Hey all, it was a busy weekend with some instant plans that replaced the supposedly things to do on those days. The initial plan was to visit the Magic: the Gathering EDH Commander local tournament scheduled on a Saturday, but the ending was a drinking session instead with old friends.

Anywho, I just went to check on the EDH Commander group chat on Facebook as to what happened during their event and they posted pics of them having fun while playing and interacting with their favorite Commander decks. This is a good sign as to the chance of the face-to-face tournaments coming back here in Iloilo City. I also saw several events posted in Magic: the Gathering FB groups that were held in a similar scenario.

I talked with Rei last week about his plans and he said the next local event will be the Crimson Vow Prerelease on December 1st week. Based on those, and if the alert level will still be maintained at a minimum, then the possibility of a year-ender event is possible. We just need to update our physical decks by that time and hoping that the new sets’ products will arrive on schedule.

I will wrap up this post with short booster packs opening video which I purchased when I visited Rei’s place last week. Enjoy and until the next local Magic: the Gathering scene update.

Another weekend of Magic: the Gathering Standard gameplay and the players were present to battle in the Friday Night Magic and Saturday Standard events. Here are the tournament results from the two MTG happenings last weekend:

Friday Night Magic (February 7, 2020)
Top 4:
1st, PR Melo (Golgari Oven)
2nd, Mervin (Blue White Control)
3rd, Mossy Towan (Mono Red Aggro)
4th, Tonton (Blue White Control)

Saturday Standard (February 8, 2020)
Top 4:
1st, Ericson (Mono Red Aggro)
2nd, Franco (Mono Red Aggro)
3rd, Doc Erl (Rakdos Sacrifice)
4th, Mossy Towan (Mono Red Aggro)

24 players, 4 rounds gameplay.

I was only able to attend the Saturday tournament and I am happy with the player turnout. There are such times that these guys would be willing to spend their Saturday afternoon competing and also having fun while at it.

We are welcoming the year 2019 with another hectic week of Magic: the Gathering tournaments. The extra days after the new year would mean more time to play test and have fun in the Standard format. Here below are the scheduled tournaments here in Iloilo City for the first week of January 2019.

January 2, 2019 – Standard Showdown at Nth Dimension: Comics and Games. The time would be 6:00pm with 100 reg. fee. Guilds of Ravnica boosters are still at stake on this event.

January 4, 2019 – Friday Night Magic at Pro Reis Place. Standard format is still implemented with the same time and registration fee with that of Nth Dimension. Promo FNM foils along with the booster packs will be the prizes at stake. I might ask Rei if he will be having a PR pass tournament soon that will probably fall on a Saturday tournament.

January 5, 2019 – Team Unified Standard at Pro Reis Place. I have yet to get the prizing details from Rei but this type of tournament is not uncommon in the community. We have conducted this before in our MTG Iloilo Champs years before.

That is about it for the first week of MTG Iloilo tournaments this January 2019. See you at the tournaments geists.

The UNICON 2018 event last weekend was pretty much a successful one despite of some slight blunders. I’d like to start by thanking everyone who attended and participated in the major tournaments and the side events as well. This event report will be divided into three parts and so this first one will be a recap of the preparations and the Friday night ingress and setup. So here it goes.

After a few meetings with Sir Philip and the rest of the gang, we finalized the number of tables that our group will be using. The tables to use are the foldable ones that are available and stocked at Rei’s place and these are more mobile and are less bulky than those used in the previous hobby events.

So six tables were already listed but what else did we need? Philip said he will be providing standees for each hobby group so I decided that time to print our own custom poster for MTG Iloilo. I asked my office mate Meljon to do a quick design which he happily obliged. I provided him files of the artworks from the official MTG website. He was quick with the output so I was able to get these ready to print files by lunchtime. However, it was only after the office that I went to the printing shop and the good thing is that there were no customers that time and so their staff was able to print the designs right away. It costed me around P260 per poster, with the dimensions 5.85 ft height by 2.5 ft width.

I informed Rei earlier of the time to ingress at Robinsons Place Jaro and asked him if the FNM that time can finish earlier so we could transfer the tables. He said that it would depend on the number of players and the matchups and so I insist that the players should be mindful of the round time. Anyhow, that did not matter much as the rounds finished earlier than the 50 minutes. I just observed some awesome plays and crucial top decks on the matches.

After the last round and prize awarding, we put up the folding tables to Mandoy’s car on his back seat. Rei was still going to his shift that time so it was only me, Mandoy and Speedy that will do the setup at Rob Jaro. We arrived at the mall’s loading bay around 10:15pm and I presented the gate pass which I got from Philip the day before. We passed through their alternate entrance to the mall that then opens to the activity area. There were already a lot of people doing their own setup, and tables and chairs that were to be used to each booth. Sir Philip was also there that time facilitating with the other groups and so I asked him where our location would be.

The designated area for MTG Iloilo was on the front side near the entrance of the cordoned area. We also saw the standee with the MTG Iloilo poster that they made. Unfortunately, the size of the tarpaulin that I printed could not fit their standee. The six tables seemed to fit well but we adjusted it so as the other groups can place theirs in a similar parallel line. There were also a lot of chairs provided so we just grabbed around 24 pieces to be used to the six tables. I then made sure that the nearest table to the power outlet will be the table used for the video display monitor and the laptop.

We then left afterward and I then went home immediately so I could prepare the things that will be needed to the next day and the first day of UNICON 2018.

To be continued…

I had pre-made some custom items to serve as additional prizes on last weekend’s major Magic: the Gathering event at Robinsons Place Jaro. Those items were custom made coffee mugs with the new MTG Iloilo logo printed on them.

This initiative was a follow up on the custom MTG Iloilo T-shirt prints that are currently on its third batch of printing courtesy of Muzzy’s friend. This is one way of creatively promoting the hobby and the community as well. I also had my friend Pigboom, who designed the logo, to print some MTG Iloilo stickers that can be placed on deck boxes, albums and even on laptop covers. He told me to sell them to at least 15 pesos each but I didn’t bother to yesterday, as this is also one way of marketing.

Anyhow, expect more of these products soon on future MtG Iloilo events and maybe I can also ask the players if they are willing to order a custom lanyard so I could reach the minimum number of 30 pieces. Hopefully, they will.

Until the next post.

The United Convention 2018 will be finally happening this weekend, June 2 to 3 at the Robinsons Place Jaro activity area. This event will be the convention of all of the hobby groups and organizations here in the city. Of course, Magic: the Gathering Iloilo Community will be joining and I have consulted with TO Rei on the schedule of activities for the two days. Here below is what we have agreed on.

***Magic: the Gathering Iloilo Community Joins Unicon 2018***
June 2-3, 2018
Venue: Robinsons Place Jaro Activity Area

Day 1 – Saturday
Learn-to-Play Tutorial Sessions
10pm to 1pm
Bring a friend to learn Magic and receive an exclusive MTG Judge token.

Big Time Standard Showdown Tournament
1:00pm onwards
Reg. 200php
Prizes:
*Guaranteed for 20 players
1st, 8 DOM boosters + Showdown booster pack
2nd, 5 DOM boosters + Showdown booster pack
3rd, 3 DOM boosters + Showdown booster pack
4th, 3 DOM boosters + Showdown booster pack
5th – 8th, 1 DOM boosters each
MTG Giveaways to be raffled to participants.
Top 8 gets an exclusive MTG Judge token.

Day 2 – Sunday
Learn-to-Play Tutorial Sessions
10pm to 1pm
Bring a friend to learn Magic and receive an exclusive MTG Judge token.

Special Modern Tournament
1:00pm onwards
Reg. 150php
Prizes: Masters 25 booster packs depending on number of attendees.
MTG Giveaways to be raffled to participants.

We are inviting all to drop by our booth which will be located at the Gamer’s Boulevard area of the activity floor. See you there!

Running into the mid of May, this weekend’s tournament lineup for MTG Iloilo community will be Standard and DOM booster draft. The usual FNM will push through at Pro Rei’s place along with the Saturday Standard Showdown. Booster packs will be at stake along with the Standard Showdown packs which can have potential foil goodies for the top finishers. Also, Dominaria Magic League has started so make sure you drop by Rei’s in case you haven’t built your League deck yet.

Since it will be another long weekend due to the scheduled Barangay and Sangguniang Kabataan elections, we have decided to have a Dominaria booster draft on Sunday, May 13, and Monday, May 14. The venue will be at Critical Hit at Atria and the reg. fee will be 550php. Mythic & Rare prizes will be drafted and picked according to rank after three rounds. For the participants, please make sure to bring sleeves and basic lands.

Here below are the schedule for the MtG tournaments this week.

MtG Iloilo Tournament Schedule this Week

ProRei’s Place:

May 11, 2018
Friday Night Magic
Standard format, 90php reg. fee.
Top 4 gets an exclusive FNM Promo foil card
DOM Packs prizes
Starts 6:00pm

May 12, 2018
Saturday Standard Showdown
Standard, 90php reg. fee.
Showdown packs along with DOM Packs as prizes
Starts 2:30pm

Critical Hit:

May 13 and 14, 2018
Dominaria Booster Draft
550php reg.
Starts 1:00pm

We currently have two Magic: the Gathering local game stores here in Iloilo City. The first is A3 Bookstore which is also known as ProRei’s place located near Robinsons Iloilo City proper across its Mabini street wing. which is hosting our weekly FNMs and Standard Showdown tournaments. The second is Critical Hit: Comics and Games, which is located in Ayala Atria mall in San Rafael, Mandurriao.

The two shops is already enough to cater the weekend tournaments. However, there is a new contender in town which has just opened last weekend. The shop is called Nth Dimension. I was able to drop by their place right after our class in UP and saw that they were also selling Comic Books and Board Games. I have talked with the owner beforehand about the shop’s location and offering. Good thing that he is processing the application to become a local game store of Magic: the Gathering.

The place is found at the ground floor of a new building located in a pathway beside Atrium Mall in General Luna street and as I arrived, I saw that he had already a bunch of products for sale including booster packs of the recent sets up to Rivals of Ixalan, card sleeves including the rare Ultra Pro Eclipse sleeves and also some card albums and deckboxes.

The owner was not there when I dropped by and so I just bought two Rivals of Ixalan boosters hoping to catch a Rekindling Phoenix. I opened crap rares instead so I just checked and noted some of the sleeves’ prices so I could inform my card pool-mates later on. The place has a second floor for accommodating tables for tournaments and board games, though it was not yet done with the wall painting and furnishing. After a few chat with the staff, I bid goodbye and headed home.

Hopefully the next time I visit, I will be able to check the completed place and talk with the owner on the details of sanctioning weekly tournaments on Magic and of course, how to get their prize support. Parking space might be an issue but among other amenities like food is available as the shop is sitatued between a carinderia and a laundry machine shop of that same building.

For store updates and announcements, you can check their page Nth Dimension Comics and Games on Facebook.

It was already a month ago since I wrote this draft so I might as well post this one today. I have decided recently to revamped the Magic the Gathering Iloilo Community right after the almost a decade of its current logo. The old logo is already, too old I think and that we needed a fresh one to represent the community to the Filipino Magic players and to the world. I have contacted my friend Pigboom which was an Eversun colleague to design the logo and he came up with the draft weeks after. I was not able to save that sketch he made but he followed that up with the first final look. See below.

Here is what it will look like when printed on a t-shirt and sweatshirt. He did an awesome job coming up with the various color combination.

We have already printed the first batch of shirts (15) with the logo and that we are open for other apparel that they would want to have that logo printed. I am planning to have my own Magic Iloilo sweatshirt as part of our uniform for the upcoming Grand Prix we are attending. The printing rates, by the way, are P320 for the sizes Small up to Extra Large, and 350 for the sizes XXL and XXXL.

So guys, just contact me here or on Facebook at our Magic: the Gathering Iloilo Community if you wanted to order one.

Two HOU Gamedays were successfully held this weekend on each separate local MTG game stores here in Iloilo City. The first one at ProRei’s Place was quite high in attendance as there were 28 players that arrived and participated to battle the Standard format. After a grueling 5 rounds of Swiss and the Top 8 playoffs, it was Ramon Alivio’s Temur Energy that gained the title of Mastermind or the ol HOU Gameday Champion of the tournament. In the process, he defeated my teammate JayR who played Blue White Flash. Here below is Ramon’s obligatory champion pose after winning the Finals match.

Sunday’s Gameday venue was at Critical Hit: Comics and Games and the player attendance were on an average of only 16 people. That was one person short of having five rounds of Swiss. The metagame was somewhat the same with Ramunap Red and Zombies as the top aggro decks. After the Swiss rounds, the Top 8 were composed of Ramunap Red, Temur Energy, Mardu Vehicles, Zombies and a Mono White Eldrazi deck. My teammates Oliver and Ericson were able to qualify and Oliver was the only player in the team to make it in the finals after dispatching Zombies in the quarters and Temur in the semis. His matchup was a mirror match Ramunap Red, with Doc Earl Flores. It was an intense two-game match with both players at very low life totals and I was only able to cover live the 2nd game along with Oliver’s winning moment. You can check it at my FB profile page. A huge congratulations to Oliver Mastilero in winning the 2nd HOU Gameday in Iloilo.

Magic: the Gathering Iloilo Community will be having another Prerelease weekend tournament for the set Amonkhet. Playing the new cards for the first time is what the main benefit of these types of events. We get to enjoy and use cards that usually won’t be used in a Standard setting. The venue will be at Robinson Place Jaro which we are happy to have as the summer heat is very exhausting. There are 36 slots allotted for Rei and so far there are still two slots left. We might accept walk-in registrants before the start of the event. Here below are the details:

Amonkhet Prerelease at Robinsons Place Jaro
Saturday, April 22, 2017
Time: 12:30pm
Reg: P1,300
Prerelease Special Sealed
4 Swiss Rounds
1 Booster pack per win

Please be reminded to bring your basic lands and sleeves for your deck to avoid damage of the cards. Kitakits!

This will be a jam-packed Magic: the Gathering weekend as the community will be helding three consecutive events, starting with tomorrow’s Friday Night Magic. Here are the details of the scheduled MtG Iloilo Tournaments for this weekend:

September 9, 2016
Friday Night Magic
Standard Constructed format, 80php entry fee.
Top 4 gets an exclusive FNM Promo foil card and Eldritch Moon Booster packs
Tourney starts 6:00pm, Rei’s Place

September 10, 2016
Grand Prix Trial Kuala Lumpur
Time: 1:30pm
Format: Standard
Planeswalker Points Multiplier: 3x
Registration: 160php
Competitive REL – Decklists Required
Venue: Rei’s Place, Iloilo City
The winner will receive 2 byes at Grand Prix Kuala Lumpur 2016. Booster pack prizes distribution depending on player attendance.

September 11, 2016
Magic The Gathering Iloilo Community
Demo and Tutorial Event
Time: 1:00pm
Registration: FREE
20 demo decks available for giveaways
Please share and tell your friends who are willing to learn the game. We will also be giving additional cards as deck upgrades.

Head over to our MTG Iloilo Community FB page for updates.