==ISLANDHOME #25==
August 20th 2008
Woo, 25th issue!
==IN THIS ISSUE...==
Shards of Alara (Pre)release Details
PTQ Berlin Recap
Dean's Beans: Guest article by Dean Duprez
==THIS WEEK'S SCHEDULE==
Friday: Booster Draft at Grim @ 7 PM
Saturday: Standard Constructed at FNC @ 1 PM
Sunday: Chaos Draft at Brothers Grim @ 2 PM
==SHARDS OF ALARA (PRE)RELEASE DETAILS==
Author: Brian Paskoff
==PTQ BERLIN RECAP==
Author: Brian Paskoff
Woo, 25th issue!
==IN THIS ISSUE...==
Shards of Alara (Pre)release Details
PTQ Berlin Recap
Dean's Beans: Guest article by Dean Duprez
==THIS WEEK'S SCHEDULE==
Friday: Booster Draft at Grim @ 7 PM
Saturday: Standard Constructed at FNC @ 1 PM
Sunday: Chaos Draft at Brothers Grim @ 2 PM
==SHARDS OF ALARA (PRE)RELEASE DETAILS==
Author: Brian Paskoff
I thought it was time to share some details about the Shards of Alara prerelease and launch party events. With the recent changes in the Organized Play structure at Wizards, stores are allowed to have prereleases now. Without the risk of seeming biased, this takes away a lot of business from big TOs like Gray Matter, who make most of their money on prereleases and use that to support things like PTQs and Grand Prix Trials. Instead of sanctioning an in-store prerelease, I'm going to be head judging Gray Matter's prerelease again. From talking to a lot of players at the last prerelease, I've learned that most players want to keep going to these large Gray Matter prereleases, mostly because it's more fun to play against people you rarely see than doing a sealed deck tournament in your own store with players you see all the time. Drafts aren't allowed at prereleases anymore for some reason, not that a draft has ever gotten off at Long Island events anyway.
The launch party events will be in stores though, but the format is a bit different than usual. It'll still be sealed deck, but with a catch. Shards of Alara is based on "shards" of what was once a single plane, blah blah blah fantasy story. Each shard is a main color and its two allies: for example, Naya, the green shard, is primarily green with a splash of white and red. If you look at the back of a Magic card and pick a color from the circle as the main, the ones to its right and left are its allied colors. While in normal sealed deck tournaments you can build a deck using any colors you want, for Shards of Alara's release event, you can only use colors from a particular shard. That means if you're playing white, you can only use cards that are white, green, or blue. You can't use cards that are black or red in your deck at all. (Elder Dragon Highlander players should find this familiar.) Unfortunately this isn't optional, the event has to be run this way. Don't worry though, I'm sure the set's designed with "shard sealed" in mind.
I'll have details on Gray Matter's prerelease and more details on our launch events soon!
The launch party events will be in stores though, but the format is a bit different than usual. It'll still be sealed deck, but with a catch. Shards of Alara is based on "shards" of what was once a single plane, blah blah blah fantasy story. Each shard is a main color and its two allies: for example, Naya, the green shard, is primarily green with a splash of white and red. If you look at the back of a Magic card and pick a color from the circle as the main, the ones to its right and left are its allied colors. While in normal sealed deck tournaments you can build a deck using any colors you want, for Shards of Alara's release event, you can only use colors from a particular shard. That means if you're playing white, you can only use cards that are white, green, or blue. You can't use cards that are black or red in your deck at all. (Elder Dragon Highlander players should find this familiar.) Unfortunately this isn't optional, the event has to be run this way. Don't worry though, I'm sure the set's designed with "shard sealed" in mind.
I'll have details on Gray Matter's prerelease and more details on our launch events soon!
==PTQ BERLIN RECAP==
Author: Brian Paskoff
New York's PTQ for Berlin was Saturday, and it was quite the intense event. 172 players competed to win an invite to Pro Tour Berlin in October, and although no one from our area made it to the top 8, everyone did pretty well for themselves. Prizes were paid out to the top 32 players due to the outstanding attendance. Even with 172 players competing, the finals came down to two Faerie decks in a mirror match that was predictably decided by Bitterblossom. There were hardly any exciting surprises in the metagame, except for two decks that I thought were unique and showed up in very little numbers.
The first was a mono-red deck which made top 8. In game 1, there was nothing unique about it - besides the presence of two Puncture Blasts and a strange-looking mana base. Instead of the usual assortment of Mountains, it sported both Rugged Praries and Graven Cairns despite no white or black cards in the maindeck. The color splash was for the sideboard, which included metagame choices such as Soul Snuffers and Unmakes.
Another deck that seemed interesting was the blue/black deck known as "Grave Games". Grave Games is based around River Kelpie, an obscure dollar-bin rare from Shadowmoor that lets you draw cards whenever a spell is played from the graveyard or a permanent is put into play from the graveyard. Like Quick n' Toast, which was a popular deck at the PTQ around the top tables, Grave Games plays Makeshift Mannequin with evoke creatures such as Mulldrifter and Shriekmaw, with Soul Snuffers in place of Cloudthresher as a maindeck answer to Faeries that works even better against ground-based aggro decks like Kithkin and Merfolk than the 7/7 elemental. Raven's Crime and Oona's Grace draw multiple cards, especially with the up to 27 land in the deck. With all the -1/-1 counters bouncing around, some versions play Necroskitter in the sideboard.
Highlights of the day included Dylan Duprez going 4-4 with his Goats deck, Lisa Mercogliano going 0-1-7 (maybe a slight exaggeration), The Wurm coming in 10th place, and that loud capoeira dancing lasting almost two full hours I think. Hopefully we'll be back to having tournaments at Neutral Ground by next PTQ season!
This weekend there's a PTQ in Baltimore, and next week there's one in Connecticut and Jersey on the same day. I'm not sure which one I'm going to just yet.
The first was a mono-red deck which made top 8. In game 1, there was nothing unique about it - besides the presence of two Puncture Blasts and a strange-looking mana base. Instead of the usual assortment of Mountains, it sported both Rugged Praries and Graven Cairns despite no white or black cards in the maindeck. The color splash was for the sideboard, which included metagame choices such as Soul Snuffers and Unmakes.
Another deck that seemed interesting was the blue/black deck known as "Grave Games". Grave Games is based around River Kelpie, an obscure dollar-bin rare from Shadowmoor that lets you draw cards whenever a spell is played from the graveyard or a permanent is put into play from the graveyard. Like Quick n' Toast, which was a popular deck at the PTQ around the top tables, Grave Games plays Makeshift Mannequin with evoke creatures such as Mulldrifter and Shriekmaw, with Soul Snuffers in place of Cloudthresher as a maindeck answer to Faeries that works even better against ground-based aggro decks like Kithkin and Merfolk than the 7/7 elemental. Raven's Crime and Oona's Grace draw multiple cards, especially with the up to 27 land in the deck. With all the -1/-1 counters bouncing around, some versions play Necroskitter in the sideboard.
Highlights of the day included Dylan Duprez going 4-4 with his Goats deck, Lisa Mercogliano going 0-1-7 (maybe a slight exaggeration), The Wurm coming in 10th place, and that loud capoeira dancing lasting almost two full hours I think. Hopefully we'll be back to having tournaments at Neutral Ground by next PTQ season!
This weekend there's a PTQ in Baltimore, and next week there's one in Connecticut and Jersey on the same day. I'm not sure which one I'm going to just yet.
==DEAN'S BEANS==
Author: Dean Duprez
Author: Dean Duprez
Hey everybody, figured I would give a guest article a shot.
What I want to focus on is the market of Magic. The market changes so constantly these days, that it is pretty hard to follow (like me if we have ever had a conversation lasting more than 2 sentences). A single event can change prices majorly, the most recently being Bitterblossom, which quickly went from a 5 dollar rare, to $25 almost overnight when it started to be an obviously good card, most specifically in faeries. That and Mutavault went even higher after they both played a huge role in the Hollywood pro tour.
Anyways, I feel, at least as someone who will stay up until 5 AM just watching eBay auctions, and sometimes picking something up, that I am somewhat qualified in looking at cards, and how their monetary value might change.
(Homage to Red Hot Chili Peppers)
Dean's GIVE IT AWAY, GIVE IT AWAY, GIVE IT AWAY NOW! card list
Talara's Battalion
The reason I say that this is something to give away now is simple. It was an overhyped card that has yet to see any major tournament play. The only thing i can think of is Manamorphosing for it, but what person in their right mind would play Manamorphose? ^^ It doesn't make the cut in a competitive elf deck (G/B being the most common) because Wren's Run Vanquisher is just a better 2 drop. Simply put, Talara's Battalion can be scary, but Vanquisher IS scary. Expect it to plummet from the 9 dollar mark to 4-6 dollars soon, unless manamorphose becomes the sleeper common of the format ^^.
Card(s) to consider picking up now
Stillmoon Cavalier
Over the last 3 days, I have noticed that sets of these babies have been selling at $32, 8 dollars each on EBAY when RETAIL STORES/ONLINE STORES sell them at 5-6 each. They were apparently a hot seller at the GP this past weekend, as noted on mtgsalvation.com. I would pick these up if you find them, try to get yourself a set, and throw them on an auction site or something. I expect these to hit at least 8-10 at stores soon, possibly higher.
What I want to focus on is the market of Magic. The market changes so constantly these days, that it is pretty hard to follow (like me if we have ever had a conversation lasting more than 2 sentences). A single event can change prices majorly, the most recently being Bitterblossom, which quickly went from a 5 dollar rare, to $25 almost overnight when it started to be an obviously good card, most specifically in faeries. That and Mutavault went even higher after they both played a huge role in the Hollywood pro tour.
Anyways, I feel, at least as someone who will stay up until 5 AM just watching eBay auctions, and sometimes picking something up, that I am somewhat qualified in looking at cards, and how their monetary value might change.
(Homage to Red Hot Chili Peppers)
Dean's GIVE IT AWAY, GIVE IT AWAY, GIVE IT AWAY NOW! card list
Talara's Battalion
The reason I say that this is something to give away now is simple. It was an overhyped card that has yet to see any major tournament play. The only thing i can think of is Manamorphosing for it, but what person in their right mind would play Manamorphose? ^^ It doesn't make the cut in a competitive elf deck (G/B being the most common) because Wren's Run Vanquisher is just a better 2 drop. Simply put, Talara's Battalion can be scary, but Vanquisher IS scary. Expect it to plummet from the 9 dollar mark to 4-6 dollars soon, unless manamorphose becomes the sleeper common of the format ^^.
Card(s) to consider picking up now
Stillmoon Cavalier
Over the last 3 days, I have noticed that sets of these babies have been selling at $32, 8 dollars each on EBAY when RETAIL STORES/ONLINE STORES sell them at 5-6 each. They were apparently a hot seller at the GP this past weekend, as noted on mtgsalvation.com. I would pick these up if you find them, try to get yourself a set, and throw them on an auction site or something. I expect these to hit at least 8-10 at stores soon, possibly higher.
==RULES CORNER==
Author: Brian Paskoff
Author: Brian Paskoff
Q. I have a Kinsbaile Borderguard with two +1/+1 counters on it, and my opponent Puncture Blasts it. How many Kithkin Soldiers do I get?
A. You'll wind up with five tokens. Puncture Blast deals 3 damage to the Borderguard, dealt in the form of -1/-1 counters. Each counter +1/+1 counter gives it +1/+1, and vice-versa for -1/-1 counters, so it's a 0/0 with three -1/-1 counters and two +1/+1 counters on it. All state-based effects are checked simultaneously, and the ones that apply here are the ones that say +1/+1 and -1/-1 counters "cancel out" and that a creature with zero or less toughness are put into their owner's graveyard. The Borderguard dies at the same time as the counters cancel out, so when the game looks back in time to check out many counters it had on it, it sees five. Kinsbaile Borderguard doesn't care what kind of counters were on it when it left play, just how many.
Q. I ask my opponent, "Enter combat?" and he says "Okay." Then I activate my Mutavault and try to attack with it and my Scion of Oona, but he says it's too late for Mutavault to attack. JUDGE!
A. After Mirrorweave questions, this was the most common judge call at the PTQ. There's a relatively new section of the Penalty Guidelines that goes over shortcut policy, and one of those shortcuts is that "Declare attackers?" or "Enter combat?" means that the player saying that is moving to the Beginning of Combat Step and passing priority. The step immediately after that is the Declare Attackers step, where creatures are immediately declared as attackers before anyone gets priority to do anything (like, say, activate Mutavault), so if you use this shortcut and pass priority and your opponent passes back, you're in the Declare Attackers step, and only things that are already legally able to attack can do so.
Q. Okay, but I didn't know that. Why am I forced to use a shortcut I didn't agree to though?
A. This is the tricky part - in order to ensure everyone's "playing the same game" and make sure judges are consistent in their rulings, certain shortcuts are "default". While ahead of time you and your opponent can agree that "Enter combat" means whatever you both want it to mean, such as "I'm passing priority in my main phase and want to move to the Beginning of Combat Step" or "Let's meet at White Castle after the round's over", telling a judge that you didn't mean to use that shortcut won't get them to let you attack with your Mutavault. The reason that this shortcut stands is that your opponent telling you that he's passing priority tells you that he doesn't want to do anything to your potential attackers - and that's too much information to let you back up and activate your Mutavault in the Beginning of Combat Step.
Q. My opponent says "Declare Attackers?" and I tap his creatures with a Cryptic Command. Then he activates his Mutavault and attacks with it. JUDGE!
A. In order for a step to end, both players have to pass priority without doing anything and with an empty stack. In the Beginning of Combat Step, you tapped his creatures with Cryptic Command, both of you passed priority, and Cryptic Command resolved. Now the activate player gets priority again, and can take an action such as activating their Mutavault.
A. You'll wind up with five tokens. Puncture Blast deals 3 damage to the Borderguard, dealt in the form of -1/-1 counters. Each counter +1/+1 counter gives it +1/+1, and vice-versa for -1/-1 counters, so it's a 0/0 with three -1/-1 counters and two +1/+1 counters on it. All state-based effects are checked simultaneously, and the ones that apply here are the ones that say +1/+1 and -1/-1 counters "cancel out" and that a creature with zero or less toughness are put into their owner's graveyard. The Borderguard dies at the same time as the counters cancel out, so when the game looks back in time to check out many counters it had on it, it sees five. Kinsbaile Borderguard doesn't care what kind of counters were on it when it left play, just how many.
Q. I ask my opponent, "Enter combat?" and he says "Okay." Then I activate my Mutavault and try to attack with it and my Scion of Oona, but he says it's too late for Mutavault to attack. JUDGE!
A. After Mirrorweave questions, this was the most common judge call at the PTQ. There's a relatively new section of the Penalty Guidelines that goes over shortcut policy, and one of those shortcuts is that "Declare attackers?" or "Enter combat?" means that the player saying that is moving to the Beginning of Combat Step and passing priority. The step immediately after that is the Declare Attackers step, where creatures are immediately declared as attackers before anyone gets priority to do anything (like, say, activate Mutavault), so if you use this shortcut and pass priority and your opponent passes back, you're in the Declare Attackers step, and only things that are already legally able to attack can do so.
Q. Okay, but I didn't know that. Why am I forced to use a shortcut I didn't agree to though?
A. This is the tricky part - in order to ensure everyone's "playing the same game" and make sure judges are consistent in their rulings, certain shortcuts are "default". While ahead of time you and your opponent can agree that "Enter combat" means whatever you both want it to mean, such as "I'm passing priority in my main phase and want to move to the Beginning of Combat Step" or "Let's meet at White Castle after the round's over", telling a judge that you didn't mean to use that shortcut won't get them to let you attack with your Mutavault. The reason that this shortcut stands is that your opponent telling you that he's passing priority tells you that he doesn't want to do anything to your potential attackers - and that's too much information to let you back up and activate your Mutavault in the Beginning of Combat Step.
Q. My opponent says "Declare Attackers?" and I tap his creatures with a Cryptic Command. Then he activates his Mutavault and attacks with it. JUDGE!
A. In order for a step to end, both players have to pass priority without doing anything and with an empty stack. In the Beginning of Combat Step, you tapped his creatures with Cryptic Command, both of you passed priority, and Cryptic Command resolved. Now the activate player gets priority again, and can take an action such as activating their Mutavault.
==THE ISLANDHOME BLOG==
One of the things I wanted to do was have an archive of past issues online so I could refer people back to them as well as let new readers peruse old issues to see what all the fuss is about. So I've archived all the old issues on the blogosphere at islandhomemtg.blogspot.com. Go and relive all the past moments of glory!
If you've noticed, in the past few weeks I've been having a few more guest articles in Islandhome. With tournaments all weekend and work all week, sometimes it's hard to find time to sit down and write an entire newsletter, which is why I love it when I get article submissions! Not only does it give more introspective on the Long Island Magic community from those who are a part of it, it saves me work. ;) It's especially useful to get articles from players who are a part of the metagame, as judges are notoriously bad players.
If you've got an article you'd like to submit, send it to IslandhomeMTG@gmail.com. Try to keep it a reasonable length - there's no word limit, but look at previous Islandhome articles for guidance - and avoid bad language and personal insults. Also try to maintain good grammar and spelling; doesn't have to be perfect, but you should see how long it takes me to spellcheck the Madonia Minute every week!
I can't promise every submission will make it into the next week's Islandhome, but I'll try to get as many in as I can, especially ones that are relevant to a previous/upcoming event.
==GUEST ARTICLES==
If you've noticed, in the past few weeks I've been having a few more guest articles in Islandhome. With tournaments all weekend and work all week, sometimes it's hard to find time to sit down and write an entire newsletter, which is why I love it when I get article submissions! Not only does it give more introspective on the Long Island Magic community from those who are a part of it, it saves me work. ;) It's especially useful to get articles from players who are a part of the metagame, as judges are notoriously bad players.
If you've got an article you'd like to submit, send it to IslandhomeMTG@gmail.com. Try to keep it a reasonable length - there's no word limit, but look at previous Islandhome articles for guidance - and avoid bad language and personal insults. Also try to maintain good grammar and spelling; doesn't have to be perfect, but you should see how long it takes me to spellcheck the Madonia Minute every week!
I can't promise every submission will make it into the next week's Islandhome, but I'll try to get as many in as I can, especially ones that are relevant to a previous/upcoming event.
==UPCOMING EVENTS==
June 7th - August 31st: PTQ Season for PT Berlin
The next PTQ season starts this summer, and it's going to be Lorwyn-Shadowmoor Block Constructed! Lorwyn-Shadowmoor block consists of Lorwyn, Morningtide, Shadowmoor, and Eventide.
September: FNM comes to Brothers Grim!
Yes, after a long wait and bugging Wizards every month, Grim is finally getting FNM sanctioning! FNM promos are coming!
PTQs in our general area this season:
The next PTQ season starts this summer, and it's going to be Lorwyn-Shadowmoor Block Constructed! Lorwyn-Shadowmoor block consists of Lorwyn, Morningtide, Shadowmoor, and Eventide.
September: FNM comes to Brothers Grim!
Yes, after a long wait and bugging Wizards every month, Grim is finally getting FNM sanctioning! FNM promos are coming!
PTQs in our general area this season:
- 8/30 - Edison, NJ
- 8/30 - Hartford, CT
- 8/31 - Rochester, NY
==STORE LOCATIONS & CONTACT INFO==
Brothers Grim
1244 Middle Country Rd.
Selden, NY 11784
Phone: 698-2805
Website: www.brgim.com
Friendly Neighborhood Comics
3 Grant Avenue, Suite 2
Islip, NY 11751
Phone: 470-7984
Brothers Grim
1244 Middle Country Rd.
Selden, NY 11784
Phone: 698-2805
Website: www.brgim.com
Friendly Neighborhood Comics
3 Grant Avenue, Suite 2
Islip, NY 11751
Phone: 470-7984
==FIN==
See everyone this weekend!
Got forwarded Islandhome and want to sign up? Send an email to IslandhomeMTG@gmail.com!
Got forwarded Islandhome and want to sign up? Send an email to IslandhomeMTG@gmail.com!
-Brian Paskoff
L1 NY
L1 NY
