The transition to being an organizer hasn't been smooth, not that I expected it to be.  A Magic event has a lot of moving parts and attention to detail is a vital component in ensuring that the players experience fun. The night before a tournament is quite different when seen through the eyes of an organizer.  Before as a player I would worry about my sideboard.  But nowadays I have to check that my venue is available and my players of sufficient number to fire off a tilt.

     It has been a thrill to learn to do these things well even as I miss the simply joys of rocking a homebrew and winning it all.  Sometimes I wonder if I should return to competitive Magic and leave the event management to those who can.  Then I remember that I am one of those who can devote time and energy to making my Magic pals happy to have a place to play and have lots of great people to sling spells with.

     So, I try a little harder at this new role because I love Magic and the friends I've met ever since I shuffled up them cards.  It's my way of showing gratitude for everything the game has done for me.  And I wouldn't mind doing this for the rest of my life.

Mage Hunting

      As a kid, my father always made it a point to have his children hunt for Easter eggs during, well, Easter Sunday.  So I thought it would be fun if the players hunted each other.  I could put a bounty on someone, say a rare card, and if he won the match, he could keep the card.  But if he lost then the bounty would go to the opponent.  It would be a riff on Easter eggs and a way to say thank you to the twenty or so people who regularly attend our tournaments.

They're ready to hunt down some mages.

     The way this worked was that I would choose somebody at random.  Nobody knew who had a bounty on their heads until the pairings were announced, thus keeping the anticipation high and mimicking the difficulty and surprise of looking for and discovering actual Easter eggs.  During the tournament, players with bounties tried their best to save themselves while their opponents worked doubly hard to beat them.  Hence, the theme of bounty hunting served to add a little excitement and danger while providing me with a cool way to reward people for participating.

Who's the hunter and the hunted?

     Twenty-nine mages showed up but it was Brian who went home the champion.  For the third consecutive time. His was an awesome achievement considering that everyone knew what his deck was and that they were gunning for him from round one.  He was undefeated along with Nikki but since his tiebreaks were higher, he ended up with the title.  Nikki also sported a Naya deck but hers was built differently.

Hunting mages is thirsty work.

     Three new DCI numbers were handed out which made us happy because one of our stated goals is to encourage the casual/kitchen table spellslingers to try tournament Magic.  It was for this reason that we went with the flat-prizing structure, to promote a friendly atmosphere and encourage them to dip their fingers into another way of approaching the game we all love dearly.  In a sense, we're like the Marines in that we're searching for a few good men and women to become all they can be...albeit in the Multiverse.

     Since it was Easter we added rare cards to the prize pool for the top nine players to choose from.  This was also to celebrate tournament Magic's resurrection in SM North and to show our gratitude to the magicians whose support, ideas, and camaraderie made Magehunt a fun and memorable event.

Stage 2: A Gathering of Mages

     We staged our second tournament last Sunday and while we only had twenty-four players as compared to twenty-six last time, this was a significant milestone since the previous week featured free entrance for the ladies and a guaranteed pack for everyone.  This time out we provided prizes for the top six and raffled out three booster packs.  While the players didn't complain about this, they were very vocal about wanting the guaranteed pack. 

      Many from the first tilt returned, including the defending champion Brian.  There were new faces as well, some of whom were well-known Magic pros.  And even without the free entrance, the lady planeswalkers came back to stake their claim as the best in spell-slinging.

     We started a bit late but ended early around past three.  That told me that we should allot more time for people to arrive and register while maintaining the same pace for every round so that people could mill around the mall after the tourney.  After five rounds, Brian emerged champion again with his Naya deck.

     It was truly reaffirming to see these many people attend our events.  Their continued support meant that we would need to step up every time in meeting their expectations.  One of these was to maintain a "serious fun" atmosphere which would differentiate us from other venues.  It meant redesigning the prize structure and a bunch of other details to satisfy our players' needs.  I hope we get it right next Easter Sunday.

Tournament of Dreams

     In the movie Field of Dreams, a farmer was instructed, "If you build it, they will come."  And so my friends and I did everything we could to launch a tournament at SM North.  It took time, guts, and sacrifices but eventually we were able to tell the Magic community that we had convinced Comic Quest and Padi's Point to sponsor our event last Sunday.  Old and new faces did come, gathering to battle in our old hunting grounds. 

     We expected eight people to show up, the minimum to run a tournament.  Lo and behold, twenty-six came to participate in the festivities and it was festive because everyone was guaranteed a pack regardless of their performance.  Seeing all those people fill up empty tables and chairs like the one pictured above made all our efforts worthwhile.

     These were some of the people who kept asking if there was going to be a tournament in SM North.  They're all smiles in this picture because it had finally happened.  We are going to try very hard to keep them smiling because it's them who made all these possible.

     Plenty of girls came to duel as we invited them to play for FREE.  We always knew they were good but when five ladies took us on our offer it was the proof we needed that they not only enjoy slinging spells but are awesome at it.  Thanks for coming and shaking up the tournament scene.  We'll definitely try to do more for the fairer sex in our upcoming events.

     How cool was it to behold Aki, the youngest to play in our tournament go up against the eventual champion Brian?  Our talented kid even managed to pose for the camera before they began the match.  This validated our goal of developing more Magic players so that the game will flourish for a long time.

     She played while he watched.  Often the reverse would hold true at most tournaments but we turned that upside down as guys cheered on the girls instead.  None of the girls cracked the top four this time out but sooner rather than later someone will.  Maybe even a couple will get to be at the top spots.  How terrific is that?

      One of the things I admired about our players was that they smiled in the heat of battle.  It was our task to make sure that they enjoyed themselves even when engaged in something as complex and competitive as Magic.  I hoped we succeeded even just a little bit.

     Because in the end, this was a tournament of dreams being fulfilled. :-)

A Quest for Legitimacy

Where Northern Mages Get Spells, Creatures, and Equipment

     A couple of years ago I started playing Magic with a bunch of awesome guys in SM North. We tested decks on the floors and on tabletops.  We would order food and drinks at restaurants and coffee shops just so we could indulge in our favorite game.  However, other people misunderstood what we were doing and shooed us away, treating us like second-class citizens.  But we persevered.

     In fact, we decided that the game and its players should be recognized and respected.  To do that, we would have to find a sponsor.  Enter Comic Quest.

     We had been staging tournaments all over SM North at this point.  Whether it was at the food court or a friendly restaurant, players showed up and endured whatever hassle came their way because their love for Magic was inextinguishable.  So when Comic Quest agreed to help us, they looked for a venue and found:

The Battlefield in the North

     Both of these stores guaranteed that we would have a place where we could learn to play better, to find cards we needed, and to meet new lifelong friends.  We were now legitimate, a regular fixture every Sunday to the people passing by Sky Garden.  For two years, we grew from six friends wanting Magic to be appreciated by a lot more people into a larger community known beyond SM North as the CQ Academy.  We introduced 7-man teams, Christmas Magic Mayhem, Academy Points (before there was Planeswalker Points), and other innovations that are now commonplace.  It was a wonderful time to be in the thick of things, to be influencing how Magic was viewed by the players and the masses alike. 

     Then the tournaments ended and the Academy members scattered.

     For almost a year, we were preoccupied with other things.  There was life to be lived after all.  Everything couldn't be just fun and games.  But in the backs of our collective minds, we knew that the community would resurface.  That Magic and the bonds we had fostered because of it would not go away.

     So we are back.  Finally.  Comic Quest and Padi's Point are once again with us, supporting our journey to reach new levels and goals.  I can't wait to see what happens next.  These are exciting times indeed.

Howling on Gatecrash Game Day

     I haven't played in a while so I don't know if a build like this will cut it:

     Creatures: 28
     Wolfbitten Captive - 4
     Scorned Villager - 4
     Mayor of Avabruck - 4
     Daybreak Ranger - 4
     Instigator Gang - 3
     Huntmaster of the Fells - 4
     Wolfir Silverheart - 4
     Zealous Conscripts - 1

     Spells: 8
     Pillar of Flame - 4
     Moonmist - 4

     Lands: 24
     Gruul Guildgate - 4
     Rootbound Crag - 4
     Kessig Wolf Run - 4
     Forest - 6
     Mountain - 6

     The idea is to deploy as many creatures and then Moonmist for fun and profit. I tested the deck yesterday against Naya Aggro, winning the match by a margin of 3 games over the course of a dozen. It was pretty tight though, relying on the opponent being wary of Moonmist such that he wouldn't attack for fear of a combat trick that would decimate his resources. The wolf-fog was such a lopsided spell that even his Boros Reckoners couldn't assure victory.

     With further testing today, I'll be able to finalize a couple more slots. Once that is done I can work on the sideboard plan in the next two days. If I'm lucky, then I can unleash this brew in a Gatecrash Game Day somewhere and bring home a playmat. Do you think I should replace the Scorned Villagers with Farseeks and the Daybreak Rangers with Brimstone Volley? Let me know in the comments and if you have other ideas to make werewolves awesome then I'm all ears.

First Impressions #1: Clan Defiance

     This is the first card that I have decided to analyze considering that it will probably go into my GR Werewolf deck.  For an X-spell, it packs quite the wallop.  You can do the usual damage to the face while hitting a creature that flies or one that doesn't.  Or what the heck, do them all!

     While Bonfire of the Damned is miles more efficient than Clan Defiance especially when cast for its miracle cost, the latter can be in your opening hand and it will be fine while the former is clunky particularly in multiples.  With three mana, you can clear away a one-toughness blocker and ping an opponent for one.  With more mana available, you can take out a nasty flyer like Restoration Angel AND a planeswalker.  It's a nice answer to spells like Sphinx's Revelation and a way to kill planeswalkers without sacrificing a burn spell to clear out a blocker because now you can do both.  This, in other words, is more than a pretty nice addition to the Gruul mage's toolbox.

     I can see two to three copies of this maindeck with the rest in the sideboard.  For my werewolves, I'd put in two at least as the ability to put away an opponent or remove a fattie is always golden.  I wouldn't put in three or more unless Gruul gets a Birds of Paradise sort of creature as the RG in the mana cost can be restrictive in a werewolf deck.

     So far, these are my notes on the card and I hope my readers can shed more light as to the uses for Clan Defiance in the days ahead.