War of the Roses II

Looking outward through the dense thicket, the Elvish Archers stepped cautiously on the moss-covered floor beneath them on their hunt. They were aware of keeping close together, synchronized as one movement, so as not to give away their hunting party numbers. This was no ordinary hunt; in most hunts, the elves would spread out to cover more ground, like when hunting a Wumpus, to increase their chances of a successful kill. But when hunting a part of the forest, closeness is survival; to separate is to invite doom. The deeper the hunting party ventured into the Slippery Karst Forest, known for its treacherous terrain and mysterious inhabitants, the more profound the moss became. It covered almost every living and non-living forest element like a blanket, enchanting the woodland into a haunting silence. The only sound was the whispers of the forest seeding doubt into the elves’ minds to get them to separate. Looking down, Marhault, the leader of the hunting party. Observed the moss creeping up his foot, separating into vein-like paths as the rampant growth spread up his leg, intertwining. Marhault turned, yelling, “It knows–!” But before he could finish warning the party and pull away, the growth tightened, pulling him down to the ground as the forest erupted below their feet as if the land was living, too.

To be continued…

The forests of Portland Oregon, are some of my favorites, and I’ve spent my fair share of time sleeping in forests across the United States as a Wildland Firefighter in my younger years. So, when The Horde announced War of the Roses II, I quickly signed up and locked my spot in. I’ve started making these 93/94 trips more of a vacation instead of a quick in-and-out trip to play Magic. Thursday afternoon, my wife Kelly and I flew into Portland Oregon, picked up our rental car, and drove to Lake Oswego to the Lakeshore Inn, where we’d stay for four days. Kelly being in Portland with me made this trip especially fun as it was my birthday weekend, and the duration we were there gave us time to venture around together. Not knowing the area, Google Places was my best friend for discovering new places to visit over the extended weekend.

A couple of weeks before the trip, Doug Greer posted up in the Hordes Discord asking if anyone was interested in going to a stand-up comedy show at Helium. Since 90 percent of what I watch on any streaming platform is stand-up (The other 10 percent is WWII documentaries and random movies)., I promptly took Doug up on his offer for a night out. Thursday night, Doug offered to pick me up from my hotel after discovering he only lived a few minutes away in Oswego. During the drive to the show, Doug and I had a great time discussing our love for combo decks, with Lich and Power Monolith being most of the conversation, and what cards we liked playing in those decks. The Headliner at the show was Nick Mullen, but I found his opening act to be my favorite. The night was a blast filled with good drinks and laughs, making it a memorable experience.

Friday night was the Hordes casual meetup at the Milwaukie Masonic Lodge, where the main event would be held the following day. If you read my article “Quest for The Crown.” Or have you been to an Old School event lately? You know, Sorcery: Contested Realm has been sweeping the Old School community by storm, and I look forward to playing Sorcery during these casual pre-main event meetups. While most of my Friday night was spent enjoying beers with friends I hadn’t seen in a few months, Aaron Rehfield and I did get a few excellent Sorcery games while catching up on life before we drafted Doug’s Vintage cube. Doug and I decided to hit a little bar up in Oswego for a few drinks after the meetup before we finally called it a night to rest before the main event the following day.

For the main event, I wanted to play something I hadn’t played in a few years and settled in on UR Counter Burn. As I said earlier, it was my birthday weekend, and the Horde decided to sing me happy birthday before round one. I’ve heard it sung for 37 years, but this was the top 3 in my book. Thank you, Cam and Aaron.

My round-one opponent was Jeff Scofield, playing Blue Tog. Both our games were very swingy, and I won 2-1 on game three at two life when Jeff could not pay the cost to untap the mana vault, causing him to lose the game while he sat at one life. My round-two opponent was Patrick Wilson. I found out what his deck was in our second game after he took me into two subgames with Shahrazad (that I won). In Round Three, I was paired against none other than Mox Emerald Scott. I love hanging out with him, but not as much as I love trolling him and referring to myself as Mox Jet James. Scott beat my ass 2-0 with Erhnamgeddon… In game one, Scott played Serra Angel into Time Walk and passed to his second turn; he untapped to cast Regrowth, targeting Time Walk to cast it a second time and beat face with Sierra and Mishra’s Factory for the next three turns.

In round 4, I was paired against Justin Pinette. Justin was playing RWB midrange. Game one was a back-and-forth slugfest with Mishra’s Factories pulling the battle weight on both sides and redirecting the occasional Chain Lightning. I managed to pull out game one with five life remaining. In game two, I knew Justin wasn’t running many, if any, basic lands, so I brought out the extra Blood Moon and mulliganed down to 6, revealing a keepable hand of Mox Ruby, Mox Jet, Volcanic Island, Badland, Island, Chain Lightning, and Blood Moon. This was pure gasoline in my book! I bottomed the Badland, and my first draw step ripped Serendib and dropped a turn one Blood Moon. Justin couldn’t recover and ultimately fell to a relentless Dib.

Unfortunately, my notes for my last two rounds were lost. I ended the day 4-2, placing 9th overall. I made good choices throughout the day, and my play lines were correct, so I was happy with my record. I don’t take these events seriously; I mainly want to play good Magic and have good times with friends.

I wrapped up the event by getting a few dual lands altered by Jesper and finished off the last of the beers I purchased at the brewery next door before saying, “See you next month in a different state.” Goodbyes. Thank you to everyone at the Horde. You guys know how to make visitors feel welcome, and I already can’t wait for next year’s event.

Sunday was my birthday, and Kelly and I took a trip to the Japanese Garden before I went hiking to collect some moss for terrariums at home (The inspiration for the story at the beginning). That night, we went downtown to take a brewery tour of the Haunted Shanghai tunnels to see if we could stir up some ghosts. As I’ve said, I am very fortunate to make these trips as often as I do, and I’ve seen so much since joining the community in 2020 with some of the best people around.