Taking Kaalia for a Spin

Last Tuesday at the SM North food court, I played Commander with my friends Garry, Ernest, Simion, and Lippy.  We completed four games, enjoying each one for the variety of situations it presented and the challenges inherent in defeating a diverse group of generals.  Garry had Kaarthus and Sygg, Ernest Grand Arbiter Agustin, Simion Reiko and Lippy Tajic.  I went with Kaalia, of course.

Against Garry and Simion

My opening hand included Master of Cruelties and Cataclysm.  On the fourth turn, I landed Kaalia and luckily no one had removal.  The next turn I cast Cataclysm before attacking Garry.  This triggered her ability and the Master came down to put him at one life.  After drawing nothing relevant for two turns, Garry and Simion conceded.

Nothing beats the Commander format for fun.

Against Garry, Simion, and Ernest

Once again, Master of Cruelties made an appearance but this time via a Quicksilver Amulet.  With the first striking, deathtouch demon on the battlefield, I eliminated both Ernest and Simion.  Garry, however, was able to gum up the ground with several merfolk lords including Sygg.  I tried to lock Garry out of cards with a Sire of Insanity but he drew way better than I did and he eventually bounced my creatures with an overloaded Cyclonic Rift to attack for exactly lethal.

Garry is deciding where to send his dragon army.

Against Garry, Simion, Ernest, and Lippy

Lippy got off to a quick start, building an army of tokens with Assemble the Legion.  This worried Ernest and he took it upon himself to patrol Lippy's movements.  On the other hand, Simion, Garry and I were just content to develop our board and sculpt our hand.  When the opportunity arose, I cast Kaalia and equipped her with Lightning Greaves before I attacked Garry.  He was nonplussed by this because he had a bunch of big creatures to defend him.  My general dropped Hellkite Tyrant onto the table and the trampling dragon dealt combat damage to him which meant that I would gain control of his Gilded Lotus, Sol Ring, and Quicksilver Amulet.  The extra mana his artifacts provided enabled me to fetch my combo comprised of Grand Abolisher, Cataclysm and Faith's Reward with Diabolic Revelation.  At this point, everyone had left their mana open to counter and disrupt my finishing move.  However, I used the Amulet to cheat the Abolisher into play and resolved my combo unimpeded for the win.

Ernest is the papa of all grand arbiters.

Against Garry, Simion, and Lippy

Simion came out of the gates quickly with a Dragon Broodmother.  Garry then used Kaarthus to steal the baby dragon-making machine.  Uncharacteristically, I took on the role of control player by resetting the board with Akroma's Vengeance.  Then I sent Gisela and Aurelia to work on Garry's life total which went down precipitously.  But Simion killed my angels so I wasn't able to finish off Garry.  It was Lippy who did.  Simion was defenseless against Lippy's onslaught and succumbed soon thereafter.  I tried to gain the upper hand with a Living Death and succeeded.  To put Lippy away, I plunked down Havoc Festival and Wound Reflection but he topdecked Austere Command to save himself.  We battled back and forth to a standstill with him at one life and me at three.  Unfortunately for him he didn't have a flyer and Kaalia was able to strike at him from the air. 

Simion always has a cute combo hiding somewhere.

Upon reflection, I discovered how vital Grand Abolisher, Quicksilver Amulet, Cataclysm, and Master of Cruelties were to get around countermagic, to put an opponent on life support, and to destroy everyone's resources while leaving enough for me to win.  Also, my manabase left a lot to be desired.  In two of the games, I missed land drops which put a lot of pressure on me to catch up with the others.  Lastly, I needed more means to draw cards or tutor for them.

My Dragon's Maze Prerelease Experience

I decided to enter Neutral Ground's midnight prerelease last April 27 which was why I ended up waiting in line with more than fifty other people impatient for the whole thing to begin at Eton Centris.  When it did, we cracked open our packs, put on our guild badges, and started building forty-card decks to battle with in the hopes of reaching, if not solving the Implicit Maze before the others.  My affiliation was Gruul and my secret ally was Rakdos.

So how would you build this sealed pool?

1  Hired Torturer
1  Tavern Swindler
2  Bane Alley Blackguard
1  Drainpipe Vermin
1  Deviant Glee
1  Daggerdrome Imp
1  Maze Abomination
1  Ubul Sar Gatekeepers
1  Stab Wound
1  Slaughterhorn
1  Battering Krasis
2  Phytoburst
1  Naturalize
1  Mutant's Prey
1  Spire Tracer
1  Alpha Authority
1  Mending Touch
2  Maze Rusher
1  Gore-House Chainwalker
1  Rubblebelt Maaka
1  Bloodfray Giant
1  Splatter Thug
1  Explosive Impact
1  Act of Treason
1  Traitorous Instinct
2  Punish the Enemy
1  Mugging
1  Tin Street Market
1  Foundry Street Denizen
1  Homing Lightning
1  Primal Visitation
1  Burning-Tree Emissary
1  Zhur-Taa Ancient
1  Ruination Wurm
1  Rubblebelt Raiders
1  Cryptborn Horror
1  Spawn of Rix Maadi
1  Augur Spree
1  Rakdos Ringleader
1  Morgue Burst
1  Drown in Filth
2  Varolz, the Scar-Striped
1  Plasm Capture
2  Give/Take
1  Krasis Incubation
1  Beetleform Mage
1  Selesnya Cluestone
1  Simic Cluestone
1  Izzet Cluestone
1  Azorius Cluestone
2  Orzhov Cluestone
1  Gruul Cluestone
1  Razortip Whip
3  Riot Control
1  Haazda Snare Squad
1  Sunspire Gatekeepers
1  Bronzebeak Moa
2  Alive/Well
1  Unflinching Courage
1  Wear/Tear
1  Gleam of Battle
1  Haunter of Nightveil
1  Fluxcharger
1  Nivix Cyclops
1  Murmuring Phantasm
1  Hidden Strings
1  Opal Lake Gatekeepers
1  Wind Drake
1  Lavinia of the Tenth
3  Deputy of Acquittals
1  Jelenn Sphinx
2  Dimir Guildgate
1  Izzet Guildgate
1  Steam Vents
1  Gruul Guildate
2  Rakdos Guildgate

I had read Gavin Varhey's article on the mothership so I organized everything by color and guild.  This led me to design a relatively fast Jund concoction bent on attacking, stealing, burning, bloodrushing and scavenging.  Although I had some sweet blue and white cards that I could have paired with my green, this deck gave me better chances at punishing those who would have mana problems or would depend on late game bomb creatures to win.

2  Rakdos Guildgate                             
1  Gruul Guildgate                                 
5  Mountain                                       
5  Forest
4  Swamp
17 lands
                                      
1  Stab Wound
1  Phytoburst
1  Explosive Impact
1  Act of Treason
1  Traitorous Instinct
1  Punish the Enemy                      
6  spells

1  Maze Abomination
1  Ubul Sar Gatekeepers
1  Slaughterhorn
1  Battering Krasis
1  Maze Rusher
1  Gore-House Chainwalker
1  Rubblebelt Maaka
1  Bloodfray Giant
1  Splatter Thug
1  Burning-Tree Emissary
1  Zhur-Taa Ancient
1  Ruination Wurm
1  Rubblebelt Raiders
1  Cryptborn Horror
1  Spawn of Rix Maadi
2  Varolz, the Scar-Striped
17 creatures

My first match was against Icy who quickly went on the offensive in our first game with a Wind Drake.  He got me down to 9 before Battering Krasis, Varolz, the Scar-Striped, and Rubblebelt Raiders overwhelmed him completely.  It was during this time that I realized just how powerful a Threaten effect was when coupled with a sacrifice outlet like Varolz.

This + Traitorous Instinct = Angry Opponent

I was feeling pretty good in the second game having Battering Krasis, Varolz, the Scar-Striped, and Rubblebelt Raiders, Rubblebelt Maaka against Icy, who was clinging perilously to 5 life.  He had an Isperia, Supreme Judge in play which I assumed would block but instead attacked thus cluing me in that he had a fog effect in hand.  Sure enough he stymied my alpha strike with Riot Control while drawing a fistful of cards due to Isperia's ability.  I cast a Maze Rusher post combat, heaving a sigh of relief that he didn't have Aetherize to bounce my guys and slow me down considerably.  Unfortunately, he had Lavinia of the Tenth to lock down my guys on his turn.  It didn't take long for the Azorius' guild master and champion to bash my face for lethal.

This is how you stop a swarm of creatures.

Game three was better as I dropped creature after creature to pressure him.  He managed to stem the bleeding with that blasted Riot Control but I stole a blocker with Traitorous Instinct and the +2 power ended up being relevant.

This + Act of Treason = Dead Opponent

The second match turned out to be against my friend Vince.  I used the same strategy as before just piling up the damage via creatures.  Even when he tried to clog up the battlefield with a quartet of 1/1 goblins, Battering Krasis' trample proved deadly as he couldn't chump block profitably.  Moreover, Jarolz's ability allowed me to scavenge the creatures he killed to make them tougher.  And when he tried to stabilize by summoning blockers I just stole them with Act of Treason and Traitorous Instinct.

MVT = Most Valuable Trampler

For the second game he replaced a lot of his cards which meant that he had added removal to deal with my early beaters.  I was right in my assessment as he destroyed Jarolz right away.  Battering Krasis, however, lived to deal 5 damage buffed up by a bloodrushed Slaughterhorn.  Consequently, the Cryptborn Horror that came down--a 5/5 with trample--meant that the Krasis would also evolve.  When I tapped to attack, he killed a bunch of my creatures with Willing, an instant that granted his creatures deathtouch and lifelink.  He couldn't pay for the Ready part of the fuse card so his critters died, too.  Having cast Phytoblast before combat on the Krasis meant that I negated the lifegain and brought him to 10 life.  I played a Rubblebelt Raiders as my only creature post-combat.  He tried to protect himself with a 3-power creature but that only helped me as I stole it with Traitorous Instinct.  Attacking with the two creatures gave my Raiders two +1/+1 counters and the +2 to the stolen creature's power added up to ten, which was enough to take the match.

Yes, it has trample. :-)

The third round was frustrating because I had gotten my opponent Marco to 9 life despite a mulligan in game one.  He had an unblockable creature in play with four power and another one enchanted with a Stab Wound.  My hand consisted of an Act of Treason and Punish the Enemy.  But I was down to six with him having four creatures to my lone Ruination Wurm, which he had been blocking with a Lotleth Troll.  The idea was to steal the unblockable guy and have it deal 4 damage.  I would then cast Punish the Enemy to kill another creature and deal 3 to him to bring him down to 2 life.  The Stab Wound would then kill him at the beginning of his upkeep.  But he had the counter and that stopped my nefarious plan.

Still good.  Still deadly.

Game two had me missing land drops and unable to cast my green spells despite using a Burning-Tree Emissary to get Jarolz into play.  This wasn't even close and I suffered my first defeat.

Sometimes burning trees isn't enough.

Round four was against Angel.  I dropped creature after creature and even though he dealt 11 damage in quick order, I used Traitorous Instinct to steal one of his guys and inflict 15 to kill him.  Game two was a mess as he drew removal or blockers to stem the damage coming from my side,  Meanwhile he managed to bring me down to 4 life.  He had a creature with six power at this point and I was top-decking blockers and hoping to draw into Traitorous Instinct which I promptly did.  He was sitting on 7 life when I stole his creature, gave it +2/+0 and sent it into the red zone for the win.

And that was how my prerelease experience went: a 3-1 record and lots of fun memories.  If I were to play the format again, I would still choose an aggressive strategy to take advantage of all those people using guildgates and fuse spells.  However, it just can't be all creatures and burn spells.  What made my deck resilient were the interactions of Varolz and Rubblebelt Raiders with Traitorous Instinct and Act of Treason.  Adding to that was Varolz's powerful ability to scavenge my creatures whether or not I bloodrushed some of them.  And I made sure to play plenty, 17 in fact. 

Best.Red.Spell.Ever.

     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.