Zendikar Prerelease and Booster Drafts

Despite all the chaos that was happening; we still managed to get a total of 126 players in our prerelease events. We were very fortunate to have a good turnout given the situation.

We do plan to share our good fortune to the not so fortunate typhoon victims. Part of the proceeds from this event will be used to purchase goods for donations.

Prerelease winners:
1. Jay Falag-ey - 4-0 finisher; midnight pod
2. Ryan Data - 4-0 finisher; midnight pod
3. Edsel Alvarez - 4-0 finisher; Saturday pod 1
4. Jason Ascalon - 4-0 finisher; Saturday pod 2
5. JL Guevarra - 4-0 finisher; Saturday pod 3
6. Jason Ascalon - 4-0 finisher; Sunday pod 1
7. Morris Tan - 4-0 finisher; Sunday pod 2

Booster draft winners:
1. Roy Tang - 3-0 finisher; draft 1
2. Ryan Data - 3-0 finisher; draft 2
3. JR Baldoza - 3-0 finisher; draft 3
4. Irwin Arogo - 3-0 finisher; draft 4

Other winners:
1. Jason Ascalon - opened a Revised Plateau
2. Billy Gragasin - opened 4 fetchlands in a draft (pack 1 had a foil and non-foil one)

Photos from the event are posted in our Facebook account (Titan Hobby Shop).

Sunday Prerelease Pods

Due to bad weather conditions, we will be moving our pods to Sunday; September 27, 2009.

Pod 1 - 1:00pm
Pod 2 - 6:00pm

Cobra Ramp for Standard

Zendikar has been a really hot topic these past few weeks and it keeps getting hotter as the release date draws near and more cards are discovered. A lot of people are already thinking about possible decks for the upcoming Standard format and Extended season. I have also been brainstorming a few deck ideas in preparation for the upcoming World Championships this November.

Here is one of my concept decks.
Warning: this deck is not for the weak budgeted. The deck is also untested and is just pure theory.

4-color cobra ramp for SOA-CON-ARB-M10-ZEN Standard

4 Lightning Bolt
4 Lotus Cobra
4 Maelstrom Pulse
4 Great Sable Stag / Sprouting Thrinax
4 Bloodbraid Elf
4 Garruk Wildspeaker
3 Bituminous Blast
3 Broodmate Dragon
2 Chandra Ablaze
2 Nicol Bolas, Planeswalker / Bogardan Hellkite

4 UR fetchland
4 UG fetchlend
4 BG fetchland
1 Island
5 Forest
5 Mountain
3 Swamp

The deck is designed to run like the Jund control decks from Alara block. It mostly contains midrange spells that generate virtual card advantage. I figured that this strategy would be a lot more viable these days because Faeries, Cryptic Command, and Gaddock Teeg would be rotating out of Standard.

The mid-range spells feature the powerful Garruk Wildspeaker and Bloodbraid Elf; which is a staple in almost every deck that can play it. I am still unsure of which creature to put on the 3-drop slot though. It mostly depends on how good vampires will be.

As for the late-game or accelerated spells, Broodmate Dragon is obviously present and would be joined by 2 planeswalkers. Chandra is a really cool card that would let you draw 3 cards when your hand runs out and Nicol Bolas or Bogardan Hellkite would surely be a game-ender.

As for the mana base, I prefered running all basic lands which would be supported by the new fetchlands. This setup is the best compromise between quick and consistent. It also maximizes the power of Lotus Cobra which will turn every fetchland you have into a potential Black Lotus.

Prerelease Details

Event start:
Pod 1: Sept 26, 2009. 00:00 (12mn of the 25th)
Pod 2: Sept 26, 2009. 8:00 am
Pod 3: Sept 26, 2009. 1:00 pm
Pod 4: Sept 26, 2009. 6:00 pm
Pod 5: Sept 26, 2009. 11:00 pm
Pod 6: Sept 27, 2009. 1:00 pm

Players will get a Rampaging Baloths pre-release card. Prize structure is 1 pack per win and a shirt for 4-0 finishers. A Titan Hobby Shop playmat will also be raffled off in each pod.

After the last pod, we will be running booster drafts all day on September 27.

Due to space constraints, we have very limited slots, only 30 players per pod. Pre-registration is now open if you want sure seats!

* Match points earned in the prerelease events will be counted in our free draft leaderboard

Butch Maniego still got game

Butch and his pair of 5-drops

Veteran drafter Butch Maniego destroyed last night's shark-infested M10 draft pod. Butch paired the draft bomb; Ant Queen with a couple of Soul Wardens which gave him an infinite life and creature engine for most of his games. He also had a Serra Angel and splashed a Fireball (which he never needed) in his GW deck to give it some added reach.

The final board position

Final standings:
1. Maniego, Butch
2. Roxas, Neil
3. Azarias, Cesyl
4. Tan, Morris
5. Ascalon, Jason
6. Prangan, Eduds
7. Lim, Vic
8. de Mesa, Aldric

Draft leaderboard:

Family Name	First Name	Total Points
Tan	Morris	101
Roxas	Neil	72
Porter	JT	60
Gragasin	Billy	60
Ascalon	Jason	54
Maniego	Butch	42
Lim	Vic	42
Go	Paolo	39
Jaro	Ogie	37
Prangan	Eduardo	36
Ortega	Dominic	34
Dimalanta	Lawrence	31
Jaro	Macho	30
Azarias	Cesyl	30
Data	Ryan	28
Torres	Romulo	27
Cruz	Neil	25
Paculio	DJonathan	22
Oca	Ramon Allan	21
Jaro	Jhay	19
Jamir	Chip	18
de Mesa	Aldric	18
Beley	Ronnie Paul	13
Bantiles	Joel	13
Sarto	Raffy	13
Profeta	Francis	12
Abella	Rey	10
Famorcan	Caesar	10
Guevarra	JL	10
Salvatierra	Gikko	10
Perez	Ricky	9
Rama	Philip	9
Asehan	JC	9
Que	Elliot	9
Chua	Jeremiah	9
Sulpico	Ben	9
Esparagoza	Moises	9
Gabriel	Jackie	9
Cabrera	Mark	6
Cirujales	Earl	6
Estacio	Rey	6
Ong	Jeff	6
Rivas	Raynand	6
Rivera	Mark	6
Hernandez	Joseph	6
Manansala	Bayani	6
Jimenez	Nikki	6
Santos	JC	6
Aquino	Sherwin	3
Bausa	Patrick	3
Consunji	David	3
Go	Osmond	3
Mendoza	Paul	3
Sy	Manchester	3
Velasquez	Ramon	3
Jamias	Enrique	3
Tan	Jan Vincent	3
Regino	Jaime Lorenzo	3
Cardenas	Charles	3
Jaso-jaso	Edilberto	3
Cabillos	Ian	3

SOA-CON-ARB booster draft promo from 9/22/09 - 9/25/09

1st place - 1 Zendikar Prerelease pass (transferable)
2nd place - 1 Shards of Alara, 1 Conflux, and 1 Alara Reborn booster pack
3rd place - 1 Alara Reborn booster pack
4th place - 1 Conflux booster pack

Entry fee: Php 550

4 drafts, 4 passes, 1 raredrafter of the month.

9/18/09 draft pod 1 winner: Jason Ascalon

Final standings:
1. Ascalon, Jason
2. Data, Ryan
3. Go, Paolo
4. Torres, Mulong
5. Gragasin, Billy
6. Sulpico, Ben
7. Azarias, Cesyl
8. Jamir, Chip

9/18/09 draft pod 2 winner: Ryan Data

Final standings:
1. Data, Ryan
2. de Mesa, Aldric
3. Azarias, Cesyl
4. Lim, Vic
5. Torres, Mulong
6. Prangan, Eduds
7. Go, Paolo
8. Ascalon, Jason

9/19/09 UP draft winner: Kyle Mina

Final standings:
1. Mina, Kyle
2. Sison, Gabriel Dominik
3. Fajardo, Lawrence James
4. Liu, Franco
5. Gana, Matthew
6. Cabria, Gama
7. Pimentel, Jose
8. Cueto, Jun

9/19/09 draft winner: Eduds Prangan

Final standings:
1. Prangan, Eduds
2. Lim, Vic
3. Azarias, Cesyl
4. Santos, JC
5. Torres, Mulong
6. Tan, Morris
7. de Mesa, Aldric
8. Brecia, Cris

Raredrafter of the month: Paolo Go

Neil Roxas and Morris Tan... again.

Yes, they each won a draft again. Side view photo this time.

Final standings, pod 1:
1. Tan, Morris
2. Gragasin, Billy
3. Paculio, DJ
4. Torres, Mulong
5. Lim, Vic
6. Gabriel, Jackie
7. Cabillos, Ian
8. Maniego, Butch

Final standings, pod 2:
1. Roxas, Neil
2. Tan, Morris
3. Gragasin, Billy
4. Paculio, DJ
5. Gabriel, Jackie
6. Torres, Mulong
7. Lim, Vic
8. Azarias, Cesyl

Osmond Go and his Merfolks win the 1st Titan Legacy tourney

Final standings:
1. Go, Osmond - Merfolk
2. Ang, Arvin - Mono-red burn
3. Sales, Joseph - BG
4. Fach, Bernnar - Zoo
5. Gisbert, Philip - White Stax
6. Reyes, Koko - BG
7. Consunji, David - Threshold
8. Go, Jay - Mono-green Natural Order

Other highlights:

COP: Red actually works on Progenitus

Philip Gisbert playing White Stax, and owner of the COP

Jay Go can't help but smile about how his Progenitus was answered

Neil Roxas and Morris Tan each win a pass

Neil Roxas (left) and Morris Tan (right)

We know that you are sick of seeing the faces of these 2 and so we took a picture of them, backs turned.

Final standings, pod 1:
1. Tan, Morris
2. Ascalon, Jason
3. Data, Ryan
4. Jimenez, Nikki
5. Torres, Romulo III
6. Cardenas, Charles
7. Paculio, DJ
8. Alvarez, Edsel

Final standings, pod 2:
1. Roxas, Neil
2. Cruz, Neil
3. Sarto, Raffy
4. Esparagoze, Moises
5. Prangan, Eduds
6. Jaso-Jaso, Edilberto
7. Maniego, Butch
8. Azarias, Cesyl

Morris Tan wins 1st prerelease pass

Morris Tan destroyed the draft pod with a blue-white soldier deck running Veteran Armorsmith, Veteran Swordsmiths, a Rhox Pikemaster, Armored Ascension, and the very pricey; Honor of the Pure. He wins the very 1st prerelease pass so expect to see him in our prerelease tournaments.

Final standings:
1. Tan, Morris
2. Hernandez, Joseph
3. Manansala, Bayani
4. Prangan, Eduds
5. Chua, Jeremiah
6. de Mesa, Aldric
7. Gabriel, Jackie
8. Azarias, Cesyl

Our "free draft" leaderboard as of Sept. 12:

Family Name	First Name	Total Points
Tan	Morris	86
Porter	JT	60
Roxas	Neil	48
Gragasin	Billy	45
Jaro	Ogie	37
Ascalon	Jason	36
Ortega	Dominic	34
Dimalanta	Lawrence	31
Go	Paolo	30
Jaro	Macho	30
Maniego	Butch	30
Oca	Ramon Allan	21
Lim	Vic	21
Cruz	Neil	19
Jaro	Jhay	19
Jamir	Chip	18
Prangan	Eduardo	18
Beley	Ronnie Paul	13
Bantiles	Joel	13
Profeta	Francis	12
Abella	Rey	10
Famorcan	Caesar	10
Guevarra	JL	10
Salvatierra	Gikko	10
Perez	Ricky	9
Rama	Philip	9
Asehan	JC	9
Que	Elliot	9
Azarias	Cesyl	9
Chua	Jeremiah	9
de Mesa	Aldric	9
Paculio	DJonathan	7
Sarto	Raffy	7
Data	Ryan	7
Cabrera	Mark	6
Cirujales	Earl	6
Estacio	Rey	6
Ong	Jeff	6
Rivas	Raynand	6
Rivera	Mark	6
Sulpico	Ben	6
Hernandez	Joseph	6
Manansala	Bayani	6
Aquino	Sherwin	3
Bausa	Patrick	3
Consunji	David	3
Go	Osmond	3
Mendoza	Paul	3
Sy	Manchester	3
Velasquez	Ramon	3
Jamias	Enrique	3
Tan	Jan Vincent	3
Regino	Jaime Lorenzo	3
Torres	Romulo	3
Esparagoza	Moises	3
Gabriel	Jackie	3

Pre-Zendikar FNM and transition drafts

FNM prize structure for Sept 11, Sept 18, and Sept 25:
1st place - 1 Zendikar Prerelease pass (transferable)
2nd - 5th place - Watchwolf FNM card

Booster packs will be added to the prize payout if there are more than 10 players.

Entry fee: Php 150

We will also be offering a different prize structure in our SOA-CON-ARB and M10 booster drafts starting Sept 11, 2009.
1st place - 1 Zendikar Prerelease pass (transferable)
2nd place - 1 Shards of Alara, 1 Conflux, and 1 Alara Reborn booster pack
3rd place - 1 Alara Reborn booster pack
4th place - 1 Conflux booster pack

Entry fees will still be the same; Php 600 or 3 packs + Php 240.

Pre-registration for the Zendikar Prerelease is now open

Event start:
Pod 1: Sept 25, 2009. 11:59 pm
Pod 2: Sept 26, 2009. 8:00 am
Pod 3: Sept 26, 2009. 1:00 pm
Pod 4: Sept 26, 2009. 6:00 pm
Pod 5: Sept 26, 2009. 11:00 pm

We will be running booster drafts all day on September 27.

Due to space constraints, we have very limited slots, only 24 players per pod. Pre-registration is now open if you want sure seats!

* Match points earned in the prerelease events will be counted in our free draft leaderboard

Neil Roxas wins another M10 draft

2 Serra Angels, a foil Planar Cleansing, and a Platinum Angel. Must be nice. Neil also had 2 copies of Armored Ascension and a Whisperer's Cloak in his mono-white deck. The deck was a sure bet to sweep the draft.

Final Standings:
1. Roxas, Neil
2. Data, Ryan
3. Sulpico, Ben
4. Porter, JT
5. Bantiles, Joel
6. Esparagoza, Moises
7. Maniego, Butch

Constructed Events Repriced

In an effort to get more players to play in our constructed events, we will be repricing the entry fees for Thursday standard and FNMs.

The new prices are as follows:

Standard - Thursdays, 18:00. WPN foils and booster packs at stake
Entry fee: Php 88

FNM Standard - Fridays, 18:00. FNM foils and booster packs at stake
Entry fee: Php 120

The quantity of boosters to be given away will depend on the number of players.

Prerelease Details

Event start:
Pod 1: Sept 26, 2009. 00:00 (12mn of the 25th)
Pod 2: Sept 26, 2009. 8:00 am
Pod 3: Sept 26, 2009. 1:00 pm
Pod 4: Sept 26, 2009. 6:00 pm
Pod 5: Sept 26, 2009. 11:00 pm

We will be running booster drafts all day on September 27.

Due to space constraints, we have very limited slots, only 24 players per pod. Pre-registration is now open if you want sure seats!

* Match points earned in the prerelease events will be counted in our free draft leaderboard

Bangkok veterans both gain 7 points

It was a late night draft where two of our local players who played in GP Bangkok meet each other in the finals. They decided not to play it out anymore and just draw; netting them 7 points each.

Congratulations to Neil Roxas and Raffy Sarto!

Final Standings:
1. Roxas, Neil
2. Sarto, Raffy
3. Lim, Vic
4. Maniego, Butch
5. Gragasin, Billy
6. Tan, Morris
7. Torres, Romulo

Announcement:
Since the prerelease is a limited format and will be using the new set, match points earned there will be counted in the leaderboard points.

Leaderboard update:

Family Name	First Name	Total Points
Tan	Morris	77
Porter	JT	54
Gragasin	Billy	45
Roxas	Neil	41
Jaro	Ogie	37
Ascalon	Jason	36
Ortega	Dominic	34
Dimalanta	Lawrence	31
Go	Paolo	30
Jaro	Macho	30
Maniego	Butch	27
Oca	Ramon Allan	21
Lim	Vic	21
Cruz	Neil	19
Jaro	Jhay	19
Jamir	Chip	18
Beley	Ronnie Paul	13
Profeta	Francis	12
Prangan	Eduardo	12
Abella	Rey	10
Bantiles	Joel	10
Famorcan	Caesar	10
Guevarra	JL	10
Salvatierra	Gikko	10
Perez	Ricky	9
Rama	Philip	9
Asehan	JC	9
Que	Elliot	9
Azarias	Cesyl	9
Paculio	DJonathan	7
Sarto	Raffy	7
Cabrera	Mark	6
Chua	Jeremiah	6
Cirujales	Earl	6
Estacio	Rey	6
Ong	Jeff	6
Rivas	Raynand	6
Rivera	Mark	6
de Mesa	Aldric	6
Aquino	Sherwin	3
Bausa	Patrick	3
Consunji	David	3
Go	Osmond	3
Mendoza	Paul	3
Sy	Manchester	3
Velasquez	Ramon	3
Jamias	Enrique	3
Tan	Jan Vincent	3
Regino	Jaime Lorenzo	3
Torres	Romulo	3