Round 2: Claudia Loroff vs. Dave Montreuil

Craig Jones

Claudia Loroff vs. Dave Montreuil

Round 2 and last year's finalist at the European Championships, Dave Montreuil, was drawn against Claudia Loroff. Loroff reports for the Sideboard and won the only female invitational back in 2000.

Game 1

Montreuil won the die roll and decided to go first. His green/blue/red deck lacked early drops and this showed as his first play was a Pardic Firecat. He soon caught up on the damage race by making a Cephalid Sage the next turn and flinging it in with a Reckless Charge.

The Sage would prove to be a nuisance to Loroff. She gang-blocked it with a Mystic Familiar and a Treetop Sentinel. Muscle Burst sent both to the graveyard. She gang-blocked it with a Gravedigger and Aven Fisher. Refresh kept the Sage kicking. Another gang-block finally got rid of it but the Firecat had taken her down to five.

A Possessed Barbarian looked to cause problems. Loroff had its Nomad counterpart but first strike would ensure the Barbarian would win that tussle, especially when Montreuil used Rites of Spring to gain Threshold.

Claudia managed to keep it at bay with a Testament of Faith and leaving a lot of mana open. Montreuil looked to go round it by making a few lizard-shaped squirrels and repeated attacks lost him a few creatures but brought Loroff down to two. A Cephalid Looter soon found the burn he needed and Shower of Coals at threshold was overkill really.

Montreuil 1-0 Loroff

Game 2

Claudia Loroff

Loroff chose to go first. Montreuil had said his deck had some power cards but wouldn't like a deck coming out fast against him. Loroff proved that by coming out fast with Patrol Hounds. Montreuil made a Cephalid Looter and started to improve his card quality but was facing problems as Loroff started attacking through the air. A Petravark took out Loroff's only white mana but she was able to still make a Balshan Collaborator. The next turn Loroff added a third swamp and came through the air for seven with the Collaborator and a Cloudchaser. Montreuil tried to take it out with a Lunatic but Loroff saved it with an Aether Burst. He finally dealt with it by Muscle-bursting an Aven Fisher but it was too late and the rest of Loroff's airforce finished him off.

Montreuil 1-1 Loroff

Game 3

This time Loroff didn't get a quick start but had a Testament of Faith for defense. Montreuil made his sideboard tech: Think Tank.

"I need to find an answer to your fliers", he said. Unfortunately an Aven Cloudchaser soon saw to that.

Dave Montreuil

Possessed Nomad and Barbarian faced off each other again. Loroff dropped Kirtar's desire to hold off the Barbarian and so Montreuil decided to get tricky by Aether-bursting the Cloudchaser. If it came back it would take out the desire. The Nomad came in and what seemed like a mistake (the Barbarian could still block) soon made sense as Spirit Flare ensured the Nomad came out on top this time.

Montreuil had bigger threats as a Gorilla Titan swung onto the table. Loroff found another source of blue mana (her first island was sitting under a Petravark) and used Looter and Spirit Flare to remove the Gorilla.

This was only a brief respite as Shower of Coals wrecked her board and an attack from a Petravark and Cephalid Sage brought her two life as time was called. She still had an out as she had Upheaval in hand to force a certain draw. Unfortunately she only had one island in play because of that pesky Petravark. The second didn't appear and Montreuil won on the next turn.

Final Result: Dave Montreuil beat Claudia Loroff 2-1