Date: June 28th
Time: 1pm
Preregistration begins at Noon
VSTG WILL BE HOLDING OUR FIRST EVER VINTAGE TOURNAMENT!!!
For all of you interested in the purest most unadulterated form of the game able to exploit every evil card and tactic regardless of power and willing to have the same insanity used against you. THIS IS YOUR TOURNAMENT!
FORMAT: Vintage
ENTRY: $20
15 card Proxy.
PRIZE PAYOUT - TBD (Based on attendance)
This is a test run. If there is a strong enough interest we will run these more regularly and seek better prize support for the events!
My store just ran a Tiny Leaders Tournament with only 4 days notice.
We got 14 players and may have had more if not for the short notice.
This is not intended as a dig (it could easily be considered a plus) on the format, but part of the reason for the numbers could be because people who want to try it can toss together a deck easier than most other formats. If you are looking for an indicator of the popularity I would look at the next few events for numbers.
I dont really consider it a 'dig' but I do consider it a little uninformed. building TL on the surface IS easier than building for EDH. but TL is a much less forgiving format. each card caries more weight for the deck than in a format like EDH and to be honest 60 card formats where you tend to have fewer over all cards its more about how much to include than what to include.
... I though Karn got his spark from a planeswalker named xancha or something... but i could be wrong.
anyway i think sentience is required. but its more than that. angels and devils are sentient but I dont thinkn they can be planeswalkers. Normal dragons can become planeswalkers... but i am not sure that Ugins dragons can become planes walkers. (they are more like angels) random animals, blades of grass and creatures with no individuality (like slivers) likely cant become planeswalkers.
undead cant become planeswalkers (they have already died) but vampires in magic arent exactly the undead in the same way zombies are.
Goblins however CAN become planeswalkers... so the bar is not THAT high.
I think its important to understand that magic is a game first and everything, even story, comes last.
Design is only 3 years out. beyond that it is only a very vague twinkle in MaRo's eye. like 2018 multi color, 2019 enchantments matter 2020 try something new with tribal
with that in mind creative is playing catch up and mostly focused on making a brand new coherant and interesting world every year. I think they do a great job with that all things considered.
They basically take the general idea that design is working with, look forward to what the over all story is planning, look back to what has already happen, and then try to connect the dots. could they have simply said Vampires are native and Nahiri is mad at sorin because he coped a feel while eating hedron crab cakes... sure. But maybe it would not have been as compelling or fit the long term goals of the story.
If they suddenly said something like. Nicol Bolas is Urza in disguise and the mending never happend... THAT would be a rediculous retcon. But changing Vampires from native to 'been around a long time' does not seem too bad.
sweet. I though i head read up a lot on Ob Nix I like him because I heard stories from wizards developers as to how he was created (he was basically an abandoned story thread in zendikar block.)
but I had not read about his relation to the chain veil. when/where is that?
fair enough I didnt know the tibalt story and he is devil not demon anyway so should not have been included.
I was probably thinking MINION of Leshrac when I was thinking about Leshrac
and as far as Ob Nix is concerned I dont think he was simply trapped in a demon form but the history has not really been explained for him.
As for the rest Demons in magic are like dragons on Tarkir. if thats a mana maefestation or a living race you make the call.
however... I DO think that wizards should consider making suplimentary product legal in modern the same way its legal in Legacy.
We should be able to use cards from recent supplementary sets like Commander and plane chase to widen the modern pool with powerfull cards.
any broken entrants like True Name Nemisis can simply be banned but the rest of the cards should see play in all eternal formats that adhere to their time frame.
If a Golem made of Silver can become a planeswalker, I imagine an angel made of mana can become one also.
Having said that angels and demons in Magic lore seem to not be the directly opposite beings that they are in other lore.
Angels are consistently portrayed as beings created of mana to fullfill a purpose. from Serra angel to Akroma to Avacyn Angels are primarily white mana purpose formed for the purpose of order and preservation.
The opposite of angels in magic are Devils which seem to generally be Red manifestations of Chaos and Destruction.
Deamons however seem to be living beings transformed by high levels of power and corruption. Raksasha for example are a full fledged demon race, as is what ever race Tibalt is. But beings like Leshrac and Ob nix were converted from one living race to full fledged demon.
with that in mind I dont expect to see an ANGEL planes walker unless the story bends the rules in some way to do so in the same way Karn was created.
I actually run 5 TL decks now and am brainstorming a 6th.
Athreos Knights - is very fun and I use it to introduce new players to the game. (hakkon is great in this deck)
Animar Hydras - is my deck to show people ways they can bend the rules of the format.
Alesha Land Destruction - is not fun... just strong I only play it against people who like the challenge... or who hate me anyway.
Umezawa Mill was my first tournament level TL deck... because Mill is rediculous in the format.
But at the moment I would have to say my favorite deck is
Lilliana, Heretical Healer - Hand Destruction.- I know she is not a card yet but I just had to build her and she is just a super fun deck to play and to play against.
I am currently in the process of brainstorming a mono-red ZoZu the Punisher deck but I am not sure if the general will be ZoZu, Feldon or Zurgo.
Not sure what it is in this story but i usually attribute it to the whole balance between good and evil thing.
for what ever reason the angelic forces and demonic forces in any situation are reluctant to show too much power or control events to directly because it allows, encourages or otherwise causes the enemy to do the same.
Its kind of a paper rock sizers thing. Angels cannot control humans too strictly because it leads to zealotry and corruption (think the crusades and the inquisition), zealotry and corruption leads to the rise of the demonic forces, rise of the demonic forces leads to the angels rallying against the deamons and defeating them.
thus angels attempt to stay alloof or removed from humans and work as a "guiding light" while deamons try to work from the shadows
Time: 1pm
Preregistration begins at Noon
VSTG WILL BE HOLDING OUR FIRST EVER VINTAGE TOURNAMENT!!!
For all of you interested in the purest most unadulterated form of the game able to exploit every evil card and tactic regardless of power and willing to have the same insanity used against you. THIS IS YOUR TOURNAMENT!
FORMAT: Vintage
ENTRY: $20
15 card Proxy.
PRIZE PAYOUT - TBD (Based on attendance)
This is a test run. If there is a strong enough interest we will run these more regularly and seek better prize support for the events!
I dont really consider it a 'dig' but I do consider it a little uninformed. building TL on the surface IS easier than building for EDH. but TL is a much less forgiving format. each card caries more weight for the deck than in a format like EDH and to be honest 60 card formats where you tend to have fewer over all cards its more about how much to include than what to include.
I said something similar about damnation in FTV: Annihilation
so consider me gobsmacked.
anyway i think sentience is required. but its more than that. angels and devils are sentient but I dont thinkn they can be planeswalkers. Normal dragons can become planeswalkers... but i am not sure that Ugins dragons can become planes walkers. (they are more like angels) random animals, blades of grass and creatures with no individuality (like slivers) likely cant become planeswalkers.
undead cant become planeswalkers (they have already died) but vampires in magic arent exactly the undead in the same way zombies are.
Goblins however CAN become planeswalkers... so the bar is not THAT high.
We got 14 players and may have had more if not for the short notice.
The winning deck was an abzan good stuff deck lead by anafenza and second place was high tide/brain freeze lead by Kami of the crescent moon.
there were only 2 Geist Decks.
I think it was a pretty good show of the format. if you guys want I can even post decklists once I get them input.
Design is only 3 years out. beyond that it is only a very vague twinkle in MaRo's eye. like 2018 multi color, 2019 enchantments matter 2020 try something new with tribal
with that in mind creative is playing catch up and mostly focused on making a brand new coherant and interesting world every year. I think they do a great job with that all things considered.
They basically take the general idea that design is working with, look forward to what the over all story is planning, look back to what has already happen, and then try to connect the dots. could they have simply said Vampires are native and Nahiri is mad at sorin because he coped a feel while eating hedron crab cakes... sure. But maybe it would not have been as compelling or fit the long term goals of the story.
If they suddenly said something like. Nicol Bolas is Urza in disguise and the mending never happend... THAT would be a rediculous retcon. But changing Vampires from native to 'been around a long time' does not seem too bad.
Its not perfect but I dont think it ruins things.
remember the complete convertion of the simic in Ravnica because between one set and the other they decided no more vedelkin
but I had not read about his relation to the chain veil. when/where is that?
I was probably thinking MINION of Leshrac when I was thinking about Leshrac
and as far as Ob Nix is concerned I dont think he was simply trapped in a demon form but the history has not really been explained for him.
As for the rest Demons in magic are like dragons on Tarkir. if thats a mana maefestation or a living race you make the call.
however... I DO think that wizards should consider making suplimentary product legal in modern the same way its legal in Legacy.
We should be able to use cards from recent supplementary sets like Commander and plane chase to widen the modern pool with powerfull cards.
any broken entrants like True Name Nemisis can simply be banned but the rest of the cards should see play in all eternal formats that adhere to their time frame.
Having said that angels and demons in Magic lore seem to not be the directly opposite beings that they are in other lore.
Angels are consistently portrayed as beings created of mana to fullfill a purpose. from Serra angel to Akroma to Avacyn Angels are primarily white mana purpose formed for the purpose of order and preservation.
The opposite of angels in magic are Devils which seem to generally be Red manifestations of Chaos and Destruction.
Deamons however seem to be living beings transformed by high levels of power and corruption. Raksasha for example are a full fledged demon race, as is what ever race Tibalt is. But beings like Leshrac and Ob nix were converted from one living race to full fledged demon.
with that in mind I dont expect to see an ANGEL planes walker unless the story bends the rules in some way to do so in the same way Karn was created.
I think the theory that Sorin turned Nahiri or corrupted her in some other way is a solid one.
Athreos Knights - is very fun and I use it to introduce new players to the game. (hakkon is great in this deck)
Animar Hydras - is my deck to show people ways they can bend the rules of the format.
Alesha Land Destruction - is not fun... just strong
Umezawa Mill was my first tournament level TL deck... because Mill is rediculous in the format.
But at the moment I would have to say my favorite deck is
Lilliana, Heretical Healer - Hand Destruction.- I know she is not a card yet but I just had to build her and she is just a super fun deck to play and to play against.
I am currently in the process of brainstorming a mono-red ZoZu the Punisher deck but I am not sure if the general will be ZoZu, Feldon or Zurgo.
for what ever reason the angelic forces and demonic forces in any situation are reluctant to show too much power or control events to directly because it allows, encourages or otherwise causes the enemy to do the same.
Its kind of a paper rock sizers thing. Angels cannot control humans too strictly because it leads to zealotry and corruption (think the crusades and the inquisition), zealotry and corruption leads to the rise of the demonic forces, rise of the demonic forces leads to the angels rallying against the deamons and defeating them.
thus angels attempt to stay alloof or removed from humans and work as a "guiding light" while deamons try to work from the shadows
just my thoughts on the matter