Upcoming Events Spring/Summer 2012

[John Galli]

Madison 5k

Grand Prix Minneapolis

TCG Platinum 1K Niles, IL

TCG Silver Niles, IL

[abeckett]

Just realized the Legacy event is on Mothers Day. FML

[John Galli]

Both SCG events are $40 entry now too and no draft open (although there is sealed and side drafts)

[abeckett]

Seriously? Wow. That just seems ridiculous. There's no way I could justify that expense for a tournament. Now I remember why I stopped playing competitive magic and traveling for events. The entry fees keep going up and up and up.

I understand that, for some people, the potential pay out from doing well is worth the risk. This just turns me off though. There is no way I could test enough on my schedule to make me seriously think I stand a chance at hitting the T16 at an event like this.

If I went, it was going to be for a chance to play some good legacy and to just hang out. Any chance I might weasel out a way with the wife to attend just went out the window. There's no way I can justify the emotional cost and physical hit to the wallet this would require.

[John Galli]

For reference here is the article -
www.starcitygames.com/magic/openseries/24020_The_StarCityGamescom_Open_Series_A_Million_Reasons_To_Play.html

I couldn't agree with you more Andrew. They've tried to offset the cost by extending money support to top 64 and increasing top 8 $$, but there's just a point where the cost of entry prices out too many people. And individuals like you and me who are adults with reasonable salaries (but also real life responsibilities) should not be getting priced out. Really, this kind of structure only catars at this point to kids with daddy money or people planning to play and do well in an event almost every weekend, and at that point you are having to recoup higher travel costs as well not to mention the playtesting time needed to actually do well in the events.

I was planning on trying to launch one last salvo at standard magic with the Madison 5k, the Twin Cities GP, and the Pastimes 1K, but now that both SCG and GPs feature $40 entries I just can't make that a reality. On top of it I couldn't find anyone interested in splitting hotel or gas costs, an even further exclamation point since even with 4 people those costs still add up. The sad part is that these T.O.s seem to forget that a competitive deck costs $200-400 and not everyone has or wants to borrow from a network of magic buddies let alone account for week by week metagame changes (which is strengthened even more by the presence of a powerful new set). And it certainly doesn't help that scg's writers say one good thing about a card and by that evening it sees a twenty dollar price hike on their website.

They're running a business, so I get the need to be aggressive and they are doing an honorable thing in expanding their locations and prize support, but their peak interest to dollar ratio line is getting awfully close to being broken. When even a few local grinders who never mention costs start balking, you know you have problems.

The worst part is their thread is full of support for them and bashing on naysayers. Where are these moneyrolling fatcats coming from is what I want to know.

[Travis Lannoye]

They're probably coming from their mom's basement, cuz none of them have real jobs or wives or girlfriends.

[abeckett]

Some people just have different spending priorities, better paying jobs, or are blessed to have received a college education without the need for student loans. Many of the heavy travelers are also not married or don't have kids, so that's a chunk of change that's available them. For every person building on a budget, there's that other guy walking around with a binder full of high end foils and duals. I can't count the number of times I've been in Misty and watched some guy sit down to crack open a box he just bought.

I can see where SCG is coming from. People are demanding more from the series and they want to make it worthwhile for the people who follow the circuit around. However, they are catering to those people instead of the residents of whatever city the open happens to land in for a weekend. I would wager at least 75% of attendance at an open is from people who live within three hours of the site. They may not be top players, but they are the ones making the tournaments happen.

Honestly, I think I'm getting close to done with magic. I love EDH and will keep some decks together. I'll keep a Legacy deck for now, even though I never seem to have a Saturday open. But I'm pretty sure it's time to start clearing out the collection. I'd rather just sink that money into better investments. It seems pointless to have several thousand dollars in cards sitting around that get touched about once a month, if I'm lucky.

[John Galli]

Speaking of EDH I've noticed a big lack of it recently. My brother goes to the Irish bar on Mondays but I really don't care for the people who play there and I assume the misty Thursdays is all but dead? Would anyone be up for getting a friendly session going at someones house over the next few weeks sometime? Maybe play for a few hours, have a few beers, grillout or something? I only have my sedris deck but I'd probably build something else if I know were doing something ahead if time.

[Travis Lannoye]

I'd love to do more EDH, if possible. The Monday thing is next to impossible for me because of basketball, and I haven't been there on Thursdays because of the whole play-testing thing at Netherworld. I have a feeling that the crowd on Thursdays lost a lot of appeal when our group stopped making regular appearances.

I still have my Karador, Geth, Sharuum, and Wort decks ready to go, and I'm rebuilding my old Oona and Momir Vig decks from way back when EDH was the only format I really cared about. Unless something monumental happens at the upcoming StarCity event, I don't think I'm going to be investing too much in Standard anymore. As for Legacy, I'll still keep my Maverick list together, and I'll probably even finish off the Dredge list (which I really like, btw).

Perhaps the best idea might be to just get back to making Thursday EDH at Misty a regular event again?

[abeckett]

I'm always up for Thursdays, if I know people are going to be there.

[Travis Lannoye]

May 2, 2012 10:12:01 GMT -5 abeckett said:

I'm always up for Thursdays, if I know people are going to be there.

On that note (of course), I have dinner plans this Thursday night, so I won't be able to do that one.

However, my girlfriend is going out of town this weekend, so I have the whole place/weekend to myself. Cha-CHIIING! If anyone is interested in EDH, Legacy, grilling, video games, general tomfoolery, other happenings, please let me know. I'm a free man for about 36 hours.

EDIT: Also, is anyone else actually going to the upcoming StarCity event? If so, I'd like to get one more testing session in next Thursday the 10th. If not, I'd like to make my not-so-triumphant return to EDH at Misty on that day.

[crazedferret]

It occurs to me more and more now a days that the amount of time and money and effort I have spent on this game could have gone to something else that stands a better chance at providing some kind of justification for all of that time money and effort. If I had spent all of that say on producing my card game, it already would have been done by now. I'm not trying to say that it's not worth playing as I find I can pull thoughts and ideas out of this game that help in all sorts of areas of my life strangely enough, but I am saying that for me it is something to put on the shelf until such a time as it can justify the efforts put into it. It could happen that I manage to get my own card game off the ground which would make going to tournements something to consider solely for meeting players and store owners.

So I want to raise the question, what could you have achieved instead with all the time effort and money that you've sunk into this game?

[Travis Lannoye]

Leave it to Pat to get all philosophical on us...

The two phases of my Magic career were in late high school (Invasion block) and right after college in Milwaukee (Lorwyn/Shadowmoor through Zendikar blocks).
- For the first phase, I suppose I could have devoted more time to school, or basketball, or other such athletics. I also could have devoted the money I spent on cards towards my college tuition. However, I don't think the time I spent on cards would have helped me all that much in school or athletics. I still managed a pretty good GPA, and no amount of extra reps in the gym would earn me a spot on the basketball team with a class size that we had, or the future college stars that we had.
- For the second phase, I suppose I could have again put that money towards paying off other large expenses, such as my car or my student loans. I'd like to think that I was better than most people at buying low, but that's certainly not always the case. I also could have put more effort into selling cards as well as buying, which is still probably something I should look into.
- As for the time, I don't really think I could have put it towards any other major accomplishments...I treated it for what it was: an enjoyable hobby that filled the void between work and sleep. I didn't have a girlfriend at the time, and my social life in Milwaukee was not nearly as active as it is here in Madison. It's possible that I could have devoted some more time to our semi-pro football team, but any other social activity that would replace Magic would have likely eaten up just as much time and money as this game did.

[Evan]

EDH is on a decline right now all over; people that have been playing for a long time are kind of bored with it, and not many new players anymore for it. I assume it'll come around again at some point.

Do you guys usually test at netherworld or something? Wouldn't mind some more standard games.

[abeckett]

Time not spent on magic likely would have been time spent on video games instead. The then gf/now wife always tolerated the habit to because it got me out of the house and meeting people.

Also, I might be open to some game time this weekend. Friday night is probably best. Might have some friends in town on Saturday.