This is the second year in a row that the Guevins, the unpredictable Tom and comparatively predictable Peter, have been within striking range of the Top 4. This time around they haven't got Danny Mandel with them, instead opting for Paul Rietzl, who recently ground in to U.S. Nationals. All their hard work and preparation is going to be put to the test this round when they face Bottom Set, the powerhouse trio of Dave Williams, Neil Reeves and Bob Maher.

Maher's team won the flip, and chose to kick off.

Pack 1: Onslaught

Not much to say here. Reeves signals blue-white and Peter matches.

Pack 2:

Williams keeps the ludicrous Savior from crossing to the other side, while Maher signs on with his obvious green seat, and Rietzl heads red-black.

Pack 3:

You'd better believe there was a lot of gesturing when this pack was opened. The Brigadier seemed obvious, but it's not as spectacular in the blue-white mirror, since it affects both players. Timberwatch seized on this fact and started pointing at Shieldmage Elder, a meaty bomb if unremoved. Peter remained unconvinced, but accepted his teammates wishes. His eyes bugged out of his head when Reeves passed it on to Williams and switched his black for white. It was a massive blow to Timberwatch, and Bottom Set immediately started smiling.

Pack 4:

Pretty straightforward, except Maher realized too late that Reeves would benefit more from Misery Charm than Mage's Guile.

Pack 5:

Maher snags a late Biologist in case Guevin's deck drifts more towards Beasts.

Pack 6:

Afterwards, Maher would express surprise that Reeves shunned the second Shepherd in favor of Erratic Explosion. Reeves didn't think the card would do enough.

Pack 7: Legions

Move along.

Pack 8:

Lots of green cards, both for Tom and Maher.

Pack 9:

With nothing much in the pack for his aggressive red-black, Rietzl cuts. Peter is more than happy to scoop up the Crab, but goodies still make it to the other side. Guevin didn't like either of his options between Stonewood and Clearcutter, but eventually made the choice.

Pack 10:

If the last decision was hard, this one was agony. With no way to stop the good cards from getting to the other team, Tom Guevin goes for consistency and enhances his two-slot. Crested Craghorn and Whipgrass Entangler still make it to his teammates.

Pack 11:

As soon as this pack was cracked, Neil Reeves started gesticulating at his opponents' team name. Reeves's Toxin Sliver went well with his many Mistforms and possibly his Imagecrafters. Vile Deacon on the swingback was no slouch either.

Pack 12:

The players thought this was an error pack, but both Smokespews were stamped correctly. Williams had no problem taking Celestial Gatekeeper, and Peter seemed surprised that Tom didn't hate the Gatekeeper.

Pack 13: Scourge

Reeves didn't even blink at Dragon Scales, immediately taking The Cuts. Rietzl was thrilled to have Consumptive Goo, but Maher dismissed it a card he doesn't rate at all.

Pack 14:

More bomb rares for Williams, how corrupt! Guevin's Warchief wasn't ludicrous, thanks to his mostly B-string collection of Beasts. Maher considered a possible red splash

Pack 15:

Again, Williams with the strong wheel. Williams would later comment that it seemed his deck was overpowered for his matchup while the other two suffered, but that he didn't know what they could have done differently

Pack 16:

Yes, that is Tom Guevin picking Misguided Rage over Krosan Drover. While building he flashed his Lay Waste and Rages and said "If he has no lands, he can't win! This is exactly the sort of thing Bob Maher would do! I'm going to out - Bob Maher Bob Maher!" When his decision was questioned, he responded "You gotta be like Phil Helmuth and envision yourself winning. This is how I envision myself winning!"

Pack 17:

Here again, Rietzl shows how much he loves the Goo.

Pack 18:

Maher hated the Mage with a smile, for Guevin, who flailed his arms.

As they built their decks, Bottom Set were reluctant to give themselves an advantage. Williams looked like a sure winner, but Maher and Reeves weren't sure how their matches would go. Maher feared the speed of Tom's deck, and almost wound up playing One With Nature and Treetop Scout, saying "If I get lands, I'm gonna win."

Strangely, that lined up well with Tom Guevin's seemingly-mad insistence on playing land destruction. Rietzl was worried about his match against Williams, but thought it was by no means unwinnable. Peter Guevin thought he had a good shot against Reeves, whose deck he thought would lack cohesion. They were on the whole unnerved by the mishap with the Brigadier, but rallied as best they could.

Maher's team cherished the memory of the Brigadier, however they still insisted that the draft had gone poorly after that major advantage. They just couldn't pinpoint where.

	Bob Maher Bottom Set--Seat A Main Deck 40 cards 9  Forest 9  Swamp 18 lands 1  Anurid Murkdiver 1  Aphetto Vulture 2  Barkhide Mauler 1  Branchsnap Lorian 1  Carrion Feeder 1  Crypt Sliver 1  Death's-Head Buzzard 1  Feral Throwback 1  Krosan Cloudscraper 1  Krosan Vorine 1  Skinthinner 1  Sootfeather Flock 1  Timberwatch Elf 1  Totem Speaker 15 creatures 1  Alpha Status 1  Dragon Shadow 1  Endemic Plague 1  Explosive Vegetation 1  Tribal Unity 1  Unburden 1  Vitality Charm 7 other spells Sideboard 1  Brightstone Ritual 1  Crown of Vigor 2  Defiant Elf 1  Dragon Mage 1  Dragon Shadow 1  Extra Arms 1  Fugitive Wizard 1  Goblin Assassin 1  Goblin Sledder 1  Grip of Chaos 1  Gustcloak Runner 1  Krosan Drover 1  Misery Charm 1  One with Nature 1  Quick Sliver 2  Riptide Biologist 1  Scattereshot 1  Skulltap 1  Stifle 1  Treetop Scout 1  Wall of Hope 23 sideboard cards

	Neil Reeves Bottom Set--Seat B Main Deck 40 cards 8  Island 2  Mountain 8  Swamp 18 lands 1  Covert Operative 2  Master of the Veil 2  Mistform Dreamer 1  Mistform Seaswift 1  Raven Guild Initiate 1  Shepherd of Rot 1  Smokespew Invoker 1  Sootfeather Flock 1  Toxin Sliver 1  Vile Deacon 1  Voidmage Apprentice 1  Withered Wretch 2  Zombie Cutthroat 16 creatures 1  Erratic Explosion 1  Extra Arms 1  Mage's Guile 1  Misery Charm 1  Reaping the Graves 1  Unburden 6 other spells Sideboard 1  Aphetto Grifter 1  Aven Liberator 1  Battlefield Medic 1  Brontotherium 1  Dive Bomber 1  Dripping Dead 1  Edgewalker 1  Goblin Psychopath 1  Goblin War Strike 1  Guilty Conscience 1  Hindering Touch 2  Imagecrafter 1  Keeper of the Nine Gales 1  Krosan Drover 1  Mistform Mask 1  Ridgetop Raptor 1  Spined Basher 1  Temporal Fissure 1  Tribal Unity 1  Unspeakable Symbol 1  Words of Wind 1  Zombie Brute 23 sideboard cards

	David Williams Bottom Set--Seat C Main Deck 41 cards 7  Mountain 11  Plains 1  Windswept Heath 19 lands 1  Aven Brigadier 1  Aven Farseer 1  Aven Liberator 1  Aven Redeemer 1  Aven Warhawk 1  Celestial Gatekeeper 1  Daunting Defender 1  Dawn Elemental 1  Flamewave Invoker 2  Goblin Clearcutter 1  Gustcloak Savior 1  Skirk Commando 1  Whipgrass Entangler 1  Wingbeat Warrior 1  Zealous Inquisitor 16 creatures 1  Carbonize 1  Piety Charm 1  Rain of Blades 1  Shock 1  Torrent of Fire 1  Wing Shards 6 other spells Sideboard 1  Annex 1  Bonethorn Valesk 1  Covert Operative 1  Fever Charm 1  Foothill Guide 1  Goblin Firebug 2  Goblin Lookout 1  Invigorating Boon 1  Ixidor's Will 1  Lowland Tracker 1  Mistform Mask 1  Quick Sliver 1  Rock Jockey 1  Sandskin 1  Sprouting Vines 1  Spurred Wolverine 1  Treetop Scout 1  Warbreak Trumpeter 2  Wipe Clean 1  Woodcloaker 22 sideboard cards

	Tom Guevin Watch Out For Timberwatch - Seat A Main Deck 40 cards 10  Forest 8  Mountain 18 lands 1  Birchlore Rangers 2  Elvish Warrior 1  Goblin Brigand 1  Hunter Sliver 1  Krosan Vorine 1  Krosan Warchief 2  Patron of the Wild 2  Stonewood Invoker 1  Towering Baloth 1  Wirewood Savage 1  Zombie Cutthroat 14 creatures 2  Break Asunder 1  Claws of Wirewood 1  Lay Waste 2  Misguided Rage 1  Torrent of Fire 1  Vitality Charm 8 other spells Sideboard 3  Berserk Murlodont 1  Break Open 1  Brightstone Ritual 1  Chill Haunting 1  Coast Watcher 1  Disciple of Grace 1  Dragon Breath 1  Fierce Empath 1  Frozen Solid 1  Glowering Rogon 1  Goblin Assassin 2  Hundroog 1  Ironfist Crusher 2  Needleshot Gourna 1  Sea's Claim 1  Spy Network 1  Wipe Clean 21 sideboard cards

	Peter Guevin Watch Out For Timberwatch - Seat B Main Deck 40 cards 9  Island 9  Plains 18 lands 1  Ascending Aven 1  Aven Redeemer 1  Chromeshell Crab 1  Covert Operative 1  Daru Healer 1  Daru Mender 1  Disciple of Grace 1  Keeneye Aven 1  Liege of the Axe 1  Raven Guild Initiate 1  Shieldmage Elder 1  Ward Sliver 1  Whipgrass Entangler 1  Zealous Inquisitor 14 creatures 2  Dragon Scales 1  Essence Fracture 1  Frozen Solid 2  Pacifism 2  Rush of Knowledge 8 other spells Sideboard 1  Ancestor's Prophet 1  Aven Envoy 1  Cephalid Pathmage 1  Daru Encampment 1  Dragon Wings 1  Gempalm Avenger 1  Goblin Firebug 1  Guilty Conscience 1  Gustcloak Runner 1  Information Dealer 1  Long-Term Plans 1  Mistform Mask 1  Mistform Sliver 1  Rummaging Wizard 1  Sage Aven 1  Scornful Egotist 1  Spark Spray 2  Starlight Invoker 1  Uncontrolled Infestation 1  Vengeful Dead 21 sideboard cards

	Paul Rietzl Watch Out For Timberwatch - Seat C Main Deck 40 cards 1  Forgotten Cave 6  Mountain 11  Swamp 18 lands 2  Consumptive Goo 2  Crested Craghorn 2  Embalmed Brawler 1  Embermage Goblin 1  Festering Goblin 1  Goblin Turncoat 1  Putrid Raptor 1  Shepherd of Rot 1  Skirk Marauder 1  Smokespew Invoker 1  Twisted Abomination 14 creatures 1  Erratic Explosion 1  Lingering Death 1  Solar Blast 1  Spark Spray 1  Swat 1  Threaten 1  Unburden 1  Wave of Indifference 8 other spells Sideboard 1  Berserk Murlodont 1  Bloodstoke Howler 1  Bonethorn Valesk 1  Coast Watcher 1  Crypt Sliver 1  Death's-Head Buzzard 1  Deftblade Elite 2  Fade From Memory 1  Gilded Light 1  Goblin Psychopath 1  Gustcloak Runner 1  Lowland Tracker 1  Macetail Hystrodon 1  Nosy Goblin 1  Profane Prayers 1  Pyrostatic Pillar 1  Quick Sliver 1  Rock Jockey 1  Root Sliver 1  Sprouting Vines 21 sideboard cards