Sunday, March 25, 2012

WittCon IX Wrap-Up (First Event: Modern OneCC)

Yesterday's magicking was fun!

We had five players in the Modern OneCC tournament, so we managed to complete a round-robin tournament before 3pm.

The format for this tournament was probably too restrictive; four of the decks were mine. Here were the five decks:

Aaron built his own deck with the casting cost of R, which went 4-0 and won the tournament. He only lost one game to Phil.

Darren came in second, playing an Aura-based 1W. This deck included: Spirit Loop, Eland Umbra, Kor Spiritdancer, Auratog, Pacifism, Forced Worship, Revered Dead, Kami of Ancient Law, Indomitable Will, Gather the Townsfolk, Benalish Cavalry, and Niblis of the Urn. Darren went 3-1.

Third was Phil, playing 3G to a record of 2-2. This deck had: Vital Splicer, Pouncing Wurm, Llanowar Empath, Timbermare, Mold Shambler, Patagia Viper, Wickerbough Elder, Ambassador Oak, Giant Spider, Timbermaw Larva, Wildslayer Elves, and Briarhorn.

I came in fourth at 1-3 playing 3R centered around Pandemonium. As well as Pandemonium, the deck had Lightning Elemental, Coal Stoker, Nova Chaser, Changeling Berserker, Tormentor Exarch, Hammerheim Deadeye, Needlepeak Spider and Vengeful Firebrand. This deck was a blast to play. Unfortunately, I think a CC of 4 is too high to compete with many decks.

Brian, playing magic for the first time (whoa!) took over 1U. He won no rounds, but did beat me in one game. This deck had: Hada Spy Patrol, Remove Soul, Dreamscape Artist, Mana Leak, Train of Thought, Willbender, Looter il-Kor, Fathom Seer, Kaijin of the Vanishing Touch, Shapesharer, Dream Stalker, Cloudseeder, Plaxmanta and Ghost-Lit Warder.

I think that next year we should probably go for something a bit more inclusive. Perhaps 2HG EDH. Unfortunately, this means we would need a multiple of 4 people to have everyone participate in each round, which might be tough...

Sunday, March 11, 2012

WittCon IX: March 24

Wittenberg's own WittCon returns in two weeks. WittCon IX takes place in the Shouvlin Center on March 24 from 10:45 am to midnight. As with last year, we have both constructed and limited Magic events scheduled. Again, both are oriented to be very casual.

During the first session (11:15 am to 3 pm) we are holding our Modern OneCC tournament. In the OneCC format, all non-basic-land cards in a deck must have the exact same casting cost. Thus, it's not okay for grizzly bears to be in the same deck as incinerate, even though they have the same converted mana cost. It's also not okay for flamebreak and gray ogre to be in the same deck. Be wary of non-basic land! It's not okay for terramorphic expanse and llanowar elves to be in the same deck (sadly). If you want to use any non-basic lands, then all of the other cards cannot have a casting cost either (sorry evermind). 0 is different from nothing, so that even means terramorphic expanse and ornithopter cannot coexist in a deck.

Each of these 60-card decks must adhere to modern deck-building rules, meaning cards can come from 8th edition, Mirrodin block or any more-recent set (not Unhinged). There is a banned list to adhere to, which has a surprisingly large amount of cards! (The loss of hypergenesis probably kills the power of the no-casting-cost deck. Sad!)

I would love to see this format broken. Please do so! I have two decks nearly built, 1U and 1W. The entrance fee is $2 for this constructed event.

For the second gaming session (3:15 - 7 pm) we are holding a wacky sealed tournament. We'll be opening 5 booster packs apiece, then using those cards to build a 40-card deck (I will have basic land available). Players may open whatever 15-card packs they like. Currently the guild has Conflux, Zendikar and Mirrodin Besieged packs available. If you'd rather, you can bring your own packs or mix and match. (I also have a separate collection of packs; let me know beforehand if there's something specific you want.) Packs are $4 apiece through the guild (so $20 if you don't bring any yourself). The entrance fee is $2, but this is waived if you buy packs through the guild.

Dinner is from 7 to 8:15 pm. After that, during the third session (8:15 pm - midnight) we will continue with casual play. I will likely have to leave before this session.

Hope to see you join us for Magicking at WittCon XI!