mwcard]. He had it right in front of my [mwcard=MW1J07]Gate to Voltari[/mwcard] and blitzed my creatures with [mwcard=MW1A09]Jet Stream[/mwcard] as soon as they were cast adding a wall bash to each attack.
My second round was, again, a modified loss to Jonathan who was a Fire Wizard. He effectively ruined me with a suppression game. I had heard of a suppression Wizard but, due to a lack of experience playing other players, I did not see it coming. When I asked Jonathan whether it went how he had planned, he replied in the affirmative. I was lucky to last for the modified loss. A [mwcard=MW1I17]Minor Heal[/mwcard] saved me from annihilation in the final round of the game - [mwcard=MW1I12]Force Push[/mwcard]ed through a [mwcard=MW1W04]Wall of Thorns[/mwcard]. Again, a lot was learned.
I won my final round with a modified win against Justin (I think that was his name), a Necromancer. I played a slightly different game to the first two as he was quite aggressive early on impregnating my Mage with an Ichthellid Larva. I used a couple of [mwcard=MWSTX1CKC08]Gargoyle Sentry[/mwcard]'s and a [mwcard=MW1C05]Blue Gremlin[/mwcard] to inflict some damage before they all succumbed to a combo of [mwcard=DNC21]Thornlasher[/mwcard]s and a well placed [mwcard=MW1J18]Poison Gas Cloud[/mwcard]. In the second to last round of the match, I threw down [mwcard=MW1J19]Deathlock[/mwcard] after a [mwcard=MW1I17]Minor Heal[/mwcard] which proved enough to win by a modified win. I was unlucky on my final attack, requiring 2 damage to kill the Necromancer and only getting a 1 critical. Maybe next time!
As I said, it was a thoroughly enjoyable experience and provided me with a chance to play other mages and learn a lot of new techniques and styles of play. If anybody is undecided about entering a tournament for fear of loss, I would encourage you to just have a go and enjoy the experience. You will certainly learn something and become more confident for your next game/s.
I finished fourth overall which I was really pleased with. I was hoping to not finish with zero points so was fourth was brilliant! Thanks too, to all of the competitors. Everybody was friendly and helpful and it was a really nice atmosphere.
I will certainly look out for your upcoming event ben_tyrer. If all is well, maybe I could see you in the arena next time!!
