2007-08 Precon Championships: Round 4 and the Leaderboard
It was a lighter- and more Goblin-filled- weekend than usual this past Sunday as we witnessed the opening round of the Tinsman Division. We had two matches up for grabs as our Prediction League players were vying for points. How many did they pick up? Good question.
The day’s first match seemed to throw nearly everyone for a loop- with good reason. Those with an eye for research would have noted that this wasn’t the first time those two decks had faced one another in the pages of Ertai’s Lament. Indeed, in our review of Shamanism the deck was playtest against Going Rogue, and here’s a snippet from the writeup of each of the three games:
I concede on the spot and save her the trouble.
I simply can’t do a thing about her swarm and concede.
Jimi takes the sweep.
Said predictor Triumph, “I’d love to vote for the Shamanism deck – the Treefolk look cool. However, past evidence suggests the Rogues are surprisingly proficient lumberjacks.”
Sometimes when a team has their back to the wall, they dig deep and find a hidden reserve of strength that propels them to triumph. So it was with Shamanism, which saw only four predictors give it the nod. Varo summed it up in saying “I think Shamanism has a good chance to stall the game against the rogues and then win through attrition.”
It was an astute observation, and Varo then went on to predict the outcome of the next game, Boggart Feast versus Battle Blitz. Indeed, he was the only one on the day to pick both matches, putting himself one point behind the pack in front. Limbonic_art had plenty of respect for the Boros-coloured victor, saying “Battle Blitz is also strong, it even gave a match to some of my constructed decks as is. A force to be reckoned with.”
With the dust settled, here’s the adjusted leaderboard. The leading pack stayed the same, but all in all it’s still anybody’s race!
As always, should you find any discrepancies in your tally, please don’t hesitate to let us know.
Next, here are this Saturday’s matches!
For those participating in the Prediction League, please leave your selections for Games 19, 20, and 26 in the commends below. Best of luck to all this week, we’re nearing the half-way point with a huge prize bundle up for grabs!
Ertai's Lament 
Game 1: Battle Blitz
Game 2: Goblins
Game 3: Goblins
Oh my, hm. Battle Blitz and Goblins face off, with the gobbos taking the victory.
Game 19 – Battle Blitz: Shamanism fooled me last week, but the raw power that Battle Blitz is packing is gonna be way to much for it this time
Game 20 – Goblins: So much swarm and reach potential. Gotta take the little red men here
Game 26 – Goblins: As I said I love the power and combat tricks in Battle Blitz, but the Goblins’ ability to swarm will be what takes the day here
battle blitz
goblins
battle blitz
1: Battle Blitz
2. Goblins
3. Goblins
i don’t know why i bother. It seems to be the opposite of what i think would win haha.
Shamanism
Goblin
Goblin
19: Battle Blitz – the trees put up a good showing last time but I don’t think they’ll do well in this match, barring a lot of luck.
20: DD Goblins – As much as I like the Overkill deck the gobbos probably have this one.
26: Battle Blitz
Game 19: Battle Blitz
Game 20: Goblins
Game 26: Goblins
Game 19: Shamanism
Game 20: Goblin
Game 26: Goblins
A bit risky to bet on the treefolk knowing the power of battle blitz, but they may be able to withstand the rush and win by brute force. As for the other matches, the goblin deck packs some of the best goblins in Magic’s history, and that’s no joke.
Game 19: Shamanism
Game 20: Goblins
Game 26: Goblins
Not gonna let the upset slip by again…Battle Blitz does not have the most consistent manabase and the treefolk’s high toughness can stymie a lot of mid-combat untap shenanigans. That said, Goblins is a solid monocolor construction and won’t have to contend with a sweeper-on-a-stick this time.
Game 19: Battle blitz
Game 20: Goblins
Game 26: Batle blitz
Shamanism
Goblins
Goblins
Game 19: Shamanism
Game 20: Goblins
Game 26: Goblins
Battle Blitz
Goblins
Goblins I want to see a duel deck win!
Game 19: Shamanism This match I feel will go three rounds and Shamanism will squeek by..
Game 20: Goblins- There is no contest here.
Game 26: Goblins- more rares than the standard theme deck, though I can see Shamanism give it a run for it’s money I think the gobos will have the win.
Game 19 – Shamanism, because uh, it was earth day 2 days ago, and trees are good for the earth.
Game 20 – Overkill, because the Toronto Maple Leafs and New York Islanders made the playoffs. (Who would have guessed?)
Game 21 – Overkill, because it’s overkill. I forsee a huge negative life total for the opposing deck.
I’d like to see a 82 game season featuring 2 blocks worth of intro packs, excluding core set intro packs, thus making 30 intro packs. I guess the core sets could be added as well to make 40 intro packs if you are willing to plan a 82 game schedule, but 30 is easier because you can associate each of the 30 block expansion intro packs from 2 blocks with each NBA or NHL team, and use their schedule, because the NHL plays division rivals more times than teams in the same conference. A team in one conference only plays a team in another conference once or twice only in the season.
Wins get 2 points
loss gets 0 points
ties get 1 point each
Set = division
Block = conference
2 blocks = league
Only 16 decks will make it. The best deck in each set are seeded 1, 2, and 3 in order of points. Seeds 4 to 8 in each conference are then filled with the decks that has the most points during the season. When the 82nd game is finished, playoffs start. That is when the bracket thing happens.
Each playoff round will feature a best of 7 series.
Conference quarter-finals will have seeds 1 vs 8, 2 vs 7, 3 vs 6, and 4 vs 5 in each conference.
Conference semi-finals will have highest seed of the remaining 4 decks vs lowest seed, and the remaining 2 face each other
Conference Finals will consist of the remaining teams in each conference
Finals will feature 2 of 30 decks duking it out for the championship.
Game 19: Giant magic-wielding trees all the way! Shamanism FTW.
Game 20: I’m voting Goblins. Overkill has some powerful cards…but they are costly, and I’m guessing the Goblins will swarm to victory before the 6- and 7-cost powerhouses can turn the tide.
Game 26: I’m going to go with Goblins again (sorry, Shamanism). It’s, you know, all that burn against wood.
Shamanism
Goblins
Goblins
Shamanism
Goblins
Goblins
19. Battle Blitz
20. Goblins
26. Battle Blitz!
Playing favorites isn’t the best tactic, I know, but I ❤ Battle Blitz – it's just so much fun to play. Go go gadget untappers!
-aaro79
I’m going out on a limb here – risking getting zero points on sunday!
G19. Battle Blitz
G20. Overkill
G26. Overkill
19: Battle Blitz
20: Goblins
26: Battle Blitz
1. Shamanism
2. Goblins
3. Goblins
Go gobbers, go!
Game 19: Shamanism
Game 20: Goblins
Game 26: Goblins
Battle Blitz
Goblins
Goblins
19- Battle Blitz
20 – Overkill
21 – Battle Blitz
Battle Blitz
Goblins
Goblins
G19. Battle Blitz G20. Overkill G29 Battle Blitz
19) Battle Blitz
20) Goblins
26) Goblins
Game 19: Shamanism (MOR)
Game 20: Goblins (DD)
Game 26: Goblins (DD)
19. Shamanism (MOR)
20. Overkill (SHM)
26. Overkill (SHM)