Morris Tan wins the last draft for the month of June

As the month comes to a close, draft addict Morris Tan (Mr. pinoyraredrafter himself) was itching for a draft win; and he does so without the help of bomb cards. He was able to draft a GW splash red aggro deck and pilot it all the way to a 3-0 finish.

Final standings:
1. Tan, Morris
2. Ascalon, Jason
3. Cruz, Neil
4. Porter, JT
5. Go, Osmond
6. Lim, Vic
7. Gragasin, Billy
8. Maniego, Butch

Jason Ascalon vs Morris Tan in the last round

An unlikely MVP

Nationals is just around the corner

It's been a long time since I posted an article here. It has been mostly store related information and results. I guess it's time to write one right now because as everyone knows; Nationals is less than a month away.

I have been following the M10 spoiler the past week and I see some interesting new cards that would probably change the standard metagame.

First major impact of M10 would be the absence of cheap "Wrath of God" effects. It was rumored that we would have no Wrath of God and Damnation for this set, which breaks a 10-year core set tradition. The spoiler is not yet complete as of today but they have already shown the set's new board sweeper; Planar Cleansing. This leaves us with Hallowed Burial as the cheapest available "Wrath" effect.

The obvious deck that is making noise right now is White Weenie. The new Savannah Lions will probably sit on the bench for now because Kithkins are still running around the standard card pool. However, the new take on the classic Crusade is just what the doctor ordered. It is a 2 mana spell which means it will dodge every possible countermagic if you are playing first and manage to cast it on turn 2. It also curves out nicely because unlike Glorious Anthem, it does not share the 3-drop slot with Spectral Procession. Harm's Way might also be a cool addition if you were a fan of Shining Shoal back in 2005. Baneslayer Angel and Guardian Seraph are possible tools for late game power, but I still prefer Cloudgoat Ranger over them.

Blue cards... well I don't see any nice blue cards yet, not even a nice efficient card draw engine. I like Time Warp though, but goodluck in finding a deck for that. I guess WOTC is just doing what they have been doing the past few years then; bringing down the power level of blue.

Black got a significant boost on efficiency in the form of the new Terror and the reprinting of Duress. I don't even care about the other cards anymore because most are just annoying functional reprints.

Red has Lightning Bolt, but loses Incinerate and the now powered down Mogg Fanatic. The new Goblin Warchief will probably try to prove it's worth but without the help of strong goblins like the ones in Onslaught, it will probably just be another Goblin King. I say not much change for standard, but a significant change for extended and eternal formats.

Green has a lot of new tricks up its sleeve. Elvish Archdruid is getting the most attention and probably made the elf-ball deck a lot better; turn 3 Regal Force anyone? Remember that we do not have a cheap "Wrath" effect too. This means that you do not need to hold back too much on dropping little green men on the board; just beware of Volcanic Fallout. Great Sable Stag (aka Bachelor Party Horse) will probably destroy any faerie deck easy. Protean Hydra has some potential if paired with anthem effects but still has to prove itself. As for the new Hurricane, it is decent, but I still prefer Squall Line over it. The loss of the part that damages players may be costly in some games and automatically disqualifies it as a main deck card.

As for the artifacts and lands section, all I can say is that the new cycle of ally-colored lands are nice.

That's it for now, more brainstorming notes and musings next time.

Law D. outlasts everyone in a late night pod

The draft started a few minutes after midnight, everyone was tired and probably sleepy. Law D. and a familiar face was sitting at 2-0 going into the last round; they decided to draw and just play for the 1 pack difference in the prize.

Final standings:
1. Paculio, DJonathan - 4 packs
2. Dimalanta, Lawrence - 5 packs
3. Jaro, Ogie - 2 packs
4. Jaro, Macho - 2 packs
5. Tan, Morris
6. Perez, Ricky
7. Go, Paolo
8. Oca, Ramon Allan

Allan Oca reads Necromancer's Covenant

and it resolves

DJ got game

Law D wins

Ogie Jaro wins with a 2-color draft deck

Final standings:
1 Jaro, Ogie
2 Oca, Ramon Allan
3 Go, Paolo
4 Perez, Ricky
5 Ortega, Dominic
6 Sy, Manchester
7 Dimalanta, Lawrence
8 Jaro, Macho

Ogie's GW deck

Allan Oca wins all-star pod

This is the kind of draft pod that you do not want to be in at Nationals. When all the dust cleared, Allan Oca emerged victorious with a Grixis deck full of haste creatures beating Paolo Go's Esper aggro deck.

Final standings:
1. Oca, Ramon Allan
2. Go, Paolo
3. Jaro, Macho
4. Tan, Morris
5. Jaro, Ogie
6. Que, Elliot
7. Dimalanta, Lawrence
8. Perez, Ricky

Beta version of our fliers

These will be printed on actual MTG cards and will be sent away soon. Since they are printed on actual MTG cards, you can use them as tokens.

Increased payout for booster drafts

Due to customer feedback regarding our booster drafts, we have decided to increase the prize payout in our booster drafts. The new payouts would be 5-4-2-2 or 1 pack per win plus an additional booster to whomever scores a 3-0.

The new prize structure aims to give drafters more value for their money and still maintain the competitive structure of our drafts.

JC Asehan wins; pinoy style

Click on the picture to enlarge (and see the rares and 2 money uncommons)

It was the best raredraft ever, followed by a 1st place finish to boot. 8 rares, 6 of them playable, helped JC win this draft.

Final standings:
1. Asehan, JC
2. Porter, JT
3. Dimalanta, Lawrence
4. Lim, Vic
5. Maniego, Butch
6. Go, Paolo
7. Tan, Morris
8. Oca, Allan

A cheaper way to draft

I would just like to reiterate that we accept 3 packs (SOA, CON, or ARB) plus Php 240 as entry fees for our in-store drafts. We encourage players to take advantage of this; save the packs you win in tournaments and use it as partial entry fee for drafts.

Jikko Salvatierra wins June 18 draft

Final standings:
1 Salvatierra, Jikko
2 Bantiles, Joel
3 Porter, JT
4 Lim, Vic
5 Gragasin, Billy
6 Tan, Morris
7 Consunji, David
8 Sulpico, Ben

A lot of big names joined this draft but the player from Davao, despite this being only his 2nd draft, won it. I was not able to take pictures though because the draft started really late and everyone was in a hurry to go home when we finished. Fortunately, our new winner also happened to join our 1st draft and was in one of the pictures for that draft.

The cube has been built!

Cube (n) - A MTG draft format wherein you use a pool of insane cards and draft bombs instead of booster packs when drafting. Normal draft rules apply.

Our own in-house cube is ready to be drafted and will be launched this Saturday. We will be hosting 3 free-play pods (no prize payout) this Saturday to introduce the format. No reservations, 1st to arrive will get the seat.

Regular cube drafts will be Php 250 entry fee with a payout of 5-3-2-2 or 1 pack per win. All cards shall be returned to the store after the draft (sorry, we can't let you keep them). Sleeves are required as to avoid having marked cards and to protect the cards for future drafts. This is a casual format and is therefore non-sanctioned.

Visit us to learn more about the format.

We will also be running regular Shards-Conflux-Reborn drafts this Saturday if the cube does not interest you.

Jason Ascalon wins the very first store draft

Jason drafted a Naya deck with a few splashes (like Maelstrom Archangel). He defeated Morris Tan in the first round, Billy Gragasin in the second, and Mark Cabrera in the last round.

Final standings is as follows:
1 Ascalon, Jason - 5 packs
2 Gragasin, Billy - 3 packs
3 Cabrera, Mark - 2 packs
4 Ortega, Dominic - 2 packs
5 Salvatierra, Gikko
6 Prangan, Eduardo
7 Guevarra, JL
8 Tan, Morris

Other players casually playing standard/block

Jason vs Mark

Lesson of the day: UW does not seem to work; ask Morris

Our winner

Store opens tomorrow!

Title says it all. Yun lang.
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Oh wait, should I say more? Well, it is an MTG store and so I have MTG products in there. Singles, boosters, more singles, singles for eternal formats, Divine vs Demonic duel decks (I only have 5 of these so hurry up), etc, etc. Unfortunately, I have no accesories yet because my orders have yet to arrive.

We will also be running booster drafts in the afternoon. 3 drafts at a time, multiple queues so you can (sort of) choose who you draft with. Actually, we will be running drafts everyday, so if you find yourself with nothing much to do, bring some friends over and we will try to start a draft.

For the players who prefer to play constructed, we are still finalizing our schedule. Everything should be final by tomorrow.

M10 Rules Changes

If you were hiding under a rock like I was for the past couple of days; I have news for you.

(Barrack Obama tone) "Change is coming to... MTG"

Click here to read the article from the mothership.

A full article devoted to the new rules revision. A lot of changes, a lot to deal with, a lot of nods of approval, and a lot to complaion about.

The most common complaint I have been hearing is about rule #5

5) Combat Damage No Longer Uses the Stack

The stack is too complicated for new players, the stack makes combat difficult, the stack this, the stack that, but the stack is still there for every other aspect of the game. 1 + 1 = 3. I don't get it.

I know that a lot are upset; people go to jail for murder, and this is a multiple murder case. They killed Mogg Fanatic, Morph/Torch/Thorn-ling, and basically every other card with activated abilities that you do not play as a sorcery. Let's not forget the non-creature cards that they killed too. We demand justice!

Assigning combat damage also works like trample now except if you have deathtouch. Deathtouch just got so much better.

Chase uncommon?

Yes I also do not like this new change, but we have to deal with it. The rule affects both players that are playing against each other, not only you. It affects everyone; everyone has to adjust, first one to do so will probably be a much better player.

My favorite part of this rules change thing would be:

3B) Mana Burn Eliminated

Why? Because I have a couple of Braid of Fires lying around and I can't wait to use them!

Braid of Fire concept for future Extended
by JT Porter

4 Mogg Fanatic
4 Figure of Destiny
4 Keldon Marauders
4 Rakdos Guildmage
3 Kumano, Master Yamabushi
3 Akroma, Angel of Fury

4 Incinerate
4 Magma Jet
4 Braid of Fire
4 Flame Javelin

22 Mountains

The deck is a straightforward aggresive burn deck which utilizes Braid of Fire as an additional mana source for activating creature abilities or casting spells like Magma Jet on your upkeep. It's a work in progress and I am not really sure if the concept would work. It would surely be fun though.

From Ortigas to the store

The structure on the left side of this photo is the flyover at Meralco ave. that crosses over Julia Vargas. Tektite/Stock exchange is on the right.

Go straight past DepEd

Straight past Ultra

Turn right when you reach Shaw Boulevard. If you are taking a jeepney, get off here and walk to your left.

Go straight when at Shaw Blvd. for a few meters and get ready to turn left.

Turn left at Pioneer.

Immediately after turning left, you will see Jollibee. Get ready to turn left again.

Turn left at Jollibee.

Go straight until you see the Goodyear Servitek.

Turn left at Goodyear Servitek.

Go straight until you reach the Kapitolyo rotonda and turn right.

You will see the MN Square building to your right. The Ynares Stadium (more parking space) is just across the building.

We are at unit 308.

A map going to some place

Unfortunately, my DTI permit has not arrived yet and so I still do not know what my store's name would be. In any case, here's a map that I edited from wiki to help you find your way there.

Hint: you can click this thing to enlarge it

Parking is available at the Ynares Stadium right across

I will be posting directions in 1st person POV tomorrow to help you find the place.

Back in Manila, so much to do, so little time

Just got back in Manila last night (22:00). The store will be opening Tuesday next week and I have a whole long weekend to setup. I will be posting a detailed road map later tonight; for starters, our address is Unit 308 MN Square Building, Shaw Boulevard.

As for this blog, all my drafts and notes used in the recently concluded Pro Tour will be posted. Everything that came up at practice, all practice drafts, all lessons learned during the Pro Tour, and almost every random happenings from the front line.

So many stories to tell, so many cards to sell. Watch this blog.

The Pro Tour Journal: Honolulu 2009 #2

It's been a while since I posted something in here. I was just about to publish my next note when Morris Tan sent me a message over at Yahoo! messenger that it has been a while since I posted something in here.

I drafted so many times at Magic Online during the last few days. Unfortunately, I was so busy training that I had no time to post them. I will just post my online rating (just to show how busy I was) for now and upload the drafts when I get home from PT Honolulu.


I was almost at 1900 doing my draft thing but then I realized that I had to try building other draft archetypes to be more flexible for the Pro Tour, and so my limited rating fell. I do know the archetypes where I am more comfortable though and have learned enough to pilot the others decently.

I will be leaving for Honolulu tomorrow and will arrive just in time for the registration dinner.

I will leave you with a link to a Starcity article from a few days ago that you might want to read... and a photo.

ADIK!!!