It is Sunday morning 23rd September 2012 as I write this. By this time next week I will be on my way to my third Return to Ravnica pre-release to play Golgari after a slap up breakfast at the Riverside Cafe near my home. I'm quite excited by that prospect and not just because of the breakfast! Return to Ravnica is the beginning of an epic time for Magic in Sheffield and it all starts on Friday at FNM Relax with Legacy.
Insert image of random Legacy staple here...
Including Legacy as part of FNM Relax was a massive gamble, other than Vintage it has the biggest barriers to entry because of the cost of the cards involved - many of the cards are old and will not be reprinted which adds to their price on the second hand market. Last time we played Legacy at FNM Relax it was a great success, a lot of the regular players decided to give it a miss but all of the Legacy players turned up with a watered down version of their usual deck and a great time was had by all. There was a general armistice with no Wastelands, no turn 1/2 combo wins and everyone put their Force of Wills in their sideboards and played nicely, well almost everyone, but I don't think he is coming back.
Show and Tell Hivemind good - Show and Tell Progenitus better...
I have acquired some new cards since I played Legacy last and I wanted to try a new deck, so I did something I don't normally do, I went and looked on SCG at some Legacy deck lists and was struck by an epiphany. Magic decks are like cars. A good standard deck is like the latest GTi Golf - a good reliable car that everyone knows and recognises for what it is, occasionally driven by flashy boy racers who don't really know what they are doing.
If you squint hard enough it looks like a Golf...
Extended decks are the BMW M3 of the Magic deck family. Comfortably, powerful, stylish with a certain nostalgia to them, and you can pick one up without it costing you an arm and a leg. Infinitely better than the Golf with years of solid engineering behind it.
Extended with shock lands - oh yeah baby!
Modern decks are like a Porsche 911 Turbo - compact, sexy, with lots of power but not quite at the point of being a true classic, and you can't help be aware that it was a Volkswagen Beetle 50 years ago.
What were they thinking...
That brings us to Legacy. Legacy decks are like the Ferrari 458 Italia; beautiful, sleek, head turning, admired and lusted after by others. Tuned to absolute perfection for optimal performance, but breaks down regularly and costs you like you can't imagine when it does!
All it needs is Nessun Dorma in the back ground and some fantastic scenery.
Although I have reached my destination with this analogy I feel the need to complete it with Vintage. Vintage is a Bugatti Veyron - the fastest street legal car in the world but you are never going to able to afford one!
No top deck miracle nonsense, just 2 mana have another go!
Anyway, back to Legacy. I can't really afford a Ferrari so I kind of end up with a Prius - its ok and friendly to the environment (apparently). So here is my deck for Legacy this Friday, the Toyota Prius;
1 Savannah
4 Misty Rain Forest
4 Cavern of Souls
2 Hallowed Fountain
2 Breeding Pools
2 Temple Garden
2 Verdant Catacomb
2 Forest
2 Island
2 Plains
23 Land
4 Snapcaster Mage
2 Knight of the Reliquary
4 Squadron Hawks
3 Stoneforge Mystic
4 Noble Hierarch
1 Edric, Spymaster of Trest
18 Creatures
1 Umezawa's Jitte
1 Sword of Feast and Famine
1 Sword of Fire and Ice
2 Daze
3 Spell Pierce
2 Jace, The Mind Sculptor
4 Path to Exile
3 Brainstorm
2 Green Sun's Zenith
19 Spells
Sideboard
1 Batterskull
3 Mindbreak Traps
2 Temporal Mastery
2 Disenchant
2 Oblivion Ring
1 Sword of War and Peace
1 Thrun, the last Troll
3 Tormod's Crypt
I wont say anything else about my deck other than the joy I feel at playing a deck where all of the cards in it are good.
There is a second part to this blog today and that is to tell you more about the Patriot Games Sheffield Invitational. It will be held on the weekend of 27th and 28th October 2012 and day one will involve 40 hand picked players from the MTG Sheffield community. Players have been picked both for their continued high level of play and for their contribution to local Magic.
Day 1 will kick off with 4 rounds of Return to Ravnica sealed, and will finish with 4 rounds of Modern. At this pint there will be a cut and the top 16 will advance to day 2. Everyone else will get some boosters and a certificate to show they were in the invitational and what placing they achieved.
Day 2 will see the top 16 compete in 4 rounds of standard before splitting into 2 pods of 8 for 3 rounds of draft. At this point all of the scores will be added up and the top 6 players overall will become the official "pro" team for Patriot Sheffield for the next 12 months. Here is a full breakdown of the prize support;
Each of the players that do not make the top 16 will receive 2 Boosters of their choice (subject to availability in the store).
Each of the Players that make Day 2 but do not come in the top 6 will receive 3 Boosters.
Top 6
1st: From the Vaults Realms + Sponsorship Package
2nd: 10 Boosters + Sponsorship Package
3rd: 6 Boosters + Sponsorship Package
4th: 6 Boosters + Sponsorship Package
5th: 5 Boosters + Sponsorship Package
6th: 5 Boosters + Sponsorship Package
Other Prizes
There will be a prize for most Sporting Player (as nominated by other players)
An Extra booster for 17th and 7th place if they are separated from the higher position by tie break alone.
Obviously you get to keep all of the cards that you play sealed/draft with. Deck lists will be needed in each case and you will register the pool you open but not play with it as per normal with main events.
There is a cost to the event, but this is to cover the costs to the store and nothing else so the entry fee is £25 - everybody will get at least 8 boosters (6 for sealed plus 2 in prize support), and those on day 2 will get at least 12 boosters (6 for sealed, 3 for draft and 3 in prize support).
I will save details of the sponsorship package for Jim to tell you about, suffice to say it is very worthwhile and rewards people for playing more Magic and getting out there to Promote Sheffield and Patriot games.
Well I think that just about does it for this one, I will be back on Friday with another blog, hopefully written by a special guest writer (I hear he's quite good). Don't forget your weekend of Magic kicks off with Legacy at 6pm on Friday. See you there...
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