Purchasing Magic: the Gathering booster packs from your local game store offer benefits that extend far beyond simply acquiring new cards. These stores are often the heart of the gaming community, providing more than just a place to buy your favorite game products. By choosing to buy locally, you’re not only investing in your personal gaming experience but also in the community and the broader gaming ecosystem.

Support the Local Business

Supporting local businesses has a tangible impact on your community. When you buy from a local game store, you help keep money circulating within the local economy, which supports jobs and stimulates economic growth. These small businesses rely on community support, and by choosing to shop locally, you’re helping to sustain these vital hubs in your area.

Building a Local Gaming Community

Local game stores also serve as social centers where gamers can connect, share strategies, and build friendships. Many stores host events, tournaments, and game nights that bring people together, creating a strong sense of community. These gatherings provide a platform for players to test their skills, learn from others, and enjoy the camaraderie that comes from shared interests.

Personalized Services and Advice

The personalized service and expert advice you receive at a local game store are unmatched by online retailers. The staff are usually experienced gamers who can offer valuable insights and recommendations tailored to your specific needs. Whether you’re looking for the best booster packs to enhance your deck or need advice on gameplay strategies, local stores offer a level of customer service that enhances your overall experience.

Ease of Access

In addition to the community benefits, shopping locally also offers practical advantages like immediate access to products and the avoidance of shipping costs. There’s no need to wait for your booster packs to arrive in the mail, and you can often find exclusive promotions or early access to new products that aren’t available online. These perks add up, making local game stores a convenient and cost-effective choice for many gamers.

Ultimately, buying from your local game store supports a healthy and diverse gaming industry. These stores often stock products from smaller publishers and indie creators, helping to maintain the variety and richness of the gaming world. By choosing to shop locally, you’re contributing to the sustainability of the gaming community and ensuring that it continues to thrive for years to come.

For a first-timer, entering a Magic: the Gathering tournament is quite intimidating. I remember the first time I joined the local tournament in our area, seeing these new players got me somewhat scared in a way because of the factors of lack of card knowledge, gameplay, and rules factor.

It was a Standard format, the first time using a deck that is below a top-tier build in a local event with almost 100 players, the inexperience has somewhat got me. Anywho, joining that tournament and finishing with zero wins is a good way to motivate me to further improve the deck and my gameplay skills.

I would suggest this list below as sort of a guide in the preparation for your 1st Magic: the Gathering tournament event.

1. Choose a format: Decide which format you would like to participate in and build a deck that is legal for that format. Make sure you understand the rules and banned/restricted list for that format.
2. Test your deck: Play several test games with your deck to make sure it is competitive and to get a feel for how it plays. Make any necessary adjustments and fine-tune your deck based on your test games.
3. Familiarize yourself with the tournament rules: Make sure you understand the specific rules for the tournament you are participating in, such as the time limit, how many rounds will be played, and what the win/loss criteria are.
4. Get to know the metagame: Research the current metagame for the format you will be playing and make sure you understand the most popular decks and strategies. This will help you to prepare for what you might face during the tournament.
5. Pack essentials: Make sure you have all the essentials you need for the tournament, such as your deck, sleeves, dice, and pen/pencil.
6. Be well-rested: Make sure you get a good night’s sleep before the tournament to ensure that you are focused and alert during the games.
7. Stay hydrated: Make sure to drink plenty of water and bring a water bottle with you to the tournament to keep yourself hydrated.
8. Have a positive attitude: Tournaments can be stressful, but it’s important to maintain a positive attitude and stay focused on having fun.
9. Be respectful to other players: Treat other players with respect and play the game in a fair and sportsmanlike manner.
10. Stay relaxed and have fun: Remember that Magic: the Gathering is a game, and tournaments are meant to be fun. Stay relaxed, have a good time, and do your best!

I was able to drop by Rei’s place last Saturday after our DURP classes at UP and saw the Standard Showdown tournament in progress. It was the ending part of Round 2 I think and there were about 12 participants. Checking on the decks they are playing, I saw the usual suspects: Black-Red, Blue White Control, Blue Black. I stayed to watch the matchups for the rest of the rounds while enjoying my plate of extra hot pancit canton.

Here are the Top players after the Swiss and two unusual decks made it in rank.

1st, JD (Black-Red Aggro)
2nd, Ralph (Mono-Blue Auras)
3rd, Tonton (Mono Red Flame of Keld)
4th, Mark Lamera (Blue Black Midrange)

The Mono-Blue one-drops with Curious Obsession was possibly made to race with Control decks and it gets harder with a handful of counterspells in the sideboard. The same can be said with the Mono Red Flame of Keld deck wherein there are more hasty one mana critters and more burn spells which benefits from the third chapter of the Saga enchantment.

Guilds of Ravnica is already on the horizon of Standard so as we bid farewell to these cards from the rotating sets, we do hope that the same strategies can still be adapted with the new metagame.

Until the next post.

There is an upcoming gaming event here in Iloilo City which they called Conquest, the first-ever e-Sports convention. They will cover activities pertaining to Video Gaming, Cosplay, and Anime. They maybe would include table-top and trading cards under the gaming category. I decided to contact the organizers and ask if Magic: the Gathering could participate and have at least a learn-to-play booth in the event venue. The good news is that they may consider not only the booth but also have us hold a tournament there, provided that we can procure long tables.

I had already informed Rei about the plan and asked a few of the Pauper players to help in organizing this special MTG Iloilo event. This is the initial schedule of events that I had in mind:

Learn-to-Play Sessions
Time: 9am to 6pm
*2 to 4 seaters per table
*free decks to be distributed after the session
*max of 20 mins per session

Standard Pauper Tournament
Time: 10am to 2pm
Reg. 120php, Prizes TBA
Swiss Rounds
TO: Myself

Standard Showdown Tournament
Time: 2pm to 6pm
Reg. 150php, Prizes: Standard Showdown boosters & Ixalan boosters packs
Swiss Rounds
TO: Rei

If permitted, we will sell products at the side of the registration booth and will include Ixalan booster packs, HOU boosters, & card sleeves.

Other materials needed: Standee Poster, deck box containers for the freebie decks.

One thing that will get you excited in the coming weekend is the Magic: the Gathering Ixalan Prerelease. Here are the details of the upcoming Prerelease Saturday event for the set. The store sponsor is Rei’s Place and there will be 36 slots for the special PR Sealed tournament. For slot reservations, just search the thread at the MTG Iloilo Group. Around 10 slots are still available. Also, make sure to bring sleeves and basic lands to complete your decks.

***Magic: the Gathering Iloilo Ixalan Prerelease***

Format: PR Sealed
Saturday, September 23, 2017
Venue: CoffeeBreak, The Avenue, Smallville
Entry Fee: P1,300 (includes 1 PR Kit)
Registration starts: 12noon
Deck building starts: 1:00 pm

One last note: Bring 40-card sleeves along with some basic lands (around 10 of each color) that you might be using in building your deck from the PR sealed pool.

See ya on Saturday!