HA! I knew it was abuseable!
This weekend was the Star City Games Open Series tournament in Nashville. Today was the Legacy part of the event, with Magic 2011 and Scars of Mirrodin making their marks. Koth of the Hammer, Fauna Shaman (which apparently is not a worse Survival of the Fittest), Memnite, and more saw some decent play at the Legacy portion of the event. And you know how hard it is to make it into Legacy, whatwith all the powerful stuff that's as old as the game itself at times!
But Scars of Mirrodin made use of not only a new card from the set but also two fairly old cards, one of which hasn't seen print since Alliances 14 years ago!
Find out more...after the jump!
Monday, October 18, 2010
Sunday, October 17, 2010
The Halloween Special Theme Week
Halloween is fast approaching! And because one of our days falls so close to Halloween I'm doing a special theme week!
(Name TBD)
The rules are simple: Theme up your deck for Halloween!
(...)
Alright, for a bit more clarification:
1) Your creatures must have Halloween-themed creature types or fit Halloween norms, whether that be in the card name or the creature's type(s) or even the flavor text. For example, Seedcradle Witch is fine since witches are a major theme of Halloween. Examples of Halloween-themed creature types include Wizard, Horror, Goblin, Zombie, Demon, Vampire, and Warewolf. (And they are just examples. If you have a question on if your creature type fits, feel free to ask.) I'd heavily suggest staying away from White and possibly Blue, since they don't really evoke that Halloween feel to them (White is a peace, harmony, and healing color, and blue is more a cunning and clever color, hardly the themes of Halloween). However, if you can make it work go for it!
2) No creatures with the Changeling ability. (I feel that cheats the "specific creature type" rules of any interesting format.)
3) Non-creature spells need to have some scary or dark-themed artwork. For example, Animate Dead has some skeletons rising from the grave. Try telling me that's not spooky and/or Halloween-themed. EXCEPTION: If a card specifically mentions something Halloween-related in its flavor text or card name (examples: All Hallow's Eve or Season of the Witch), feel free to use it as it themes up.
3) Lands are fine. Don't worry about artwork or theme. Your deck needs to be playable, after all. ;)
4) Just because some powerful tribes are allowed, I advise you to not go for a deck that can just outright beat people to a pulp. Have fun with this! We don't do a lot of theme weeks and the fun of it is there's a bit of room to work but you don't just get all the power cards to work with. So for example, as much fun as it may be to build an all-Goblin deck with 4x Siege-Gang Commanders and 4x Goblin Sharpshooters and 4x (insert Goblin here), I'd suggest you bring them at most to 1 per deck in favor of some more interesting Goblins you don't normally use.
5) Unglued and Unhinged are okay, but don't go overboard. Keep the number of Un- cards fairly low relative to how many normal cards you've got in the deck.
For an incentive...I'm still working on that. It may be free Worldwake booster packs (I have enough left I think. I'll have to check). Or it may be leftover promos from the last few set releases. Rest assured, you'll get something for the effort.
That's it from me for now. Enjoy building to the theme!
(Name TBD)
The rules are simple: Theme up your deck for Halloween!
(...)
Alright, for a bit more clarification:
1) Your creatures must have Halloween-themed creature types or fit Halloween norms, whether that be in the card name or the creature's type(s) or even the flavor text. For example, Seedcradle Witch is fine since witches are a major theme of Halloween. Examples of Halloween-themed creature types include Wizard, Horror, Goblin, Zombie, Demon, Vampire, and Warewolf. (And they are just examples. If you have a question on if your creature type fits, feel free to ask.) I'd heavily suggest staying away from White and possibly Blue, since they don't really evoke that Halloween feel to them (White is a peace, harmony, and healing color, and blue is more a cunning and clever color, hardly the themes of Halloween). However, if you can make it work go for it!
2) No creatures with the Changeling ability. (I feel that cheats the "specific creature type" rules of any interesting format.)
3) Non-creature spells need to have some scary or dark-themed artwork. For example, Animate Dead has some skeletons rising from the grave. Try telling me that's not spooky and/or Halloween-themed. EXCEPTION: If a card specifically mentions something Halloween-related in its flavor text or card name (examples: All Hallow's Eve or Season of the Witch), feel free to use it as it themes up.
3) Lands are fine. Don't worry about artwork or theme. Your deck needs to be playable, after all. ;)
4) Just because some powerful tribes are allowed, I advise you to not go for a deck that can just outright beat people to a pulp. Have fun with this! We don't do a lot of theme weeks and the fun of it is there's a bit of room to work but you don't just get all the power cards to work with. So for example, as much fun as it may be to build an all-Goblin deck with 4x Siege-Gang Commanders and 4x Goblin Sharpshooters and 4x (insert Goblin here), I'd suggest you bring them at most to 1 per deck in favor of some more interesting Goblins you don't normally use.
5) Unglued and Unhinged are okay, but don't go overboard. Keep the number of Un- cards fairly low relative to how many normal cards you've got in the deck.
For an incentive...I'm still working on that. It may be free Worldwake booster packs (I have enough left I think. I'll have to check). Or it may be leftover promos from the last few set releases. Rest assured, you'll get something for the effort.
That's it from me for now. Enjoy building to the theme!
Friday, October 8, 2010
Good Promo News, Bad Promo News...Which Leads to Semi-Good News
We've had a bit of a promo mishap of our own.
I've got Steel Hellkite promos, so everyone will get one! WOOT!
I've got the Wurmcoil Engine extra that I personally bought on the off chance Morgan couldn't send any, so that will still go out to the highest finisher who did not get to a Pre-Release.
I've got the 3 Nissa Revane promos, so those will go out as I've detailed below.
I do not have the Liliana's Specter, Sylvan Ranger, or Syphon Mind promos...yet. A packaging mistake kept me from getting those promos on time. If you get to choose from one of these 3 promos, I'll write your name down and which promo you picked. I should have those promos next week.
Now you've got incentive to drop by again. See how Morgan and I work like that? ;) lol.
See you all tomorrow! Remember, $2.75 for loose packs and an $8 entry fee for the draft. HINT: Bring LOTS of cash. ;)
I've got Steel Hellkite promos, so everyone will get one! WOOT!
I've got the Wurmcoil Engine extra that I personally bought on the off chance Morgan couldn't send any, so that will still go out to the highest finisher who did not get to a Pre-Release.
I've got the 3 Nissa Revane promos, so those will go out as I've detailed below.
I do not have the Liliana's Specter, Sylvan Ranger, or Syphon Mind promos...yet. A packaging mistake kept me from getting those promos on time. If you get to choose from one of these 3 promos, I'll write your name down and which promo you picked. I should have those promos next week.
Now you've got incentive to drop by again. See how Morgan and I work like that? ;) lol.
See you all tomorrow! Remember, $2.75 for loose packs and an $8 entry fee for the draft. HINT: Bring LOTS of cash. ;)
Wednesday, October 6, 2010
Promo Distribution Ideas
With HUGE thanks to Organized Play and Morgan Hardy in Knoxville, we've got a number of promos headed our way for the Scars of Mirrodin Post-Release draft Saturday!
Now that I've got a promo list, I've got an idea of what I want to do, so here are the details:
Steel Hellkite: Guaranteed handout to the first 15 players (I doubt we'll hit that many, so it's pretty well 100% you'll get one).
Wurmcoil Engine: I bought 1 Wurmcoil Engine just to make sure I'd have a copy of the Pre-Release Promo. Because I only have 1 copy, I'm reserving this for the highest-finishing player who did not get to a Pre-Release. (If not such player exists in the tournament, it'll be a random draw.)
Nissa Revane: I'll have a few (3) Duels of the Planeswalkers Nissa Revanes I'm able to hand out. I have one friend I want to give one to (as long as he plays in the draft, since he doesn't get around to many of our events), but the other 2 will be random giveaways. You may decline the Nissa Revane promo in favor of one of the promos listed next.
Liliana's Specter (full art), Sylvan Ranger, Syphon Mind: Everyone who didn't receive a Wurmcoil Engine or Nissa Revane will get to choose from the following promos until everyone has 2 total promos (Steel Hellkite + Wurmcoil Engine OR Nissa Revane OR one of these three).
So to recap, everyone will get 2 promos total:
1) Guaranteed Steel Hellkite promo.
2) Highest finisher who didn't attend a Pre-Release gets the lone Wurmcoil Engine promo.
3) Friend who will get 1 Nissa Revane promo (unless he earns the Wurmcoil Engine and declines the Nissa).
4) Random drawings for the other Nissa Revane promos. (You may choose to decline this in favor of one of the other 3 promos listed below)
5) Anyone not getting a Wurmcoil Engine or Nissa Revane gets their choice of one Liliana's Specter (full art), Sylvan Ranger, or Syphon Mind.
So...clear as mud? Sorry! It's the best I can do with all the cards I've got coming our way. Here's hoping it helps our attendance figures. :)
Now that I've got a promo list, I've got an idea of what I want to do, so here are the details:
Steel Hellkite: Guaranteed handout to the first 15 players (I doubt we'll hit that many, so it's pretty well 100% you'll get one).
Wurmcoil Engine: I bought 1 Wurmcoil Engine just to make sure I'd have a copy of the Pre-Release Promo. Because I only have 1 copy, I'm reserving this for the highest-finishing player who did not get to a Pre-Release. (If not such player exists in the tournament, it'll be a random draw.)
Nissa Revane: I'll have a few (3) Duels of the Planeswalkers Nissa Revanes I'm able to hand out. I have one friend I want to give one to (as long as he plays in the draft, since he doesn't get around to many of our events), but the other 2 will be random giveaways. You may decline the Nissa Revane promo in favor of one of the promos listed next.
Liliana's Specter (full art), Sylvan Ranger, Syphon Mind: Everyone who didn't receive a Wurmcoil Engine or Nissa Revane will get to choose from the following promos until everyone has 2 total promos (Steel Hellkite + Wurmcoil Engine OR Nissa Revane OR one of these three).
So to recap, everyone will get 2 promos total:
1) Guaranteed Steel Hellkite promo.
2) Highest finisher who didn't attend a Pre-Release gets the lone Wurmcoil Engine promo.
3) Friend who will get 1 Nissa Revane promo (unless he earns the Wurmcoil Engine and declines the Nissa).
4) Random drawings for the other Nissa Revane promos. (You may choose to decline this in favor of one of the other 3 promos listed below)
5) Anyone not getting a Wurmcoil Engine or Nissa Revane gets their choice of one Liliana's Specter (full art), Sylvan Ranger, or Syphon Mind.
So...clear as mud? Sorry! It's the best I can do with all the cards I've got coming our way. Here's hoping it helps our attendance figures. :)
Tuesday, October 5, 2010
Video Editing Not Cooperating
I'm working on the Cube Draft 3 videos, but my editing software's apparently giving me fits. :( I've got Part 1 of Round 1 posted, though:
Enjoy Part 1 as I get the others worked on Friday. :)
Enjoy Part 1 as I get the others worked on Friday. :)
Possible New End of Match Procedure. Please Discuss!
As we're an informal group (we don't follow DCI rules to the letter, for example), we get to consider things like different formats (outside of Standard or traditional Drafts), procedures, etc.
I want to consider a procedure change for our "end of match" determinations.
Currently, we do adopt the DCI's "five extra turns" rule: At the end of time, after the current turn there are 5 additional turns (total) in the game.
The way we do the "who wins" consideration is this:
CURRENT POLICY
Games 1 or 3: Whoever has the most life at the end of the 5 extra turns wins the game and thus the match (winner would either be 1-0 or 2-1, so there's no need for an extra game).
Game 2: If there's no clear winner, the winner of Game 1 wins the match.
To be honest, I'm personally tired of losing Game 2 in extra turns because I can't kill my opponent. And I've had opponents not even go to Game 2 because time was about to run out and they had no chance to kill me. If Games 1 and 3 get to determine their game (thus match) winner by ending life totals, I want Game 2 to do something similar and mean something.
So I want us to consider this end-of-match policy:
PROPOSED POLICY
Games 1 and 3: Same as normal, since the game records would give one player the clear win of the match.
Game 2: At the end of the extra 5 turns, the winner of Game 2 is determined by who has the highest life total. If it's a tie, ignore non-combat damage/life gain and go to the first combat damage dealt. If there's no clear Match winner (after extra turns, the result is 1-1), go to Game 3. In Game 3, non-combat damage is ignored, as is non-combat life gain. First combat damage in Game 3 wins.
This is just an idea. The crux of it is I want Game 2 to possibly mean something, to not let people quit just because the winner of Game 1 got to run the clock out. I want to do some form of "go to Game 3 if the match score is tied after extra turns", but I don't want cheap burn/life gain to win the game by itself in Game 3. Combat damage would make you work for it. I know it would take longer, but I think it's be a better system to ensure the person who works hardest wins, not the guy who happens to luck up on the clock/direct damage topdeck/life gain topdeck.
Feel free to comment below or send an E-mail to CardGameNut@gmail.com . Chances are we won't implement this for the Scars of Mirrodin draft unless we get a majority approval, so take your time to think about this and respond.
I want to consider a procedure change for our "end of match" determinations.
Currently, we do adopt the DCI's "five extra turns" rule: At the end of time, after the current turn there are 5 additional turns (total) in the game.
The way we do the "who wins" consideration is this:
CURRENT POLICY
Games 1 or 3: Whoever has the most life at the end of the 5 extra turns wins the game and thus the match (winner would either be 1-0 or 2-1, so there's no need for an extra game).
Game 2: If there's no clear winner, the winner of Game 1 wins the match.
To be honest, I'm personally tired of losing Game 2 in extra turns because I can't kill my opponent. And I've had opponents not even go to Game 2 because time was about to run out and they had no chance to kill me. If Games 1 and 3 get to determine their game (thus match) winner by ending life totals, I want Game 2 to do something similar and mean something.
So I want us to consider this end-of-match policy:
PROPOSED POLICY
Games 1 and 3: Same as normal, since the game records would give one player the clear win of the match.
Game 2: At the end of the extra 5 turns, the winner of Game 2 is determined by who has the highest life total. If it's a tie, ignore non-combat damage/life gain and go to the first combat damage dealt. If there's no clear Match winner (after extra turns, the result is 1-1), go to Game 3. In Game 3, non-combat damage is ignored, as is non-combat life gain. First combat damage in Game 3 wins.
This is just an idea. The crux of it is I want Game 2 to possibly mean something, to not let people quit just because the winner of Game 1 got to run the clock out. I want to do some form of "go to Game 3 if the match score is tied after extra turns", but I don't want cheap burn/life gain to win the game by itself in Game 3. Combat damage would make you work for it. I know it would take longer, but I think it's be a better system to ensure the person who works hardest wins, not the guy who happens to luck up on the clock/direct damage topdeck/life gain topdeck.
Feel free to comment below or send an E-mail to CardGameNut@gmail.com . Chances are we won't implement this for the Scars of Mirrodin draft unless we get a majority approval, so take your time to think about this and respond.
Monday, October 4, 2010
Bit of an Issue with Promos for Saturday
I got the E-mail today about what we can expect for promos.
Sadly, zero Wurmcoil Engines extra. WotC screwed up Organized Play's "Buy a Box" promos so Morgan had to resort to giving away extra Wurmcoil Engines in place of the Memoricides that WotC should have sent his way.
We will have Steel Hellkite promos, though. :) Hopefully enough to go one per person, but I need to see what the other promos he sent are.
So stay tuned for word on what we'll do about Promos for this event (what promos we'll get and how I'll distribute them).
Sadly, zero Wurmcoil Engines extra. WotC screwed up Organized Play's "Buy a Box" promos so Morgan had to resort to giving away extra Wurmcoil Engines in place of the Memoricides that WotC should have sent his way.
We will have Steel Hellkite promos, though. :) Hopefully enough to go one per person, but I need to see what the other promos he sent are.
So stay tuned for word on what we'll do about Promos for this event (what promos we'll get and how I'll distribute them).
EDIT: Here's what we have to work with:
10x M11 WPN Sylvan Ranger
15x Steel Hellkite
3x Duels Nissa Revane
10x WPN Syphon Mind
10x Gameday Liliana's Specter
I'll definitely do Steel Hellkite guaranteed handouts. With 15, I doubt we'll run out.
The question is...what to do with the rest?
These above-and-beyond promos are to make up for the lack of Wurmcoil Engine promos. I don't want to blow the whole lot in one event, so I'll probably start by doing the Nissas somehow.
I welcome any and all suggestions you've got.
REMINDER: Scars of Mirrodin Post-Release Saturday!
I hope everyone's had a good weekend! For those who play Standard FNM's, I hope Scars of Mirrodin was good to you. I see Wurmcoil Engine is seeing the most play easily. Apparently if you're going to be like Mitotic Slime you need to have some extra abilities on the split-up tokens.
I wanted to remind everyone that our traditional Post-Release draft for Scars of Mirrodin will be this weekend!
DETAILS
Entry Fee: $8
Format: 3x Scars of Mirrodin Draft (ie: 3 packs of Scars of Mirrodin to draft with.)
Prizes: Rares/Foils from the packs (to be collected as players drop out)* PLUS 1 booster split from Scars of Mirrodin.
Promos: May include Wurmcoil Engine Pre-Release promo and/or Steel Hellkite Release promo, but confirmation is still pending. If we have fewer promos than people, we'll give out a Wurmcoil Engine to the winner and remaining promos will be given on a random lottery basis starting with any remaining Wurmcoil Engines then Steel Hellkites until supplies run out.
*When you open your packs, write down any Rares/foils you open from your packs (yes, including normal Mythic Rares and any foil you open). At the end of the tournament after all the Rares/foils are collected and the SOM pack split is open, starting with the winner, each player may reserve 1 (one) Rare/foil they opened from their own 3 packs. This is each player's first pick. Players who did not choose to reserve a card will get first crack (in finishing order) at the remaining cards. Once everyone has one card (from either the Rares/foils or the pack split), starting with the winner each player gets a turn to get 1 remaining card until all cards are gone.
We hope to see you there for a fun Limited format.
I wanted to remind everyone that our traditional Post-Release draft for Scars of Mirrodin will be this weekend!
DETAILS
Entry Fee: $8
Format: 3x Scars of Mirrodin Draft (ie: 3 packs of Scars of Mirrodin to draft with.)
Prizes: Rares/Foils from the packs (to be collected as players drop out)* PLUS 1 booster split from Scars of Mirrodin.
Promos: May include Wurmcoil Engine Pre-Release promo and/or Steel Hellkite Release promo, but confirmation is still pending. If we have fewer promos than people, we'll give out a Wurmcoil Engine to the winner and remaining promos will be given on a random lottery basis starting with any remaining Wurmcoil Engines then Steel Hellkites until supplies run out.
*When you open your packs, write down any Rares/foils you open from your packs (yes, including normal Mythic Rares and any foil you open). At the end of the tournament after all the Rares/foils are collected and the SOM pack split is open, starting with the winner, each player may reserve 1 (one) Rare/foil they opened from their own 3 packs. This is each player's first pick. Players who did not choose to reserve a card will get first crack (in finishing order) at the remaining cards. Once everyone has one card (from either the Rares/foils or the pack split), starting with the winner each player gets a turn to get 1 remaining card until all cards are gone.
We hope to see you there for a fun Limited format.
*SIGH x2* Tuesday Videos...I Hope
I tried getting some Cube Draft 3 videos up Friday but the process is taking longer than I remember. Tuesday I have a completely free afternoon to work on the videos. Sorry it's taken nearly 3 weeks to get these up. Next set of videos will be up a lot sooner as long as school doesn't interfere.
Friday, October 1, 2010
Standard Rotates Today, but Welcome Scars of Mirrodin!
Hey all!
Today we lose some valuable members of the Standard metagame.
We bid farewell to Bloodbraid Elf; Sprouting Thrinax; Elspeth, Knight-Errant; Master of the Wild Hunt; Sphinx of the Steel Wind; and a host of others.
Today is the second Standard rotation since Wizards of the Coast changed up the way Core Sets and Standard/Extended format rotations would work.
Today in Standard, we lose 4 sets: Shards of Alara, Conflux, Alara Reborn, and Magic 2010 Core Set.
In their place, we picked up Scars of Mirrodin since it released today.
Extended lost a lot more. Extended loses Teferi, Mage of Zhalfir; Venser, Shaper-Savant; Tarmogoyf; Wrath of God; Damnation; and more.
Extended rotates at the same time Standard does and only keeps the last 4 years' worth of expansions and a few Core Sets. Therefore, rotating out with Scars of Mirrodin's release are Time Spiral, Planar Chaos, Future Sight, and 10th Edition.
To catch you up on the current Extended list, here are the permitted blocks and Core Sets:
Lorwyn mega-block (Lorwyn, Morningtide, Shadowmoor, and Eventide)
Shards of Alara block (Shards of Alara, Conflux, and Alara Reborn)
Zendikar block (Zendikar, Worldwake, and Rise of the Eldrazi)
Scars of Mirrodin block (currently only Scars of Mirrodin)
M10
M11
Extended format rotates once a year now, at the same time as Standard, and is looses the oldest block (out of a 4-year list). I'm not sure how the Core Set rotation goes, but if it's like Standard M10 will tie in with Zendikar block and won't rotate out for a while.
Be sure to update your decks if you're playing these formats! I'd hate for you to end up DQ'd because you've got the wrong Elspeth in your deck.
Today we lose some valuable members of the Standard metagame.
We bid farewell to Bloodbraid Elf; Sprouting Thrinax; Elspeth, Knight-Errant; Master of the Wild Hunt; Sphinx of the Steel Wind; and a host of others.
Today is the second Standard rotation since Wizards of the Coast changed up the way Core Sets and Standard/Extended format rotations would work.
Today in Standard, we lose 4 sets: Shards of Alara, Conflux, Alara Reborn, and Magic 2010 Core Set.
In their place, we picked up Scars of Mirrodin since it released today.
Extended lost a lot more. Extended loses Teferi, Mage of Zhalfir; Venser, Shaper-Savant; Tarmogoyf; Wrath of God; Damnation; and more.
Extended rotates at the same time Standard does and only keeps the last 4 years' worth of expansions and a few Core Sets. Therefore, rotating out with Scars of Mirrodin's release are Time Spiral, Planar Chaos, Future Sight, and 10th Edition.
To catch you up on the current Extended list, here are the permitted blocks and Core Sets:
Lorwyn mega-block (Lorwyn, Morningtide, Shadowmoor, and Eventide)
Shards of Alara block (Shards of Alara, Conflux, and Alara Reborn)
Zendikar block (Zendikar, Worldwake, and Rise of the Eldrazi)
Scars of Mirrodin block (currently only Scars of Mirrodin)
M10
M11
Extended format rotates once a year now, at the same time as Standard, and is looses the oldest block (out of a 4-year list). I'm not sure how the Core Set rotation goes, but if it's like Standard M10 will tie in with Zendikar block and won't rotate out for a while.
Be sure to update your decks if you're playing these formats! I'd hate for you to end up DQ'd because you've got the wrong Elspeth in your deck.
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