GP Richmond 'Crackgate'

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Happy Tuesday MTG peeps,

Our apologies for the late day post folks but as it was just so damn nice outside today, we spent most of the day outside working.  That unfortunately will all be changing as an area of low pressure is working itself from Kansas up north past the Great Lakes to dump another wallop of winter on us near Toronto.

Anywhoos - we wanted to yatter about the exciting constant state of flux in this very exciting game of Magic: the Gathering.  Specifically, how our local meta game has evolved strategies towards more control from earlier aggro iterations and how we, through some recent card singles purchase from MTG Mint Card, we were going to try our luck with our take on Naya Auras. That topic has now changed now as Magic: the Gathering has hit a LOT of social media outlets - and not in a very good light.  Here's how things rolled out . . .

We saw this tweet from Helene Bergeot (whom by-the-way we think most highly off and cannot say enough of her tireless efforts for our gaming community), Director of Global Organized Play for Wizards of the Coast. 

We had thought at the time that this reminder was as result of some unsportsmanlike conduct which took recently at Grand Prix Richmond.  We now realise that this may have been tweeted likely due to what Redditor OB1FMB had posted - essentially a 'photo diary' of him posing with gamers whose pants were hanging a titch too low on their backsides.  Within a day, this story has spread across the interwebs - from videos posted to YouTube to Chive and many others.

If you didn't know, we've got three kids (most of 'em teenagers now) and they had quite a few laughs - which may be quite easy given some of the witty comments on Reddit and other places.  At the end of it all, we thought on to the Magic: the Gathering brand and could see how this sort of thing is growing a negative stereotype and not growing a community.  We think we agree most with what @CardboardNirvan had to say, quite eloquently in this tweet . . .

Where do you stand?  Pop a comment in below.
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GP Richmond

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Happy Friday MTG peeps,

This weekend will witness one of the largest constructed format Magic: the Gathering events of all time - Grand Prix Richmond.  Players from around the world, and most definitely from the east coast are right now getting ready to game with their Modern Format decklists.  Attendance has been capped at 5,000 players and there is a chance, given that there are over 3,900 already pre-registered, that the 5K mark might get hit.  As we have no cast (and no time off from work), we won't be going but still will be taking in the Friday Night Magic event this evening at OMG! Games, here in Barrie, Ontario, Canada-Land.  All the very best of luck to those attending, and whether you will be playing Splinter Twin, Melira Pod, Affinity, or Zoo, we're certain there will be fun 'n' excitement packed in over the course of this weekend.

For details, check out the following linkies -
• Mothersite page
• GP Richmond site 
• SCG Guide 
• SCG Live Coverage 

Here's a few shots of the crowds already gathering and the Richmond Convention Center Hall ready to receive . . .

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GP Richmond 2014

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Happy Tuesday MTG peeps,

The big Magic: the Gathering news perhaps all of this month is the (Modern Format) Grand Prix Richmond tournament taking place this weekend (March 7-9) at the Greater Richmond Event Center.  As there is no Saturday registration for this tournament, players have been pre-registering and as of yesterday there is an estimated 2,800 players signed up making this perhaps the largest constructed MTG event to go in the books.  Last year's Modern tourney in Detroit witnessed over 1,400 players and the 2010 GP Madrid event (Legacy format) had over 2,200.  The Judge conference taking place ahead of the tournament also might be breaking a record with over 340 Judges anticipated to attend.
 

The GP Richmond prize pool is anticipated to be $54,000 with cash prizes being payed out all the way down to 150th place.  Drop by this website for all the latest information and registration.  Even if you do not make it into a prize bracket, you still are walking away with a good deal of swag.  Basic registration will slide your way the following goodies - 

• Exclusive Eternal Witness playmat
• Set of five commemorative tokens
• One month StarCityGames.com Premium voucher
• Grand Prix promotional foil Batterskull
• StarCityGames.com deck box

Apparently there was concern from the gaming community that the tournament organizer would run out of the playmats.  To this end, SCG indicates they have already ordered more.

As for what the field will hold in terms of decklists, we're happy to say it is expected to be varied, an indication of just how healthy the format is.  Expect to see these popular builds over the weekend -

Splinter Twin / Affinity / Melira Pod / UWR Control / Zoo / Scapeshift / UR Storm /Jund / Ad Nauseam / Merfolk / Bogles / RG Tron 

We do have a Bogles list only half done and need a handful of critical cards from MTG Mint Card to complete it.  For a summary for all Pro Tour Born of the Gods Modern decklists from Valencia which made 18 or more points in ten rounds, drop by this page on the mothersite.  

Good luck to all who are going!  
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