tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-22994447342645606272024-03-18T21:15:24.232+01:00Old School MtgThe blagThe Reyndeerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04888182633758894620noreply@blogger.comBlogger460125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2299444734264560627.post-91587489969741872662024-01-22T00:06:00.341+01:002024-01-31T22:40:27.167+01:00n00bfest 2023 – A tribute to the greatest and best tournament and travel report in the world (by Alex and Wander)<div style="text-align: left;"><i>We shall be telling this with a sigh</i></div><div style="text-align: left;"><i>Somewhere
ages and ages hence:</i></div><div style="text-align: left;"><i>Two roads converged in a pub, and we—</i></div><div style="text-align: left;"><i>we
took the ones less travelled by,</i></div><div style="text-align: left;"><i>And that has made all the
difference.</i></div><p style="text-align: left;"><i>
</i>(after the poet Robert
Frost) </p><p style="text-align: left;"><br /></p><div style="text-align: center;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1953" data-original-width="1961" height="319" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiTunbksv-r6M8D98z2djkspYRsDpuPXu0iwBWvbhCKkCJNI-V9nS-6uwaDzSX5NJDjvQjVoJYbq_1gkkOmSYCEmRiKqviycXIicUPstY23WkeH4Sh7GyIsntaU6fTTN83Wo0fQKDAz9zCfK-QYn2MgbhkYdisWRIe9HH0CfNiMX9yKHix2qkMVaazhRMA/s320/Picture%201.jpg" width="320" /></div><p style="text-align: left;">
</p><h3 style="text-align: left;"><b>Preface</b> <br /></h3><div style="text-align: left;">We
will soon give you, dear reader of this old school blog, a meaningful
choice. Legends say, there once was a great report of n00bfest 2023,
the mysterious event that marked the end of n00bcon, but also a new
beginning. It was a travel report, full of adventures, hope and
tragedy. In fact, it might have been the greatest tournament report
ever written. But it never came to be. Memories of all participants
almost instantly flowed away in an ocean of expensive beers and
shots. People passed out. And now, months passed. We were there as
well, but simply can’t remember all the parts. So the best we can
do at this point is a tribute to that report. Nevertheless, it’s
going to be one hell of a tribute. </div><div style="text-align: left;"> </div><div style="text-align: left;">Where
to start our story? When we talk about life as a whole, it is common
to think of a journey from A to Z, from the cradle to the grave. We
continually move forward, step by step, and overcome obstacles. This
way of looking at life, is also apparent in storytelling. Take, for
example, the opening lines from Dante’s famous Midway upon the
journey of our life / I found myself within a forest dark, / For the
straightforward pathway had been lost.’ Sometimes, when
we look back, the trajectory of our lives seems to be similar to that
of others: first primary school, then education, followed by jobs, a
relationship or marriage, maybe children, and so forth. But when
you’re lost in the moment, the path of life doesn’t seem that
clear. And this is why interactive storytelling is so interesting.
During interactive storytelling, the audience actively participates
in the way the story unfolds. This gives us the ability to depart
from the straightforward path. It gives us the power to shape our own
fate or that of the protagonist. In this tribute, we want
to embrace this interactive view on storytelling and share the
feeling of being lost in the moment. Together, we can ‘Play the
Game, See the World’. You can join us on our journey and decide how
you will read this report. </div><div style="text-align: left;"> </div><div style="text-align: left;">But before we will ask you to make a
decision, first some context. We, Alex and Wander, have been traveling from the Netherlands to <a href="https://oldschool-mtg.blogspot.com/2020/07/n00bcon-9-2017-belated-tournament-report.html">n00bcon since 2017</a>. Back then, we were still young and naive, and rather carelessly took
the plane. But nowadays, we both avoid flying as much as we can. This
means long days though, and many challenges ahead. If you don’t
take the common roads, you have to be creative, perhaps also a bit
crazy. Determined for sure. But this year, we had an ill-fated start:
we couldn’t travel together towards Gothenburg. Since the travel
part of this annual, belated tournament report wouldn’t be complete
without our trusty companionship, we decided to both write our own
part. This means that you have a choice: you can either travel with
Alex or with Wander to Gothenburg. Or screw it, and just join both,
for instance if you have infinite time because you’re facing an
opponent playing Twiddle Vault. Both
of us took roads less traveled in Scandinavia. Whichever
path you chose, don’t worry: the roads converge again at the
infamous Rotary Pub, where the real Magic happens.</div><div style="text-align: left;"> </div><div style="text-align: center;"><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj7WpuJXC0ovWuHIkuRfmaaP4snJpRrKwUhSdbH-w8JNZJLMo87EcUhQI2DUu3xMTwlz2pd3u60IiHUTzT0u9QPSrVM_dMeJoRzFmnvuvgCqjWPgBgjxQojdSN3KnJ1QtsGOtyhUNRoNKzDTixpIeJkN49h48244XAdo2M-ZIXqYRbwLs8xUUl7PaUjnsI/s1346/Picture%202.jpg" style="font-family: inherit; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="932" data-original-width="1346" height="222" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj7WpuJXC0ovWuHIkuRfmaaP4snJpRrKwUhSdbH-w8JNZJLMo87EcUhQI2DUu3xMTwlz2pd3u60IiHUTzT0u9QPSrVM_dMeJoRzFmnvuvgCqjWPgBgjxQojdSN3KnJ1QtsGOtyhUNRoNKzDTixpIeJkN49h48244XAdo2M-ZIXqYRbwLs8xUUl7PaUjnsI/s320/Picture%202.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr><tr align="center"><td class="tr-caption"><div><span lang="en-GB" style="font-family: inherit;"><i>Long
time ago me and my friend Wander here, / We was hitchhiking down a
long and lonesome road. / All of a sudden, There shined a shiny
demon, In the middle of the road […] He asked us, / Be you angels?
And we said nay, We are but men! / Rock! <br />
</i></span><span lang="en-GB" style="font-family: inherit;">(<a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_lK4cX5xGiQ">after 'Tribute' from Tenacious D</a>)</span><span lang="en-GB" style="font-family: inherit;"><i><br /></i></span></div></td></tr></tbody></table></div><div style="text-align: left;"><h3><br /></h3><h3><span lang="en-GB" style="font-family: inherit;"><b>The
Road Towards Gothenburg – Alex’s Part</b></span></h3></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span lang="en-GB" style="font-family: inherit;">Each
year, I grow more fond of Sweden. When I stepped in the train towards
Gothenburg for n00bfest 2023, it was going to be my fifth time
visiting Sweden in 1,5 year. In 2022, I went hiking there for over a
month with my girlfriend and our daughter. Almost directly
afterwards, I returned to Sweden to work as a volunteer at two
bakery’s to improve my bread and pizza baking skills. I start to
feel more at home in the Swedish culture and landscape, also getting
more acquainted with Swedes. I am still not entirely sure about how
‘assertive’ you can be and if Swedes are able to say ‘no’
when you ask for a favour. When I worked at the bakery and suggested
I would hitchhike home to my cabin, I was told by a colleague: “We
don’t do that over here.” She probably felt responsible for my
fate because she then got her parents to drive me home. Sadly, this
meant that I couldn’t try out hitchhiking – I am fairly certain
it would have worked out fine. </span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span lang="en-GB" style="font-family: inherit;"> </span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span lang="en-GB" style="font-family: inherit;">The first time I visited
Sweden was in 2015, when I went on a hiking trip with Wander. Of
course, I instantly fell in love with a Swedish singer-songwriter
with long blond hair. I was trying to act ‘old and wise’ and was
determined to no longer indulgence myself into naive, romantic
illusions. But… after she urged me to write a letter to her, I
simply couldn’t resist. Love letters followed. I can’t share them
here, but trust me, they are almost as enchanting as those of Keats.
My romantic thoughts got the upper hand again: I thought about moving
to Sweden and bought some books to learn the language. I flew back to
Sweden to visit her, but before I even got there, the whole premature
affair crumbled down. I stayed by myself in an uninspiring hostel in
a Swedish village. Even though it was over from the start, I still
got invited to a family brunch. Her grandpa jokingly called me ‘the
Flying Dutchman’. I went back home, rejected, b</span><span lang="en-US" style="font-family: inherit;">ut
‘hej’, what can you do? You start over again. I have a wonderful
girlfriend now and a daughter we named after a Swedish children’s
book. We seriously considered moving to Sweden a while ago, but
decided against it. I still have to learn the language by the way.
Seeing Olle Råde getting better at Dutch, has been an inspiration. I
still have those language books on the shelf and I applied for a
course last spring, but it was cancelled due to too low
demand.</span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span lang="en-US" style="font-family: inherit;"> </span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span lang="en-GB" style="font-family: inherit;">n00bfest wasn’t my
first visit back to Sweden in 2023: Arvika and n00bfest were planned
pretty close to each other, which was convenient. This meant that I
could book an Interrail card for 10 days of travelling within 2
months, which I could use for both Arvika in late February and
n00bfest in April. Arvika was a great event on its own. After getting
my full set of Moxen last December with the help of a kind friend, it
was finally time to try my hands on The Deck. It has always been ‘the
deck to beat’ and you know what they say: “If you can’t beat
them…” I piloted it to a 6-2 finish in the Winter Derby (which
had 4 Strips), and 5-2 in Arvika with 4 Serra Angels main. It was a
great event overall, that might have gotten its own report, but I
have to restrain myself and not turn this report into a booklet. I
can’t refuse to give some small highlights though:</span></div>
<ul style="text-align: left;"><li><div style="line-height: 108%; margin-bottom: 0.11in;"><span lang="en-GB" style="font-family: inherit;">Mari
showing up with a bottle of booze that he shared with me, Drew
Tucker and Simon Christie on the first night. We stayed up way too
late. </span>
</div><p>
</p></li><li><div style="line-height: 108%; margin-bottom: 0.11in;"><span lang="en-GB" style="font-family: inherit;">Meeting
Drew Tucker. He was really friendly and made a nice alter for my
friend Frank, who last-minute had to cancel his trip to Arvika due
to illness.</span></div><p>
</p></li><li><div style="line-height: 108%; margin-bottom: 0.11in;"><span lang="en-GB" style="font-family: inherit;">Getting
absolutely demolished by Thomas Nilsen’s innovative and powerful
The Rack brew, which he also used to top 8 the Raging Bull Series
later. </span>
</div><p>
</p></li><li><div style="line-height: 108%; margin-bottom: 0.11in;"><span lang="en-GB" style="font-family: inherit;">Meeting
Felipe Garcia for the first time, years after we made a trade
through the mail.</span></div><p>
</p></li><li><div style="line-height: 108%; margin-bottom: 0.11in;"><span lang="en-GB" style="font-family: inherit;">Getting
a nice drive back to Gothenburg from Fluffy, Kaj and Jocke, while
talking about Magic and Swedish culture.</span></div><p>
</p></li><li><div style="line-height: 108%; margin-bottom: 0.11in;"><span lang="en-GB" style="font-family: inherit;">Staying
and travelling with Olle, who won the event with his trusty
Counterburn deck, beating a string of very strong opponents. You can
listen to his story on <a href="https://alltingsconsidered.com/2023/03/14/episode-220-arvika-olle/">the All Tings Considered podcast</a>. </span></div><div style="line-height: 108%; margin-bottom: 0.11in;"><span lang="en-GB" style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span></div><p>
</p></li></ul>
<div style="text-align: center;"><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgG23Rc3kXDo28No_KlNKCjSeriLCg11_61xKOBLzpx9yjNj3vlcqX1v96m6gvnqtE7o572plMh7V43-bWwkkzS9-fdQhwEv2cOAM38z1Tm7PbmQ1BTYR8vkuWQpu6D4r9ipVwvgpu4X_YMvfXZZQ4I9fvC4wwLZRM5Fm8uS3fsPNiKHntr_qZB9dB_Siw/s4032/Picture%203.jpg" style="font-family: inherit; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="2247" data-original-width="4032" height="178" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgG23Rc3kXDo28No_KlNKCjSeriLCg11_61xKOBLzpx9yjNj3vlcqX1v96m6gvnqtE7o572plMh7V43-bWwkkzS9-fdQhwEv2cOAM38z1Tm7PbmQ1BTYR8vkuWQpu6D4r9ipVwvgpu4X_YMvfXZZQ4I9fvC4wwLZRM5Fm8uS3fsPNiKHntr_qZB9dB_Siw/s320/Picture%203.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span lang="en-GB" style="font-family: inherit;"><i>Arvika.</i></span></td></tr></tbody></table></div><p style="line-height: 108%; margin-bottom: 0.11in; text-align: left;"><span lang="en-GB" style="font-family: inherit;"> </span></p><div style="text-align: center;"><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgi7ccQGcSQ87tpiwUdW0b1doi8bL6nZKfVj_KSiUWXHqKBsK4fAr2rmlhbRAHY4Yb3VJHpLQpgyuVMxmrkeuWys_iiDTDttUTBXYehi5FnFDBDy8Rj6H6-vTBSMYTdvMKOe1TELMKSgt8OQA4W8PKleGtNUPo8kmCkWnkbQWYb2DpyIth3Y0ztzg5EyRg/s2016/Picture%204.jpg" style="font-family: inherit; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="2016" data-original-width="1512" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgi7ccQGcSQ87tpiwUdW0b1doi8bL6nZKfVj_KSiUWXHqKBsK4fAr2rmlhbRAHY4Yb3VJHpLQpgyuVMxmrkeuWys_iiDTDttUTBXYehi5FnFDBDy8Rj6H6-vTBSMYTdvMKOe1TELMKSgt8OQA4W8PKleGtNUPo8kmCkWnkbQWYb2DpyIth3Y0ztzg5EyRg/s320/Picture%204.jpg" width="240" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span lang="en-GB" style="font-family: inherit;"><i>Drew
Tucker.</i></span></td></tr></tbody></table></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span lang="en-GB" style="font-family: inherit;"> </span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span lang="en-GB" style="font-family: inherit;">After my extensive
train ride to Arvika, n00bfest was on the menu. Even though there was
no official ‘n00bcon’ this year, they still used the good old
Rotary Pub, so maybe it was mainly semantics? I left on Wednesday the
5th of April, the day before the festivities started. Having
travelled with the train before to Gothenburg and the Fishliver Oil
Cup in Italy, I noticed that trying to pack 16+ hours in one day is
pretty exhausting. Risky as well, because you will probably miss a
connection or two. To make life a bit easier, I decided to limit it
to 12 hours on Wednesday, making Malmö as my final stop for the day.
Another benefit: when I arrived there, it was not too late, about
dinner time. I went to check out Spoonery, a nice, very small
restaurant which I discovered last time I was there with my family.
Lucky enough, it was still open half an hour and I could grab a bite
to eat. During dinner, I texted Wander, who was apparently also
eating at that moment. We got to share some dinner pics and </span><span lang="en-US" style="font-family: inherit;">were
getting closer to our reunion in Gothenborg. </span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span lang="en-US" style="font-family: inherit;"><br />
</span></div><p class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span style="color: black; font-family: inherit;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh5AFoY5kwMt5FceboPxfHGR-p6U5-b6-TMalvNGvlBLU8bWsjGo652K12A-AuiZqr_xL43RlKOpQ0putAFQVNvPu_qPbZcdFO1Y8WvjcDJsFn6SwXMn-QKyYgkcfHijH3JBlv4tztScEuZqbJfoScv4D95c-LR7-UiR7z63ba5943Fo4f9rs_k1N0bA-U/s5732/Picture%205.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="3024" data-original-width="5732" height="169" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh5AFoY5kwMt5FceboPxfHGR-p6U5-b6-TMalvNGvlBLU8bWsjGo652K12A-AuiZqr_xL43RlKOpQ0putAFQVNvPu_qPbZcdFO1Y8WvjcDJsFn6SwXMn-QKyYgkcfHijH3JBlv4tztScEuZqbJfoScv4D95c-LR7-UiR7z63ba5943Fo4f9rs_k1N0bA-U/s320/Picture%205.jpg" width="320" /></a></span></p><div style="text-align: left;"><span lang="en-GB" style="font-family: inherit;">After
dinner, I made a stroll through the city parks, which were way nicer
than I expected. I then returned to my hotel. Since I only had to
stay in Malmö as a brief in-between stop, I booked the cheapest
hotel room in town, next to the train station. It was a room without
windows. I totally underestimated the negative impact of such a ‘room
without a view’, even for one night. So next time, I will
definitely avoid sleeping in a broom closet.</span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span lang="en-GB" style="font-family: inherit;"> </span></div><div style="text-align: center;"><div><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiZy3Cl0MhyJcPQA_EJ4qnx8xttsA2G1rL6tebpXtaX-icdyKzuzyQDiRjajL-jKX5BvOc-sTrcLELh3dyr65CUlTCEw84fHyOQJlQIFWBY94MeOb6gFNIYSxMYyWGxcmyYC4mUUznVT1yGnNi_NEW-HHAi_B-HGL6dWI0vXlf_GYFRPw3MXKfsl9HYye8/s4032/Picture%206.jpg" style="font-family: inherit; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="3024" data-original-width="4032" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiZy3Cl0MhyJcPQA_EJ4qnx8xttsA2G1rL6tebpXtaX-icdyKzuzyQDiRjajL-jKX5BvOc-sTrcLELh3dyr65CUlTCEw84fHyOQJlQIFWBY94MeOb6gFNIYSxMYyWGxcmyYC4mUUznVT1yGnNi_NEW-HHAi_B-HGL6dWI0vXlf_GYFRPw3MXKfsl9HYye8/s320/Picture%206.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><i> View at Kungsparken, Malmö. Did you know the Dutch influenced the architecture of Sweden, for instance in Gothenburg?</i></td></tr></tbody></table></div></div><div style="text-align: center;"><div><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><br /></td></tr></tbody></table></div></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span lang="en-GB" style="font-family: inherit;">The
next morning, I was sceptic about the coffee. When a brownish goo
travels at lightspeed through a mat grey plastic machine, it can’t
be good. It indeed was terrible, so after one highly unpleasant nip I
got some proper coffee at the station and two ‘kanelbullar’
(cinnamon rolls). Now I was on my way again! After a few hours in the
train, I arrived in Gothenburg.</span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span lang="en-GB" style="font-family: inherit;"> </span></div><p style="text-align: left;"><span lang="en-GB" style="font-family: inherit;">
</span></p><div style="text-align: center;"><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjUd9OZSLTTKRr6EJ4H3b9L5ewpZP3HCcd0ncQG8G83VyPV026W-rGTv7tXfNmDMUfxMCakQqq_nYKDgInlMl3H55pl1er6zoIzVOz9kF49-5-dl9r54eK-RParzCxddXE1j1iPPP3izKm_TB-i7P5ZH7zOcBSNfN88wAufKTwR2JytwwYCru1P5XDb9J0/s4032/Picture%207.jpg" style="font-family: inherit; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="4032" data-original-width="3024" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjUd9OZSLTTKRr6EJ4H3b9L5ewpZP3HCcd0ncQG8G83VyPV026W-rGTv7tXfNmDMUfxMCakQqq_nYKDgInlMl3H55pl1er6zoIzVOz9kF49-5-dl9r54eK-RParzCxddXE1j1iPPP3izKm_TB-i7P5ZH7zOcBSNfN88wAufKTwR2JytwwYCru1P5XDb9J0/s320/Picture%207.jpg" width="240" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><i> The first key problem in our story…</i></td></tr></tbody></table></div>
<div style="text-align: left;"><span lang="en-GB" style="font-family: inherit;"> </span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span lang="en-GB" style="font-family: inherit;">At
the hotel, I had some issues with the door (see picture), so I had to
change to another one. I shared it with the fellow Dutchman Thomas,
well-known for his awesome channel ‘Timmy Talks’, who flew in
that morning. I met him before at several events, but we didn’t
have a chance to talk that much, so it was nice to be able to hang
out with him. Wander soon joined us. I brought his cards with me,
since he didn’t want to go hiking and camping in Norway with them,
which made sense, especially since he doesn’t triple sleeve his
cards. Reunited once again, I was looking forward to hearing about
his adventures in Scandinavia and creating some new ones
together.</span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span lang="en-GB" style="font-family: inherit;"> </span></div><div style="text-align: center;"><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjKNqQvOTIEf6yRtr21vK1jgFMG0m6W_h7tn9ngO3WfEg_RzmUuq8R8Gft9mZJ_a5W4780fJVjeQ8noh5VMI-SdQJzwxYbCaJxjBwbzMkMMcpxbGOofW67KSlsM83pAQLSQyWaANDYeHGsVQ3Aa037aNBtiXnNcV8Sl4stScpv7xTBLOi3hRnGSfDoam14/s4032/Picture%208.jpg" style="font-family: inherit; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="3024" data-original-width="4032" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjKNqQvOTIEf6yRtr21vK1jgFMG0m6W_h7tn9ngO3WfEg_RzmUuq8R8Gft9mZJ_a5W4780fJVjeQ8noh5VMI-SdQJzwxYbCaJxjBwbzMkMMcpxbGOofW67KSlsM83pAQLSQyWaANDYeHGsVQ3Aa037aNBtiXnNcV8Sl4stScpv7xTBLOi3hRnGSfDoam14/s320/Picture%208.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><i> Our hotel room in Gothenburg did have a nice view: Skansen Kronan! </i><br /></td></tr></tbody></table></div><h3 style="line-height: 108%; margin-bottom: 0.11in; text-align: left;"><span lang="en-GB" style="font-family: inherit;"><b> </b></span></h3><h3 style="line-height: 108%; margin-bottom: 0.11in; text-align: left;"><span lang="en-GB" style="font-family: inherit;"><b>The
Road Towards Gothenburg – Wander’s Part </b></span><span lang="en-GB" style="font-family: inherit;"> </span></h3><div style="text-align: left;">
This year, my Scandinavian adventure started out very differently. My
starting companion was Ieke, a long-time friend. Our way of traveling
would include hitchhiking and a boat trip. Unfortunately, our boat to
Norway got cancelled at the last minute. This meant that, between
going to a nice concert from Florist (with a familiar old school MtG
player) and finishing up some work, I only had a brief moment of time
to plan a way to get to Norway without a plane. I looked up some
options, including a cargo ship from Ghent, but they did not want us
if we went without a car. It was soon clear that I had to settle for
a flight to Oslo this time if I wanted to get there within a
reasonable time.</div><div style="text-align: left;"> </div><div style="text-align: left;">Ieke
and I wanted to go to Norway to hitchhike our way to the Lofoten. We
have hitchhiked long distances before, but we were warned that Norway
would not be as easy. Well, there is only one way to find out… </div><div style="text-align: left;"> </div><div style="text-align: left;">After
our landing in Oslo, we find ourselves having a rough day one start.
Maybe the warnings were justified? We only got a small ride from
Norwegians after we talked with them for a long time, or from
non-Norwegians. But after multiple short rides, we get our first
comfortable Tesla ride that brings us near Gjøvik. When the sun
slowly hides behind the mountains, we decide to call it a day. </div><div style="text-align: left;"> </div><div style="text-align: left;">When
I open the curtains the next morning, I see fresh snow everywhere and
a fully frozen lake. With -15 degrees Celsius outside, I doubt I‘ll
be using my tent anytime soon. I brought it with me because I learned
that with these kind of trips you never know where you end the day
and it is good to have extra options available. Luckily for us, the
sun keeps us a bit warmer. And today we start out with some nice
rides to Biri and then Lillehammer. There we find our second
fashionable Tesla ride and make some new friends along the way: Hugo
and Trumi. They take us very far to the coastal area, passing some
great Trollstigen views. They seem sad to let us go in Åndalsnes. We
walk to a room rental place, where the owner is busy making dinner.
While chopping onions, he quickly checks us in and tells us to just
leave some money on the table. </div><div style="text-align: left;"> </div><div style="text-align: left;">This night another heavy
snowfall happens. There is so much snow, that it is hard for us the
next day to find a good hitchhiking spot, where it is safe to stand
and safe for cars to stop for us. We discover a nice spot at the side
of the road, near a roundabout, but our next ride decides to stop in
the middle of the road, blocking the entire roundabout. Thankfully,
it isn’t as crowded over here as in Amsterdam. We are happy with
the ride of course, and we get a ‘snowball effect’ for the rest
of the day: we travel way faster than expected through these local
roads and we enter Trondheim with still half a day to spare!
Trondheim is a lovely city, and after some sightseeing, the beer
tasting at the microbrewery is an excellent end to a fruitful
hitchhiking day. </div><div style="text-align: left;"> </div><div style="text-align: left;">‘Why travel this way?’, you might
think. Well, it is a way to see the beauty of a country. You meet
people that are willing to help you further or have some advice or
just want to chat for a while. This is my first time in Norway and I
love exploring all the landscapes. Getting to Lofoten this way
gradually builds up the whole experience. Locals show us some extra’s
and tell us what Norway and their life in Norway is all about.
Hitchhiking is not for everybody, but for me, it is a true
adventure.</div><p> <br /></p><div style="text-align: center;"><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiuEexHepPQqd4kiCs0Z-v2W0et1oCIGzPIXWKyElSVTCDOcJURqROVzDgVcWxgyGaiWG-AvjU37BABQyrN3qw6p5C1L-DhQIAvsqUFFZ6FtexcgXsBlyxCDEL5Dzu6bdkWmiHajrr1i6eIaKGm5FiiAzAlgDP0h24sJSW7-F09b2L8WMwEVVjYS2-s5Js/s1024/Picture%209.jpg" style="font-family: inherit; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="768" data-original-width="1024" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiuEexHepPQqd4kiCs0Z-v2W0et1oCIGzPIXWKyElSVTCDOcJURqROVzDgVcWxgyGaiWG-AvjU37BABQyrN3qw6p5C1L-DhQIAvsqUFFZ6FtexcgXsBlyxCDEL5Dzu6bdkWmiHajrr1i6eIaKGm5FiiAzAlgDP0h24sJSW7-F09b2L8WMwEVVjYS2-s5Js/s320/Picture%209.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><i> Der Wander(er).</i><br /></td></tr></tbody></table></div>
<div style="text-align: left;"><div style="text-align: left;">
<br />Apparently, it gets more easy up North. On the fourth day, we start slow, but then we make a lot of kilometres with different people. The last ride is in a campervan with a few German photography enthusiasts. We have fun and stay the night at a camping. It is a clean night for northern lights action, so the Germans work their magic and some great shots are taken. I am just watching the dancing waves of light.<br /> <br />We planned that they would take us to the next city in the morning, but the weather forecast changed overnight. They decide to stay at the camping, which means we have to speed up a little because we really wanted to catch the ferry from Bodø to the Lofoten later today. One of the first cars we see turns around for us and brings us to a gas station. There, we quickly find another ride. It seems we are still in range of getting to Bodø in time. We get off at a tank station with no other cars and then we walk to a so-called ‘highway’, but we don’t see any cars there as well. It dawns upon us that we are starting to get far up north. Suddenly, a guy named Guy drives by. He wears ski glasses and seems like a quick ride. He is. He even talks fast. While we race through the absurd scenery of the salty mountains, we get to know the life of a hunter up north. He drops us off at the train station. After a short train ride, we make a run for it and get to the ferry with just two minutes to spare. Nice!<br /> <br />Getting to see the final destination is a special feeling. After seeing a lot of beautiful sights along the way, I could not believe that the strange mix of sea and snowy mountains would be this amazing. These past few days, I feel overwhelmed by the feeling of wanting to share this joy of traveling with my friends and family.<br /> <br />In Lofoten, we meet with Do, a friend of Ieke who is on workation there, and the three of us explore the archipelago. Every view looks surreal. We are here for a couple of days, filled with hikes, sun, snowstorms, cod, sauna’s, stunning views and nice talks. It makes for a special ending to 1600 kilometres of hitchhiking.</div><div style="text-align: left;"><br />But an end is also a beginning. After Ieke and I say goodbye, I take the train all the way back to Oslo. From the train window, I can see some of the places I have seen by car. In Oslo, I find a cosy bar to relax for a while. While listening to a lo-fi DJ, I see a ‘no-plane’ sign at the wall. It fittingly reminded me of my preference for using the train and of the exception I had to make this time. It was a perfect time to overthink my trip thus far and write these journal notes. It is nice to be alone after a week of meeting people and traveling with a friend. I feel regenerated but also a bit tired of meeting so many strangers. I now also had to prepare myself for a week of Easter Magic! Thankfully, I had a few days left in Oslo and know some Magical friends who live there. Trygve shows me around the opera house, which is very impressive. I also meet with the rest of the ‘local squad’, a perfect way to get into the mood of playing some cards and test some local beers. Testing my own deck is unfortunately not possible, since I don’t have it with me: Alex will bring my decks to Sweden. Which decks? Well, I am glad you ask. Before I started building an old school deck myself, I was mainly watching and discussing deck options with Alex. We came to some nice list options that fit my ‘tempo’ playstyle. Green was my first Swedish legal love. And this year I liked her to go berserk in a maze. But before I got to play my Swedish 93-94 brew on Friday in Skansen Kronan, it was time to explore Scryings in the Rotary Pub. For this first event on Thursday, my goal was to cast Natural Order into Scaled Wurm or Autumn Willow.</div><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div><div style="line-height: 108%; margin-bottom: 0.11in; text-align: left;"><div style="text-align: center;"><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhFYULrrzIEFZ4tRNmkCdkW6rRnDD14WtJcvqsVKnolg-zZoHRHFhknY-t4-a7_aO7UtZZ1W5zjqhH-7K6naEYb4ro_QRzE10awNBG1AJ1wflY1OXKyZTPIh2n1rmxxQhV_WCok0v_RSCCaYKfv3Llut2RYFZtuLt1jHxaEgAQ0G1epYDSmt9keDAqAxpk/s1024/Picture%2010.jpg" style="font-family: inherit; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="738" data-original-width="1024" height="231" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhFYULrrzIEFZ4tRNmkCdkW6rRnDD14WtJcvqsVKnolg-zZoHRHFhknY-t4-a7_aO7UtZZ1W5zjqhH-7K6naEYb4ro_QRzE10awNBG1AJ1wflY1OXKyZTPIh2n1rmxxQhV_WCok0v_RSCCaYKfv3Llut2RYFZtuLt1jHxaEgAQ0G1epYDSmt9keDAqAxpk/s320/Picture%2010.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><i> Wander’s Scryings brew.</i></td></tr></tbody></table></div><span lang="en-US" style="font-family: inherit;"> <br /></span></div><div style="line-height: 108%; margin-bottom: 0.11in; text-align: left;"><h3><span lang="en-US" style="font-family: inherit;"><b>Trying
out Scryings (Thursday 6 April)</b></span></h3></div>
So
here we are again, walking to the infamous Rotary Pub. Our fellow
Dutchies took cabs, but because we had to wait in turns, Wander and I
decided to walk instead. This time, the pub event would focus on
Scryings, <a href="https://oldschool-mtg.blogspot.com/2019/11/scryings.html">an expansion with cards from 1994 to 1997</a>.
It was less crowded in the pub than in previous years, which made it
more comfortable. Since I have been playing The Deck recently and
have always liked the card Sacred Mesa, my deck choice wasn’t that
complicated. Finally I got to put some good use to a pile of German
Mesa Pegasus I had lying around.</div><div style="text-align: left;"> </div><div style="text-align: left;"><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjEy1ZgWm5ou2xYosu0aOksLb35wJTO3t-F2BTqSZ7sfT5QLyzAVbrwllu_d-LmLq96eEmuDnVNvn1ZKShhP9JRMwLVZ0lOMbnbhjFLD5zd5DcejWxllHwmzZGp-F4n98M1PSkoCu9M66YSZFZlzYIftlAfipn52Ad44PiyiDNHeSBaKLSEPZkZHGS8tFw/s2048/Picture%2011.jpg" style="font-family: inherit; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="914" data-original-width="2048" height="143" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjEy1ZgWm5ou2xYosu0aOksLb35wJTO3t-F2BTqSZ7sfT5QLyzAVbrwllu_d-LmLq96eEmuDnVNvn1ZKShhP9JRMwLVZ0lOMbnbhjFLD5zd5DcejWxllHwmzZGp-F4n98M1PSkoCu9M66YSZFZlzYIftlAfipn52Ad44PiyiDNHeSBaKLSEPZkZHGS8tFw/s320/Picture%2011.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><i> Alex’s Scryings brew.</i></td></tr></tbody></table> </div><div style="text-align: left;">In round 1, I
face Luis from Spain. He’s a really friendly, positive minded
player. Lately, I have had a lot of problems beating the kind of deck
he plays: Gb Aggro. For instance, I lost against it in the <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=N4sNKUNS8m4&t=1137">semifinals of the Uthden Troll Cup</a>
In game 1, I mulligan to 4 cards, but I have Ancestral Recall. On
turn 3, I play Recall on Ancestral Recall. But before I can cast it
again, he has Mind Twist for my whole hand. After that, he uses Strip
Mine and Ice Storms to take my lands away, and an Uktabi Orangutan on
my Mox. When I have no artifacts left, he even plays 2 more
orangutans targeting his own Moxen, so he can take me down with an
army of apes. In game 2, I manage to get control early. I
bolt an early elf and play a Braingeyser for 4 with a Black Lotus. He
uses Sylvan Library to draw 2 extra cards before I Chaos Orb that
one. When I drew Recall, the game is over. I utilize Mishra’s
Factory and Disintegrate to finish it. In the third game, I play a
turn 1 Demonic Tutor into Ancestral Recall. After that, I Mind Twist
him, play Braingeyser, and play Recall for the Tutor to find Sacred
Mesa and win from there. It turns out that the matchup versus green
is pretty good if you draw all your restricted cards… </div><div style="text-align: left;"> </div><div style="text-align: left;">In
round 2, I play against Jason Schwartz, another very kind opponent. I
got an altered set of Swords to Plowshares from him at the last
n00bcon, and it is nice to be able to use them against him now.
Unfortunately, the match is pretty lopsided. He starts fair with a
land and an elf, but I Mind Twist him for 4 on the first turn. After
that, I play Ancestral Recall and a Wrath of God when he has Llanowar
Elves, Spectral Bears and Quirion Ranger. I simply draw all the
answers. In the second game, I have an early Sacred Mesa, but he has
an Emerald Charm! However, I draw a Regrowth for the Mesa and since
this is the best card in the matchup, I am able to easily win from
there. With all these fortunate draws, it seems like luck is on my
side today. </div><div style="text-align: left;"> </div><div style="text-align: left;">My round 3 opponent Robert plays RUG Aggro and
starts fast with a Kird Ape and other beaters. My life total drops
fast, but I am trying to take back control with Time Walk and
Braingeyser for 6. The board state stabilizes, but I am on a mere 2
life against a burn deck! I draw a Sacred Mesa, which helps me
survive. He draws and plays Ancestral, but I counter it. Then he
plays Psionic Blast, but I calculated this risk and deliberately
didn’t attack with my Factory. Now, in response to the Blast, I
animate my Factory, pump it, and Swords to Plowshares it to go to 5
life and survive the Blast. I win with Pegasus tokens before he draws
another burn spell. In game 2, I Mind Twist him and follow
it up with a Sacred Mesa. It looks great for me, but he topdecks an
Emerald Charm. Now the board is rather empty. This game also takes a
long time, with not much action on both sides. After a while, he Mind
Twists my whole hand away, but I don’t have that many interesting
cards (only lands and BEB’s). I topdeck Regrowth for Sacred Mesa,
but he has another Charm and I lose. After these two grindy, exciting
games, time is up, so we end in a draw. </div><div style="text-align: left;"> </div><div style="text-align: left;">In the next round,
I face RUG Aggro again. My opponent is Morgan, the eventual winner of
the tournament. In game 1, he mulls to 3! Nevertheless, it is still
pretty close and I win at a mere 5 life. In game 2, he starts with
Mox, Lotus, Chain Lightning, Wheel of Fortune. Too bad, because I
drew an amazing opening hand. After the draw 7, he still has a land
drop to make: Library of Alexandria. Luckily, I drew a Strip Mine to
even things out. Alas, too many tiny creatures follow and I lose. In
the deciding game, I again have trouble with getting rid of all his
creatures such as River Boa and I lose rather quickly. The matchup
against RUG is tough, but very close and fun to play. </div><div style="text-align: left;"> </div><div style="text-align: left;">In
round 5, I play against Markus. It is his first OS tournament! He
already owned some power, because he played Vintage. He upgraded some
duals and other stuff for this event. We play a control mirror and
both win one game. In the third game, he starts with a turn 1 Tundra
into Ancestral. On his second turn, he plays only a Factory. It looks
to me like he has suboptimal mana available, so I decide to Orb the
Tundra. It was a bit of a gamble play, but it turns out that Factory
was his only other mana source! He probably kept a hand with only 1
land (Tundra) and an Ancestral. Meanwhile, I also have mana issues: I
only have a Factory and a Mox. I have 2 Fellwar Stone, but they don’t
work anymore because he only has a Factory now. I end up attacking
him many times with my lone Factory, while he has to discard to hand
size. He finally draws a Mox Jet, and plays Demonic Tutor for Tundra.
But now my Fellwars are back online and we both can play cards again.
My Sacred Mesa gets Mana Drained. He draws Chaos Orb but misses the
flip on my Factory. He stabilizes at 6 life, but I Disintegrate him
for the win. </div><div style="text-align: left;"> </div><div style="text-align: left;">After my match, I get to see the ending of an
epic mirror match between Olle and Wander. They play a really grindy
game with multiple Mazes. Wander wanted to make a lethal attack with
the help of Berserk, but Maze of Ith made it really difficult.
Finally, he gets a window of opportunity. Wander plays Giant Growth
and Berserk on his attacking Scaled Wurm that got chump blocked! But
Olle is prepared for this and plays 2 Giant Growths of his own to
soak up enough trample damage to survive. Close call! Their match
ends in a draw.<div style="text-align: left;"><span lang="en-US" style="font-family: inherit;"> </span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><div style="text-align: center;"><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEizArYG32hVgZG4xUFW0_A9_e7y09p6ZdgTtaW4V02XzMwXssNEfAJC0SgfO8Egyx0GWP753Q8FaFFGM-sWowQ62ZlDajyj2_J6HNMBeNrzvKwZ6kJd7Z-diUSfe-TNfyt2PrDThwfTU8yJZRM2QRwTiFPQG8a79GzAyDbnY1KaM4uvI2jlF1R8BIUBCNo/s4032/Picture%2012.jpg" style="font-family: inherit; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="4032" data-original-width="3024" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEizArYG32hVgZG4xUFW0_A9_e7y09p6ZdgTtaW4V02XzMwXssNEfAJC0SgfO8Egyx0GWP753Q8FaFFGM-sWowQ62ZlDajyj2_J6HNMBeNrzvKwZ6kJd7Z-diUSfe-TNfyt2PrDThwfTU8yJZRM2QRwTiFPQG8a79GzAyDbnY1KaM4uvI2jlF1R8BIUBCNo/s320/Picture%2012.jpg" width="240" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><i> The Mono Green Mirror Match: Olle vs. Wander</i></td></tr></tbody></table></div><span lang="en-US" style="font-family: inherit;"> </span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span lang="en-US" style="font-family: inherit;">It
is time for round 6, the final round.</span><span lang="en-US" style="font-family: inherit;"><b> </b></span><span lang="en-US" style="font-family: inherit;">I
am 3-1-1 at this point and get to play a win-and-in against…
Wander! In game 1, I have an early Mind Twist for a large chunk of
his hand. It is still a close race though. I manage to remove his
creatures and stabilize at 5 life. I draw Sacred Mesa and start
beating him down with pegasi. But then he draws a River Boa and with
a timely Giant Growth he sneaks in the last 5 damage just before my
winged horses can finish him.</span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span lang="en-US" style="font-family: inherit;"> </span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><div style="text-align: center;"><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhLTKQyis5YV1mNJm0vpDY0IsyObsvyEfXGzxoezgBXLqomrFiZkX3iqBzmj4WjPX66ov_gasDnO_wXVrqI76uhnY0_FzC78kQttoLXGUACap3vRx71PGXvLJz7ktnkFsWw5zgTHvR2R9u-we8uSJ4tIaiSBS-2fOY64uEMshyphenhyphenAx2npFIEXWhIo4r2Qo3I/s4032/Picture%2013.jpg" style="font-family: inherit; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="4032" data-original-width="3024" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhLTKQyis5YV1mNJm0vpDY0IsyObsvyEfXGzxoezgBXLqomrFiZkX3iqBzmj4WjPX66ov_gasDnO_wXVrqI76uhnY0_FzC78kQttoLXGUACap3vRx71PGXvLJz7ktnkFsWw5zgTHvR2R9u-we8uSJ4tIaiSBS-2fOY64uEMshyphenhyphenAx2npFIEXWhIo4r2Qo3I/s320/Picture%2013.jpg" width="240" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><i> My opening hand in game 2 versus Wander. Please note his multifunctional traveler’s ‘play-map’. </i><br /></td></tr></tbody></table></div><span lang="en-US" style="font-family: inherit;"> </span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span lang="en-US" style="font-family: inherit;">Game
2 is awkward. I have an early Sacred Mesa, but he just has too many
creatures: Factory, Wyluli Wolf, Quirion Ranger and Pixies. Because
he can pump twice with his Wolf, I don’t have good defenses. This
means that Sacred Mesa can’t keep up and that I have to pull the
emergency brake: cast the Balance that I had in my opening hand. It
is painful though, because it costs me 3 lands and my Mesa, because I
can’t use my remaining mana each turn to just pay the upkeep. It
feels like a losing play, especially since he gets to bounce a Forest
in response with his Quirion Ranger. He also gets to keep a Factory.
But luckily enough, I draw an answer to the Factory and after a long
time, I end up squeezing out the win with a Disintegrate.</span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><div style="text-align: center;"><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj83pr16jgqTCvYq-kVnmH78vNAxdLiAYtM9HoZaJbvxcBGaFVSvz08XDeN46evu9qvjcalWFf4outkaa031rCinD-YTJjn2AYNRIR-crDzuwAwU-AhT-uDQ7LmvAX2QMhcGKa-_GB3UFdQXkFTgVio9j5P-Jv0G4JPlQRpI2BOEeyDpvf_oTdtpazr7bg/s4032/Picture%2014.jpg" style="font-family: inherit; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="3024" data-original-width="4032" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj83pr16jgqTCvYq-kVnmH78vNAxdLiAYtM9HoZaJbvxcBGaFVSvz08XDeN46evu9qvjcalWFf4outkaa031rCinD-YTJjn2AYNRIR-crDzuwAwU-AhT-uDQ7LmvAX2QMhcGKa-_GB3UFdQXkFTgVio9j5P-Jv0G4JPlQRpI2BOEeyDpvf_oTdtpazr7bg/s320/Picture%2014.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><i>Wander’s playmat had some intriguing features, like this advertisement for an unique, ‘once in a lifetime’ experience. </i><br /></td></tr></tbody></table></div><span lang="en-US" style="font-family: inherit;"> </span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span lang="en-US" style="font-family: inherit;">In
game 3, we both have to play fast to finish the game in time. He
plays an Autumn Willow, but I have Zuran Orb and again a Balance,
this time with no cards in my hand. That was a brutal play. He draws
2 Primal Orders that he sideboarded in, but I knew he had those in
his arsenal and saved my Disenchants and Counterspells for them.
Right before time is called, I win with Factory’s and Sacred Mesa.
Hurray, top 8<span style="font-family: inherit;">!</span></span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span lang="en-US" style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"> </span></span></div><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg9zil7iMrEFgJN5TaTMki82lyxLWHlYDWHNRQSvXnjgAJtKkEbM5dPRdo1LnmexwSgiFpkiVt9ljVPJuDS9fLeI5pr-sZ0gCbIX98CUMahf9qe0pLQLq5eUCycBVtryLT8dX2NGwLvGGuiGOfJ7Itn2WSTHAyQvbuRneLP6KRLQ_bjNdF2iQKXiKqO564/s2048/Picture%2015.jpg" style="font-family: inherit; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1536" data-original-width="2048" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg9zil7iMrEFgJN5TaTMki82lyxLWHlYDWHNRQSvXnjgAJtKkEbM5dPRdo1LnmexwSgiFpkiVt9ljVPJuDS9fLeI5pr-sZ0gCbIX98CUMahf9qe0pLQLq5eUCycBVtryLT8dX2NGwLvGGuiGOfJ7Itn2WSTHAyQvbuRneLP6KRLQ_bjNdF2iQKXiKqO564/s320/Picture%2015.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><i> 9 angry men. It turns out that I am the only non-Swede to get into this insanely powerful, Shark-heavy top 8. (Mitja photobombs.) </i><br /></td></tr></tbody></table><div style="text-align: left;"><span lang="en-US" style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"> <br /></span></span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span lang="en-US" style="font-family: inherit;">In
the top 8, I get paired against one of the founding fathers of old
school, Shark-holder Kalle. Surprisingly, he is not playing his
beautiful Su-Chi’s and Bolts today! Our match is quick and dirty.
In game 1, he starts with Mox Sapphire, Ancestral Recall, Tundra,
Savannah Lions. I have a Swords for that one, but he has another
Lions and Time Walk. He then Mind Twists my hand away and that was
that. In game 2, I open with Factory, Sol Ring, Fellwar Stone. He
plays a Mox Pearl and Tithe to fetch some lands. Sweet play. I have a
Jayemdae Tome and another Factory, but he has a Divine Offering for
my Tome. Now, the coast is clear though, for my 2 Factory’s to
attack. They get him all the way down to 1 life! His own City’s
helped me get there, but now I can’t seal the deal. He gets rid of
1 Factory and draws his own Factory and a Lion. Surprisingly though,
he attacks me next turn with everything, leaving no defenders at
home. At that point, he has 3 cards in hand. I am thinking about his
play, and determine that he probably has Disenchant and Counterspell,
because he was feeling so comfortable to attack while being on 1
life. In my turn, I draw Sacred Mesa. I am not in a position to play
around everything, so I decide to attack with my Factory to ‘lure’
the Disenchant from his hand and then play Mesa, hoping he doesn’t
have another answer. He indeed Disenchants the Factory and Counters
my Sacred Mesa, so I lose.</span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span lang="en-US" style="font-family: inherit;"> </span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span lang="en-US" style="font-family: inherit;">After the quarterfinal, it was
too fun to call it a day already. I didn’t feel like watching many
matches, so I mainly caught up with Swedes or other international
travelers. Wander left a bit earlier and gave his cards to me again,
since he was staying in a hostel. My roommate Thomas also left
earlier, so around 4 in the morning I walked back alone to the hotel
to get a few hours of sleep. </span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span lang="en-US" style="font-family: inherit;"> </span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span lang="en-US" style="font-family: inherit;">Later, I hear that Wander
had some troubles that night with finding the tram or bus station to
his hostel in the northern parts of Gothenburg. Apparently, his
‘play-map’ couldn’t help him find his way home. He ended up
taking an expensive cab to his cheap hostel, only to be kept up all
night by his cheerful roommate, who decided to smoke a cigarette at 4
AM and snore like hell. </span><span lang="en-US" style="font-family: inherit;"><b> </b></span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span lang="en-US" style="font-family: inherit;"><b><br /></b></span></div><h3 style="text-align: left;"><span lang="en-US" style="font-family: inherit;"><b>n00bfest
at the Fortress (Friday 7 April)</b></span><span lang="en-US" style="font-family: inherit;"> </span></h3><div style="text-align: left;"><span lang="en-US" style="font-family: inherit;">On
Friday morning, I was hungover. I bought a big box of fresh fruit and
some coffee. Thomas and I walked to the fortress. Wander, who had a
rough night himself, was running late. Saving money on a hostel
didn’t seem like a winning formula, so in the morning, he decided
to switch to a hotel. He texted me that he also had problems with his
door key. He couldn’t close the door and had to switch to another
room. Time was running short, because the tournament was really going
to start on-time this year. Since I had his cards with me, I asked
for a picture of his deck. This way, I could assemble his deck at the
last minute, making sure he was ready for battle when he arrived. He
sent me a picture of a nice brew with 4 Berserk and 4 Maze of Ith (!)
and, of course, Wanderlust. </span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span lang="en-US" style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span></div><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjgSmG1N73zDNx4n1ZoBFqsiQducJf2hhdoFtdHhMFQ8s-2GcErFx2nkOxW6JHcHmjAhT1WNMuQws7p8MQCrMulekLxykgaMMyszmUeDTWGNfCZ9IG44InplceLBfGrNSCM_ZlrBIA-PgPcp6PWNePjpOvrfQ6G1Z48w7yAL0JeiIgMSXs_H544TfcvN7E/s1024/Picture%2016.jpg" style="font-family: inherit; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="717" data-original-width="1024" height="224" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjgSmG1N73zDNx4n1ZoBFqsiQducJf2hhdoFtdHhMFQ8s-2GcErFx2nkOxW6JHcHmjAhT1WNMuQws7p8MQCrMulekLxykgaMMyszmUeDTWGNfCZ9IG44InplceLBfGrNSCM_ZlrBIA-PgPcp6PWNePjpOvrfQ6G1Z48w7yAL0JeiIgMSXs_H544TfcvN7E/s320/Picture%2016.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><i> Wander’s First Swedish Legal Love: Gu Berserk/Maze.</i></td></tr></tbody></table><div style="text-align: left;"><span lang="en-US" style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span lang="en-US" style="font-family: inherit;">Fortunately,
Tolaria had some start-up issues, so Wander, sweaty from running up
the hill to the fortress, arrived just in time to play round 1. I was
playing The Deck today. Normally, I play multiple Serra Angels main,
but this time I wanted to try out a more classic build with Mirror
Universe.</span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span lang="en-US" style="font-family: inherit;"> </span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><div style="text-align: center;"><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhmVTpGXgAMiFVQjm-rIK0ZAMi2ehWcrX5xJDBSWoHboy1IOPGuSgbNML_GijzXCPn5YOBbjfwcHowbBZO2aVO5nVw7yO4KqU8fv6n60BmLyz94h0RayG8vU0-HtvXEO2unHak2wbwnMy1z-2CYPw08CI3EzbYweavbtFI6EN3SyNGMGnzvXYezIs8XPbw/s3840/Picture%2017.jpg" style="font-family: inherit; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1716" data-original-width="3840" height="143" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhmVTpGXgAMiFVQjm-rIK0ZAMi2ehWcrX5xJDBSWoHboy1IOPGuSgbNML_GijzXCPn5YOBbjfwcHowbBZO2aVO5nVw7yO4KqU8fv6n60BmLyz94h0RayG8vU0-HtvXEO2unHak2wbwnMy1z-2CYPw08CI3EzbYweavbtFI6EN3SyNGMGnzvXYezIs8XPbw/s320/Picture%2017.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><i> The Deck.</i></td></tr></tbody></table></div><span lang="en-US" style="font-family: inherit;"> </span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span lang="en-US" style="font-family: inherit;">(Before I will delve
into the broken, twisted games of old school Magic again, I want to
remind you, reader of this blog, that you can still, at any time,
decide to take an alternative route or shortcut. For instance, if you
don’t feel like reading about the nitty-gritty of the games, you
can go straight to the aftermath of all the n00b-festivities.)</span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span lang="en-US" style="font-family: inherit;"> </span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span lang="en-US" style="font-family: inherit;">My first opponent of the day is Jocke, who I also met in
Arvika. We are sitting on table 1 and it looks like it will be my
lucky day today: I have a sick opener with Library of Alexandria,
Ancestral Recall and Time Walk. I even draw Recall to get Ancestral
and Walk back. But Jocke actually has some very good responses: Black
Vise, Ankh of Mishra and City in a Bottle. Since I draw none of my
artifact removal, it turns into a really close game that I manage to
win. Mainly because he didn’t draw a red source the whole game.
Otherwise, I would have lost for sure, despite my insane draws. In
game 2, he gets to do the broken stuff: turn 1 City in a Bottle into
turn 2 Su-chi, with 2 Mishra’s Factory’s in play. This means that
he gets to attack for 8 damage on turn 3. I draw all my copies of
City of Brass and lose quickly. In the final game, I can play a turn
1 Balance with 3 Moxen, followed by efficient removal (Swords and
Disenchant) and a Serra Angel to finish it.</span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span lang="en-US" style="font-family: inherit;"> </span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span lang="en-US" style="font-family: inherit;">In round 2, I
play against Anton Glans, who I also saw before in Arvika. I kept a
nice hand with Tundra, Factory, Sol Ring, Tome. He starts with
Library and I play my Tome on turn 2. After that, I don’t draw
extra mana during the first couple of turns, despite drawing some
cards with Tome. Meanwhile, he draws 2 Disenchants to take care of
the Tome and Sol Ring. I get too far behind. I draw a Stone Rain for
the LoA, but it is too late. Serra beats me to zero.</span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span lang="en-US" style="font-family: inherit;"> </span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span lang="en-US" style="font-family: inherit;">I am
not sure what he was playing. I know that Anton usually plays UW
midrange ‘Skies’, and since I saw the Serra, I put him on that.
He surprises me in game 2 by opening with a Savannah Lions and
Argothian Pixies. I play Serra Angel. He has a Psionic Blast, but I
have a REB. He has another Blast though. Lotus into Braingeyser
quickly wins the game for him.</span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span lang="en-US" style="font-family: inherit;"> </span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span lang="en-US" style="font-family: inherit;">In round 3, I play against
Albert. I keep an interesting hand with 2 Mox, Sol Ring, 1 land,
Swords, Divine Offering and Mind Twist, but no black mana. He starts
with Library and eventually Twists my whole hand away, the turn
before I draw my black source… </span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span lang="en-US" style="font-family: inherit;"> </span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span lang="en-US" style="font-family: inherit;">In game 2, I do some
broken stuff: turn 1 Ancestral, turn 2 Mind Twist for 5, while he has
6 cards in his hands. Now he only has 1 Plateau in play and 1 random
card left in his hand. On turn 3, I play Serra Angel. When he finally
draws his second land, he shows me the 1 card he got to keep with the
Mind Twist: Balance! I did draw a Counterspell though, so my Serra is
able to seal the deal.</span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span lang="en-US" style="font-family: inherit;"> </span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span lang="en-US" style="font-family: inherit;">I had no real idea what he was
playing. I didn’t see any creatures at all during our games. Only
reactive cards and burn, so I thought he might be on ‘The Burn
Deck’, some kind of brew. In game 3, I play Braingeyser for 4, but
he responds with a Wheel of Fortune. After that he drops a Savannah
Lions and Atog… It turns out he plays LionDibBolt! I lose to the
beatdown.</span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span lang="en-US" style="font-family: inherit;"> </span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span lang="en-US" style="font-family: inherit;">Round 4 was definitely the most fun and exciting
match of the day. I got to play against Claudia from the United
States. I keep a nice hand, but she starts with Tropical Island,
Black Lotus, Timetwister. My Library of Alexandria is now shuffled
back in my deck and she draws her own Library with the Twister. I
play Mind Twist for 4 to stop the card draw engine, but she has Wheel
of Fortune to get back to 7. I draw Ancestral Recall and Strip Mine
though, to even things out. Then suddenly, she plays People of the
Woods. I have to read that one! She plays another one and enchants
both of them with Spirit Link. Awesome! She gains a ton of life with
these and Dark Heart of the Wood. I realize I have to think carefully
about how I can win this match, because Recall, Fireball, Regrowth
and all of my removal spells are already in my graveyard! So I have
to win with Mirror Universe and multiple Factory’s. I manage to get
there with only a few cards left in my library.</span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span lang="en-US" style="font-family: inherit;"> </span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span lang="en-US" style="font-family: inherit;">
</span></div><p class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span style="color: black; font-family: inherit;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjjKufbf8cKzLxPJ6Xp6HlSdNxSOWAHOwwgSCVNVb6IBzMWJjr8zP0N-CKX8p6Z5SMkg7llyaEV-RgTXAzGoFeQdpIL92H5CU15RkCn2l_LTR9RFjWNheWDe0INauxkCNV6o83ZmM5Y43uHbIMSVIU0RsoHAWVci55DJLS1NtHeo_LND_w9m5pc9J9OO08/s3014/Picture%2018.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="2373" data-original-width="3014" height="252" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjjKufbf8cKzLxPJ6Xp6HlSdNxSOWAHOwwgSCVNVb6IBzMWJjr8zP0N-CKX8p6Z5SMkg7llyaEV-RgTXAzGoFeQdpIL92H5CU15RkCn2l_LTR9RFjWNheWDe0INauxkCNV6o83ZmM5Y43uHbIMSVIU0RsoHAWVci55DJLS1NtHeo_LND_w9m5pc9J9OO08/s320/Picture%2018.jpg" width="320" /></a></span></p><div style="text-align: left;"><span lang="en-US" style="font-family: inherit;"> </span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span lang="en-US" style="font-family: inherit;">In game 2, we both
have a turn 1 Ancestral Recall. She slams a turn 2 People of the
Woods. I have a hand without ways to remove permanents, but with 2
Counterspells. I play the first one on Sylvan Library and the second
one on Verduren Enchantress. The turn after that, she taps 6 mana and
I am afraid of what would happen since I ran out of answers. Mind
Twist? No, she plays Gaea’s Liege. I didn’t see that one coming!
Neither did I see the Eureka coming the turn after that. With Eureka,
she put Lich into play and started drawing a lot of cards with Dark
Heart of the Wood, playing more lands with Fastbond. This time, it
was her turn to win with Mirror Universe. Time is up and instead of a
draw, we decide to flip Orbs on Gaea’s Liege to determine a winner.
After about 30 flips each, her Orb bounces of the Liege and I win. I
didn’t care much about winning or losing though. It was a lot of
fun to watch this original deck in action and our match felt in line
with the true spirit of old school Magic.</span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span lang="en-US" style="font-family: inherit;"> </span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span lang="en-US" style="font-family: inherit;">It is a pleasure
to see Rasmus again in round 5. He is my Danish nemesis piloting his
pet deck Mono Green. It lost to him recently and now try to get some
revenge. In game 1, I draw all 4 Counterspells. My Jayemdae Tome
sticks arounds and I just have too much control and card advantage.
In game 2, I trade 2 Swords to Plowshares for 2 Elves. Then I play
Fireball on two other critters. But the creatures just keep coming
and there is nothing I can do. Game 3, I have an Ancestral Recall,
but my draws are awkward. I have a Serra Angel and Mirror Universe in
my hand, but only 5 mana total, of which only 1 is white. I have 3
turns to draw something to get into the game, but draw blanks and
lose to the small green creatures – again!</span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span lang="en-US" style="font-family: inherit;"> </span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span lang="en-US" style="font-family: inherit;">In round 6, I
face another player from the United States: Charles Klein. He starts
with Library on the play with a mulligan, whereas I kept a funny hand
with 3 Mishra’s Factory and a Time Walk. When I attack him with 2
Factory’s, he plays Hurkyl’s Recall! He then plays Underworld
Dreams. I think about what to do here. I take into account that he
can play a Timetwister, but since I am not low on life, it seems
better to not play Disenchant on the Dreams and just attack him down
to 9. On his turn, he plays Tutor for Twister, which is fine for me,
but directly after the Twister he plays Time Walk into Wheel of
Fortune… Well, that was too much! </span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span lang="en-US" style="font-family: inherit;"> </span><span lang="en-US" style="font-family: inherit;"> </span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span lang="en-US" style="font-family: inherit;">The
second game, I keep a hand with Counterspells and Serra. It seems
perfect, but he is able to sneak in a Hypnotic Specter on turn 1 with
a Dark Ritual before I get my Counterspells online. This is horrible
for me. He discards my Serra and I fall too far behind quickly. I was
unsure about his tactics and only kept 2 Swords to Plowshares in. I
like these Underworld Dreams decks a lot and it is nice to see them
working well.</span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span lang="en-US" style="font-family: inherit;"> </span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span lang="en-US" style="font-family: inherit;">In the final round of the day, I meet yet
another American player: Pez. We laugh, because we both are playing
top tier 1 decks but have a 2-4 record. I start with a Library, but
he has an aggressive opening: 2 Savannah Lions and a Factory. I have
some removal spells, but he finishes me with Psionic Blast and 2
Bolts. In game 2, I win in a rather uninspiring way with Mind Twist.
During game 3, he starts beating me down with Factory’s, but I have
a Mirror Universe with Mana Drain backup. I take some damage from my
own City’s, and swap life with him: 8 versus 19. Now my Serra Angel
only needs to attack 2 times and it’s done.</span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span lang="en-US" style="font-family: inherit;"> </span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span lang="en-US" style="font-family: inherit;">After
the Swiss, I watched a few games and got to see artist Jeff Menges at
work. It was great that he was there. He finished a set of altered
Divine Offering for me.</span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span lang="en-US" style="font-family: inherit;"><br />
</span></div><div style="text-align: center;"><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgrRNT7ic_9eYeDLJGODzVsygqhqByLd4PAfZtqLA41ZQbF9rLvcvoix_5JPh008oirtknD3eYBtR95uFoU8b35ZAlp8mD9AyCL_UQbKAg9ZhwRg9vzvwa9m-nWYRj6Dw9Elfza-R8xVZP7BqJtZvpF2XCs2hf3d2vXVSUPLfsBDxzELTN3BwbdKxW4XgY/s4032/Picture%2019.jpg" style="font-family: inherit; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="4032" data-original-width="3024" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgrRNT7ic_9eYeDLJGODzVsygqhqByLd4PAfZtqLA41ZQbF9rLvcvoix_5JPh008oirtknD3eYBtR95uFoU8b35ZAlp8mD9AyCL_UQbKAg9ZhwRg9vzvwa9m-nWYRj6Dw9Elfza-R8xVZP7BqJtZvpF2XCs2hf3d2vXVSUPLfsBDxzELTN3BwbdKxW4XgY/s320/Picture%2019.jpg" width="240" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"> A well-guarded Jeff Menges altering cards.</td></tr></tbody></table></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span lang="en-US" style="font-family: inherit;"> </span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span lang="en-US" style="font-family: inherit;">It
was amazing to see War Mammoth in the finals, piloted by Luis. Please
note that he played a full playset of War Mammoths mainboard. He was
the ‘people’s champion’, but it was also nice to see Leo Bruder
put up another win with his trusty Robots. It was too bad that the
Dutchies didn’t make it in the top 8: we covered the 9</span><span style="font-family: inherit;"><sup><span lang="en-US">th</span></sup><span lang="en-US">,
10</span><sup><span lang="en-US">th</span></sup><span lang="en-US">
and 11</span><sup><span lang="en-US">th</span></sup><span lang="en-US">
place! Wander narrowly lost his win-and-in match. Still, he had an
honorable 11</span><sup><span lang="en-US">th</span></sup><span lang="en-US">
place finish and got a nice trophy card, extra mutated with some
googly eyes. After the announcements were over, I was tired from all
the games and the loud noise in the fortress. I was nice to go back
to the hotel a bit early and take some quiet rest.</span></span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span lang="en-US"> </span></span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><div style="text-align: center;"><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg3tbNSQJFGC9kEu1UN2WAgUn9cZ62t6DFEkXLWAxRaunmg_vgo6sETYNiIWYXOSpQI5AEwxldPANQQRTKnBwTohElPZNIpTtJ1RQd8y6jn70RAfF7T-TtgYb1RoRU7uHVqTd3UTozxdHxLNoyCVRsjfmETS89bivsn-DA4aEQznu2T-Ml8Jgum8u7l_kU/s4032/Picture%2020.jpg" style="font-family: inherit; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="4032" data-original-width="3024" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg3tbNSQJFGC9kEu1UN2WAgUn9cZ62t6DFEkXLWAxRaunmg_vgo6sETYNiIWYXOSpQI5AEwxldPANQQRTKnBwTohElPZNIpTtJ1RQd8y6jn70RAfF7T-TtgYb1RoRU7uHVqTd3UTozxdHxLNoyCVRsjfmETS89bivsn-DA4aEQznu2T-Ml8Jgum8u7l_kU/s320/Picture%2020.jpg" width="240" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"> "I didn't think Mammoths could ever hold a candle to a well-trained battle horse..."</td></tr></tbody></table></div></div><p style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"></span></p><p class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span style="color: black; font-family: inherit;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgDCELuSTlyeeVD8_rbehyobxNTq5rlL6eoPmh3AKnIkjqECR2-HlwEkhJo4wWMII9Of0S58ldBMctL_S-f1oirirkjXgG3dHASNbhOo3Zrd5Sd_qHPCOUMHvw-dzF8xwoHRkYJkHHpxfYxdbcvzrmIQkZt2BN6bJH6AsiYnxSa_WqXKNqiittXIPFHtSs/s1400/Picture%2021.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1400" data-original-width="1096" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgDCELuSTlyeeVD8_rbehyobxNTq5rlL6eoPmh3AKnIkjqECR2-HlwEkhJo4wWMII9Of0S58ldBMctL_S-f1oirirkjXgG3dHASNbhOo3Zrd5Sd_qHPCOUMHvw-dzF8xwoHRkYJkHHpxfYxdbcvzrmIQkZt2BN6bJH6AsiYnxSa_WqXKNqiittXIPFHtSs/s320/Picture%2021.jpg" width="251" /></a></span></p><div style="text-align: left;"><span lang="en-US" style="font-family: inherit;"> </span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span lang="en-US" style="font-family: inherit;">Looking back at this
day, perhaps Martin ‘Fluffy’ Lindström was the ultimate ‘winner’
of the tournament. He went ‘Double O Seven’ (0-0-7) in the
tournament with the help of the recently unrestricted Shahrazad,
further establishing his reputation as the ‘Bond villain’. He did
this during his ‘sabbatical leave’ of playing The Deck. I am not
sure what impressed me the most: this unique tournament result or his
conclusion that 2 is the correct number of Shahrazads you want to
play when you aim to get only draws all day. He also played a Divine
Intervention by the way. Such a sweet card. It reminds me of my early
Magic days as a teenager, when I hated the duration of multiplayer
games and taunted my player group by playing a deck with Shahrazad +
Fork and Divine Intervention.</span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span lang="en-US" style="font-family: inherit;"> </span></div><h3 style="text-align: left;"><span lang="en-US" style="font-family: inherit;">
</span><span lang="en-US" style="font-family: inherit;"><b>The
Daunting Height of a Foot (Saturday 8 April)</b></span><span lang="en-US" style="font-family: inherit;"> </span></h3><div style="text-align: left;"><span lang="en-US" style="font-family: inherit;">On
Saturday morning, my roommate Thomas and I had some coffee on a bench
outside. The spring sun is always so nice during the Easter weekend
in Gothenburg. It must even feel nicer for the Swedes, after living
in darkness and tough weather for months. We went for a walk and
decided to meet Wander at the fish church (‘Feskekôrka’). Back
in 2017, Wander really wanted to check out this ‘church’ in
Gothenburg. Sadly, back then, we arrived there shortly after closing
time. So, this year we had another go at it. It turns out the church
is under construction though and has been closed for many years. </span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span lang="en-US" style="font-family: inherit;"> </span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span lang="en-US" style="font-family: inherit;">Thomas and I couldn’t find Wander. Apparently, he was
wandering about, trying to get a haircut but failed to do so.
Meanwhile, Thomas and I did some second hand shopping. He travelled
light and had a family get-together directly after n00bfest, so he
could use another shirt. We finally met up with Wander and got some
pizza at the Stora Saluhallen (market hall). We walked to John
Scott’s, a sports bar with a nice rooftop terrace. Last n00bcon, we
used the same location for some casual hungover gaming and it was
great. I was looking forward to chill-out there again. Somewhere else
in the city, the infamous Wizards’ Tournament was happening, but
since I don’t even own one Alpha card, it wasn’t an option for
me.</span></div><p class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span style="color: black; font-family: inherit;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhxW57SpOMUcDN2SAYs_Y-m76gxC1q_nTAnaymzGdT5ZWGrDAXsyl-rsySJa91qImDeaBNZhPgC2HEKqLU3D0on_k8aY1aEOcdj2tGucCgj-P1N132gcr1mYVzAD5LoORaYIExcFZ_VvCmWNQtAVJaM_jp1f7eJAMHSf2fAncdUJ6WhEdu9_naIhhGbn4w/s4032/Picture%2022.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="4032" data-original-width="3024" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhxW57SpOMUcDN2SAYs_Y-m76gxC1q_nTAnaymzGdT5ZWGrDAXsyl-rsySJa91qImDeaBNZhPgC2HEKqLU3D0on_k8aY1aEOcdj2tGucCgj-P1N132gcr1mYVzAD5LoORaYIExcFZ_VvCmWNQtAVJaM_jp1f7eJAMHSf2fAncdUJ6WhEdu9_naIhhGbn4w/s320/Picture%2022.jpg" width="240" /></a></span></p><div style="text-align: left;"><span lang="en-US" style="font-family: inherit;"> </span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span lang="en-US" style="font-family: inherit;">Simply the fact of being able to sit outside feels so nice
after playing in a dimly lit fortress the whole day. At the terrace
of John Scott’s, I got some nice Höga Kusten beers, from the
region where I hiked with my family in 2022. We hosted a small
tournament with 4 rounds. When I won against Charles Klein and Micke
Thai, I was well on my way to defend my ‘title’: I won last
year’s small tournament at this pub. In the third round I faced
Wander. This seemed like a fortunate pairing, because he was playing
Mono Green and I brought a deck full of removal, Serra Angels and 2
Falling Stars sideboard. Of course, he beat me 2-0. Green continues
to be my enemy color. </span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span lang="en-US" style="font-family: inherit;"> </span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span lang="en-US" style="font-family: inherit;">In the final round, I played against Seb. I had
a nice turn 1 play on the draw with Mox, Sol Ring, Fellwar Stone,
Chaos Orb. Since I didn’t have any other mana sources, this seemed
like a solid play. What’s the worst that can happen, right? Bam! He
slammed a Shatterstorm on turn 2. It turns out he played the Seb
Special: an artifact-heavy deck that played a combination of
Nevinyrral’s Disk, Trikes and multiple Shatterstorms. It was
definitely a fun way to loose. After our match, we played some ante
games with the ‘Reinvitational’ decks we got from Christian some
time ago. The games were very grindy, but my newly traded Kormus Bell
won me both games.</span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span lang="en-US" style="font-family: inherit;"> </span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><div style="text-align: center;"><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgExxvdrN2xaqPb-PFxHmXJ3Lhss02KEOrySXtKAa1ILaCVHU5EtweRN4_Gy5vpET17yQdTiPqDuIs2ajo0I4-zpAk_NwIhTHl-vCwALa0keTpjLf_O7jkxYgQowrJZrHHyXcqnuyvz4z6xuXJna3wtC6sArp49l6xBzfd9GR2TfWR0chNNVh-dtvmheJo/s4032/Picture%2023.jpg" style="font-family: inherit; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="4032" data-original-width="3024" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgExxvdrN2xaqPb-PFxHmXJ3Lhss02KEOrySXtKAa1ILaCVHU5EtweRN4_Gy5vpET17yQdTiPqDuIs2ajo0I4-zpAk_NwIhTHl-vCwALa0keTpjLf_O7jkxYgQowrJZrHHyXcqnuyvz4z6xuXJna3wtC6sArp49l6xBzfd9GR2TfWR0chNNVh-dtvmheJo/s320/Picture%2023.jpg" width="240" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><i> Reinvitational decks. More Mammoths! </i><br /></td></tr></tbody></table></div><span lang="en-US" style="font-family: inherit;"> </span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span lang="en-US" style="font-family: inherit;">Meanwhile,
it was getting dark and the music noise was getting louder and
stranger. Since we were on a rooftop, we could hear the music of John
Scott’s and the music of the neighboring bar. This eclectic remix
was a bit much. We soon ended up going to the Contrast Public House
to meet up with the others who played Alpha all day. During our walk
there, we found a place called Notting Hill, the perfect spot for
Wander, but there was nothing to see there.</span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span lang="en-US" style="font-family: inherit;"> </span></div><div style="text-align: center;"><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgN7YuANkQKdFLm5rog0xD_1OhWa4lNMj5wtXGw9AVKFTXixvXGtJXBWs99FMJyPn55DO1uTxXENsyZFGFgSviuyyYcXOOaR2OA6FLBiB4tcb5-RaWmC8iZRdZ2L6x6YSwXg12LT9bDUslNugcrK3V7TGOFms-gMNKMiccwCejjAyizmXE2yezkbguMClQ/s4032/Picture%2024.jpg" style="font-family: inherit; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="4032" data-original-width="3024" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgN7YuANkQKdFLm5rog0xD_1OhWa4lNMj5wtXGw9AVKFTXixvXGtJXBWs99FMJyPn55DO1uTxXENsyZFGFgSviuyyYcXOOaR2OA6FLBiB4tcb5-RaWmC8iZRdZ2L6x6YSwXg12LT9bDUslNugcrK3V7TGOFms-gMNKMiccwCejjAyizmXE2yezkbguMClQ/s320/Picture%2024.jpg" width="240" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><i> Things start to get fuzzy.</i></td></tr></tbody></table></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span lang="en-US" style="font-family: inherit;"> </span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span lang="en-US" style="font-family: inherit;">At the
Wizards’ Tournament, it was nice to be able to catch up with the
other Dutchies and look at the orb flipping contests. Wander and I
saw Trygve win a Chaos Orb patch on his birthday: 50 flips, no
misses. Wander wanted to try it as well, with 4 shot glasses. He put
his ‘play-map’ on the table and chose a Wanderlust as the
flipping target. Three piled deck boxes and Brother Stebbo were there
to make sure the Orb was flipped from a height of at least one foot.
The crowd was going wild, expectations seemed to be mixed. Wander
flipped truly horribly to be honest, but it was exciting. The shot
glasses were empty before we knew it.</span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span lang="en-US" style="font-family: inherit;"> </span></div><p class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span style="color: black; font-family: inherit;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEht619E2bYza_KcRozgcrYHesei_fIlwRlbTUhguidfQj0LctX_h7vyOpG9MmoDvw__pASm1TULb5IpSPZJj7bp4z3Y4e0DfM9gBMtLsDrGC-HsbFzTxPazSWRuj_8eCHhbIMg1iw4P-d7mPpmQ4cQo60-wkaLU2FEQVzCnQaIChSiQax0UGwPqYhOU6Ho/s4032/Picture%2025.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="4032" data-original-width="3024" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEht619E2bYza_KcRozgcrYHesei_fIlwRlbTUhguidfQj0LctX_h7vyOpG9MmoDvw__pASm1TULb5IpSPZJj7bp4z3Y4e0DfM9gBMtLsDrGC-HsbFzTxPazSWRuj_8eCHhbIMg1iw4P-d7mPpmQ4cQo60-wkaLU2FEQVzCnQaIChSiQax0UGwPqYhOU6Ho/s320/Picture%2025.jpg" width="240" /></a></span></p><div style="text-align: left;"><span lang="en-US" style="font-family: inherit;"> </span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span lang="en-US" style="font-family: inherit;">After seeing this
train wreck, I was full of confidence, because I only missed 1 flip
in tournaments the last years. I decided it was my turn now. Before
you start, you have to determine how many shots you want. You have to
get to 50 successful flips and for each failed flip, you can take a
shot and continue. I wanted to use only 1 shot, but Micke Thai
stepped up as my personal trainer and convinced me to take more,
preferably way more. We settled on 3 shots, even though Micke looked
at me like I was a mad man. </span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span lang="en-US" style="font-family: inherit;"> </span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span lang="en-US" style="font-family: inherit;">Before I got to start, people were
‘betting’ on the result. Danny wasn’t sure and asked me to
demonstrate how I flipped, to get a better feeling of my flipping
skills. I had some fun with it and deliberately did a bad flip that
barely hit. Danny had seen enough: I was destined for failure. I
myself was still full of confidence though. I tried to get in a nice
flip flow: 1 hit, 2 hits, 3 hits, 4 hits, 5 hits, 6… What was that!
The sixth one bounced off in a way I’ve never seen before. I looked
at total disbelief at the two cards on my playmat and the large empty
space between them. I did like 30 flips in a row yesterday versus
Claudia without any troubles, and now this happened. Was the table
perhaps very uneven? My confidence took a hit and fear started to get
the upper hand. If this already happened now, how could I ever get to
that 50? My hand was trembling a bit. The pressure grew and when I
held the Orb a bit too low, our judge Brother Stebbo watched closely,
further adding tensions. Before I got to 20 hits, I was out.</span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span lang="en-US" style="font-family: inherit;"> </span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span lang="en-US" style="font-family: inherit;">I
soon was able to process this failed attempt, because the atmosphere
was great and more shots and drinks were handed out. It was sad that
the bar had to close soon thereafter, but not before they put up a
catchy song. Wander and Micke Thai seized the moment and started
dancing on the table, while the staff of the bar was looking slightly
worried, but also amused. As I learned later, both Wander and Micke
fell asleep that night in the comfort of the cold, marble tiles of
their hotel bathrooms. Micke slept in a running (!) shower and Wander
on the toilet.</span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span lang="en-US" style="font-family: inherit;"> </span></div><p class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span style="color: black; font-family: inherit;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgVbPtjAk48LugYFVugsC2Q51BwJ5ZBC0pKtZA0ejXyyfl1gc1mDDKwAc70fVegVecIbS4Jsy0lxeGTZ0SLKgMgcvRGLnQfHJcYEd3VrLmNKuAr3kBMYWhNkrkljT4J6BN1vi4Rd5U-uaSfDjDQK1tkNpIY5DKOiIbjrKHMjKAoa20pzRxROZTfa7AcpBE/s2048/Picture%2026%20extra.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1536" data-original-width="2048" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgVbPtjAk48LugYFVugsC2Q51BwJ5ZBC0pKtZA0ejXyyfl1gc1mDDKwAc70fVegVecIbS4Jsy0lxeGTZ0SLKgMgcvRGLnQfHJcYEd3VrLmNKuAr3kBMYWhNkrkljT4J6BN1vi4Rd5U-uaSfDjDQK1tkNpIY5DKOiIbjrKHMjKAoa20pzRxROZTfa7AcpBE/s320/Picture%2026%20extra.jpg" width="320" /></a></span></p><p style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiDrveFIauE2OqewFI7lOfOjpTLg2BTCgdgY4JIDSu2XZ0YLjvoWJyIFnpQDR55q-nozzYgSXkjBl-UGQjCL4QEjsv_5y4Yz7U_mFAk58NWxfjLO08v1zP3I4qXTv8F9b5xQ_qMCMBNNzg29tSf1uHokH6SPrUwdr6VdSMGFPYb8AgJjgoPzVGBvhLsUoU/s4032/Picture%2026.jpg" style="font-family: inherit;"><img border="0" data-original-height="4032" data-original-width="3024" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiDrveFIauE2OqewFI7lOfOjpTLg2BTCgdgY4JIDSu2XZ0YLjvoWJyIFnpQDR55q-nozzYgSXkjBl-UGQjCL4QEjsv_5y4Yz7U_mFAk58NWxfjLO08v1zP3I4qXTv8F9b5xQ_qMCMBNNzg29tSf1uHokH6SPrUwdr6VdSMGFPYb8AgJjgoPzVGBvhLsUoU/s320/Picture%2026.jpg" width="240" /></a></p><div style="text-align: left;"><span lang="en-US" style="font-family: inherit;"> </span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span lang="en-US" style="font-family: inherit;">I guess I
already noticed before that Wander wasn’t on top of things (outside
tables), because that evening I suggested to take his deck to my
hotel again. I didn’t want him to worry about it and emphasized
multiple times that I had his deck safely in my bag. I told him this
again right before we split up that night. Of course, half an hour
later I get a call from a stressed-out Wander, who had already walked
back to the bar to check if his deck was still there. “Yes, I have
it.” </span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span lang="en-US" style="font-family: inherit;"> </span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span lang="en-US" style="font-family: inherit;">Thomas and I arrived at the hotel past 3 AM and I
had to get up at 7 to catch my train. It was a way too short night,
but I manage to pull myself together and walk to the train. At the
train station, I was very surprised to see Wander there on time as
well! I was even more surprised, when he told me he fell asleep on
the toilet and didn’t set an alarm clock!</span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span lang="en-US" style="font-family: inherit;"> </span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span lang="en-US" style="font-family: inherit;">Wander was
still in good vibes. The train ride offered some space to sober up
and overthink our trip thus far. Wander was literally crying of joy,
thinking of the good times he had this Easter and during his
hitchhiking trip in Norway leading up the n00bfest. I was happy for
him and glad we could end this adventure together again.</span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span lang="en-US" style="font-family: inherit;"> </span></div><h3 style="text-align: left;"><span lang="en-US" style="font-family: inherit;"><b>Dancing
in Denmark (Sunday 9 April)</b></span></h3><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjzytdrQxzDd7JjVkRcuVlw16FqumPLhTbncAnCHSAjEIvLXDxwb1FqYnV5NsoLoOyTA6F6OTKKVU1Q1HeveMnief0zXquy8grlyQkqj99s5LxOy_pG9dX-nLwlC7FXh_vXRQ-A8LA3_cqxA57vunVqMHKXlj-865Y6-4pxFL-KPXV8SGAnhoFZikugAdY/s1634/Picture%2027.jpg" style="font-family: inherit; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="816" data-original-width="1634" height="160" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjzytdrQxzDd7JjVkRcuVlw16FqumPLhTbncAnCHSAjEIvLXDxwb1FqYnV5NsoLoOyTA6F6OTKKVU1Q1HeveMnief0zXquy8grlyQkqj99s5LxOy_pG9dX-nLwlC7FXh_vXRQ-A8LA3_cqxA57vunVqMHKXlj-865Y6-4pxFL-KPXV8SGAnhoFZikugAdY/s320/Picture%2027.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><i> The long journey home.</i></td></tr></tbody></table><div style="text-align: left;"><span lang="en-US" style="font-family: inherit;"> </span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span lang="en-US" style="font-family: inherit;">But the
end wasn’t in sight yet. Because of maintenance issues, our journey
home was way longer than normal: about 33 hours, with a stop in
Kolding, Denmark. Of course, one train connection was cancelled and
we had to take a multiple hour bus ride. That was a bit much for the
early Sunday morning, so when we ascended into a tunnel, Wander was
feeling worse by the minute. I looked around for a plastic bag to
help my friend, but only saw our bread bag that still had a cinnamon
roll in it. Time was evidently running very short, so I decided to
sacrifice that poor cinnamon roll for the greater good and gave the
bag to Wander so he could have his relieve.</span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span lang="en-US" style="font-family: inherit;"> </span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span lang="en-US" style="font-family: inherit;">When we
finally arrived in Kolding, we found some new energy after some sleep
along the way. We explored this nice city for some sights, had some
fun and danced to the music that was played outside at several places
for the holidays. Finding a place to eat was not that easy during the
Easter weekend. Thankfully, we found a nice restaurant that was still
open and had a spot for us. Our Airbnb was great. We basically had a
whole house for ourselves. We talked a bit about tournament reports
in general and decided we were going to team up for this n00bfest
report. I had to set an alarm clock around midnight, because I was
bidding on 4 signed Su-Chi for my collection. After I won them, I was
glad I could close my eyes again for a good night sleep. The next
morning, I did some research and found a good bakery that was open
early on Monday. Right before we had to catch our train, we were able
to pick up some nice focaccia and sourdough bread for the long, but
satisfying ride home to the Netherlands.</span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span lang="en-US" style="font-family: inherit;"> </span></div><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgNIW69JZZNiyXeEZ7LMA9Y8MowNNHRxx4HrrFIpOshpYTU0T7xq0BSyo6ihJJX8Pov7j8ROrmfHjxMeFyu7im7DZCaJIVi7RYkIN3dul79hZ0sd4p9ZHt9DcL68v3MAshlcJzsjnDt5jFgozG_tCNvdHR3qO90bRF6e0tNYNdVZflrQe847Z2MGEKXw34/s4032/Picture%2028.jpg" style="font-family: inherit; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="4032" data-original-width="3024" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgNIW69JZZNiyXeEZ7LMA9Y8MowNNHRxx4HrrFIpOshpYTU0T7xq0BSyo6ihJJX8Pov7j8ROrmfHjxMeFyu7im7DZCaJIVi7RYkIN3dul79hZ0sd4p9ZHt9DcL68v3MAshlcJzsjnDt5jFgozG_tCNvdHR3qO90bRF6e0tNYNdVZflrQe847Z2MGEKXw34/s320/Picture%2028.jpg" width="240" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><i> Wander, still dancing. Kolding, Denmark.</i></td></tr></tbody></table><p style="text-align: left;"><span style="color: black; font-family: inherit;"></span></p><p></p><div style="text-align: center;"><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjI0r9m5Og_vj5A2yjIca03tcq5fASdLt0_NxQclh1KtnwothkxUh_pQuzsOiNtl2Hx3t1KqtVPYfnAIWomyAoPHcdMuIkhsPk6bzFGapRbQB4M1MtBf-qUJRrA6JnT196TkQ-_GLmi46KFSXoDwqa2io10NuFA4kXnLXt1ZGQS0RqmFemSOUloFkF6Yo8/s3515/Picture%2029.jpg" style="font-family: inherit; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="3515" data-original-width="2847" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjI0r9m5Og_vj5A2yjIca03tcq5fASdLt0_NxQclh1KtnwothkxUh_pQuzsOiNtl2Hx3t1KqtVPYfnAIWomyAoPHcdMuIkhsPk6bzFGapRbQB4M1MtBf-qUJRrA6JnT196TkQ-_GLmi46KFSXoDwqa2io10NuFA4kXnLXt1ZGQS0RqmFemSOUloFkF6Yo8/s320/Picture%2029.jpg" width="259" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><i> Alex, a 93-94 player at heart. Old school Magic: a bunch of ‘odd fellows’?</i></td></tr></tbody></table></div><p></p><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi6r56ZvN75tsOCzfqZXn87KDiXjXDA-dL1rbnwkuxGt8lO5wfs12GWMYznuhaBBMUvyaes6UIK9CWh3w9qSHLPUAt-qVZcV_01JNK_YnFDcn4L-MfNeR81Wh-P8AUyBinqzNZyzLoyNKPN4g1gI_XA4knhQVNYOVUlhtmueN7WgeDBu_KIZ8uh8uMkiwI/s4032/Picture%2030.jpg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="3024" data-original-width="4032" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi6r56ZvN75tsOCzfqZXn87KDiXjXDA-dL1rbnwkuxGt8lO5wfs12GWMYznuhaBBMUvyaes6UIK9CWh3w9qSHLPUAt-qVZcV_01JNK_YnFDcn4L-MfNeR81Wh-P8AUyBinqzNZyzLoyNKPN4g1gI_XA4knhQVNYOVUlhtmueN7WgeDBu_KIZ8uh8uMkiwI/s320/Picture%2030.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><i> Good bread is always a treat. The only way this could have been better, was if it was Ålands Surdejsbageri.</i></td><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"> </td></tr></tbody></table><p></p><p style="text-align: left;"></p><p style="text-align: left;"></p><p style="text-align: left;"></p><p style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="color: black;"></span></span></p><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhPtsqshDKEyZoGp2vHJPBGCmCz0wpIN3Psp0UnhyphenhyphenWF8_MjBpAkwxQL3CE7G-KgUYX1WR0OR58IH9cNI2qTC-jU98V2asHBx2cpyD4dQ3O4wswP6Huqx8z6InNoKoUVUVwJAxS-TLwk66oy7Y-OAX2lDC6-BBrC-TDWbNjHe3NIQtCQtbJ8yvatVgE9hXE/s4032/Picture%2031.jpg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="3024" data-original-width="4032" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhPtsqshDKEyZoGp2vHJPBGCmCz0wpIN3Psp0UnhyphenhyphenWF8_MjBpAkwxQL3CE7G-KgUYX1WR0OR58IH9cNI2qTC-jU98V2asHBx2cpyD4dQ3O4wswP6Huqx8z6InNoKoUVUVwJAxS-TLwk66oy7Y-OAX2lDC6-BBrC-TDWbNjHe3NIQtCQtbJ8yvatVgE9hXE/s320/Picture%2031.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><i> Magic the Puzzling: writing a report with poorly structured notes.</i></td></tr></tbody></table><span lang="en-US" style="font-family: inherit;"><b> </b></span><p></p><h3 style="text-align: left;"><span lang="en-US" style="font-family: inherit;"><b>The
End of the Road</b></span><span lang="en-US" style="font-family: inherit;"> </span></h3><div style="text-align: left;"><span lang="en-US" style="font-family: inherit;">There is
something special about Sweden. I will continue to come back, explore
Sweden and also other Scandinavian countries. Maybe one day, I can
reply for a request for an officious naturalization, just like Åland
became Dutch. If you ask me, I think ‘Ålex’ has a good sound to
it. My last name, however, apparently means ‘rotten’ in Swedish.
Maybe that means I have to switch to playing Zombies to live up to
it? Anyway, a first step towards getting to know a country and
culture better, is always to start learning the language. So I will
try to apply again for a Swedish language course and hope there are
enough applicants this time.</span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span lang="en-US" style="font-family: inherit;"> </span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span lang="en-US" style="font-family: inherit;">Wander himself had such a
good time during his Scandinavian adventure that he is already
pondering about what other odd travel options there are available to
Gothenburg. Maybe via Gdansk, taking the boat from there? Or an even
longer route through Estonia and Finland? </span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span lang="en-US" style="font-family: inherit;"> </span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span lang="en-US" style="font-family: inherit;">We both decided
we need to prep more if we ever want to obtain a Chaos Orb patch. We
will flip pancakes for breakfast more often and try to attend an orb
flipping bootcamp to be able the perform better under
pressure.</span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span lang="en-US" style="font-family: inherit;"> </span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span lang="en-US" style="font-family: inherit;">Writing this report together has been a joy.
This ‘monster of the year’ grew and grew. As the stream of words
flowed naturally, we relived the moments. It truly was a ‘fest’,
so much more than a game or tournament. Old school Magic feels like
one big, international family with a special bond. This report, no
matter how lengthy it may be, doesn’t do full justice to the
feeling of being part of that family and experience. The best we
could do after all this time was pour all our ‘bloed, zweet en
tranen’ (‘blood, sweat and tears’) in a tribute. Thank you,
select few readers, who followed us on our journey all the way to the
end. We hope you enjoyed our adventure story. Maybe we will see you
one day, playtesting in the train, flipping orbs in the pub, or
</span><span lang="en-GB" style="font-family: inherit;">hitchhiking down a long and lonesome road. </span>
</div><p style="text-align: left;"></p><p style="text-align: left;"></p>
<p style="text-align: left;"><style type="text/css">p { line-height: 115%; text-align: left; orphans: 2; widows: 2; margin-bottom: 0.1in; direction: ltr; background: transparent }a:visited { color: #954f72; text-decoration: underline }a:link { color: #0000ff; text-decoration: underline }</style></p><p style="text-align: left;"></p></div>Mghttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00555613518338194305noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2299444734264560627.post-68211079205868873402023-12-31T22:29:00.044+01:002024-01-24T19:08:17.737+01:00Lord of the Rings in MtG: 1993 vs 2023<img src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiNsaLqOL8evw4ZSKC05S0JkIssuVKTpHTShXNnJGxiFJZTn9r3hmwU7mp26AJbDhRxt5se2yQ2nFSrIPSJ4_ruso9hOZ_bHP4KR68jyvfLg_G8W2QviUPZAabwuoMrCmGaXYXlE7RgJFgNsSr2NedlfgTTwESBEr-HUs6alKDHI1NQOX9nzgUb_1eH8rI/s1419/balrog.jpg" style="display: none;" />I think even the fogeys occupying this corner of the Internet noticed that WotC released a Magic set based on Lord of the Rings earlier this year. But what fewer might know is that WotC wasn't just broadly inspired by the high fantasy style of Lord of the Rings when they made Alpha, they designed proper Middle Earth cards for that first Magic set. Due to copyright concerns these cards changed names between playtesting and print (or had very generic names), but if we know where to look we can still get an interesting view of designs 30 years apart.<p>We could - as usual - go very deep if we wanted. A lot of things could be said for how WotC represents the likes of orcs, elves, dwarves, trolls, wraiths, or dragons today versus 1993. Or how they present powerful rare warriors in classic Tolkien tribes.</p><p></p><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiGk4jkj-ZzoF9vLcs8WtbMqfhHnX08bn2bZLO1YOTR0DeoP47hw-5OYm84ie_JEu1RYghhbO9J3FP-42l_7gInpnzU3IXZmhYkiaJxm0DmCtli6NCPl_QdsrG2VVHi_f3HMpVOcFeriDcv4nxBviNTJuD5KgK7D0AFjwaSnZX6VC_JEge-bgSr2nzwD_Y/s1160/archers.jpg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="696" data-original-width="1160" height="192" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiGk4jkj-ZzoF9vLcs8WtbMqfhHnX08bn2bZLO1YOTR0DeoP47hw-5OYm84ie_JEu1RYghhbO9J3FP-42l_7gInpnzU3IXZmhYkiaJxm0DmCtli6NCPl_QdsrG2VVHi_f3HMpVOcFeriDcv4nxBviNTJuD5KgK7D0AFjwaSnZX6VC_JEge-bgSr2nzwD_Y/s320/archers.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Elvish Archers (1993) compared to Orcish Bowmasters (2023). Both have the same rarity (rare), both represent Tolkien-inspired archers, and both were good cards in their original formats. Only one of them can block <a href="https://gatherer.wizards.com/Pages/Card/Details.aspx?multiverseid=73941">Frazzled Editor</a> though...<br /></td></tr></tbody></table><p></p><p>But let's keep it short today. Three cards, that's it.<br /></p><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiNsaLqOL8evw4ZSKC05S0JkIssuVKTpHTShXNnJGxiFJZTn9r3hmwU7mp26AJbDhRxt5se2yQ2nFSrIPSJ4_ruso9hOZ_bHP4KR68jyvfLg_G8W2QviUPZAabwuoMrCmGaXYXlE7RgJFgNsSr2NedlfgTTwESBEr-HUs6alKDHI1NQOX9nzgUb_1eH8rI/s1419/balrog.jpg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="703" data-original-width="1419" height="159" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiNsaLqOL8evw4ZSKC05S0JkIssuVKTpHTShXNnJGxiFJZTn9r3hmwU7mp26AJbDhRxt5se2yQ2nFSrIPSJ4_ruso9hOZ_bHP4KR68jyvfLg_G8W2QviUPZAabwuoMrCmGaXYXlE7RgJFgNsSr2NedlfgTTwESBEr-HUs6alKDHI1NQOX9nzgUb_1eH8rI/s320/balrog.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Balrog -> Lord of the Pit -> The Balrog, Durin's Bane<br /></td></tr></tbody></table><p></p><p>First, let's acknowledge that there are in fact <i>three</i> cards representing the Balrog in the Tales of Middle Earth set. Apart from The Balrog, Durin's Bane we have The Balrog, Flame of Udûn and The Balrog of Moria. It does however appear that The Balrog, Durin's Bane is the "most proper" representation of the Balrog; the one that you can open in ordinary boosters and isn't some sort of precon version or other strange thing I don't fully grasp. And let's also clarify that pre-Alpha playtest cards write mana cost in a slightly different way than what we're used to now; 7BBB means "7 mana total, at least three of which must be black". So the first number is the <i>total </i>mana requirement, not how much generic mana you must spend in addition to the colored mana.</p><p>So, the original playtest Balrog morphed into Lord of the Pit. And Lord of the Pit is of course awesome. He was the scariest dude around when I started playing. It was also Magic's most mana-expensive card when the game was released; while there were a few different cards that required six mana (Personal Incarnation, Force of Nature, Demonic Hordes, Shivan Dragon, etc), Lord of the Pit was the only one that demanded seven. And it was the second largest creature in the game after the Force of Nature itself. It's clear what Lord of the Pit represented; it was the biggest baddie in the room, it flew and trampled, and you had to pay sacrificial tribute to it each turn lest you face its wrath yourself.</p><p>The Balrog, Durin's Bane doesn't really hit me as an iconic card the same way. Like, how did that chatter on the schoolyard go? "I opened the Balrog yesterday!" "Oh, that card <a href="https://gatherer.wizards.com/Pages/Card/Details.aspx?multiverseid=620327">you can cycle to create two Treasure tokens</a>?" "No, the one that can destroy an artifact when it dies! Also it can be played cheaper if I have some sacrifice triggers from earlier in the turn, and it has an ability that makes it hard to block." "Trample you mean?" "No, it has something to do with legendary creatures." "Oh, isn't it that <a href="https://gatherer.wizards.com/Pages/Card/Details.aspx?multiverseid=620205">the Balrog will die</a> if one of your opponent's legendary creatures dies or something?" "Uuh, wait a sec and let me google that." "..." "Hey, turns out it also has haste!"<br /></p><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhZSAojqdiQ9BHIeZSTF4fFE4hy7JDiervlUqaZotpgq7ReA4yQjFYJe-e6xDjXiIE30DWH9OaIlWuc5HOwcFtmuNZVHpZd5c6v2P_oc_OlCYXIucZJNeRMPU8zFh15mRtaLq60-aHn66IcO-pH8u7Ve5f1nBPWmeASJHIYiu46y3nfYaQWWIlA631UlFo/s1442/ents.jpg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="681" data-original-width="1442" height="151" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhZSAojqdiQ9BHIeZSTF4fFE4hy7JDiervlUqaZotpgq7ReA4yQjFYJe-e6xDjXiIE30DWH9OaIlWuc5HOwcFtmuNZVHpZd5c6v2P_oc_OlCYXIucZJNeRMPU8zFh15mRtaLq60-aHn66IcO-pH8u7Ve5f1nBPWmeASJHIYiu46y3nfYaQWWIlA631UlFo/s320/ents.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Ents -> Ironroot Treefolk -> Enraged Horn<br /></td></tr></tbody></table><p>There are two common ents in Tales of Middle Earth; Enraged Horn and Generous Ent. Generous Ent has seven lines of text and three wildly different abilities, so I figured it would be more fair to compare the 1993 Ents with Enraged Horn. Enraged Horn also has the same mana cost, so it makes for a better side-by-side view. And if we were to go up to the uncommon or rare ents, and try to compare Ironroot Treefolk with cards like Old Man Willow or Fangorn, Tree Sheperd, things would quickly escalate to an overly complicated place.</p><p>Ironroot Treefolk isn't that an impressive Magic card. It was ok, and I surely played it back in the day, but I always felt it played second fiddle to creatures like Earth Elemental and Craw Wurm. The art is very funny though - and in combination with the flavor text it gets nothing short of hilarious - but it is more a card for imagination and flavor than for the battlefield in my experience. </p><p>I am not spending 500 words describing how "the ring tempts you" on Enraged Horn works, but just know that there's a lot of rules behind that short sentence.<br /></p><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjQ8xbxA993Z3mgOK5j3j02ahuCESdKX-cw6Rww6bbWmAjgT8170cyFAJ3fC8tKiJ1MYLxFY_iFFFIPnM5CoApru8bwMqJytx2FcJVyGKd79n56eC4wsQZPZrE5oJ6iPyXnV_pSambQV-18Fj1gSJdcrZSDpvurN9wsRU1-JrqRoDVFcbCXVYMJrEfu2iI/s1434/spiders.jpg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="689" data-original-width="1434" height="154" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjQ8xbxA993Z3mgOK5j3j02ahuCESdKX-cw6Rww6bbWmAjgT8170cyFAJ3fC8tKiJ1MYLxFY_iFFFIPnM5CoApru8bwMqJytx2FcJVyGKd79n56eC4wsQZPZrE5oJ6iPyXnV_pSambQV-18Fj1gSJdcrZSDpvurN9wsRU1-JrqRoDVFcbCXVYMJrEfu2iI/s320/spiders.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Giant Spider -> Giant Spider -> Shelob, Child of Ungoliath<br /></td></tr></tbody></table><p>It is kinda cool that Tolkien also popularized giant spiders as fantasy monsters. Sure, there were some depictions of scary spiders in fiction before Tolkien, but I'm positive that there would be no Giant Spider in Alpha if there was no Shelob in Lord of the Rings.</p><p>Giant Spider might be the closest thing we have to a ubiquitous Magic card. Apart from basic lands, Giant Spider was the longest surviving core game piece in Magic. It was in every revision of The Gathering from Alpha to Magic 2012 - an unparalleled thirteen core set streak - before finally dropping out in Magic 2013 (only to return in Magic 2014). In later years we've also seen it pop up in sets like Amonkhet and Dominaria Remastered. It made "reach" a keyword and defined how Magic did spiders. It is a whole thing.<br /></p><p>There's another version of Shelob - <a href="https://gatherer.wizards.com/Pages/Card/Details.aspx?multiverseid=620310">Shelob, Dread Weaver</a> - that maybe technically fits better as a comparison to the 1993 Giant Spider. The Dread Weaver version is a more comparable 3/3 and, like Giant Spider, has a mana value of four. But then it has eight more lines of text with a bunch of reanimation things and +1/+1 counters and graveyard shenanigans and card drawing going on, so let's stick with the Child of Ungoliath version. That one is after all the one from the main set.</p><p>Thanks to modern keywording of the wordy abilities on cards like <a href="https://gatherer.wizards.com/Pages/Card/Details.aspx?multiverseid=204999">Frost Titan</a> and <a href="https://gatherer.wizards.com/Pages/Card/Details.aspx?multiverseid=8908">Venomous Fangs</a>, Child of Ungoliath only needs nine lines of text. Sure, you'll have to know a few more keywords by heart in order to understand the card at all, but that is a price we all have to pay if we want to draft modern sets.</p><p>I could do a bit here about how WotC didn't dare return the "<a href="https://gatherer.wizards.com/Pages/Search/Default.aspx?action=advanced&text=+[wordy]">wordy</a>" ability seen in the three un-sets preceding Unfinity as it would pretty much affect every single card these days. "Protection from wordy" is very close to "Protection from everything" in modern design. But no, I won't go there. My only note on the design of Shelob is that she's an 8/8, and the Balrog is a 7/5. So this set is telling me that Shelob could not only go toe-to-toe with a Balrog, she would decisively win that fight and then spin the Flame of Udûn, who held the ruins of Moria for 500 years, into a piece of food? The flavor police disagrees.<br /></p><p></p><p>On a personal level, I prefer cards that are a bit more like puzzle pieces than simply completed puzzles. Like, I think that the game is more interesting with cards like <a href="https://gatherer.wizards.com/Pages/Card/Details.aspx?multiverseid=500906">Explore</a> than with cards like <a href="https://gatherer.wizards.com/Pages/Card/Details.aspx?multiverseid=476480">Uro</a>. I've probably written enough <a href="http://oldschool-mtg.blogspot.com/2023/02/vanilla-tier.html">on vanilla cards</a> and <a href="http://oldschool-mtg.blogspot.com/2021/03/a-matter-of-proportions.html">creature sizes</a> here that no one gets surprised to hear that I consider Giant Spider to be a better designed card than Shelob, Child of Ungoliath. More text and wordy abilities does not make for a better Magic card, just like Chess wouldn't become a superior game if we added more moves to the pawns. But then again, I'm getting older. It's 2024 in a few hours.<br /></p><p>Next up is a belated n00bfest report, and then the 2023 retrospective. Until then, happy new year!<br /></p>Mghttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00555613518338194305noreply@blogger.com5tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2299444734264560627.post-13750976478625702762023-11-22T23:47:00.026+01:002023-12-01T23:17:16.620+01:00Big White at Montebello<img src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiQVfO9AaT16J_335csimx9ST8ZDfC6Ed0wQS8VoBqMoay9Z7aZJC3XBsIf0nYC6TY7lf_XPtrpjtMEnaNxOAjA80EPmA050w0y1Gab6qaPkojaRbA0LeV-OWXKL5KUjfBkBpCWbkwrp46tr-CqpWkUcbFKPQv_7waO_y4m9WAPfjZWcqSPBuqa6R2Uf3k/s2048/361963117_10159141249826498_4534126865094501016_n.jpg" style="display: none;" /><p>Some cards I simply like. They might not be in the highest tier, but they often lead to interesting games and "good Magic". Cards like Sindbad or Guardian Beast. Or Witch Hunter.</p><p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjS5S6riZEf07SJWODodNAIqzB7qeHn0OZxS5NxJpL5GnLwDdBcSAxgE3MjSutpwONWeN6uZwlkikJFQjp7pPdCOXatnza4u5hVLDZKLMm8cpBqN7_vq2pHeOlVaxWhLqP5DSg1r5LLeOXHOcMgNawiAn1NuUFf354ktREduFuv2loqx-LYjjgCl6fGsJc/s2048/20201122_125509.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="2048" data-original-width="1536" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjS5S6riZEf07SJWODodNAIqzB7qeHn0OZxS5NxJpL5GnLwDdBcSAxgE3MjSutpwONWeN6uZwlkikJFQjp7pPdCOXatnza4u5hVLDZKLMm8cpBqN7_vq2pHeOlVaxWhLqP5DSg1r5LLeOXHOcMgNawiAn1NuUFf354ktREduFuv2loqx-LYjjgCl6fGsJc/s320/20201122_125509.jpg" width="240" /></a></div><p></p><p>I'd been looking for a home for Witch Hunter. During a peak of covid-reclusiveness in 2020 I wrote <a href="https://oldschool-mtg.blogspot.com/2020/11/witch-hunter.html">a single-card post about him</a>, but still had no deck carved out. 'Cause if we want to enable Witch Hunter, we want to build a deck where landing him seems like a natural part of midgame - a deck where Witch Hunter is somehow inconspicuous and not a lightning rod for removal. It's reasonable enough to construct a deck where Flying Men or Sindbad or some other one- or two-mana spell fly under the radar, but incognito four-drops demand a bit more effort.</p><p>Let's start by paving the road. There are some really solid utility 1/1s in White. <br /></p><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg4I96qFVefw_bNQHegIODuVosPrWL34Dy51SjMiO_CaYta2FKJ5-bqm3HC7n8EVc_cWqpGyYJ87Si-GyNzMZOmnDSnlUYFIJ4sQIyCtgFGQmIkZ43SNjMY2dJH6_YPudJi4nSO5f0jA6g3Q7M8_XY8qcLWrg2sRh7BSM9cZw3NQTj4xArcJpxdyy5LOlk/s1558/20230914_212229.jpg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="807" data-original-width="1558" height="166" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg4I96qFVefw_bNQHegIODuVosPrWL34Dy51SjMiO_CaYta2FKJ5-bqm3HC7n8EVc_cWqpGyYJ87Si-GyNzMZOmnDSnlUYFIJ4sQIyCtgFGQmIkZ43SNjMY2dJH6_YPudJi4nSO5f0jA6g3Q7M8_XY8qcLWrg2sRh7BSM9cZw3NQTj4xArcJpxdyy5LOlk/s320/20230914_212229.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">King Suleiman not pictured, but not forgotten.<br /></td></tr></tbody></table><p>Three-drops look good if our goal is to stick a four-drop. And if we accept that combat is a phase, there are a few other guys at three who can swing rather than preach or dig.</p><div style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhP-4G5mMC8kARZUygI3WZTM0ie-rtzbwzE12MWE9dSlCKEESPWrRMnm40JW-okewgCu-X4rV_ontCPjLM67AoeakwtQPO13AAsNrTEESyJeJzdRmtfME6RJuhWuKPsAFXKAqnDIp3tCww-Vy5n4qhp5OmEFBFKT-G3dkXLs-HnRWm9jD0fV54g54bB1A4/s2176/20230914_212250.jpg"><img border="0" data-original-height="1567" data-original-width="2176" height="230" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhP-4G5mMC8kARZUygI3WZTM0ie-rtzbwzE12MWE9dSlCKEESPWrRMnm40JW-okewgCu-X4rV_ontCPjLM67AoeakwtQPO13AAsNrTEESyJeJzdRmtfME6RJuhWuKPsAFXKAqnDIp3tCww-Vy5n4qhp5OmEFBFKT-G3dkXLs-HnRWm9jD0fV54g54bB1A4/s320/20230914_212250.jpg" width="320" /></a></div><p>Yeah, this looks like a thing. How on earth would anyone beat Yotian Solider? Dude is basically a Moat for three that deals the opponent one damage each turn. Let's try mono-white, and with a high curve. No room for Savannah Lions or White Knights or other puny summons lesser wizards enjoy. It is time to go big. </p><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjbDCG9m2fGkGix5p1N6OZdNFdkRpbQTyud_nUCJVyuM_EA2ku96nEs6QsN7GdpVvjJEnq9JGpWChRD1VV7XP92ZPgiUQeMhxpzdypHWUER0UnOHvfXTc5A2sCMsnHv2WVPPeyuDKcqN_OcB04xNr6Za-3SK5b1vSU6XmVmi3uIaot0wzdMFd-J38xw1Uo/s2058/20230914_212543.jpg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1605" data-original-width="2058" height="250" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjbDCG9m2fGkGix5p1N6OZdNFdkRpbQTyud_nUCJVyuM_EA2ku96nEs6QsN7GdpVvjJEnq9JGpWChRD1VV7XP92ZPgiUQeMhxpzdypHWUER0UnOHvfXTc5A2sCMsnHv2WVPPeyuDKcqN_OcB04xNr6Za-3SK5b1vSU6XmVmi3uIaot0wzdMFd-J38xw1Uo/s320/20230914_212543.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">So this seems like a no-brainer.<br /></td></tr></tbody></table><p></p><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg__JKKveMsgVAjj435n0cccL1lkktNLX75x4xGY5q3-mXQ7ZMixUr2W3W7JuzpMpegoRy-8q6P73joas1GfWN7fl3ezCkCLzgvlR_9gNAdelyUz1YdRTD-XhrylrlUBp6fBoRdS4egCS0OCy9ZlBw4P0URQi4Gq09q9ujPSdavNkjjW4pr2RwFVh7KLEY/s2159/20230914_211953.jpg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1079" data-original-width="2159" height="160" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg__JKKveMsgVAjj435n0cccL1lkktNLX75x4xGY5q3-mXQ7ZMixUr2W3W7JuzpMpegoRy-8q6P73joas1GfWN7fl3ezCkCLzgvlR_9gNAdelyUz1YdRTD-XhrylrlUBp6fBoRdS4egCS0OCy9ZlBw4P0URQi4Gq09q9ujPSdavNkjjW4pr2RwFVh7KLEY/s320/20230914_211953.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">As we want to play high-toughness creatures and Preachers, Diamond Valley looks sweet.<br /></td></tr></tbody></table><br /><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiMYaytzHHYNuLRalQBUexmwuZFp4ZmhpAGQ2-9nfqFpLoswrJKQGgakmPcHL7w5NY5OTe-cv0VmV6zJMo8wQOE0jeIVUiBveFzWRdjybQ1yoK1JLjiQRjDeKSPrEc8JMWTpQ8bvPv3o_WYmk6vAvjSAekjPssHdiOFzQNyqOxpRwfzZgox3We-H-jYWwA/s1752/20230914_212356.jpg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1111" data-original-width="1752" height="203" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiMYaytzHHYNuLRalQBUexmwuZFp4ZmhpAGQ2-9nfqFpLoswrJKQGgakmPcHL7w5NY5OTe-cv0VmV6zJMo8wQOE0jeIVUiBveFzWRdjybQ1yoK1JLjiQRjDeKSPrEc8JMWTpQ8bvPv3o_WYmk6vAvjSAekjPssHdiOFzQNyqOxpRwfzZgox3We-H-jYWwA/s320/20230914_212356.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Basics and big spells means Land Tax is good. And with Land Tax on the menu we mise well make room for Armageddons. Or maybe it is that we start with Geddon and make room for Land Tax. Regardless, synergy!<br /></td><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><br /></td></tr></tbody></table><p></p><p></p><p></p><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgiTET1bMQsuviy-pQYzVzcPoAkb2sIcMfPXuQmslCJnXVXsFkfd9WNvRt4KBLpwPHveO3DY_5rBIQcxskClPB-vy15Vh3RXHMnZP8tmdoQ1B2YxdL2f6L_5GmbBpl3yE0-a4WuOmaTEgmuR1cffP-CcnnX4-zIAldTKkAqfPvklBsGc4DB4v1OMq17wvU/s1634/20230914_212442.jpg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1634" data-original-width="1634" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgiTET1bMQsuviy-pQYzVzcPoAkb2sIcMfPXuQmslCJnXVXsFkfd9WNvRt4KBLpwPHveO3DY_5rBIQcxskClPB-vy15Vh3RXHMnZP8tmdoQ1B2YxdL2f6L_5GmbBpl3yE0-a4WuOmaTEgmuR1cffP-CcnnX4-zIAldTKkAqfPvklBsGc4DB4v1OMq17wvU/s320/20230914_212442.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Big White means big spells.<br /></td></tr></tbody></table><p></p><p></p><p></p><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh8qxdQ4Sgy6n_4d1DnNeXcfHdctJ4XH-cUzGDvzzl3hgtJncn7xIaHVjQhMIF3ePP731lTVBdQIP3pSzlqrxPgtPAMcRN5A16bmFXMeGmPKdvFd7NhTB5T-u-eNfjjU3nLbMBbbgrJVHomf6ol0MYCZL4zZswMqWbyxcpqYq9L0ycOjSX7o95Rmu7KiN8/s3371/20230914_212451.jpg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="3371" data-original-width="2247" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh8qxdQ4Sgy6n_4d1DnNeXcfHdctJ4XH-cUzGDvzzl3hgtJncn7xIaHVjQhMIF3ePP731lTVBdQIP3pSzlqrxPgtPAMcRN5A16bmFXMeGmPKdvFd7NhTB5T-u-eNfjjU3nLbMBbbgrJVHomf6ol0MYCZL4zZswMqWbyxcpqYq9L0ycOjSX7o95Rmu7KiN8/s320/20230914_212451.jpg" width="213" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Here's a guy I play far to rarely. His death-drawback only triggers when he goes to the graveyard, so we don't have to fear common removal like Swords to Plowshares (and, of course, Personal Incarnation can't really be killed by burn spells). The only real dangers are Chaos Orb and Nevinyrral's Disk, and we should be able to play around those reasonably well.<br /></td></tr></tbody></table><p></p><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjUDLoeybeft8VfU82UApYqdQdt-aigXLFadknnC6YJ508LCZIq081CtRaWynmyRcv1FoJULj4UTvsMKziDRc6-YfkYCflPUhlYijYhGkAzTr90TTZXIVnCXFnTmYxUiYTycNSWJCwzZlEUe_8XOtupexdbURSYrZFe_N-RWGVv8PB5yzIhpKQwshTfm50/s1585/20230914_212108.jpg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1194" data-original-width="1585" height="241" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjUDLoeybeft8VfU82UApYqdQdt-aigXLFadknnC6YJ508LCZIq081CtRaWynmyRcv1FoJULj4UTvsMKziDRc6-YfkYCflPUhlYijYhGkAzTr90TTZXIVnCXFnTmYxUiYTycNSWJCwzZlEUe_8XOtupexdbURSYrZFe_N-RWGVv8PB5yzIhpKQwshTfm50/s320/20230914_212108.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Speaking of ways to play around Orb and Disk.<br /></td></tr></tbody></table><p></p><p></p><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiJwmROR3pHUXHCVA5dAeps8Z0MRDs5hYsca-AHtl7nPDMHJhwGDFFs0KgC8oPbq0j99ZyKAOIrVknpsfM7xqakJMrt_Ttjgw3MSZ3NiezkpEki4I2qJALlWODZ2L0f_BYkzwrjnd7Uvo6hH9X5LH9WkEV_r6cWhMxK6VtPbIRD-Soi5nQ-_qShjriDvKM/s1804/20230914_212334.jpg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1269" data-original-width="1804" height="225" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiJwmROR3pHUXHCVA5dAeps8Z0MRDs5hYsca-AHtl7nPDMHJhwGDFFs0KgC8oPbq0j99ZyKAOIrVknpsfM7xqakJMrt_Ttjgw3MSZ3NiezkpEki4I2qJALlWODZ2L0f_BYkzwrjnd7Uvo6hH9X5LH9WkEV_r6cWhMxK6VtPbIRD-Soi5nQ-_qShjriDvKM/s320/20230914_212334.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">We need a lot of cheap, early removal as we don't start affecting the board until turn three of four.<br /></td><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><br /></td><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><br /></td><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><br /></td><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><br /></td><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><br /></td><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><br /></td></tr></tbody></table><p></p><p></p><p></p><p></p><p></p><p></p><p></p><p></p><p></p><p></p><p></p><p></p><p></p><p></p><p></p><p></p><p></p><p></p><p></p><p></p><p></p><p></p><p></p><p></p><p></p><p></p><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjThplme38CEs5XmnzCH2nacddd2HmNCPmOACSGrtrvMYYMu-_aaNVISSYO1DeHHlW_-CZku_Vto_KVcXXkZbWLThNPRJPM8r6Fm-tA4dKZDczi4oS5dFkV6wC5boYMm4Wy_mci8WpUUlroYhUjG5OGrZM9GClsdW5CqLQNCF-SXQ7clYq7DGpjfL-CGdw/s1113/20230914_212132.jpg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="808" data-original-width="1113" height="232" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjThplme38CEs5XmnzCH2nacddd2HmNCPmOACSGrtrvMYYMu-_aaNVISSYO1DeHHlW_-CZku_Vto_KVcXXkZbWLThNPRJPM8r6Fm-tA4dKZDczi4oS5dFkV6wC5boYMm4Wy_mci8WpUUlroYhUjG5OGrZM9GClsdW5CqLQNCF-SXQ7clYq7DGpjfL-CGdw/s320/20230914_212132.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">As for the sideboard, I've come to really appreciate Karma. It offers another angle of attack, and I'd be willing to sleeve them up against almost any deck that plays black as even a tertiary color. Just pinging one a turn can be enough, and if we're dealing two or more it gets very hard to race. Might even be maindeckable.<br /></td></tr></tbody></table><p></p><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjH3LAS6WMkLyVdbQ_GL7b1H28O4JVKbmi9Xy8fpNKTuUUlygFaE6SsB-qM8jzCJheSew99wd4umEm-sE40fBSyAqmnv5XCw7lHkU3XyeX39L5IGbvZCA5UbwSVTcUnqyiKps2XfwifeLCP66uxJhR6Nm63zPKGxPot00f7ke5sFXJNeCo20oZWHpjZwm8/s1754/20230914_212030.jpg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1754" data-original-width="1404" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjH3LAS6WMkLyVdbQ_GL7b1H28O4JVKbmi9Xy8fpNKTuUUlygFaE6SsB-qM8jzCJheSew99wd4umEm-sE40fBSyAqmnv5XCw7lHkU3XyeX39L5IGbvZCA5UbwSVTcUnqyiKps2XfwifeLCP66uxJhR6Nm63zPKGxPot00f7ke5sFXJNeCo20oZWHpjZwm8/s320/20230914_212030.jpg" width="256" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">And I almost never leave home without two pairs of zero-mana The Dark spells these days. <br /></td></tr></tbody></table><p></p><p></p><p>The mana base is kinda basic; around 27 mana sources total divided something like this:</p><ul style="text-align: left;"><li>14-17 Plains</li><li>3-5 Moxen<br /></li><li>4 Mishra's Factory</li><li>1 Strip Mine</li><li>1 Library of Alexandria (unless you are a true gentleman) <br /></li><li>1 Sol Ring</li><li>1 Black Lotus</li><li> 0-1 Karakas <br /></li></ul><p>...plus 1-2 Land Tax. The deck functions reasonably well without Moxen, but without them we might want to add some more early removal (upping the number of Disenchants/Divine Offerings, possibly adding a few Spirit Links) as we get a bit slower out the gate. Though if you have them I would certainly play them, as they work well with Geddon and Land Tax (and with all the expensive spells). But it is not like the Mana Vortex deck where they are crucial for the deck to function.</p><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi0E0BFz-SYYjJVZrO7cwVxlbgRQGQoRKUBYUuDoqlbVC9j8vriAchMLZFjx0nqvMD78z900XIbr0GGI77lROsW76OxjWe1hx8AInq9RyuLURu9CJHD16nJM_1VFAtAg0SSko5RedQIn62c-TBUWIG-BFTiTa6IyGECxfNTj9QjUKAYJPcGDdtKu1YAzKM/s2048/362226807_10159141243361498_5633288328904887348_n.jpg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1536" data-original-width="2048" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi0E0BFz-SYYjJVZrO7cwVxlbgRQGQoRKUBYUuDoqlbVC9j8vriAchMLZFjx0nqvMD78z900XIbr0GGI77lROsW76OxjWe1hx8AInq9RyuLURu9CJHD16nJM_1VFAtAg0SSko5RedQIn62c-TBUWIG-BFTiTa6IyGECxfNTj9QjUKAYJPcGDdtKu1YAzKM/s320/362226807_10159141243361498_5633288328904887348_n.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Big White, MonteBello version.<br /></td></tr></tbody></table><p></p><p>I first got to try out the deck at a tournament in Oslo; Trygve's Montebello Djinn Fest. Trygve has become an organizer of repute here in the Norwegian capital, and last summer he chased away his family to gather a group of nerds in his home to sling cards.<br /></p><p></p><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi0Sk0h2mlnRIXhCMpgy_CQLSvXvM8HQJipK6gEQHODGww5obr3Q0-aMMBpoXFajgi3CdteeZujJEiFBAaOdRk7N7A3lQ30Ql3sP8tVLAqvjbtO43qTgADAXWLjcEvl5ZhVMQMEBMvdyhyU6kmUa4w2q8QzLJtZ-kYTLJ0TDPlzS1mQ7VZ7R-3NklToJ0k/s2048/360138144_10168184828640014_8359760539768024380_n.jpg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="2048" data-original-width="1536" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi0Sk0h2mlnRIXhCMpgy_CQLSvXvM8HQJipK6gEQHODGww5obr3Q0-aMMBpoXFajgi3CdteeZujJEiFBAaOdRk7N7A3lQ30Ql3sP8tVLAqvjbtO43qTgADAXWLjcEvl5ZhVMQMEBMvdyhyU6kmUa4w2q8QzLJtZ-kYTLJ0TDPlzS1mQ7VZ7R-3NklToJ0k/s320/360138144_10168184828640014_8359760539768024380_n.jpg" width="240" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">And drink gin, can't have a djinn fest without gin.<br /></td></tr></tbody></table><br /><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEghyphenhyphensx7dN0rI9wqykdpgR4T53al9ji32gcp5tee_AZeKkQfRjpiv1RilWmOxvGPoFL_fSNCFBc_RVXabu0o5QKLN_SOlKvOs5yXBIrUv4AyZwhArNWIp04uss6xOjWmdrwaBKQoDKwdoHcuuSbriBsm2PZ_MtbCihpqcEnbgdKp7ENK85ojAMw71ddFClM/s2048/359511490_10159031604585855_8888048309612158172_n.jpg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1152" data-original-width="2048" height="180" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEghyphenhyphensx7dN0rI9wqykdpgR4T53al9ji32gcp5tee_AZeKkQfRjpiv1RilWmOxvGPoFL_fSNCFBc_RVXabu0o5QKLN_SOlKvOs5yXBIrUv4AyZwhArNWIp04uss6xOjWmdrwaBKQoDKwdoHcuuSbriBsm2PZ_MtbCihpqcEnbgdKp7ENK85ojAMw71ddFClM/s320/359511490_10159031604585855_8888048309612158172_n.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">The crew.<br /></td></tr></tbody></table><p></p><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh-z3DU2gDyK5xYK6PBUjL7zWmWw5BEQXNyTzjJR3o20I_d7JweIpmoWo8L4g8pGgWFAl3HXqKAEFGB8T3MUA8vbsrXzA7d09s8fmP1yhqkEnHVsUv4plu-E_ItSKT21LZYRTr1qjzy_mY5WLVSjpo0rdrqRfq8RnM6Q6DyUGGEKsU0jsyxDR1bC5efQ_M/s2048/361175838_10159031603050855_5756019995902640753_n.jpg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1152" data-original-width="2048" height="180" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh-z3DU2gDyK5xYK6PBUjL7zWmWw5BEQXNyTzjJR3o20I_d7JweIpmoWo8L4g8pGgWFAl3HXqKAEFGB8T3MUA8vbsrXzA7d09s8fmP1yhqkEnHVsUv4plu-E_ItSKT21LZYRTr1qjzy_mY5WLVSjpo0rdrqRfq8RnM6Q6DyUGGEKsU0jsyxDR1bC5efQ_M/s320/361175838_10159031603050855_5756019995902640753_n.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">The place.<br /></td></tr></tbody></table><p></p><p></p><p></p><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiQVfO9AaT16J_335csimx9ST8ZDfC6Ed0wQS8VoBqMoay9Z7aZJC3XBsIf0nYC6TY7lf_XPtrpjtMEnaNxOAjA80EPmA050w0y1Gab6qaPkojaRbA0LeV-OWXKL5KUjfBkBpCWbkwrp46tr-CqpWkUcbFKPQv_7waO_y4m9WAPfjZWcqSPBuqa6R2Uf3k/s2048/361963117_10159141249826498_4534126865094501016_n.jpg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1536" data-original-width="2048" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiQVfO9AaT16J_335csimx9ST8ZDfC6Ed0wQS8VoBqMoay9Z7aZJC3XBsIf0nYC6TY7lf_XPtrpjtMEnaNxOAjA80EPmA050w0y1Gab6qaPkojaRbA0LeV-OWXKL5KUjfBkBpCWbkwrp46tr-CqpWkUcbFKPQv_7waO_y4m9WAPfjZWcqSPBuqa6R2Uf3k/s320/361963117_10159141249826498_4534126865094501016_n.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Yeah, this is the good stuff.<br /></td></tr></tbody></table><p></p><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgK92GZlXElG1GdxYVMjzRXVi691Js2D_M-3JC9VCfR0UgrMC87dx-nLKiUtQ_dub0Oqm1_QqWbfcuIG2Rne1VC4BRvdCwUzV-AGhUJeuBNEzbqkzPeBTi6mz8OpVYchMTwE-ws2nX2ojGXwBFStNtd7HoYUITn3VvETO-UPXSIjYrXFokUHdqGXWKVeHU/s2048/362242744_10159141250271498_674328044595898926_n.jpg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="2048" data-original-width="1536" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgK92GZlXElG1GdxYVMjzRXVi691Js2D_M-3JC9VCfR0UgrMC87dx-nLKiUtQ_dub0Oqm1_QqWbfcuIG2Rne1VC4BRvdCwUzV-AGhUJeuBNEzbqkzPeBTi6mz8OpVYchMTwE-ws2nX2ojGXwBFStNtd7HoYUITn3VvETO-UPXSIjYrXFokUHdqGXWKVeHU/s320/362242744_10159141250271498_674328044595898926_n.jpg" width="240" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">It is unfathomably amusing getting paired against ErhnamGeddon when you run maindeck King Suleimans.<br /></td></tr></tbody></table><p></p><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjnToF-kGdhutzjcvZCqjha0NbRmcmPpgfXwP8XjOLjQ8nOx1iqodr00KD78GdQaR_5i0kfy1eY1KvhgtJBOwvp97VZbugXR1K9Hi_pYa6hW8T23BHgxH93hL5D4HGveeDf6z_SVwxyZ6WLhDMPFEetv7j7Uwh285Y5AEK-Se769i9PcSrcD_2D7-8L0Bo/s2048/362248074_10159141249781498_6846598630370543104_n.jpg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="2048" data-original-width="1536" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjnToF-kGdhutzjcvZCqjha0NbRmcmPpgfXwP8XjOLjQ8nOx1iqodr00KD78GdQaR_5i0kfy1eY1KvhgtJBOwvp97VZbugXR1K9Hi_pYa6hW8T23BHgxH93hL5D4HGveeDf6z_SVwxyZ6WLhDMPFEetv7j7Uwh285Y5AEK-Se769i9PcSrcD_2D7-8L0Bo/s320/362248074_10159141249781498_6846598630370543104_n.jpg" width="240" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Bjartnes contemplating how to beat my third Yotian Soldier. Moat with upside.<br /></td></tr></tbody></table><br /><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjY_p9ZINMQOqj_kLf4j__swjRdDzzCQG7cT_Js4W1poacPGZ2g6U_wXhD8qKYTb-DvDNZ8evLcZlPIlQvQ0nT7LBxv6dHOi8sruN4r1o5kpv_UbF3FzTe4ZveX3GISVvjFhKFxPHd_EUBeUW8aNOl_3QStcwsTJscYVByYkdnsK-HHnBe7FYpH5oVJu7I/s2048/362240612_10159141249711498_7624750454853557773_n.jpg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="2048" data-original-width="1536" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjY_p9ZINMQOqj_kLf4j__swjRdDzzCQG7cT_Js4W1poacPGZ2g6U_wXhD8qKYTb-DvDNZ8evLcZlPIlQvQ0nT7LBxv6dHOi8sruN4r1o5kpv_UbF3FzTe4ZveX3GISVvjFhKFxPHd_EUBeUW8aNOl_3QStcwsTJscYVByYkdnsK-HHnBe7FYpH5oVJu7I/s320/362240612_10159141249711498_7624750454853557773_n.jpg" width="240" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Our beloved Daniel Ewald (co-organizer of The Plague and all-round good guy) keeps playing a Su-Chi that keeps getting chased away by a Witch Hunter.<br /></td></tr></tbody></table><br /><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhe3QUGc7xSOpxk13YtdbC2-xOJof-4xu5OzS6emO1iUXP0w9ivJ8cn95BvseQCMaImlB-D4jjboJUGCmRNJBa3zmKrD6otifpF8tEB1sAYbY9bq5l1iM8CVpReZFwDtlDrpUAVY-xbGAtIRFtKhaVT9ddpOKV8FRV0wfumqWtpiKniweDItbp6FO-qOCI/s2048/359812592_10168184828545014_3263936170440146708_n.jpg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1536" data-original-width="2048" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhe3QUGc7xSOpxk13YtdbC2-xOJof-4xu5OzS6emO1iUXP0w9ivJ8cn95BvseQCMaImlB-D4jjboJUGCmRNJBa3zmKrD6otifpF8tEB1sAYbY9bq5l1iM8CVpReZFwDtlDrpUAVY-xbGAtIRFtKhaVT9ddpOKV8FRV0wfumqWtpiKniweDItbp6FO-qOCI/s320/359812592_10168184828545014_3263936170440146708_n.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">A beardless Mg lands an old Audun Døssland combo: Preacher + Diamond Valley.<br /></td></tr></tbody></table><br /><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiQVTtuGyeaAWPAclNTdEbydw1Rpu3rfbRifF0NcIX4coawlNhaO53M5MmhQgUur9vpW0pPTSlcyVVdso76KKZZ8_m2-GPPfVR2tEYDA5x7iMUx9i44zlG45NqyLXGDECsne88Qu4iOYLsBlv64vjhvZPvn2JOjtuuMMOU4XVLwEzFsjgUhuhMc1uzlZeg/s2048/362252468_10159141249676498_738827115768462858_n.jpg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="2048" data-original-width="1536" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiQVTtuGyeaAWPAclNTdEbydw1Rpu3rfbRifF0NcIX4coawlNhaO53M5MmhQgUur9vpW0pPTSlcyVVdso76KKZZ8_m2-GPPfVR2tEYDA5x7iMUx9i44zlG45NqyLXGDECsne88Qu4iOYLsBlv64vjhvZPvn2JOjtuuMMOU4XVLwEzFsjgUhuhMc1uzlZeg/s320/362252468_10159141249676498_738827115768462858_n.jpg" width="240" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">But the best combo, the real "achievement unlocked" of the Djinn Fest, belonged to Ole, with his Chains of Mephistopheles + Knowledge Vault shenanigans. Now <i>that's</i> going deep into the oldschool mire. Like, there can't be that many people even among the reader's of this blag who knows exactly how Knowledge Vault even works. So managing to build a deck around it and run it all the way to the finals is some proper wizardry. Hat's off Ole.<br /></td><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><br /></td><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><br /></td></tr></tbody></table><p>Big White also managed to Top8 the Montebello tournament somehow, but was shown the door after facing The Deck in the quarterfinals.</p><p>As for updates, while I really liked the Yotian Soliders, it's possible that Thunder Spirits are better maindeck. I boarded in the Spirits almost every game, and having another answer to early Hypnotic Specters is really useful. The fact that Thunder Spirit dies to Lightning Bolt mostly means that there's one Bolt less for a Preacher or Witch Hunter later. Jalum Tome wasn't that exciting either, so I think I'd rather go full on Jayemdae here. I did have a tweak on the deck for PastaCon 2 later in the summer, where I also went from three to five Moxen.<br /></p><p></p><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj2w6n-XObdfqRlaL2Cd-r4MjMVfWP58JZHYGJhTY6kwKI8IeHUCldw4Ondkc1KhEW4ld7tfn70Qyj1pxOuNhNBAM9Q994YfvTs7-3Rc-YpjJBLcmKwFu4KUUAeBIpqGtKtqt31XdiZs0kKUCR65OIVbKP7OzhLUGHeplM8cKuSMfMFlkm-qUw1z2bSQBs/s2078/20230914_211331.jpg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1567" data-original-width="2078" height="241" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj2w6n-XObdfqRlaL2Cd-r4MjMVfWP58JZHYGJhTY6kwKI8IeHUCldw4Ondkc1KhEW4ld7tfn70Qyj1pxOuNhNBAM9Q994YfvTs7-3Rc-YpjJBLcmKwFu4KUUAeBIpqGtKtqt31XdiZs0kKUCR65OIVbKP7OzhLUGHeplM8cKuSMfMFlkm-qUw1z2bSQBs/s320/20230914_211331.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Big White, PastaCon version. No top8, but did reasonably.<br /></td></tr></tbody></table><p></p><p>Can't say which is the most correct build of the two, there might be a third version that ties the thing together. Or a fourth, or fifth. There's still a lot to explore on the shores of imagination.<br /></p><p></p>Mghttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00555613518338194305noreply@blogger.com5tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2299444734264560627.post-27965998795504782322023-10-22T00:44:00.022+02:002023-11-25T19:42:43.425+01:00Mana Vortex<img src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgDyYFMeeMFGxS5nIhQaKRt9k3QDIGgrYksmtpHLXmB7TY_vb1ohKKmxA6Xsl8OVY4Yzswe4-9RL3QAW3L4iQy167WqjNTELGFO-p2o2yu5TBdcusLsHQEeiMBeCtUDkq0Qovd5zOlAV7qFwteMmZBYNT48Tk3AIrB0KbV8zcHZDBBJBctLBZdmB83Utzw/s4000/20231011_154944.jpg" style="display: none;" /><i>Some years ago—never mind how long precisely—having
little or no money in my purse, and nothing particular to interest me
on shore, I thought I would sail about a little and see the
watery part of the world. It is a way I have of driving off the
spleen and regulating the circulation. Whenever I find myself
growing grim about the mouth; whenever it is a damp, drizzly
November in my soul; whenever I find myself involuntarily pausing
before coffin warehouses, and bringing up the rear of every
funeral I meet; and especially whenever my hypos get such an upper
hand of me, that it requires a strong moral principle to prevent me
from deliberately stepping into the street, and methodically knocking
people's hats off—then, I account it high time to get to sea as
soon as I can.<br /></i><p><i>- Herman Melville<br /></i></p><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEghruySCjbc7Fxyj-GDmPfEluCu-60kWWVjZMZwv20ZYrn6crW8m5BvNHE0Xjb-N7B2p5zu9BUk6EOjotdQzrL-pirEJNfe5G9tV7itgrjsgJI5-bjMeAbEf1Pc2Mn2XqomdpevSfxSAX-8gSzD_55htf0zDxSdTVxcUdWxv7NMIFmPgGXyS_F2lHyxzJ4/s1610/Screenshot%202023-10-18%20at%2016.02.59.png" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1204" data-original-width="1610" height="239" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEghruySCjbc7Fxyj-GDmPfEluCu-60kWWVjZMZwv20ZYrn6crW8m5BvNHE0Xjb-N7B2p5zu9BUk6EOjotdQzrL-pirEJNfe5G9tV7itgrjsgJI5-bjMeAbEf1Pc2Mn2XqomdpevSfxSAX-8gSzD_55htf0zDxSdTVxcUdWxv7NMIFmPgGXyS_F2lHyxzJ4/s320/Screenshot%202023-10-18%20at%2016.02.59.png" width="320" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><p>My White Whale. </p></td></tr></tbody></table><p></p><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgYepooi5rijLOpyeZGFYQGnJKD8vsCfKyDQL4SWk6M65ky4ClLUETESiWEnsfoPs8AwyFyk5Z_AFg-cT67OIxJma3gKcaOC4JQVe044IatkfOvVFAcTphf0cUwNWkphU3onUWqKzpFXHMxuB8FsFQt_UnV7ejeTIadGhejTgvRK-_k8Z_n_kyTtmnV5eE/s950/Screenshot%20from%202023-10-12%2015-17-33.png" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="490" data-original-width="950" height="165" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgYepooi5rijLOpyeZGFYQGnJKD8vsCfKyDQL4SWk6M65ky4ClLUETESiWEnsfoPs8AwyFyk5Z_AFg-cT67OIxJma3gKcaOC4JQVe044IatkfOvVFAcTphf0cUwNWkphU3onUWqKzpFXHMxuB8FsFQt_UnV7ejeTIadGhejTgvRK-_k8Z_n_kyTtmnV5eE/s320/Screenshot%20from%202023-10-12%2015-17-33.png" width="320" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://oldschool-mtg.blogspot.com/2013/02/five-potentially-underplayed-cards.html">Febrary 2013</a>: "At some point every year I spend a few moments to try to break Mana Vortex, still with no success."</td></tr></tbody></table><p></p><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhDPd4l7a3o5f_Zf0N-PgxFye7ESoneDFrej4VzFLH-6_u__Bn31obxRsYyDw9p8MG854VGwghs09TlKHmewR_co5RJ8fZ4RqFfLMzEyiT4a2vg1hsPoNlRGD-cr2zTuI7bDq3z-FS5JiFM_yaQeKvuPOcdmKEmB0Q0WC84IBRBIrY435RN00b6p-V3eGg/s1126/Screenshot%20from%202023-10-12%2015-16-17.png" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="693" data-original-width="1126" height="197" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhDPd4l7a3o5f_Zf0N-PgxFye7ESoneDFrej4VzFLH-6_u__Bn31obxRsYyDw9p8MG854VGwghs09TlKHmewR_co5RJ8fZ4RqFfLMzEyiT4a2vg1hsPoNlRGD-cr2zTuI7bDq3z-FS5JiFM_yaQeKvuPOcdmKEmB0Q0WC84IBRBIrY435RN00b6p-V3eGg/s320/Screenshot%20from%202023-10-12%2015-16-17.png" width="320" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="text-align: left;"><a href="https://oldschool-mtg.blogspot.com/2014/06/10-random-thoughts.html">June 2014</a>: </span>"When will someone manage to build the Mana Vortex deck? It must be possible somehow."</td></tr></tbody></table><br /><div><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhpnPS_dHb6vJuxH4GHMGvDdb7IrTnHPfVdw7Rcwpt82oi_wV9w7DUhld4qyyLyXr_i4VBgR0OadYPWBsXkVxKdMqhekPf4cYYvnJ7bNAu7JRkIUm6p7bRBjmGOPo6eh2lI-T9FTgzIJMDzRhq-ATX_I0-fOqety9S-Thme4yTjQcNRF4-cWH2-2fhPVq4/s680/manavortex.hq.jpg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="680" data-original-width="480" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhpnPS_dHb6vJuxH4GHMGvDdb7IrTnHPfVdw7Rcwpt82oi_wV9w7DUhld4qyyLyXr_i4VBgR0OadYPWBsXkVxKdMqhekPf4cYYvnJ7bNAu7JRkIUm6p7bRBjmGOPo6eh2lI-T9FTgzIJMDzRhq-ATX_I0-fOqety9S-Thme4yTjQcNRF4-cWH2-2fhPVq4/s320/manavortex.hq.jpg" width="226" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://oldschool-mtg.blogspot.com/2014/08/eel-or-no-eel.html" style="text-align: left;">August 2014</a><span style="text-align: left;">: </span><span style="text-align: left;">"It's a casual community, and if you build a random Mana Vortex or Aisling Leprechaun deck, the high fives will be plentiful."</span><span style="text-align: left;"> <br /></span></td></tr></tbody></table></div><div><br /></div><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjBGtrZZCScgYfSNZWX3xYj6qVA2_vrozwliUIffo2ebQw3JkepwbDKu2ptsaDrFcu9Q9GeesSrjhb1YlWoPuF5TGjBmoeP13lIoh-4gFKHuxTgEL8XezSgaG2bi72X2NNoaOc2WLiaKxXCxPD2bN5Kk4CJNtV-PT8TFFQUod1t6n_dleddI44evEN7cmI/s1600/DSC_1798.JPG" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="900" data-original-width="1600" height="180" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjBGtrZZCScgYfSNZWX3xYj6qVA2_vrozwliUIffo2ebQw3JkepwbDKu2ptsaDrFcu9Q9GeesSrjhb1YlWoPuF5TGjBmoeP13lIoh-4gFKHuxTgEL8XezSgaG2bi72X2NNoaOc2WLiaKxXCxPD2bN5Kk4CJNtV-PT8TFFQUod1t6n_dleddI44evEN7cmI/s320/DSC_1798.JPG" width="320" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://oldschool-mtg.blogspot.com/2015/05/haupsdeck-distress.html" style="text-align: left;">May 2015</a><span style="text-align: left;">: "As for the maindeck, the most glaring omission is The Tabernacle at Pendrell Vale. Turns out that they are kind of expensive. But if I get me a Tabernacle or four, I could use them for a future Mana Vortex deck, so it isn't a complete silver bullet acquisition."</span></td></tr></tbody></table><br /><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjplhHSETgyegNx_I6mmBuQgc9Cd1IX8p1HtvKm9UJCXQFlV08XBX9PctVCtBaUD2doD1w0IRYhXBj9mgMHvUrYiISbKa987ebqizEmlSP4Ii2vQKVf1l51Q4A8fYUoqoavGnn7eZAsWDk08YnqMUo15XxM_8qR1uJaEXpfb-uIx95I54dHTDvyXE1iZcM/s926/Screenshot%20from%202023-10-12%2015-22-37.png" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="450" data-original-width="926" height="156" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjplhHSETgyegNx_I6mmBuQgc9Cd1IX8p1HtvKm9UJCXQFlV08XBX9PctVCtBaUD2doD1w0IRYhXBj9mgMHvUrYiISbKa987ebqizEmlSP4Ii2vQKVf1l51Q4A8fYUoqoavGnn7eZAsWDk08YnqMUo15XxM_8qR1uJaEXpfb-uIx95I54dHTDvyXE1iZcM/s320/Screenshot%20from%202023-10-12%2015-22-37.png" width="320" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://oldschool-mtg.blogspot.com/2015/01/winter-deck.html" style="text-align: left;">January 2015</a><span style="text-align: left;">: "Heiner, you fox. Yep, a Mana Vortex deck."<br /><br /></span></td></tr></tbody></table><p>So Heiner Litz finally did it. And in May 2015, he published his Magnum Opus on Mana Vortex over at Eternal Central.</p><p></p><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiTeu5YSlhH74a8WEi3GaVqVchr9pObSWEOIxNuDs85m-jxkh6qrJyJQMeCUFG0tMGlEnE3xFS35DaS_AvFVh9ig2nfnCgfdB7K4PQi5r85ZFMHGdR4vgAEGPDwjPZAY5ZgunTQZ2JiEKyqxarWWFg1w2fpG3_9L6Z8mXkI_Opt-gr6Nc7-xkauU3TG4HU/s744/Screenshot%20from%202023-10-12%2015-25-16.png" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="427" data-original-width="744" height="184" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiTeu5YSlhH74a8WEi3GaVqVchr9pObSWEOIxNuDs85m-jxkh6qrJyJQMeCUFG0tMGlEnE3xFS35DaS_AvFVh9ig2nfnCgfdB7K4PQi5r85ZFMHGdR4vgAEGPDwjPZAY5ZgunTQZ2JiEKyqxarWWFg1w2fpG3_9L6Z8mXkI_Opt-gr6Nc7-xkauU3TG4HU/s320/Screenshot%20from%202023-10-12%2015-25-16.png" width="320" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://www.eternalcentral.com/old-school-magic-93-94-mana-vortex/" style="text-align: left;">Eternal Central, May 2015</a></td></tr></tbody></table><p></p><p>Heiner showed that the card could do something, and he became the Mana Vortex guy. After discussing many different archetypes in the article, his eventual version was a mono-blue prison deck with Howling Mines and Relic Barriers.</p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhS4mz8vxWtW7afS6v5yQHMC1-EvUcj8u-xglqJUJqgbdOJ_uf6JZ_wFxDCzvDbekadx_2W3whK1nr9A1NtIz1Me-8V_gaUFD37GQkl9tWg1fE0jYnba0gVh50vK_kkJ-f5k3m7VqgOLcNNQiVFV2wmurYf3AFFZEidWcSTfCOwZONpB2LdfRnG6aw5LJI/s1415/Vortex-Stax-by-Heiner-Litz.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1415" data-original-width="1200" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhS4mz8vxWtW7afS6v5yQHMC1-EvUcj8u-xglqJUJqgbdOJ_uf6JZ_wFxDCzvDbekadx_2W3whK1nr9A1NtIz1Me-8V_gaUFD37GQkl9tWg1fE0jYnba0gVh50vK_kkJ-f5k3m7VqgOLcNNQiVFV2wmurYf3AFFZEidWcSTfCOwZONpB2LdfRnG6aw5LJI/s320/Vortex-Stax-by-Heiner-Litz.jpg" width="271" /></a></div><p>Call me Captain Ahab. Heiner provided a compass those eight years ago, but this wasn't the end of my journey. There was more to Mana Vortex. But it is a hard card in a hard format full of hard decks. It was the kind of obsession that would take years to satisfy. Because if I wanted to build my Mana Vortex prison, access to Power 9 would just be step one. If I wanted to explore the restricted list, my mana base would consist almost entirely of dual lands I didn't own yet. Many of the core cards in the deck would be reserved list rares from Legends, nigh unplayable in most any other pile but still laughably rare and expensive. And I would need to pick up multiple Tabernacles if I really wanted to start brewing.</p><div style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgDyYFMeeMFGxS5nIhQaKRt9k3QDIGgrYksmtpHLXmB7TY_vb1ohKKmxA6Xsl8OVY4Yzswe4-9RL3QAW3L4iQy167WqjNTELGFO-p2o2yu5TBdcusLsHQEeiMBeCtUDkq0Qovd5zOlAV7qFwteMmZBYNT48Tk3AIrB0KbV8zcHZDBBJBctLBZdmB83Utzw/s4000/20231011_154944.jpg"><img border="0" data-original-height="2252" data-original-width="4000" height="180" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgDyYFMeeMFGxS5nIhQaKRt9k3QDIGgrYksmtpHLXmB7TY_vb1ohKKmxA6Xsl8OVY4Yzswe4-9RL3QAW3L4iQy167WqjNTELGFO-p2o2yu5TBdcusLsHQEeiMBeCtUDkq0Qovd5zOlAV7qFwteMmZBYNT48Tk3AIrB0KbV8zcHZDBBJBctLBZdmB83Utzw/s320/20231011_154944.jpg" width="320" /></a></div><p> The years went by, and eventually I found myself with full Power. Then the restricted list, then forty duals, and then one copy of each Legends rare. And last year, I landed a deal with Henk to overcome the biggest hurdle in building Mana Vortex; access to multiple Tabernacles.</p><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEisFV0PoFJ07h2pHaJE86eYL0Bl6ET5_-cXfta5hYQurlKd4XJqz1EHlyrlM_1bL7bnL5aOrZPl2VM5KXMsRTlpNhCXJYAAk1e7xzNRcGXtamsxNJO_whH96Kir8MmiDAT0KF_cHwUFNVwV8BnKFlIhQXjEGGJJiFkuHVyLw-cfzVeokvhiltmMV4waebc/s4000/20231011_155038.jpg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="2252" data-original-width="4000" height="180" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEisFV0PoFJ07h2pHaJE86eYL0Bl6ET5_-cXfta5hYQurlKd4XJqz1EHlyrlM_1bL7bnL5aOrZPl2VM5KXMsRTlpNhCXJYAAk1e7xzNRcGXtamsxNJO_whH96Kir8MmiDAT0KF_cHwUFNVwV8BnKFlIhQXjEGGJJiFkuHVyLw-cfzVeokvhiltmMV4waebc/s320/20231011_155038.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Ok, let's go.<br /></td></tr></tbody></table><p>No more excuses. The only thing left before I could really start brewing was a playset of Land Equilibrium. I had one in my Legends binder.</p><div style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiRfdKBYeEZSITq76Jj1W0jGragrMgl1S7BU9wcHUMdDzYLp6Qr7JPOyUlJwS8VzUliLEDS1ktxCKYQYSN5M28WTwqCvYXefHOAMzKouB8H1FL6c8NeAU568Upwkc1E4j2xAHcLKWMcwKSnmr-IY3kYckVEdyo1PpSopck-MC0m-Zz7Bg9QyURe-4BM2rs/s2252/20230930_204413.jpg"><img border="0" data-original-height="2252" data-original-width="1903" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiRfdKBYeEZSITq76Jj1W0jGragrMgl1S7BU9wcHUMdDzYLp6Qr7JPOyUlJwS8VzUliLEDS1ktxCKYQYSN5M28WTwqCvYXefHOAMzKouB8H1FL6c8NeAU568Upwkc1E4j2xAHcLKWMcwKSnmr-IY3kYckVEdyo1PpSopck-MC0m-Zz7Bg9QyURe-4BM2rs/s320/20230930_204413.jpg" width="270" /></a></div><p>Second one came in a letter from three-time Shark winner Elof "The Mighty" Gottfridsson.</p><div style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh2o0KMM7bDYo9rQzM-wASpUIZ1WsQkLbrRZ4nmslXeDd-sv4rToqdGGDXrzjkA9oaM5XXD43dhVpRyv0lvIFMl71VULSQQuODnjdwP9QfZNuGQczVd7YByPbK3RiD6HaAzbnz5bZuSaPumPh-f9NlRQqWKt-i1zFTvA7i95anJppiACURW0brv30Q5PEs/s4000/20230930_204331.jpg" style="text-align: center;"><img border="0" data-original-height="2252" data-original-width="4000" height="180" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh2o0KMM7bDYo9rQzM-wASpUIZ1WsQkLbrRZ4nmslXeDd-sv4rToqdGGDXrzjkA9oaM5XXD43dhVpRyv0lvIFMl71VULSQQuODnjdwP9QfZNuGQczVd7YByPbK3RiD6HaAzbnz5bZuSaPumPh-f9NlRQqWKt-i1zFTvA7i95anJppiACURW0brv30Q5PEs/s320/20230930_204331.jpg" width="320" /></a></div><p>And the last two was acquired from Kalle Nord when we met in Voorthuizen for Dwarven Warriors 6 last month.</p><div style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhnxguNgefilC-uxEzZbNDyquqeHDzhXIz1yVHU86Siy-vypYPCw0Lfe9L6_bRvH_5nxuutDscUozu3nUw01R_6rvpc3lriXzCyvHBRiS88REzQ1b2FS9urUFpjYxIDJBvdiFZ-RWt8vXrA2zYuYb-gb9dVJBUTg-Uryq0Kx_LUF_jFl4Wjh7-LEYfDiBE/s2800/20230930_204530.jpg" style="text-align: center;"><img border="0" data-original-height="2800" data-original-width="2251" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhnxguNgefilC-uxEzZbNDyquqeHDzhXIz1yVHU86Siy-vypYPCw0Lfe9L6_bRvH_5nxuutDscUozu3nUw01R_6rvpc3lriXzCyvHBRiS88REzQ1b2FS9urUFpjYxIDJBvdiFZ-RWt8vXrA2zYuYb-gb9dVJBUTg-Uryq0Kx_LUF_jFl4Wjh7-LEYfDiBE/s320/20230930_204530.jpg" width="257" /></a></div><p>Land Equilibrium. I tried to <a href="https://oldschool-mtg.blogspot.com/2022/02/equilibrium.html">write a post about it</a> last year, but got a bit mixed up in nostalgia. As luck would have it, its price tag had moved to a slightly more sensible place than a year or two ago, and one could even consider it almost affordable these days. Affordable as them Legends rares goes at least. </p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhtOIf8b-I5Y8N6EUlR0xXeENN55sHWOLFlflHoMDseIzBkuR3psqepVMHYaaP2DRPHeS0yFYjdvlRdZoBy06l5WxmfxyvOhRslPYVSOxzdDGstWopqkdh8qB127FoWR6Upx6Htd_gw8AhMht6kTYqwVbx-dj1Em48uu8OQCVtENA5EGIyNRVtF4NPz3bo/s445/landequilibrium.hq.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="445" data-original-width="312" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhtOIf8b-I5Y8N6EUlR0xXeENN55sHWOLFlflHoMDseIzBkuR3psqepVMHYaaP2DRPHeS0yFYjdvlRdZoBy06l5WxmfxyvOhRslPYVSOxzdDGstWopqkdh8qB127FoWR6Upx6Htd_gw8AhMht6kTYqwVbx-dj1Em48uu8OQCVtENA5EGIyNRVtF4NPz3bo/s320/landequilibrium.hq.jpg" width="224" /></a></div><p>The goal with the Mana Vortex deck is to eliminate all lands and then stop people from playing new lands. After denying any possibility to develop the board, we'll eventually starve people out with a Black Vise or something. In terms of horsemen, the deck is The Famine. </p><p></p><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhykuPZZWYJK0MXeTjw9xSLhwKg8AZhLVJHgg8m-plmDk5FT-DD2XNxC7GMxtCBzF7_m5fdjqjn2sM6q9_pGiXZhtdbd0IjE4-XGGLQ_WPAIkzeC66c0h2MFLo1Hx7X8iZHqYHW9DSQcVoEF0SROaLOFhtfntCdLiYKyO5swe9Rn4KSlvKiBqWwTUsZ-ms/s1920/valerie-petkov-famine-2633129301.jpeg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1920" data-original-width="1920" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhykuPZZWYJK0MXeTjw9xSLhwKg8AZhLVJHgg8m-plmDk5FT-DD2XNxC7GMxtCBzF7_m5fdjqjn2sM6q9_pGiXZhtdbd0IjE4-XGGLQ_WPAIkzeC66c0h2MFLo1Hx7X8iZHqYHW9DSQcVoEF0SROaLOFhtfntCdLiYKyO5swe9Rn4KSlvKiBqWwTUsZ-ms/s320/valerie-petkov-famine-2633129301.jpeg" width="320" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">"<i><span class="Rev-6-5">I looked, and behold, a black horse; and he who sat on it had a pair of scales in his hand.</span> <span class="Rev-6-6" id="en-NASB-30801">And
I heard something like a voice in the center of the four living
creatures saying, “A quart of wheat for a denarius, and three quarts of
barley for a denarius; and do not damage the oil and the wine.”</span></i>" Dude even got a scale, much Equilibrium flavor.<br /></td></tr></tbody></table><br />As we want lots of non-land mana sources, and our strategy works excellent with Draw7-spells, this is a deck where we really want to play the full Power 9.<p></p><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjWyqMHkVa7cSafmy5Je1sqxirqFrmmlGszj97PZ_stTtRn4aaSEHA4ogtuABvWZroiF7uDa30eH077HOH89aI_efcu5AYhOk2STNLjaUdTSrwhH5hRm_-Xwy5aNkYRrN4QplE7YK3mSIMLAjz1wpR2qdxEKKstb2bDdAZfZ0CXsnEwnTeTzi-RcPI0ay0/s2227/20231011_160250.jpg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1811" data-original-width="2227" height="260" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjWyqMHkVa7cSafmy5Je1sqxirqFrmmlGszj97PZ_stTtRn4aaSEHA4ogtuABvWZroiF7uDa30eH077HOH89aI_efcu5AYhOk2STNLjaUdTSrwhH5hRm_-Xwy5aNkYRrN4QplE7YK3mSIMLAjz1wpR2qdxEKKstb2bDdAZfZ0CXsnEwnTeTzi-RcPI0ay0/s320/20231011_160250.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">"The best thing with having full Power, is that you have full Power." - Martin Beer, 2012<br /></td></tr></tbody></table><p>But here is where I diverge a bit from the Litz School of 2015. If I'm playing stupid cards (Mana Vortex, Land Equilibrium, Tabernacle) that I want to make playable using broken cards (full Power), I want to go for all them broken cards. My plan isn't mono-blue, getting some fair advantage with role players like Relic Barrier and Transmute Artifact. For a pile like this, I'm digging deep into the restricted list.</p><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg9SVsYIcCMO716JTGXvxItJPzVJNTo2mNFeXmviYJkbvUjPq_uYAEJggebcwbWy9xWPKl_D57sx3j39p6iD5NinBzs5eIy8Kyof458a9YcjfxyDc9hj7ikE2a5mKS6UkCUEYwvNXrXtiMMQb1ohKFxVoP2_JnVNRi6HPjWkwy0eATpnULLl32RBeWruCs/s1412/20231011_160103.jpg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1380" data-original-width="1412" height="313" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg9SVsYIcCMO716JTGXvxItJPzVJNTo2mNFeXmviYJkbvUjPq_uYAEJggebcwbWy9xWPKl_D57sx3j39p6iD5NinBzs5eIy8Kyof458a9YcjfxyDc9hj7ikE2a5mKS6UkCUEYwvNXrXtiMMQb1ohKFxVoP2_JnVNRi6HPjWkwy0eATpnULLl32RBeWruCs/s320/20231011_160103.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Not a deck for Gentlemen.<br /></td></tr></tbody></table><p>And as this is a no-budget <i>prison</i> deck, my goal isn't to make people slightly annoyed. My goal is to make magic a zero-sum fun game where I take all the fun for myself.<br /></p><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhVqKxLx1ncOkfzKrl7lVPoa6NosEo-62qv6WU0EWvTv3iL_vLldtzLAtTPZ1PRsvixBtw-WQGKPVeO6qazV4W7te8mqxUvtlNmb3j4pu4ZFbkn9TiONRAW5SW_14lpIpUr2_5rA95ehna7bU7D29bD2C9NH79nhtSjh_EMKvEuQPaWbLZw_QmBkz4WrJ8/s1422/20231011_155221.jpg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1271" data-original-width="1422" height="286" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhVqKxLx1ncOkfzKrl7lVPoa6NosEo-62qv6WU0EWvTv3iL_vLldtzLAtTPZ1PRsvixBtw-WQGKPVeO6qazV4W7te8mqxUvtlNmb3j4pu4ZFbkn9TiONRAW5SW_14lpIpUr2_5rA95ehna7bU7D29bD2C9NH79nhtSjh_EMKvEuQPaWbLZw_QmBkz4WrJ8/s320/20231011_155221.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Ah, Legends. You really never wanted people to actually play Magic.<br /></td></tr></tbody></table><p></p><p>There are more good cards from Legends that were left in the binder. One I would surely play next time is In The Eye of Chaos.</p><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh2I3vbLPdzxAKRXFun1NTb_UmoZ06pRdp72-W_iBWNzrSFms-G9uKiLh790tDzCLSSKC8XwdPMc2681MxI99FzZhEZqBnQeTFB5Xfee9qgTzxaxDZLpr-t1e0hivq8fcefOQOaEHy6RRHcMXl-XbjgyMi3bdQoeCPHcvi9f-Sd7-X5QASGOLAAMpG68IM/s2974/20231011_155343.jpg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="2974" data-original-width="2247" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh2I3vbLPdzxAKRXFun1NTb_UmoZ06pRdp72-W_iBWNzrSFms-G9uKiLh790tDzCLSSKC8XwdPMc2681MxI99FzZhEZqBnQeTFB5Xfee9qgTzxaxDZLpr-t1e0hivq8fcefOQOaEHy6RRHcMXl-XbjgyMi3bdQoeCPHcvi9f-Sd7-X5QASGOLAAMpG68IM/s320/20231011_155343.jpg" width="242" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">This one fully shuts down pesky Disenchants and Counterspells in the mid- to late-game.<br /></td></tr></tbody></table><p>Another one that might be playable - at least from the sideboard - is Mana Matrix.</p><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEja_3XggRweTyvMbLpHVdz0cH2TuFcOTlqJyYwCa5sbMTkkGo0AIxwZu5etLPo1HC9T-Jc6p5Zs8O5OK_2liBxKgRdtKILTsY7-kDZEOj0hb1_170lklMLc7QH2HesSCFw8i_j3STDhL1Z75LYE7BqXVjNDa7vxZcbDvFj5OC7aR62xlB8GTaSEJ2yFo8M/s2705/20231011_155456.jpg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="2705" data-original-width="2028" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEja_3XggRweTyvMbLpHVdz0cH2TuFcOTlqJyYwCa5sbMTkkGo0AIxwZu5etLPo1HC9T-Jc6p5Zs8O5OK_2liBxKgRdtKILTsY7-kDZEOj0hb1_170lklMLc7QH2HesSCFw8i_j3STDhL1Z75LYE7BqXVjNDa7vxZcbDvFj5OC7aR62xlB8GTaSEJ2yFo8M/s320/20231011_155456.jpg" width="240" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">This could well be the one deck where Mana Matrix is actually good.<br /></td></tr></tbody></table><p>And because we're here to suck up all the fun and have it for ourselves, let's add some more spells that screw with our opponent's mana.</p><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgXbGmS_-_Du3bKMHGRvrRGDwJiulGyqcZUuQrVfJ5FUIeO9lCdCpHZ1LhsOZNcl2ZSbmK8JC2qL7iQ1L0qaa7YtjXljVm0lNy2IlWmH5J8CHR3SbIV3SgGLRpfAMMsMqhz-Ba2p7C_DUMCqN9sXWUvCPEtQMqhAWwq2GxujB9AVrTRlMY8dSMSCGFohk8/s1672/20231011_155826.jpg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1598" data-original-width="1672" height="306" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgXbGmS_-_Du3bKMHGRvrRGDwJiulGyqcZUuQrVfJ5FUIeO9lCdCpHZ1LhsOZNcl2ZSbmK8JC2qL7iQ1L0qaa7YtjXljVm0lNy2IlWmH5J8CHR3SbIV3SgGLRpfAMMsMqhz-Ba2p7C_DUMCqN9sXWUvCPEtQMqhAWwq2GxujB9AVrTRlMY8dSMSCGFohk8/s320/20231011_155826.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Disenchants kill Moxen, and are necessary to have any game against Blood Moon. Also, Geddon+Tabernacle is a hilarious play if you want people to stop playing Magic.<br /></td></tr></tbody></table><p>At this point we've maxed out on the number of spells we can fit in the deck. So it looks like we're building a core UW Power deck that don't play Mana Drain, Braingeyser, nor Swords to Plowshares main. OK.<br /></p><p>The mana in a pile that plays 4-5 colors while simultaneously not wanting to have any lands in play can get a bit rough, but hitting our colored sources gets a bit easier as we don't play Mishra's Factory.<br /></p><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi2JTMEAUnXrwNaOEZFl603hihkNgKispnD_1dDVEpuWx0-jBHYoboPYE3b50aOQ6A24im9Xin671goYrstb_lTbO5xND0kUGO1HV9ht-pCWwAbJtMjqY1sgqIRVkuaIsXZIPljQVr1bY04H5dWcbIJ6bwxtNtm8jkbuQCNwnDlRzNUcT-rB2mksLK62CE/s2476/20231011_160623.jpg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="2476" data-original-width="1856" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi2JTMEAUnXrwNaOEZFl603hihkNgKispnD_1dDVEpuWx0-jBHYoboPYE3b50aOQ6A24im9Xin671goYrstb_lTbO5xND0kUGO1HV9ht-pCWwAbJtMjqY1sgqIRVkuaIsXZIPljQVr1bY04H5dWcbIJ6bwxtNtm8jkbuQCNwnDlRzNUcT-rB2mksLK62CE/s320/20231011_160623.jpg" width="240" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">12-year old me would approve.<br /></td></tr></tbody></table><p> Now all that's left is to tweak the sideboard.<br /></p><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgNEI8wzEH8TQRmjJRnXOthd7kI2SGKe8L3RkLpbhZYvZJxIWjlsBiL1uP9_PmRkIrhYL1MdfXvM7tOB4B26_cU3EjtE4NXfn0RH1lTvntI_DwzFTd1aX-iyV5EklnnXBI_PLULtHGpYLzP2SJYZPGvIqqoYn3C4RIglNPwXK0RNsbJK5jjbYUWwD6hi8o/s1990/20231011_161104.jpg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1539" data-original-width="1990" height="247" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgNEI8wzEH8TQRmjJRnXOthd7kI2SGKe8L3RkLpbhZYvZJxIWjlsBiL1uP9_PmRkIrhYL1MdfXvM7tOB4B26_cU3EjtE4NXfn0RH1lTvntI_DwzFTd1aX-iyV5EklnnXBI_PLULtHGpYLzP2SJYZPGvIqqoYn3C4RIglNPwXK0RNsbJK5jjbYUWwD6hi8o/s320/20231011_161104.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">We want to be able to counter Blood Moon and not randomly die to Underworld Dreams or Hypnotic Specter. The rest is mostly boilerplate. The last card in the sideboard is Tabernacle #3.<br /></td></tr></tbody></table><p></p><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEggjVXvbZPddEO_MjzujO7Lw2KRrNbGP4atdg7oHl0CkuRPDyhtXo_zErAIgoxd_6C9VimAMYfZ42yU3axf9WRwVvOnLKyMc8N5d6ciTKXa1CAp67h5p0CExVTJN-6B7MC_FFstzaq0a3V726bfqX6BNgdieoK6fAoCG0z9KLwdASqLyMDSFe5THLhl1I0/s2942/20231006_163357.jpg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="2017" data-original-width="2942" height="219" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEggjVXvbZPddEO_MjzujO7Lw2KRrNbGP4atdg7oHl0CkuRPDyhtXo_zErAIgoxd_6C9VimAMYfZ42yU3axf9WRwVvOnLKyMc8N5d6ciTKXa1CAp67h5p0CExVTJN-6B7MC_FFstzaq0a3V726bfqX6BNgdieoK6fAoCG0z9KLwdASqLyMDSFe5THLhl1I0/s320/20231006_163357.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">The Famine. We have a deck.<br /></td></tr></tbody></table><p>As luck would have it, I had the most perfect opportunity to test out the deck. The Plague 2 was coming up in Drammen, and with 50+ players it would be the largest Norwegian oldschool tournament yet. It was also a perfect flavor fit for a deck like this.<br /></p><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEggm3oGvJi6SC1t_4FMmH_sWIV3mmGAcEuj5qPtVuPKBt1BCwKscXtt0ZjOzTk3i_bG-AwKXvBPg8_vBPIEXbGZUmxIQDC0QRFAzbVCDMsjRE_onfP2GpN5x-vbhG8Necp1OcoxS-yrL4nseHVYAeYF59rxWWCUJZ3VFMR0-JFKXPNxleM837ZHfFnFJIc/s3837/20231011_161340.jpg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="2202" data-original-width="3837" height="184" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEggm3oGvJi6SC1t_4FMmH_sWIV3mmGAcEuj5qPtVuPKBt1BCwKscXtt0ZjOzTk3i_bG-AwKXvBPg8_vBPIEXbGZUmxIQDC0QRFAzbVCDMsjRE_onfP2GpN5x-vbhG8Necp1OcoxS-yrL4nseHVYAeYF59rxWWCUJZ3VFMR0-JFKXPNxleM837ZHfFnFJIc/s320/20231011_161340.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Everyone got a playmat!<br /></td></tr></tbody></table><p>Going in, I knew that I could be up against a strong field. There are not that many free wins around these parts of the woods. So my goal was 2-4 in the swiss. While I thought the deck could do stuff, it was still all theory crafting. I hadn't jammed a single practice game before heading to Drammen. But when you sleeve up this many broken cards, pure variance will almost surely land you a win or two, regardless of the quality of the last 20-ish cards in the deck.</p><p></p><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgsrIuRdaAOUSoIwI6-O9-jUJvmrr9tW59NOX870Wa1vbwYSRnnDE93xa3NhZ-NovMXckN_NL1Y_PZlR4oB6jhAmEQ9ZPMWwqYDu091BZ9SIJTw275PkoD04S0xueFAAZxocjnmI1eK4QHTOFFwOgqkAyELd1yLfPx-7oZBSiD6IlrCDFMtEAx7Nn_QoJM/s4000/20231007_191057.jpg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="4000" data-original-width="2252" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgsrIuRdaAOUSoIwI6-O9-jUJvmrr9tW59NOX870Wa1vbwYSRnnDE93xa3NhZ-NovMXckN_NL1Y_PZlR4oB6jhAmEQ9ZPMWwqYDu091BZ9SIJTw275PkoD04S0xueFAAZxocjnmI1eK4QHTOFFwOgqkAyELd1yLfPx-7oZBSiD6IlrCDFMtEAx7Nn_QoJM/s320/20231007_191057.jpg" width="180" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Wait..</td></tr></tbody></table><p></p><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiGCzJbRy4vIeO_twnsnTYFh7benniQTbRTkydW7FnbkpBeC1zXZ1ejEFDcKKDq_MbCi7TV5BgsHy6EMYve3ARZEODWleB9Qrx5Www6xjQcD7NH6e_QDdyYuOUJ8bAscyBmzw97p8IQyE07K4g80_ApkFVjo_sJjwokYCQE8xmsDbnE7xK0NISrUp7m-j0/s4000/20231007_125355.jpg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="4000" data-original-width="2252" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiGCzJbRy4vIeO_twnsnTYFh7benniQTbRTkydW7FnbkpBeC1zXZ1ejEFDcKKDq_MbCi7TV5BgsHy6EMYve3ARZEODWleB9Qrx5Www6xjQcD7NH6e_QDdyYuOUJ8bAscyBmzw97p8IQyE07K4g80_ApkFVjo_sJjwokYCQE8xmsDbnE7xK0NISrUp7m-j0/s320/20231007_125355.jpg" width="180" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Why...</td></tr></tbody></table><p></p><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi7VV3Kd4h4godThaWIqZLRT4w1LczGdTU07PoBOSc6nk4vzFvAzSzJOmhlJB0svcg2O3WoWuyBD_1ZEw7if2hRpGkPMwlTQnc4QJivY861pPyDLen3sB1oU5xys0qMle56OI4qq63elCY79C57ugno8Wz-ZWlMfzzIxbIQCPhfamtARAqjEMmXrQSJ3xA/s4000/20231007_141544.jpg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="4000" data-original-width="2252" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi7VV3Kd4h4godThaWIqZLRT4w1LczGdTU07PoBOSc6nk4vzFvAzSzJOmhlJB0svcg2O3WoWuyBD_1ZEw7if2hRpGkPMwlTQnc4QJivY861pPyDLen3sB1oU5xys0qMle56OI4qq63elCY79C57ugno8Wz-ZWlMfzzIxbIQCPhfamtARAqjEMmXrQSJ3xA/s320/20231007_141544.jpg" width="180" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">What...</td></tr></tbody></table><p></p><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgbOxrw2gvpj0e5N_T8FR8Iwm6H3sA3tTVQ6EJiMjc3-PowOPxcfKBGJ9-0onBMDsaEBrBIXRLvnw5uzxG_u19dilS82yCAcQfQQuTaxJrsPwFL8QDpMwTkDqvJ9DWh_25QwpfFjdXww7MflR6k2cmwIahj9LKIaDW4ebJTzSJ68rh8eu5ex2u0QswPuKk/s4000/20231007_151907.jpg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="4000" data-original-width="2252" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgbOxrw2gvpj0e5N_T8FR8Iwm6H3sA3tTVQ6EJiMjc3-PowOPxcfKBGJ9-0onBMDsaEBrBIXRLvnw5uzxG_u19dilS82yCAcQfQQuTaxJrsPwFL8QDpMwTkDqvJ9DWh_25QwpfFjdXww7MflR6k2cmwIahj9LKIaDW4ebJTzSJ68rh8eu5ex2u0QswPuKk/s320/20231007_151907.jpg" width="180" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Wtf...</td></tr></tbody></table><p></p><p>Ok, so this pile somehow worked and I went 5-1 in the swiss. Part of that record was due to the fact that draws were settled with Chaos Orb flips, and I'm pretty good at flipping Chaos Orbs. But still, deece. </p><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi_sGwj5bd2V4pIv2MuX_McvrTk8Q-yy2nt-BIy4aZoz4umQEc1KyfSXK7BzMKguCDYZknxy0Co4QqdBERsb9er6a2CufUFu15EAH4vwkzZjk5iIK3GlsBIPsaHmoc3IuEven5eagEb91NnrjDVGwh_s_LBx6eVqbBEWPyiKhfYqWjbHxxfI0EPxBSkky0/s4000/20231007_141253.jpg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="4000" data-original-width="2252" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi_sGwj5bd2V4pIv2MuX_McvrTk8Q-yy2nt-BIy4aZoz4umQEc1KyfSXK7BzMKguCDYZknxy0Co4QqdBERsb9er6a2CufUFu15EAH4vwkzZjk5iIK3GlsBIPsaHmoc3IuEven5eagEb91NnrjDVGwh_s_LBx6eVqbBEWPyiKhfYqWjbHxxfI0EPxBSkky0/s320/20231007_141253.jpg" width="180" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Perhaps my favorite board state of the day: Eureka vs Kismet.<br /></td></tr></tbody></table><p>I eventually met my demise in a ridiculously long and complicated match against Jimmie in the quarterfinals. We both made a few loose plays in the end there (long day with lots of alcohol), but in particular I made a big misplay casting my Hurkyl's Recall at a very bad moment in game 3 where I think I would have just won if I had waited a couple of turns (he had no lands but all the moxen, and I could have followed up Hurkyl's with Nether Void if I had just waited a little). Still, it was a really good and fun game, and in a sense it was kinda neat that it was my sub-par play that ended the run rather than the deck itself.<br /></p><p></p><p></p><p></p><p></p><p></p><p></p><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEibvDWOHzXmLRWl6f4IrYMHBEa40jCzAXyNad95Bn2Eku6nckBJ2jTbrwhoQtzb0g8EpKEOtc1cGBVSgJmt0erjb2LgmRJbT6MQ3O1d6ArS1QXv3f1KleYkgNPAt9WZI-VvPdYrOJEBHccB8bN7dPXfvNsOoHDCWyOJnytJRug_tK7M9ptCTuAn139AURw/s2944/20231021_234336.jpg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="2944" data-original-width="2208" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEibvDWOHzXmLRWl6f4IrYMHBEa40jCzAXyNad95Bn2Eku6nckBJ2jTbrwhoQtzb0g8EpKEOtc1cGBVSgJmt0erjb2LgmRJbT6MQ3O1d6ArS1QXv3f1KleYkgNPAt9WZI-VvPdYrOJEBHccB8bN7dPXfvNsOoHDCWyOJnytJRug_tK7M9ptCTuAn139AURw/s320/20231021_234336.jpg" width="240" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">And got this rad <a href="https://www.nasjonalmuseet.no/en/collection/object/NG.K_H.1982.0026">Theodor Kittelsen style</a> face mask to survive until next year's Plague.<br /></td></tr></tbody></table><p>Post-tournament, there are a few changes I would make. The Tabernacles aren't actually <i>that</i> important, as I play both Moat and multiple The Abyss. One should suffice maindeck, and probably one more in the board. Hurkyl's Recall is <i>wildly </i>good however, and I should probably get at least one, maybe two, in the maindeck. Nether Void was also really solid, so I wouldn't mind upping that one to two copies. Sideboard was kinda fine, but Golgothian Sylex is unnecessary, and the other numbers could be tweaked. I'd like to find room for two In the Eye of Chaos in the sb, and maybe Dust to Dust.<br /><br />One slightly larger change that could be made to the deck is adding green for Dark Heart of the Woods. If we go big on green duals, Dark Heart has excellent synergy with Land Equilibrium. It might make the mana base a bit too tight, but definitly think it's worth exploring. Thanks for the tip Henk!<br /></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgZsIzx7tgVSkDRtNnutQ1eCzF5lbAUCUYXl51Vg1peTNVKaC9DNW1-BSbUpxFu45UDvG_eAZRahM7K7sjNHKF0HxUIybhyphenhyphen7eewKlbFccaxeyAXXt3HsjzzlTy_6buH3OueG-8jXg1FxioxmhSL7btuKb7txqXDQmoX3e0ogZN3rInMcxncoSXSzo1b90I/s680/giantshark.hq.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="680" data-original-width="480" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgZsIzx7tgVSkDRtNnutQ1eCzF5lbAUCUYXl51Vg1peTNVKaC9DNW1-BSbUpxFu45UDvG_eAZRahM7K7sjNHKF0HxUIybhyphenhyphen7eewKlbFccaxeyAXXt3HsjzzlTy_6buH3OueG-8jXg1FxioxmhSL7btuKb7txqXDQmoX3e0ogZN3rInMcxncoSXSzo1b90I/s320/giantshark.hq.jpg" width="226" /></a></div><p></p><p>As I type this, Winc0n and the Oldschool Magic World Championship is going down in Genoa, Italy. This marks the second time ever I miss a Shark tournament, and the first time I miss out on the Oldschool World Championship. Instead I'm home in Oslo, taking care of one daughter with the flue and another with chickenpox. Fixing some shelves, cooking some food. It's a different way of living compared to five or six years ago, back in the Fishliver Oil Cup days. I don't mind, and I feel happy to be where I'm more needed. But still, can't deny that I kinda miss Italy and the guys right about now. And the pesto, my god the pesto!</p><p>Hope all of you who made it to Genoa have a blast, and congrats in advance to our upcoming World Champion! Cin cin ragazzi!<br /></p>Mghttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00555613518338194305noreply@blogger.com13tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2299444734264560627.post-32735413916260468012023-10-06T15:10:00.039+02:002023-10-07T10:53:46.051+02:00PastaCon 2: GORLAMI<p>I had a lot ideas for writing as I departed Casa Reindeer. "PastaCon" surely is one of the finest gatherings of Wizards there ever was, from kitchen tables circa 1994 to the Las Vegas Grand Prix's of latter days. As a Magic player I had ideas, even inspiration, when I left Zürich two months ago. But coming back to reality, a lot of reality suddenly came in the way of writing.</p><p>Now, I love being on vacation with my kids. Wouldn't trade that experience for all the Alpha Lotuses in the world. "Dadgic: The Fathering" and all that. But hanging out with a couple of humans younger than five is still <i>intense</i>. A good way of intense, sure, but it's not like I end the day with a lot of pent-up creativity I need to push out in the form of writing. Nah, all the creativity I can muster for a day will be spent around 5 pm, after I've spent the last 11 hours pretending to be an over-enthusiastic pirate dog named Hannibal, or a blind octopus that can only swim in lava.</p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEipWCeLJbwd09HiduDJeeqcE6OcSHsCZeJyFQef_3lEwPY9ceMZKOcjLm8y-2VAdcBj3_tVXIUPtDgdM2g3jgUyqLN8sCQFyYHl9T1nq2AxoslNQQe13Ohzx9OCRptXkszpOOc5yHpvipjIEbwjB0fiP74fEGzHBVMPDTp6n4B9d_ULCp2uC_DPZ9tMV_s/s498/gorlami-inglorious-basterds.gif" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="367" data-original-width="498" height="236" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEipWCeLJbwd09HiduDJeeqcE6OcSHsCZeJyFQef_3lEwPY9ceMZKOcjLm8y-2VAdcBj3_tVXIUPtDgdM2g3jgUyqLN8sCQFyYHl9T1nq2AxoslNQQe13Ohzx9OCRptXkszpOOc5yHpvipjIEbwjB0fiP74fEGzHBVMPDTp6n4B9d_ULCp2uC_DPZ9tMV_s/s320/gorlami-inglorious-basterds.gif" width="320" /></a></div><p>Someone mentioned going back to work as getting a vacation from the vacation. But then that whole work thing turned out to also be work.</p><p>So, this is a late report, as they have often come to be in the last year around this blag. And I've got some fog in the memory's eye. Think of this as The Woodcutter's memories.</p><div style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgC0he62lxO8iPITzMasq_fDYRWucS_7QRFm_M8Cp3Bn4xO433GDStNTr3QfVad0r6E8gCEDy3YbWxHV3yRIjcGjM_XYfryISY1FWrzWc8h2yu1OcUQsy_tFF_O95As-1zB4nqsrrldH5wiJlSAiJmZMvTHk1sckI4r7aZBJ0Jn1rkCF8PkMOKWYlhZKR0/s960/e100b08339b7d507607ddad7fac72c6e.jpg"><img border="0" data-original-height="960" data-original-width="640" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgC0he62lxO8iPITzMasq_fDYRWucS_7QRFm_M8Cp3Bn4xO433GDStNTr3QfVad0r6E8gCEDy3YbWxHV3yRIjcGjM_XYfryISY1FWrzWc8h2yu1OcUQsy_tFF_O95As-1zB4nqsrrldH5wiJlSAiJmZMvTHk1sckI4r7aZBJ0Jn1rkCF8PkMOKWYlhZKR0/s320/e100b08339b7d507607ddad7fac72c6e.jpg" width="213" /></a></div><p>But a sweet thing with being a witness today rather than in Heian era Japan is that there are pictures today. So I can just let the pictures do most of my talking.</p><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgVnumWmxFqPp7JPdtMBHu9Nw1xk7TTErGvmJ-BPfD9NR7TMhnuKWsKs1QaZGjuHdYihySHM6y5CqYt-N25w58LFe_X3TkiHmcb9D_6gVKensL-5YIvrR4Jry52vvdQSPkP8K3sYmZw0i6vXGb9tNxHTDn6AY65KxeH84TxA2MpRwzWrb7G6bticvYeG5M/s707/Rashomon%2013.jpg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="530" data-original-width="707" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgVnumWmxFqPp7JPdtMBHu9Nw1xk7TTErGvmJ-BPfD9NR7TMhnuKWsKs1QaZGjuHdYihySHM6y5CqYt-N25w58LFe_X3TkiHmcb9D_6gVKensL-5YIvrR4Jry52vvdQSPkP8K3sYmZw0i6vXGb9tNxHTDn6AY65KxeH84TxA2MpRwzWrb7G6bticvYeG5M/s320/Rashomon%2013.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Who's trustworthy now brah?<br /></td></tr></tbody></table><p>The exact schedule for PastaCon 2 was a bit of a secret. I knew that there would be a tournament in Gentleman Swedish 93/94 (i.e. traditional oldschool, but with LoA and Mind Twist banned), and surely there would be Reinvitational casual games going on. At this point I've managed to construct two fairly strong Reinvitational decks; one black and one blue.</p><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg4e7yeI8ztHHkjYatfmaSSMIpILSkKAv2J3MbSOt_K3bDLq9envrReIJrBkwyrJ9jvrzf3TZVzX7RRW_SQRmOw6EE1kc_8WDpv76tg166sDHfm4PlkQ5IDD_B7C-p8ya5BYBzmA7TJp5NTM99MakxnIc_IJgaYf1-fYtkyhsxG3bnJBzJ7YddmqSRNoRM/s3744/20230709_212511.jpg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><img border="0" data-original-height="2808" data-original-width="3744" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg4e7yeI8ztHHkjYatfmaSSMIpILSkKAv2J3MbSOt_K3bDLq9envrReIJrBkwyrJ9jvrzf3TZVzX7RRW_SQRmOw6EE1kc_8WDpv76tg166sDHfm4PlkQ5IDD_B7C-p8ya5BYBzmA7TJp5NTM99MakxnIc_IJgaYf1-fYtkyhsxG3bnJBzJ7YddmqSRNoRM/s320/20230709_212511.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Reinvitational Black.</td></tr></tbody></table><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg5TjqumXbqWs1kz81TbkKZVggjkc_TuklnktebrFvYCz4nqzzzKAH6yRc4UrrDGNa7LFXKdawAQOrqX9lAUREhf1rMUCN8s1V4kSpseR6w6hRWApKjaC0FmmBwdX8ECnhTzlyJRCbgWTCVbat42gn8tqrizxclefUkEsqHbPJ30jriNKMedfxsez1N9Fo/s4032/20230709_211513.jpg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="3024" data-original-width="4032" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg5TjqumXbqWs1kz81TbkKZVggjkc_TuklnktebrFvYCz4nqzzzKAH6yRc4UrrDGNa7LFXKdawAQOrqX9lAUREhf1rMUCN8s1V4kSpseR6w6hRWApKjaC0FmmBwdX8ECnhTzlyJRCbgWTCVbat42gn8tqrizxclefUkEsqHbPJ30jriNKMedfxsez1N9Fo/s320/20230709_211513.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Reinvitational Blue.<br /></td></tr></tbody></table><p>If you've never encountered the format, it is basically kitchen table Magic circa 1995 with a very limited number of legal cards in circulation - all physical cards in the format originate from The Reindeer himself. The games are played for ante, a few cards have power level errata, and a handful new cards have been created specifically for the format. It takes a lot of trading and a fair amount of traveling to build a deck, so the games kinda resembles those in the old computer game Shandalar. </p><p>For Gentleman Swedish, I brought my new tech Big White.</p><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgXp4cFblh9Qncz30t8tbRbilLLeKLDwnALOCANyDuENKexYLtrvF9ch-Ew4Mqu7oB6PDi3deO-ONPgGJdv8oeRhgcgWZYWdMhpnQoS0Mn3s_dpt81-N20yTderI3-t16KCpji2XK7J8_uDX2Ryq_VFWhYHHExuULOpYY3M2kiViR_4YjNdhKXOLm3wfYg/s2846/20230802_210716.jpg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1593" data-original-width="2846" height="179" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgXp4cFblh9Qncz30t8tbRbilLLeKLDwnALOCANyDuENKexYLtrvF9ch-Ew4Mqu7oB6PDi3deO-ONPgGJdv8oeRhgcgWZYWdMhpnQoS0Mn3s_dpt81-N20yTderI3-t16KCpji2XK7J8_uDX2Ryq_VFWhYHHExuULOpYY3M2kiViR_4YjNdhKXOLm3wfYg/s320/20230802_210716.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">93/94 Big White.</td></tr></tbody></table><p>This is a fun deck to play, and it's actually not that terrible as winning goes. I'll probably devote a blag post to the strategy in the future, so we'll just leave it at this deck picture for now.</p><p>I arrived at Casa Reindeer Friday evening to meet up with a bunch of good people and Gordon.</p><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgk5zI8qyY0C_qe_S0Hf5_0ixnh8TDph3IfOAGtpvS6vkrD7DMOLvXRGrPEt_SIeLomAdewXz69wosKx_B_6aQbNJyjIcxkBzPDFqIxYdrMP2vkGvN-Miwgv6pffbOVtFBAMzvi6LIbXdsfVdODeJ40UvzyaOj2Shy_r-bhNGQNsV0m_fkbxuUbZHOAoxI/s4032/20230722_205955.jpg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><img border="0" data-original-height="3024" data-original-width="4032" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgk5zI8qyY0C_qe_S0Hf5_0ixnh8TDph3IfOAGtpvS6vkrD7DMOLvXRGrPEt_SIeLomAdewXz69wosKx_B_6aQbNJyjIcxkBzPDFqIxYdrMP2vkGvN-Miwgv6pffbOVtFBAMzvi6LIbXdsfVdODeJ40UvzyaOj2Shy_r-bhNGQNsV0m_fkbxuUbZHOAoxI/s320/20230722_205955.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Gordon enjoying his habitat.</td></tr></tbody></table><br /><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhY3wCstiybg8-fElxBO27f7zRHp-VffeUibGRzkRc1Sxao30fiLk_OpXWzCdMCFd1eiIfNR01N5IC4-_1_gL4D99Euzqn9TNRi4xZzJwCdg0v5QvKzHR4u2xB6FykH_oZiqfpsGq465Wop17U7trjDNMcZOKm7oatpm2v4voYEx0FEDUD8kP7m_KVGLV4/s4032/20230720_224020.jpg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="4032" data-original-width="3024" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhY3wCstiybg8-fElxBO27f7zRHp-VffeUibGRzkRc1Sxao30fiLk_OpXWzCdMCFd1eiIfNR01N5IC4-_1_gL4D99Euzqn9TNRi4xZzJwCdg0v5QvKzHR4u2xB6FykH_oZiqfpsGq465Wop17U7trjDNMcZOKm7oatpm2v4voYEx0FEDUD8kP7m_KVGLV4/s320/20230720_224020.jpg" width="240" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Playing some Reinvitational with Danny.<br /><br /></td></tr></tbody></table><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh7h-65J7XvsBkttCErO3qvThf_RxmxqnbY8a0QvZ3CrHdWpMcdrx_Q6lfBZQmaG7xdFFsAmkmSmBpIAYbhZdv9_UfKCaOj01tdP70fTDTfSXtr_HJnGVuD8zY3nyoVuoJueaXPR8og-i2_nGp48gE5pRlptKUPhN5Wape5i1obgfzpa5kAYklgc7MdS1U/s4032/20230720_231619.jpg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><img border="0" data-original-height="4032" data-original-width="3024" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh7h-65J7XvsBkttCErO3qvThf_RxmxqnbY8a0QvZ3CrHdWpMcdrx_Q6lfBZQmaG7xdFFsAmkmSmBpIAYbhZdv9_UfKCaOj01tdP70fTDTfSXtr_HJnGVuD8zY3nyoVuoJueaXPR8og-i2_nGp48gE5pRlptKUPhN5Wape5i1obgfzpa5kAYklgc7MdS1U/s320/20230720_231619.jpg" width="240" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Somehow losing this game against Jason...</td></tr></tbody></table><br /><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEihsLvuSfkxMCOSfXskFBabdhy4TTIpmqCMX2tSoCNcB5Jvb_cFCBI4q1jnBrLLAZRSPYWoALg_S_Up3i0BuBq2VOMncjVDo_mizlY0UvKwqPJH6B20wLy3HQJwwSASVlDCNaDMj9ptobwvjnvKX2vD78Vc5vjFomPdZElrDQ7VkZyLHGFakghB_6iIGTs/s4032/20230720_233636.jpg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><img border="0" data-original-height="4032" data-original-width="3024" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEihsLvuSfkxMCOSfXskFBabdhy4TTIpmqCMX2tSoCNcB5Jvb_cFCBI4q1jnBrLLAZRSPYWoALg_S_Up3i0BuBq2VOMncjVDo_mizlY0UvKwqPJH6B20wLy3HQJwwSASVlDCNaDMj9ptobwvjnvKX2vD78Vc5vjFomPdZElrDQ7VkZyLHGFakghB_6iIGTs/s320/20230720_233636.jpg" width="240" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Lost my Hymn in the ante, but traded it back along with a Demonic Tutor for one of my PsiBlasts. That tutor is a blank-backed print-out proxy btw, and the PsiBlast is a real Unlimited one, so money-wise the trade might not have been completely in my favour. "Schoolyard value" and all that...<br /></td></tr></tbody></table><p></p><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgfmq24GBoUG7EPyIUkMJqiUEXov41k-XryGufhdqdwoVFWnXWDq67oUK6jOd1RTLPeJbtPPxA4u_FiServkz9IYoSOqVluv0ra4zuxb8vEoPJFxRHHsF6fApjADWBtzb-vsthHjB4CB2nW-JuoCcNjuvwI-VOA_ED0NasLQ1PRFcbth42xlkgE_1C0Juk/s4032/20230720_212613.jpg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="3024" data-original-width="4032" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgfmq24GBoUG7EPyIUkMJqiUEXov41k-XryGufhdqdwoVFWnXWDq67oUK6jOd1RTLPeJbtPPxA4u_FiServkz9IYoSOqVluv0ra4zuxb8vEoPJFxRHHsF6fApjADWBtzb-vsthHjB4CB2nW-JuoCcNjuvwI-VOA_ED0NasLQ1PRFcbth42xlkgE_1C0Juk/s320/20230720_212613.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Yeah, thats' a cooling van filled with beer, wine, and red bull for the occasion.<br /></td></tr></tbody></table><p></p><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgdV0p_IQHl3A5CbTSnVhSN6CCScGkqzsxoMGFi2MJXSw-_3nhJYaIaPn1w3RNfuvirC90ZuOUF2N3m1LS8eINi7p6xfuTOaM2hWk37XqWu1ioiIEd7knv4-N47EBx2TMHRRSPDq2g57UC3lWHrCsY8qAuePSACz9Bxu_1YB8-z7zpBDyfb7XgheTnKFSY/s4032/20230721_221100.jpg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="3024" data-original-width="4032" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgdV0p_IQHl3A5CbTSnVhSN6CCScGkqzsxoMGFi2MJXSw-_3nhJYaIaPn1w3RNfuvirC90ZuOUF2N3m1LS8eINi7p6xfuTOaM2hWk37XqWu1ioiIEd7knv4-N47EBx2TMHRRSPDq2g57UC3lWHrCsY8qAuePSACz9Bxu_1YB8-z7zpBDyfb7XgheTnKFSY/s320/20230721_221100.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Brothers in Fire (and lodging).<br /></td></tr></tbody></table><p></p><p>The real showdown would start Friday, and after a solid nights sleep sharing an apartment with Brother Jordan, Mitja, and Alban, I was good to go.</p><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgNK3m3AVHlc4cUYBJwTNhNNUSDVk6azxxRohTu_G12sNfgTwHFFqecB-U6Ov2UJf1svvg7ADXWEtZB2G3XCXI1qDoqXhLJ_Rst0DXUnH_7p7Wr_15miWSXYQbLFFMaTugH8xNQzg5OtoDceAAShOLi6ggXSO3XUIpm7HpA5tZiwHgyqz2EsqtVLcXHfIU/s4032/20230721_123710.jpg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><img border="0" data-original-height="3024" data-original-width="4032" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgNK3m3AVHlc4cUYBJwTNhNNUSDVk6azxxRohTu_G12sNfgTwHFFqecB-U6Ov2UJf1svvg7ADXWEtZB2G3XCXI1qDoqXhLJ_Rst0DXUnH_7p7Wr_15miWSXYQbLFFMaTugH8xNQzg5OtoDceAAShOLi6ggXSO3XUIpm7HpA5tZiwHgyqz2EsqtVLcXHfIU/s320/20230721_123710.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Very nice walking distance from the apartment to Casa Reindeer. Switzerland is a supremely picturesque place.<br /></td></tr></tbody></table><br /><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg_cQgWENQLsusoCA20qBMF41sf8Of_X78pN7NMdMRwt9YQ0cQF9GWuCDjCEnvpCG6Vbfkv4T6tuHRMpD6jiio1VUuQX7DsPffSKmRUhOe-zRzERZeYdArwzkmNDmWBCRD1peuL2eXCRQn0-C_nAkDujHHetHX5jgWAAvPfX1foeJZg1Kyiw6aEg7yBffU/s4032/20230721_180731.jpg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><img border="0" data-original-height="3024" data-original-width="4032" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg_cQgWENQLsusoCA20qBMF41sf8Of_X78pN7NMdMRwt9YQ0cQF9GWuCDjCEnvpCG6Vbfkv4T6tuHRMpD6jiio1VUuQX7DsPffSKmRUhOe-zRzERZeYdArwzkmNDmWBCRD1peuL2eXCRQn0-C_nAkDujHHetHX5jgWAAvPfX1foeJZg1Kyiw6aEg7yBffU/s320/20230721_180731.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">The man with the plan.<br /></td></tr></tbody></table><p></p><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjOnLJF5hqmGGipif0GEwmGxCPsqEi67erszZQyubtl-uVrR_s-5JugMFN4iVTveoFm28OQe6MBffo2tMMtWlD3G84o4nAd58vXdtdpHzDAQTKThQI8AHC6iqhHf_G38B3lWRb2VHQ-g_VbqUXVBJlzEghLsKjY1r4crLDXItCFEhdYYcMRozLAjidx0kU/s4032/20230721_131517.jpg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><img border="0" data-original-height="3024" data-original-width="4032" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjOnLJF5hqmGGipif0GEwmGxCPsqEi67erszZQyubtl-uVrR_s-5JugMFN4iVTveoFm28OQe6MBffo2tMMtWlD3G84o4nAd58vXdtdpHzDAQTKThQI8AHC6iqhHf_G38B3lWRb2VHQ-g_VbqUXVBJlzEghLsKjY1r4crLDXItCFEhdYYcMRozLAjidx0kU/s320/20230721_131517.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">n00bs eagerly awaiting instructions.<br /></td></tr></tbody></table><p></p><p></p><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjk_nCHBFf5eT1HYdX2aX602x4kilh7UU9P5DnD0ugjlpRwjaOfWAbx17acGpwHhyQ6qQBOds7Ck7_uy1x799g_w10cGQpjfWKMcNBdAP5eXCayaeotVIHla_hM_O19avRO-hqM4tckkK91UNnEzmKpscaFU_FantDBVTdG3RokzbG6dggN42bhsH5E_ec/s4032/20230721_131714.jpg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><img border="0" data-original-height="4032" data-original-width="3024" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjk_nCHBFf5eT1HYdX2aX602x4kilh7UU9P5DnD0ugjlpRwjaOfWAbx17acGpwHhyQ6qQBOds7Ck7_uy1x799g_w10cGQpjfWKMcNBdAP5eXCayaeotVIHla_hM_O19avRO-hqM4tckkK91UNnEzmKpscaFU_FantDBVTdG3RokzbG6dggN42bhsH5E_ec/s320/20230721_131714.jpg" width="240" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">What is this sorcery?</td></tr></tbody></table><p></p><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiccmok0TDK3RRlf2dykwpWFpsY8GXvdUex-pSsH0q_KYK4iFi5KCVl2scOMlmz5zYkjNUntnwK__NgyRC8Jr8Q97lhLb6SeUC11vv1Euni96Jnj1X1CT28FqaGIpo6Qa4pwl3QS-_tKpcUXUO5b8mI3DD40qnQf_rjJAALHTubje0T7axx09GHR6SBJZw/s4032/20230721_135345.jpg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><img border="0" data-original-height="3024" data-original-width="4032" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiccmok0TDK3RRlf2dykwpWFpsY8GXvdUex-pSsH0q_KYK4iFi5KCVl2scOMlmz5zYkjNUntnwK__NgyRC8Jr8Q97lhLb6SeUC11vv1Euni96Jnj1X1CT28FqaGIpo6Qa4pwl3QS-_tKpcUXUO5b8mI3DD40qnQf_rjJAALHTubje0T7axx09GHR6SBJZw/s320/20230721_135345.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">The Reindeer explains the rules. Each player picks a hidden pre-constructed deck with a theme (elementals, minotaurs, vampires, zombies, etc) and pairs up with another player for Two-Headed Giant Planechase<i> </i>shenanigans. We will play best-of-one games against opposing teams, and each round there are chances to win stuff like boosters or blank cards to improve the decks. Trading is encouraged between rounds as well. And again, we're going oldschool plus Planchase.</td><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><br /></td></tr></tbody></table><p></p><p></p><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiJgf1dA68jkbura6S7y2mHbllOrzXNpWSqXPY5O25Zk0Mwah2CH-7kYwT4x4fKwvKzyqISnB2cjiVKSi4DaxXW_h0wNyJPjtEvPkdlLyp5rfAXRI5Jh8eB0EqYRQTF_IvhnfCe9ZhiSdWnBuVCGg2s1naSQssg0SSukbDuZrosh5mv-gHKh06I6-piIN4/s1490/f4d8686fb361fc1a3f45e777a9be9cfd-575474760.jpeg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1040" data-original-width="1490" height="223" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiJgf1dA68jkbura6S7y2mHbllOrzXNpWSqXPY5O25Zk0Mwah2CH-7kYwT4x4fKwvKzyqISnB2cjiVKSi4DaxXW_h0wNyJPjtEvPkdlLyp5rfAXRI5Jh8eB0EqYRQTF_IvhnfCe9ZhiSdWnBuVCGg2s1naSQssg0SSukbDuZrosh5mv-gHKh06I6-piIN4/s320/f4d8686fb361fc1a3f45e777a9be9cfd-575474760.jpeg" width="320" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">How to start the game with Shivan Dragon in play.<br /></td></tr></tbody></table><p></p><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiZIU4b553PLp76ddns1R9962CcYIfeqqK3ogAX6OcaMtpp46EGS21cQBIxZXEtCWSxHo1MdW5uBfw2fygRAPIqYywy9iHYqLPUeqGc9VD5nyPYirxEFlZCTCuNsS_dtrsEY1s1wNcKb0tOWnnCOpGH_PlmnlQJGjKk7C7Nl-GcO7Jdd7bEmTgGBwr2FIc/s4032/20230721_180740.jpg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="3024" data-original-width="4032" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiZIU4b553PLp76ddns1R9962CcYIfeqqK3ogAX6OcaMtpp46EGS21cQBIxZXEtCWSxHo1MdW5uBfw2fygRAPIqYywy9iHYqLPUeqGc9VD5nyPYirxEFlZCTCuNsS_dtrsEY1s1wNcKb0tOWnnCOpGH_PlmnlQJGjKk7C7Nl-GcO7Jdd7bEmTgGBwr2FIc/s320/20230721_180740.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">I pair up with my old frenemy Gordon Anderson, as is tradition during these events. Go team MGordon!<br /></td></tr></tbody></table><br /><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgv7RTkvA2CgfW0bgh2wA_MOPkAMeFbyD3TIbMB8F6O5W7f6yEQG7gYNE6liJOvMAF7e94V8NUHpt69vtwKTdDH9YcTByleKvMc0U0GszJYymTyKIQINqz9LOQ8EL0n1gAgaxAc93r-_pM2qxhS3KMoJFJboXag3-mwCUcBRGkozYWeDn0s78BRvUV4NMo/s4032/20230721_133006.jpg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><img border="0" data-original-height="3024" data-original-width="4032" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgv7RTkvA2CgfW0bgh2wA_MOPkAMeFbyD3TIbMB8F6O5W7f6yEQG7gYNE6liJOvMAF7e94V8NUHpt69vtwKTdDH9YcTByleKvMc0U0GszJYymTyKIQINqz9LOQ8EL0n1gAgaxAc93r-_pM2qxhS3KMoJFJboXag3-mwCUcBRGkozYWeDn0s78BRvUV4NMo/s320/20230721_133006.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Going back and forth whether I should embrace old family history and pick the Nobles deck, or if I should embrace current height and nationality and take the Giants of the North deck, I eventually settle on the Giants. The initial deck is kinda weak (a lot of vanilla creatures for four mana and quite low land count), but we're here to trade and rip boosters.<br /></td></tr></tbody></table><p></p><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgoKkUml1p3GIaPXqtRdR0ZaSV5g0hUpcOJPXSyxEYJHKFA14YjX_4KCjcIpvG5LCdx2UPUF2bO_8L4jnwyncG5ALzNkQX2IIiXnPP2Kc9hA6rccxf3an6ivuVfqRuBvg7mYloemGbYoSsNeNn7lQJ9mQCR33DZBYZm_KsMbK6fDWxxqykXbfatGW6LFGU/s4032/20230721_144458.jpg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><img border="0" data-original-height="4032" data-original-width="3024" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgoKkUml1p3GIaPXqtRdR0ZaSV5g0hUpcOJPXSyxEYJHKFA14YjX_4KCjcIpvG5LCdx2UPUF2bO_8L4jnwyncG5ALzNkQX2IIiXnPP2Kc9hA6rccxf3an6ivuVfqRuBvg7mYloemGbYoSsNeNn7lQJ9mQCR33DZBYZm_KsMbK6fDWxxqykXbfatGW6LFGU/s320/20230721_144458.jpg" width="240" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Two kinds of boosters were available; the "Reinvitational boosters" with (mostly) proxied versions of Alpha-through-Homelands cards that were also used for the Reinvitational format, and something a bit more curious...<br /></td></tr></tbody></table><br /><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhmPvIZLbyQ_NAspbX6m5adZjB5teMuZWzqzx5Jp1laGv9ld06fRekush-anEjY41sESXPSTTaiqAhNrBggRkbNWq6zlx8Xq4XWL_Ty70r_7VQ34axAbC1kjS41DnlA1JHA7B62Nu0_oX9SB8RqgziICb1iHr8eREb4qf_yCjteI-Al0EToFg3lWCxMVgI/s4032/20230802_211803.jpg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="4032" data-original-width="3024" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhmPvIZLbyQ_NAspbX6m5adZjB5teMuZWzqzx5Jp1laGv9ld06fRekush-anEjY41sESXPSTTaiqAhNrBggRkbNWq6zlx8Xq4XWL_Ty70r_7VQ34axAbC1kjS41DnlA1JHA7B62Nu0_oX9SB8RqgziICb1iHr8eREb4qf_yCjteI-Al0EToFg3lWCxMVgI/s320/20230802_211803.jpg" width="240" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Branching Paths boosters! </td><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"> </td><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"> </td></tr></tbody></table><br /><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEit_zlfJA19Jb2JgFXNMG6W8U1nTr-SWIYfxhnh9yd2H1fehCGLlqkGcIVGm1OYPr9gobPZGlTU6gdTlMRV0CD_YOHVaO-ZXQF1spGmdUb0V4YlzZGSoLCvHZnev_I83iooAiiftROsoaxu2cZEEW54QQta1xvl03qMbss3zHu_ijvJg5IWh4mtu594oOE/s4032/20230802_211739.jpg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="3024" data-original-width="4032" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEit_zlfJA19Jb2JgFXNMG6W8U1nTr-SWIYfxhnh9yd2H1fehCGLlqkGcIVGm1OYPr9gobPZGlTU6gdTlMRV0CD_YOHVaO-ZXQF1spGmdUb0V4YlzZGSoLCvHZnev_I83iooAiiftROsoaxu2cZEEW54QQta1xvl03qMbss3zHu_ijvJg5IWh4mtu594oOE/s320/20230802_211739.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Branching Paths is a "new"
oldschool set created by the Montreal Tundra Wolves. It is a true labor
of love, and slides great into the OS card pool. I never played with the cards before, so this was a pleasant surprise! <a href="https://talesfromlatundra.home.blog/2023/02/04/branching-paths-a-nonprofit-fan-made-os-set/">You can read more about Branching Paths here.</a><br /></td></tr></tbody></table><p></p><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEijF_KyLK1KgFSTcqqCLDEF8vYTycjHVCM_2Rojt_eL4i1lVtOaIxdrpgQqe9MQrq4NPPJ_R_XW9b6I2JTY3VG7PGY0KoiItBmMgDbntrrriJcG2ylXAxITFxhRTXHMLeUYDqYU8xy8pN7gQ1dwL_xpekj0D9qP1gpXOXou9XN-PZkGtHWjn75RC38jfnM/s4032/20230802_211712.jpg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="3024" data-original-width="4032" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEijF_KyLK1KgFSTcqqCLDEF8vYTycjHVCM_2Rojt_eL4i1lVtOaIxdrpgQqe9MQrq4NPPJ_R_XW9b6I2JTY3VG7PGY0KoiItBmMgDbntrrriJcG2ylXAxITFxhRTXHMLeUYDqYU8xy8pN7gQ1dwL_xpekj0D9qP1gpXOXou9XN-PZkGtHWjn75RC38jfnM/s320/20230802_211712.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Almost all cards in Branching Paths are new designs, but the set also have the original dual lands (at uncommon). Excellent for building three-color decks in our limited environment!<br /></td></tr></tbody></table><p></p><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjWi07Inyuo68ekmJAZck_kEbBMZKLzaZ1RwkXQJjlyXt765RGb8nVIwWR8SLigT30aDc4g1czTCslgjWnUsOvoKVmoOZxxDCzx2F394oL6AVbqcxgq3paSOLn9R6SlE5h887cbCI6PmYVe-s59aFCebv-iDVFUul2h1PnBDDiM7j3hmzG6dEYE4Qm51_A/s3826/20230802_211641.jpg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="3826" data-original-width="2733" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjWi07Inyuo68ekmJAZck_kEbBMZKLzaZ1RwkXQJjlyXt765RGb8nVIwWR8SLigT30aDc4g1czTCslgjWnUsOvoKVmoOZxxDCzx2F394oL6AVbqcxgq3paSOLn9R6SlE5h887cbCI6PmYVe-s59aFCebv-iDVFUul2h1PnBDDiM7j3hmzG6dEYE4Qm51_A/s320/20230802_211641.jpg" width="229" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">And a few of the cards in the Reindeer decks and boosters have updated casting cost or stats. Aladdin's Lamp for 4 mana is right up my wheelhouse.<br /></td></tr></tbody></table><p></p><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjPEVnDorHobvzcHVBCkY7VHomuRD1ywL8qosmNCASlxHRzuQ9qSWJSmGVmPWaqI8BQd_x7gx_PPGUF67iVKfELgXwdbGFr_RLCliXpZGl2NIs3RN3AWow-fyiZkZSOrnha8reomQJyntcCAt6mUtB5zREiQPtLSIKnBfxd1bmHsoU9L-8Kd6KNVdVsr6U/s4032/20230721_133000.jpg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="3024" data-original-width="4032" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjPEVnDorHobvzcHVBCkY7VHomuRD1ywL8qosmNCASlxHRzuQ9qSWJSmGVmPWaqI8BQd_x7gx_PPGUF67iVKfELgXwdbGFr_RLCliXpZGl2NIs3RN3AWow-fyiZkZSOrnha8reomQJyntcCAt6mUtB5zREiQPtLSIKnBfxd1bmHsoU9L-8Kd6KNVdVsr6U/s320/20230721_133000.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Sleeving and trashtalking with Danny Friedman and Marc Lanigra.<br /></td></tr></tbody></table><p></p><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg2YmWuq32nt6OZOttRO5J1S5w6NXGLtIW8pX-1wQElmlFSgt-YWxC9FdtNNCHb14_pYXC6rbd7ivbKZz2UhgmivYNhpeA23PUxktoQA1iEXhsb14VNvlt7Phuzx4__mAnt2VdNIkBjZ02A_LJyHb1Qf8LLmcRhNP1OytO14fqJKQfayvP0UVmbNKUGE7A/s4032/20230721_180812.jpg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><img border="0" data-original-height="3024" data-original-width="4032" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg2YmWuq32nt6OZOttRO5J1S5w6NXGLtIW8pX-1wQElmlFSgt-YWxC9FdtNNCHb14_pYXC6rbd7ivbKZz2UhgmivYNhpeA23PUxktoQA1iEXhsb14VNvlt7Phuzx4__mAnt2VdNIkBjZ02A_LJyHb1Qf8LLmcRhNP1OytO14fqJKQfayvP0UVmbNKUGE7A/s320/20230721_180812.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Meanwhile, a content Mitja roasts a pig. Gathering a group of friends to eat a whole pig and drink barrels of red whine is unspeakably cosy.<br /></td></tr></tbody></table><p></p><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiPSz6A95ztDIrimn7I-AEOtwamotkJVt_BZbVk5t6wvd5fpcisth7cit2CZECupPvAgq77FiTz26Ps6d6FaW-PRymKDUHj0iux-MNWuwPkluxUwoKAaYEn5ERJRiiL3uG3DjmaojsibqKrND2h87rx7XXsLA7ILa3nztJG8HR87JeUduXJaUl_W97gseg/s4032/20230721_181322.jpg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="3024" data-original-width="4032" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiPSz6A95ztDIrimn7I-AEOtwamotkJVt_BZbVk5t6wvd5fpcisth7cit2CZECupPvAgq77FiTz26Ps6d6FaW-PRymKDUHj0iux-MNWuwPkluxUwoKAaYEn5ERJRiiL3uG3DjmaojsibqKrND2h87rx7XXsLA7ILa3nztJG8HR87JeUduXJaUl_W97gseg/s320/20230721_181322.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">MGordon vs Italian stallions.<br /></td></tr></tbody></table><p></p><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhk05M67fKlwi2ZuIOZmEbAJTCWuQIc0lSXMkCrw1bpR9lq8-mW7RTKY0u4J9WyWtCN3oHRePuD31Nq4j2sJ59wPr1_OTy31dLHcD0d0ittPOM2VbPGyLL4kSTIMh5ZdCNoqs4_WjAPIoTIwdGuyQjh0lKkun3o3XoENY7ZK50jCoMIYLLgoII6YNnPiEw/s4032/20230721_210924.jpg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="3024" data-original-width="4032" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhk05M67fKlwi2ZuIOZmEbAJTCWuQIc0lSXMkCrw1bpR9lq8-mW7RTKY0u4J9WyWtCN3oHRePuD31Nq4j2sJ59wPr1_OTy31dLHcD0d0ittPOM2VbPGyLL4kSTIMh5ZdCNoqs4_WjAPIoTIwdGuyQjh0lKkun3o3XoENY7ZK50jCoMIYLLgoII6YNnPiEw/s320/20230721_210924.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Last round vs two Brothers of Fire.<br /></td></tr></tbody></table><p></p><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgkv1ApntcoopyZce-Q9_h6dFWhSNbGPrcb4_0YOvB3REmUcgAafZDwiYQrAFnniJdp9p-Qdw5JDQd6N968iw6mpdzWq4thZk6CrBo4cesZwRyKy4r8XukDDvMEZ5Lq3O-ud9_4_OcHQzFMe8m2MEk2IR_MUm242XiTeR61CCFVNrUg3BWFdLxzSO6uYfs/s4032/20230721_213713.jpg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="4032" data-original-width="3024" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgkv1ApntcoopyZce-Q9_h6dFWhSNbGPrcb4_0YOvB3REmUcgAafZDwiYQrAFnniJdp9p-Qdw5JDQd6N968iw6mpdzWq4thZk6CrBo4cesZwRyKy4r8XukDDvMEZ5Lq3O-ud9_4_OcHQzFMe8m2MEk2IR_MUm242XiTeR61CCFVNrUg3BWFdLxzSO6uYfs/s320/20230721_213713.jpg" width="240" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Reigning OS World Champion Stebbo is impressed by the four-mana Aladdin's Lamp. Actually kinda playable.<br /></td></tr></tbody></table><p></p><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjKKq9ifT-8Mmx8-H2Ms113Vz0hRXlDfFlR9ggrLZ6_c_pwDcs3gD7VDx0hjDb7fjc7U0VTtg-KrY6rPn2HYWMUXaYpKpjlMypnkNqES0mmiGoa_DOGgUv9Yx0aPnpjS7MHpensBsDAxPPjqVqLUZodKpMwpCuwb_U52BfiU7i_bQ2F_SimXNKUwn06-j8/s3707/20230802_211608.jpg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="2427" data-original-width="3707" height="210" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjKKq9ifT-8Mmx8-H2Ms113Vz0hRXlDfFlR9ggrLZ6_c_pwDcs3gD7VDx0hjDb7fjc7U0VTtg-KrY6rPn2HYWMUXaYpKpjlMypnkNqES0mmiGoa_DOGgUv9Yx0aPnpjS7MHpensBsDAxPPjqVqLUZodKpMwpCuwb_U52BfiU7i_bQ2F_SimXNKUwn06-j8/s320/20230802_211608.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">By the end of the day my deck looked like this. A pretty solid pile, if I may say so. I'll keep it sleeved in hopes of getting the chance to use it again someday.<br /></td></tr></tbody></table><p></p><p>I don't recall which team won in the end. Probably Reindeer, as he likes to win his own tournaments. Though there was a bit more randomness than usual - what with the shuffled Planechase decks and the Planar Dice rolls and best of one and whatnot - so maybe everybody won. I had a blast at least, and felt like a winner.<br /></p><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh94ltqIAl9XhLw1Bo1iWoUBlrxgRx96cY80tJ0BUyO4n9Fagpv4vbP629NqxjzzX4u_R8j0EH_A83kvh8jfRRBfuQ3NiBbRoGiOu6KdWCvCyrBFh2h1CdtDi17a4ffHrtxeaENdAMW1x6JQIhIcy969gDGo_jk2cBOEinqTn0PO-m8XbuBWuPacNU3pV4/s4032/20230721_230437.jpg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="3024" data-original-width="4032" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh94ltqIAl9XhLw1Bo1iWoUBlrxgRx96cY80tJ0BUyO4n9Fagpv4vbP629NqxjzzX4u_R8j0EH_A83kvh8jfRRBfuQ3NiBbRoGiOu6KdWCvCyrBFh2h1CdtDi17a4ffHrtxeaENdAMW1x6JQIhIcy969gDGo_jk2cBOEinqTn0PO-m8XbuBWuPacNU3pV4/s320/20230721_230437.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">What are these Italians doing in a tent outside in the middle of the night? Cooking pasta sauce of course!<br /></td></tr></tbody></table><p></p><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjXHuX7Tb871p2OT_hgu5eKKKnawPSkf4cQtakQob7kkoOahV7QgAr3vk6h2rZBUTcYjrnGM7UH6xB60vYhvPgmlpSQvniqTBCf-JwlFpr6IkW089NonRoD9rqxYQEsH1_CjHDm_phvyvPirdsHxyWX7IbQXmP9E45tKd5HziRBuRgKOIsY14k72dMuVQU/s4032/20230722_011053.jpg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="4032" data-original-width="3024" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjXHuX7Tb871p2OT_hgu5eKKKnawPSkf4cQtakQob7kkoOahV7QgAr3vk6h2rZBUTcYjrnGM7UH6xB60vYhvPgmlpSQvniqTBCf-JwlFpr6IkW089NonRoD9rqxYQEsH1_CjHDm_phvyvPirdsHxyWX7IbQXmP9E45tKd5HziRBuRgKOIsY14k72dMuVQU/s320/20230722_011053.jpg" width="240" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">As night falls and the darkness thickens, a handful Wizards gather indoors to experience Leo's Vintage Cube.<br /></td></tr></tbody></table><p></p><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi3TKqhpesOYRH3ILAYz5_XMLUjlMiiD1kARLdhBtUVsk3VPtoLGU1Mgqy4S3p2DFKgPbhoWhGpOfkoMXV4SP2E6iqZN7F1WXxo4ljnw-FIbXeC_0Bcyb20T5kpHAtOEOzfH1rK2SRlw4zFJmvGbgvNpErwdyOsVhINvvrvbfsxbLCQvBL0AkeR9YslQ0M/s4032/20230722_011056.jpg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="4032" data-original-width="3024" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi3TKqhpesOYRH3ILAYz5_XMLUjlMiiD1kARLdhBtUVsk3VPtoLGU1Mgqy4S3p2DFKgPbhoWhGpOfkoMXV4SP2E6iqZN7F1WXxo4ljnw-FIbXeC_0Bcyb20T5kpHAtOEOzfH1rK2SRlw4zFJmvGbgvNpErwdyOsVhINvvrvbfsxbLCQvBL0AkeR9YslQ0M/s320/20230722_011056.jpg" width="240" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">The cube is a proper work of art; not only is it a really fun cube, but all the cards are first printing. First-picking an Alpha Sol Ring is somehow even more satisfying than just first-picking a Sol Ring.<br /></td></tr></tbody></table><p></p><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjlYHVoFQ4fHXegi63xsfIPCzv2j5cRPXU8FQshL1_uDL0nvwUf1NmVmIJeC4LyyzEbOIs1bRCsepLrnuR2m9D6KAbB-J_VuyvJqgXmvbZnVc6XHmFdnw2G_f17Y_IL02tu7gI0MakDPmT7QamYNhPd5CLvR26tldfNazvd0kAYyjrg3PAcojMVgajKVzo/s4032/20230721_234851.jpg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="4032" data-original-width="3024" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjlYHVoFQ4fHXegi63xsfIPCzv2j5cRPXU8FQshL1_uDL0nvwUf1NmVmIJeC4LyyzEbOIs1bRCsepLrnuR2m9D6KAbB-J_VuyvJqgXmvbZnVc6XHmFdnw2G_f17Y_IL02tu7gI0MakDPmT7QamYNhPd5CLvR26tldfNazvd0kAYyjrg3PAcojMVgajKVzo/s320/20230721_234851.jpg" width="240" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Hello,
my name is Magnus and I'm the fun-police. MonoRed aggro it is.<br /></td></tr></tbody></table><p>We keep drinking, joking, and laughing. I get in an argument with Gordon, as is tradition, and life is as it should be. These are good times with good people. And we're still only half way. Tomorrow, the pasta awaits.<br /></p><p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgXp4cFblh9Qncz30t8tbRbilLLeKLDwnALOCANyDuENKexYLtrvF9ch-Ew4Mqu7oB6PDi3deO-ONPgGJdv8oeRhgcgWZYWdMhpnQoS0Mn3s_dpt81-N20yTderI3-t16KCpji2XK7J8_uDX2Ryq_VFWhYHHExuULOpYY3M2kiViR_4YjNdhKXOLm3wfYg/s2846/20230802_210716.jpg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1593" data-original-width="2846" height="179" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgXp4cFblh9Qncz30t8tbRbilLLeKLDwnALOCANyDuENKexYLtrvF9ch-Ew4Mqu7oB6PDi3deO-ONPgGJdv8oeRhgcgWZYWdMhpnQoS0Mn3s_dpt81-N20yTderI3-t16KCpji2XK7J8_uDX2Ryq_VFWhYHHExuULOpYY3M2kiViR_4YjNdhKXOLm3wfYg/s320/20230802_210716.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Actual constructed. Time to shine.<br /></td></tr></tbody></table></div><br /><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi-PkIptIHZdsTkQJecMXHWDdfAM_A2LTLOcSR1kNI0Vo7bj6DsKAu6YYvljz1j_MvulqzNOS7swomk7VKT91HDaFg5VAGJ-4kPVZdfapDxKnI8G4JVGJnEmoHUZJZDuDabhSbvXM9hb4EqOlwkQUXgZBESCx4g9VZ9OWBu9rHce8rp-EqJ35mTSKCgyLY/s4032/20230722_154337.jpg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="4032" data-original-width="3024" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi-PkIptIHZdsTkQJecMXHWDdfAM_A2LTLOcSR1kNI0Vo7bj6DsKAu6YYvljz1j_MvulqzNOS7swomk7VKT91HDaFg5VAGJ-4kPVZdfapDxKnI8G4JVGJnEmoHUZJZDuDabhSbvXM9hb4EqOlwkQUXgZBESCx4g9VZ9OWBu9rHce8rp-EqJ35mTSKCgyLY/s320/20230722_154337.jpg" width="240" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Saturday starts out sweet. Black Lotus into Sengir Vampire is met with Swords to Plowshares, and then my Black Lotus into Serra Angel is met with Psionic Blast. 9.5/10, much flavor. Only thing that could have topped it is if the Blast had been a Terror.<br /></td></tr></tbody></table><br /><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj-BfVt8yVSglz1UFUaXt_j4SK6aGyTF0k9-xc0ZiV6reoSvfFH5XAljZdv3yGdUGaRnnnXXiTXjKWLhpKssOBtozmsVx-Nd0jlYKPn0HA6m43rUb5MlNNSE_aP5KD-F-reqMzcKTDhSiXEMBLL_1xmuDJScuWVTSyWhrKlWBZQwyFi41-y55VumZeXm2k/s4032/20230722_154947.jpg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="4032" data-original-width="3024" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj-BfVt8yVSglz1UFUaXt_j4SK6aGyTF0k9-xc0ZiV6reoSvfFH5XAljZdv3yGdUGaRnnnXXiTXjKWLhpKssOBtozmsVx-Nd0jlYKPn0HA6m43rUb5MlNNSE_aP5KD-F-reqMzcKTDhSiXEMBLL_1xmuDJScuWVTSyWhrKlWBZQwyFi41-y55VumZeXm2k/s320/20230722_154947.jpg" width="240" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">But it turns out one Karma is pretty good...<br /></td></tr></tbody></table><br /><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjX0FE_6LPtNHxIDaK1rrALy_OW3_VapWbAsizZS-sfN6TqT1qzG-zbSfutztXmR6gbZnot_YODY-N9Dx-h8jepJ2T86ngbqL-gx94O5nKfBvUcPo8ethD2gs0Vru4Yh1JaySGSpF2Xq5JkPmbHnAa6atNOAP7gXRQzX0Viu_2NoanHwwHJZWoHwwzLXKg/s4032/20230722_165931.jpg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="4032" data-original-width="3024" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjX0FE_6LPtNHxIDaK1rrALy_OW3_VapWbAsizZS-sfN6TqT1qzG-zbSfutztXmR6gbZnot_YODY-N9Dx-h8jepJ2T86ngbqL-gx94O5nKfBvUcPo8ethD2gs0Vru4Yh1JaySGSpF2Xq5JkPmbHnAa6atNOAP7gXRQzX0Viu_2NoanHwwHJZWoHwwzLXKg/s320/20230722_165931.jpg" width="240" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">...and two Karma is bordeline unbeatable.<br /></td></tr></tbody></table><p></p><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhTbP2mDDmbzE-7Tq1EM82ZMaTAapuqCdBneQ25J8OISbNhDm_5Uv1HeFgW2JzvJrjnwz77WfeiLerT1q-FHl68rhKpde8kGPvxZBZi3cp8DpsEJMI1OeArSOO5BMCOUk-x4MPN68cNKKXhjKJjUnIsTye6LGQFORjbUPQBvriTid7j_rhYp_Mv62Hwni0/s4032/20230722_180329.jpg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="4032" data-original-width="3024" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhTbP2mDDmbzE-7Tq1EM82ZMaTAapuqCdBneQ25J8OISbNhDm_5Uv1HeFgW2JzvJrjnwz77WfeiLerT1q-FHl68rhKpde8kGPvxZBZi3cp8DpsEJMI1OeArSOO5BMCOUk-x4MPN68cNKKXhjKJjUnIsTye6LGQFORjbUPQBvriTid7j_rhYp_Mv62Hwni0/s320/20230722_180329.jpg" width="240" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Turn one active Fountain of Youth is met by trembling fear.<br /></td></tr></tbody></table><br /><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjBNVfCkR_jrLnRuSLsPt7KZkUGLHAzX_dxZ7XkP7bMhT-qJjEWKebGQIu4SRvmFINAKo6MM3XwZvgWxP8wBBie0y0vrdxiE1WxBvceCsZz004Bntjji9md5ty6I4FQMCd8jhk6S-L9bjMOFARX4Y_CE1ryk8D41QY7yhUFV29wfUZQhdALpMuqH_JkdWY/s4032/20230722_173453.jpg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="3024" data-original-width="4032" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjBNVfCkR_jrLnRuSLsPt7KZkUGLHAzX_dxZ7XkP7bMhT-qJjEWKebGQIu4SRvmFINAKo6MM3XwZvgWxP8wBBie0y0vrdxiE1WxBvceCsZz004Bntjji9md5ty6I4FQMCd8jhk6S-L9bjMOFARX4Y_CE1ryk8D41QY7yhUFV29wfUZQhdALpMuqH_JkdWY/s320/20230722_173453.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Around round four of the swiss, I grab the opportunity to try for the Chaos Orb patch. I never tried for that one before, even though I've been hanging out with Danny and the Lords since they started the challenge and I would consider myself something of a Chaos Orb aficionado. But when I heard that they only had a very small number of patches left, I realized this could be my last chance to go for it. It was a kinda nervous thing to do to be honest, but with the help of coach Svante, head judge Danny, and height judge Stebbo it turned out to be a very professionally run event. Did 49 hits in a row, missed number 50 to get a shot, and then picked up that glorious patch. My pride was unspeakable.</td><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><br /></td></tr></tbody></table><br /><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhSoBud58P0bnVa4F8h8f3JWnU-3-dqjsn5K7cmqsdV7OvuBEzU7SHj8U_o2RZ784GezokRE8g2jVhSk5SDGr8pVqN-cFMueN6X7gYlmnLHV2pPOoOVOxA24vIZ5pL32WWX9aR3RovdJbYrMGt8AKZlIF7X4pcNnuNPMmjHT9WBxa_M58VwZ8pQiVX9JXI/s4032/20230722_183133.jpg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="3024" data-original-width="4032" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhSoBud58P0bnVa4F8h8f3JWnU-3-dqjsn5K7cmqsdV7OvuBEzU7SHj8U_o2RZ784GezokRE8g2jVhSk5SDGr8pVqN-cFMueN6X7gYlmnLHV2pPOoOVOxA24vIZ5pL32WWX9aR3RovdJbYrMGt8AKZlIF7X4pcNnuNPMmjHT9WBxa_M58VwZ8pQiVX9JXI/s320/20230722_183133.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">And suddenly, when life is already good, it's time for the reason we went here in the first place: Pasta.<br /></td></tr></tbody></table><p></p><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh-FIW9Fz2mffk1IlYAiMvb4qb321F7KUP541GrC1XhPeRxlgVUkJ2vfzG8k7CR2rPbPwWMt8ZroRzn3b0YDLuiKWw0IfRNOEOWyzQOAX-Xa9zxPe22uZLvnrS4xgVaZftaHcGFmdR5rvW623uYTMvqW-FN9pGrXSUvdRSKhWYQwbEDc4c98-DXNLXHkoU/s4032/20230722_183123.jpg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="3024" data-original-width="4032" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh-FIW9Fz2mffk1IlYAiMvb4qb321F7KUP541GrC1XhPeRxlgVUkJ2vfzG8k7CR2rPbPwWMt8ZroRzn3b0YDLuiKWw0IfRNOEOWyzQOAX-Xa9zxPe22uZLvnrS4xgVaZftaHcGFmdR5rvW623uYTMvqW-FN9pGrXSUvdRSKhWYQwbEDc4c98-DXNLXHkoU/s320/20230722_183123.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">If you never had Italians come to your home to cook pasta sauce in the middle of the night, have you ever really had pasta?<br /></td></tr></tbody></table><p></p><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh9GIHMpH8Kd7xnA1dSEkvU-L79oU9-R6l-F1Ey2A8I_P-kQekbqzG2xGzLtftA-IyjTya3SKjlEC1mKPDJA5RZWI3BZEl3mSaoGrURpzufBT41H2UMSzkhk5iQHa94dv3cubO_6Etaw0KdX6zLuzUTLG5MeMVceSNWC8v57Epk8sbVW73M7lQPDrXVmAk/s4032/20230722_182016.jpg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="3024" data-original-width="4032" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh9GIHMpH8Kd7xnA1dSEkvU-L79oU9-R6l-F1Ey2A8I_P-kQekbqzG2xGzLtftA-IyjTya3SKjlEC1mKPDJA5RZWI3BZEl3mSaoGrURpzufBT41H2UMSzkhk5iQHa94dv3cubO_6Etaw0KdX6zLuzUTLG5MeMVceSNWC8v57Epk8sbVW73M7lQPDrXVmAk/s320/20230722_182016.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Gorlami.<br /></td></tr></tbody></table><p></p><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhn2SfZSW8-WmcoHC7OqLrKMBwy1AuWrwu97kFFsd_N8cj8ex-jX_DnvIurGz4tNTgWkKbbgq6bzQnNwNukDGXurbSfHOQEz5tlvV9sCcy9KrreTA_Imf3O5jrPhTzkMZ3U4AnPjznqOldv-YZe1hnoO1ex8EkwMP9-ntm_MRk3hadzI32mb2f4Iv4qjy8/s4032/20230722_182024.jpg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="3024" data-original-width="4032" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhn2SfZSW8-WmcoHC7OqLrKMBwy1AuWrwu97kFFsd_N8cj8ex-jX_DnvIurGz4tNTgWkKbbgq6bzQnNwNukDGXurbSfHOQEz5tlvV9sCcy9KrreTA_Imf3O5jrPhTzkMZ3U4AnPjznqOldv-YZe1hnoO1ex8EkwMP9-ntm_MRk3hadzI32mb2f4Iv4qjy8/s320/20230722_182024.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Fellow Norwegian player Blazer approves.<br /></td></tr></tbody></table><p></p><p>I kinda zoomed out of the Magic part of the tournament at this point. I nabbed a couple of wins with Big White, but was never in real contention for the Top8. But to be fair, the field was really strong, both in terms of players and of decks. </p><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi0uEsmqTqQjRiPqVJFHFui3wcsE_XC8I9xGn1_KCMZ0ClYEEvCwrUVgKhJ0ngXaROPHqKitB7P1sTGXbhErmA1fPuh7BZb1KdfK9mwQc2G64c5_GrZS-icb6sFUWXrR9EFDLxB-kN4pC1qDmKCZa56jL5OUHZeqZn_gPW2AbZLMUZPh-kfwyWlWAA4AAM/s4032/20230722_184651.jpg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="3024" data-original-width="4032" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi0uEsmqTqQjRiPqVJFHFui3wcsE_XC8I9xGn1_KCMZ0ClYEEvCwrUVgKhJ0ngXaROPHqKitB7P1sTGXbhErmA1fPuh7BZb1KdfK9mwQc2G64c5_GrZS-icb6sFUWXrR9EFDLxB-kN4pC1qDmKCZa56jL5OUHZeqZn_gPW2AbZLMUZPh-kfwyWlWAA4AAM/s320/20230722_184651.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">The Reindeer shows off one of the prizes; an amazing Bad Moon piece by Italian painter/sculptor Ubi.<br /></td></tr></tbody></table><br /><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgg6QpNwlTIMEMb6GpZpvAaJTKNpmovyZGVLqd2QJTXaYyU1tcya1U8M3kY-jSgSFgpkb5dw7FZJ3aEJOsOe7GB_HhEv7EGfWLOQJl37Dl_Veni_Oay43NufJgtJg0fkDixz_4tt33JS40SJRfcr5bQhFPJr8HnpsPie4LCTH7KYFmQ6pgpxXjk2fw49rs/s4032/20230722_190405.jpg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="4032" data-original-width="3024" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgg6QpNwlTIMEMb6GpZpvAaJTKNpmovyZGVLqd2QJTXaYyU1tcya1U8M3kY-jSgSFgpkb5dw7FZJ3aEJOsOe7GB_HhEv7EGfWLOQJl37Dl_Veni_Oay43NufJgtJg0fkDixz_4tt33JS40SJRfcr5bQhFPJr8HnpsPie4LCTH7KYFmQ6pgpxXjk2fw49rs/s320/20230722_190405.jpg" width="240" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Ubi holding a small vernissage in The Reindeer's library.<br /></td></tr></tbody></table><br /><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjwAajtlz7B01JPZ_dXxaJTGJFgW8OnacHSpYi0rttAD6O-PZ9uuuwaslZklUAO29jLYNckYv3tVFOGQ5Ba1eN-SRgD1YW0kW9n4JwckIhsPgQdeOXlBR6KIGhafufFc0SYVHDGgTiWMQJy_egEuWbKZsqnhXqf3BPaf4G7qzP0ui6l9kyPjhTSpvRg0ag/s4032/20230722_190410.jpg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="4032" data-original-width="3024" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjwAajtlz7B01JPZ_dXxaJTGJFgW8OnacHSpYi0rttAD6O-PZ9uuuwaslZklUAO29jLYNckYv3tVFOGQ5Ba1eN-SRgD1YW0kW9n4JwckIhsPgQdeOXlBR6KIGhafufFc0SYVHDGgTiWMQJy_egEuWbKZsqnhXqf3BPaf4G7qzP0ui6l9kyPjhTSpvRg0ag/s320/20230722_190410.jpg" width="240" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Some really cool stuff, including an Illusionary mask made of driftwood, and a Triskelion crafted from and old coffee maker. <br /></td></tr></tbody></table><p></p><p></p><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjs9RIxFiH3N6ozEn6tr60LF2Sqk_P9WtT-yFpz1CeHsOhSqa4b4UV_vlC-XscnHEVJOG38qAIoF1ka_SagzAQDM1j7rLcWhBACSlbK6vaOz_Rfl_faOGQdjuGLF4PtMdtaQSCLbiqxd2N2lCmoh0y7rifoK9n0O9FdOtjwjmh1UDdgbdqrqbO3QOmMQoI/s4000/20231004_213132.jpg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="2252" data-original-width="4000" height="180" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjs9RIxFiH3N6ozEn6tr60LF2Sqk_P9WtT-yFpz1CeHsOhSqa4b4UV_vlC-XscnHEVJOG38qAIoF1ka_SagzAQDM1j7rLcWhBACSlbK6vaOz_Rfl_faOGQdjuGLF4PtMdtaQSCLbiqxd2N2lCmoh0y7rifoK9n0O9FdOtjwjmh1UDdgbdqrqbO3QOmMQoI/s320/20231004_213132.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">I managed to get my hands on the Triskelion, and now it stands prominently on my trinket shelve.<br /></td></tr></tbody></table><p></p><p></p><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjf6-TgVwrMGVY2vy5vRijJlf7tAiEIQ4Hxdtu7KXohaEQn7gpBIF1482v7YINy1x1YQWijs5dcX7mtnvoStlTaqTWp03ujM41HPzOE5gzO7FBHYOjUTdFAq0JAhZN7BxZmnx-dJz9AWAeX7sqzUSiDK1F8B0U4U_3XxslgRqMSKLPLcb2svB7f_eNQAX0/s4032/20230722_192756.jpg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="3024" data-original-width="4032" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjf6-TgVwrMGVY2vy5vRijJlf7tAiEIQ4Hxdtu7KXohaEQn7gpBIF1482v7YINy1x1YQWijs5dcX7mtnvoStlTaqTWp03ujM41HPzOE5gzO7FBHYOjUTdFAq0JAhZN7BxZmnx-dJz9AWAeX7sqzUSiDK1F8B0U4U_3XxslgRqMSKLPLcb2svB7f_eNQAX0/s320/20230722_192756.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Svante, Danny, and Gordon. Rad dudes about to hit the lake.<br /></td></tr></tbody></table><br /><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgJ53xbfG8juvl1c0PVwNRuGes22LShkkgultsjHApzqlgld15t6pdTIZ2ic0PnZ4LGID11k9hNPBawHaCOrEk5C32s2He2U9Zcs2L7EiXCyRtR9-sRKKpiVgrwZd9642vExIE0sldrZl5fYMhqjt2M6mizuAyWcNr4yIwjGE1esjyLnDwmsOB1XAt7pdc/s4032/20230722_193049.jpg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="3024" data-original-width="4032" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgJ53xbfG8juvl1c0PVwNRuGes22LShkkgultsjHApzqlgld15t6pdTIZ2ic0PnZ4LGID11k9hNPBawHaCOrEk5C32s2He2U9Zcs2L7EiXCyRtR9-sRKKpiVgrwZd9642vExIE0sldrZl5fYMhqjt2M6mizuAyWcNr4yIwjGE1esjyLnDwmsOB1XAt7pdc/s320/20230722_193049.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Play the game, see the water.<br /></td></tr></tbody></table><br /><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEig1A18i6OPKmQXHLlDXTJC4MYVVNF4qW3bhkKD1f0RnCUNQMD-5Nv2e7OAuyBl0_vg80ppgf2JF9TbLRY4U6RqfLMX5VpHyQrvIYQ3w7vYdbNrJXLGzQrO6NvufGQUZ0wMdiOEp35TwMNNp1gXNpBy_Qe3bA9uSAXtY1c-XtDonUpDeMSbz08QctSSlao/s4032/20230722_202028.jpg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="3024" data-original-width="4032" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEig1A18i6OPKmQXHLlDXTJC4MYVVNF4qW3bhkKD1f0RnCUNQMD-5Nv2e7OAuyBl0_vg80ppgf2JF9TbLRY4U6RqfLMX5VpHyQrvIYQ3w7vYdbNrJXLGzQrO6NvufGQUZ0wMdiOEp35TwMNNp1gXNpBy_Qe3bA9uSAXtY1c-XtDonUpDeMSbz08QctSSlao/s320/20230722_202028.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">As have become tradition, I pose a challenge to swim back to Casa Reindeer from the lake. It is very possible thanks to a rushing river connecting the spots, but it is also a very bad idea due to said rushing river. In particular due to the sharp rocks in the river and the generally low water level. If you go in, you almost surely will finish, but you also will bleed. But thanks to the rain earlier, it might not be that bad this year? <br /></td></tr></tbody></table><br /><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiDg9UqfcaZ-TwDKbqbo1w4pyzp_rfgsWGY1yjDUE4SekFSDld4auCX5wuFc7jMe0gq91LCm9ikqlTHohNCIJz43vCKiF9VSBHtS-fT11fshHfYk_0FMa-4ikr2TnVctFcn17r2BeroXQwJEyqTwUqI3CQ-CdO8GbU9f7rBTVo8h905Ur6vv_DIDFZ8K68/s4032/20230722_203356.jpg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="4032" data-original-width="3024" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiDg9UqfcaZ-TwDKbqbo1w4pyzp_rfgsWGY1yjDUE4SekFSDld4auCX5wuFc7jMe0gq91LCm9ikqlTHohNCIJz43vCKiF9VSBHtS-fT11fshHfYk_0FMa-4ikr2TnVctFcn17r2BeroXQwJEyqTwUqI3CQ-CdO8GbU9f7rBTVo8h905Ur6vv_DIDFZ8K68/s320/20230722_203356.jpg" width="240" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Well, it kinda was. Still Hunter and I emerge victorious, and we are now three people who have completed the Rushing River challenge. I should make a patch for us and Mitja to give more people incentive to try it next year.<br /></td></tr></tbody></table><p></p><p></p><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi6iJBrXXtn_4RtAYz7EGIOuEfXIrKzNGHQqp7_apQhfEXYJF9k3EmRFmYpXA0POPdjON8VIEYhgKAFE2OtF-rmrnHRFdBvg3YxdDuwumrPISLmn5sLC9oexLiRN8wF3jxoL4PhZI_yDODigHR5ff7UvqNxssWgx_URLHVwbcijd2dPve9-LDMsw3xYm_0/s4032/20230722_204842.jpg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="4032" data-original-width="3024" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi6iJBrXXtn_4RtAYz7EGIOuEfXIrKzNGHQqp7_apQhfEXYJF9k3EmRFmYpXA0POPdjON8VIEYhgKAFE2OtF-rmrnHRFdBvg3YxdDuwumrPISLmn5sLC9oexLiRN8wF3jxoL4PhZI_yDODigHR5ff7UvqNxssWgx_URLHVwbcijd2dPve9-LDMsw3xYm_0/s320/20230722_204842.jpg" width="240" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Back at Casa Reindeer, people keep playing Magic. These guys are doing their thing in the Top8.<br /></td></tr></tbody></table><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgVNDSv_ld_dCYrUXQQUXQzc5CX5L6HuDAOBFgMFbP9GZoKf0RFDyq-OFSGe7eYhGgFXNfkxi8jKw9GDiGuwQ4nFc4rQ6rZ0D0HlJImIfK9YIlOh7zTstVdSUtYXFkpMpxsQRBj0vb34q81g06Hw7f9Yf_lCuy--3WiX2iuh9CJRvR6NLUgAzllbVp5Sxs/s4032/20230722_212512.jpg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="4032" data-original-width="3024" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgVNDSv_ld_dCYrUXQQUXQzc5CX5L6HuDAOBFgMFbP9GZoKf0RFDyq-OFSGe7eYhGgFXNfkxi8jKw9GDiGuwQ4nFc4rQ6rZ0D0HlJImIfK9YIlOh7zTstVdSUtYXFkpMpxsQRBj0vb34q81g06Hw7f9Yf_lCuy--3WiX2iuh9CJRvR6NLUgAzllbVp5Sxs/s320/20230722_212512.jpg" width="240" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">...while Björn and I go for some Reinvitational Ante.<br /></td></tr></tbody></table><p></p><p></p><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhaDDMWEMZAHCMFsgueWY7WhHyPhqLtjIwRY9M_a44LDn9NkBItklJKNNY-obd47SRaqICC-LZ9ZgnHd6X_sIkmCA2PJGRZg6L16tZqqLJb6Mgjj4LFBRd-W98088wMpu_70kr-_MxPjZlSN1yYGDQkpb5m3JuAkJKDSNoYoYn8ryp2MgroCyB7g2Pc4oI/s4032/20230722_212517.jpg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="3024" data-original-width="4032" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhaDDMWEMZAHCMFsgueWY7WhHyPhqLtjIwRY9M_a44LDn9NkBItklJKNNY-obd47SRaqICC-LZ9ZgnHd6X_sIkmCA2PJGRZg6L16tZqqLJb6Mgjj4LFBRd-W98088wMpu_70kr-_MxPjZlSN1yYGDQkpb5m3JuAkJKDSNoYoYn8ryp2MgroCyB7g2Pc4oI/s320/20230722_212517.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Danny Friedman and Gordon playing the Ultimate Matchup.<br /></td></tr></tbody></table><p></p><p></p><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi9SWuvnGWDFPtD8jug_BPjWPwfKcXICU08NBONaQWRzS9J-u_VRq1bT2NzRTrmxyYcM19ahXMGRgN_1yD0UO4DuncVEMZyzyhFqr5z7SBQefaIzsuuY34SjXKk-E4g_3EUYfobiXT-sOYUOY3G6ZjjyUSw4nkFroMAZSSkF6G1g_tINCQcx2VGmzuZ-RI/s4032/20230722_223232.jpg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="4032" data-original-width="3024" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi9SWuvnGWDFPtD8jug_BPjWPwfKcXICU08NBONaQWRzS9J-u_VRq1bT2NzRTrmxyYcM19ahXMGRgN_1yD0UO4DuncVEMZyzyhFqr5z7SBQefaIzsuuY34SjXKk-E4g_3EUYfobiXT-sOYUOY3G6ZjjyUSw4nkFroMAZSSkF6G1g_tINCQcx2VGmzuZ-RI/s320/20230722_223232.jpg" width="240" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">These are two guys who basically have all the cards, but went for flavor over tier in the tournament and now want to jam their decks some more in peace.<br /></td></tr></tbody></table><p></p><p></p><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEio1GtKzC80GMvOYdKFj4ECJXenadM07yLAIhkkc3e4K_BEi1QPI-Y31J6fo6J3LyKPaaxETplZ5HugDwg5t8F87uaZ0RWxHNLHcUzgJLhFuG3qnLwYfESJYYyLY_5cSln-ChLQ_m5--U8EmobD0J3z4eE4zEq6R6zdHAWVGYd9dCWZQAq2wxGBmYjoFKo/s4032/20230722_223238.jpg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="4032" data-original-width="3024" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEio1GtKzC80GMvOYdKFj4ECJXenadM07yLAIhkkc3e4K_BEi1QPI-Y31J6fo6J3LyKPaaxETplZ5HugDwg5t8F87uaZ0RWxHNLHcUzgJLhFuG3qnLwYfESJYYyLY_5cSln-ChLQ_m5--U8EmobD0J3z4eE4zEq6R6zdHAWVGYd9dCWZQAq2wxGBmYjoFKo/s320/20230722_223238.jpg" width="240" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Magic indeed.<br /></td></tr></tbody></table><p></p><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgCActzag4N0QkF41VyHl8rORLGPtjUcNXmpFKPODmggOlJfIhFefU5LagKofV1VIknGiLE4EaGlEb4Rjdkc2Gh_YySI9bqxhrSE7NBNv3XeAILUaUd9kN6GXJMgudqVb7TadHk9UYJxMTuPViEJAauTB-CDr2zD83Svlis03fAOOjqlzGi64u7g9ypFSY/s4032/20230722_212522.jpg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="3024" data-original-width="4032" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgCActzag4N0QkF41VyHl8rORLGPtjUcNXmpFKPODmggOlJfIhFefU5LagKofV1VIknGiLE4EaGlEb4Rjdkc2Gh_YySI9bqxhrSE7NBNv3XeAILUaUd9kN6GXJMgudqVb7TadHk9UYJxMTuPViEJAauTB-CDr2zD83Svlis03fAOOjqlzGi64u7g9ypFSY/s320/20230722_212522.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Top8 shenanigans.<br /></td></tr></tbody></table><br /><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgAo1OGMeGskivJJX2E4r4jtyYX2IRE2_WKB08z5AzmGZv7ICc_llsk2teVvXbN-6Xlviz8qbpJAdlfXRp4awkwGvpUu-OLKIcPqM5XpK_TRLczXyU3CLsu5RNS6N7reGx6tuJrSYdSa9mY8_93-gEn7i8AUCk48ye2rYNsnabjfzGAzuVR2jss7B4GjAc/s4032/20230722_224606.jpg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="3024" data-original-width="4032" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgAo1OGMeGskivJJX2E4r4jtyYX2IRE2_WKB08z5AzmGZv7ICc_llsk2teVvXbN-6Xlviz8qbpJAdlfXRp4awkwGvpUu-OLKIcPqM5XpK_TRLczXyU3CLsu5RNS6N7reGx6tuJrSYdSa9mY8_93-gEn7i8AUCk48ye2rYNsnabjfzGAzuVR2jss7B4GjAc/s320/20230722_224606.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Two Brothers of Fire - and yesterday's 2HG teammates - face of in another elimination round. <br /></td></tr></tbody></table><br /><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiMPdaUIrXZ8fQ8J3Y5GqIdKZ3gH3MIz46AWHSEsxJuWs66pTKOwHQXmJdyr4wLbibyar_w5qIPHNNYxycRSLgdffDpCSSqhU5BwFLudvj4XlAHJ9C-DsE31166U9fcCh7_TxsvlBf7NNedQvGBKZVb0uPIZCqykoEGsf9cvrQOsacycKnOspOQyRvrWHM/s4032/20230722_235214.jpg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="3024" data-original-width="4032" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiMPdaUIrXZ8fQ8J3Y5GqIdKZ3gH3MIz46AWHSEsxJuWs66pTKOwHQXmJdyr4wLbibyar_w5qIPHNNYxycRSLgdffDpCSSqhU5BwFLudvj4XlAHJ9C-DsE31166U9fcCh7_TxsvlBf7NNedQvGBKZVb0uPIZCqykoEGsf9cvrQOsacycKnOspOQyRvrWHM/s320/20230722_235214.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">The finals is all British, but in the end Jason Savage has to see himself bested by his countryman. Still looks kinda cool with it, and he got a rad playmat.<br /></td></tr></tbody></table><p></p><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjKbPq3WUy0RW9Q6ql_g7RzT0bZ7rwtA2B4wB7c4V8AvDGGrrMKTRx6cOG12wfvFXbPKsr6cAX2TEbm0C2I731lFck4PiAjF8x7-hzR-LN7vlNqqmhzkF5QN2RlYCw2qKjVTnEYSbPm5NUZBXFiRl82YDOALP7npCGNxSCUXSsx4ciaSmVnTB083wP-Wsg/s4032/20230722_235158.jpg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="3024" data-original-width="4032" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjKbPq3WUy0RW9Q6ql_g7RzT0bZ7rwtA2B4wB7c4V8AvDGGrrMKTRx6cOG12wfvFXbPKsr6cAX2TEbm0C2I731lFck4PiAjF8x7-hzR-LN7vlNqqmhzkF5QN2RlYCw2qKjVTnEYSbPm5NUZBXFiRl82YDOALP7npCGNxSCUXSsx4ciaSmVnTB083wP-Wsg/s320/20230722_235158.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">And the eventual winner of Renivitational PastaCon 2 is none other than our Oldschool World Champion, Brother Stebbo! Congrats!<br /></td></tr></tbody></table><p></p><p>At some point the night ends and suddenly it's Sunday morning. I spend the better part of the day traveling and hanging our with Dr Jordan Boyle; fellow Brother of Fire and spectacularly interesting human being. Our conversations ranged between mechatronics and gender identity, from diasporic family histories to the energy conservation of bees. But most importantly, I think we found an answer to the age-old question "If you had to do some hands-on racketeering, or other morally justifiable extortion work, which five oldschool players would you pick for the job?". </p><p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjZg-NBkg8kZYuZBhBB6ffHgaw0EkOBLcIcVo3vSgp7B-yrW-DZPQZSN304keCEEYJcJ2dFAPksL1PdiCNH-kEZThmZ9tTzHxc9geS-zZXoytQJ1XZi5FpxC8_tNpOAkyjNwueKvZtnjchqkyHrXy0uTFmN41eDRDfNLoAhbWRULBamCc1pmjK7IaeEgJI/s445/intimidation.hq.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="445" data-original-width="312" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjZg-NBkg8kZYuZBhBB6ffHgaw0EkOBLcIcVo3vSgp7B-yrW-DZPQZSN304keCEEYJcJ2dFAPksL1PdiCNH-kEZThmZ9tTzHxc9geS-zZXoytQJ1XZi5FpxC8_tNpOAkyjNwueKvZtnjchqkyHrXy0uTFmN41eDRDfNLoAhbWRULBamCc1pmjK7IaeEgJI/s320/intimidation.hq.jpg" width="224" /></a></div><br /> After some deliberation, we think the ideal setup would be:<p></p><ul style="text-align: left;"><li>Let <b>Mari</b> take the lead, and things might not have to escalate. He is collected and to the point, yet everything he says appear a bit threatening and you get the feeling that he doesn't mind if things go south.<br /></li><li>Behind Mari, we have <b>Wilfred</b> and <b>KungMarkus</b>. Big guys who give you the feeling that they would be disappointed if the thing <i>doesn't</i> escalate.</li><li>Coming up to help defuse the situation created by having Wilfred and KungMarkus in the room, we have <b>Svante Landgraf</b>. He want no real part of any violence or such, and just wish that you wouldn't put yourself in a situation where that has to happen. But if you make the choice to not listen to reason, that would of course only be on you.</li><li>And finally, we have the wildcard <b>Gajol</b>. Gajol might just come in with a smile and start making coffee in your kitchen or ask you about things unrelated to the situation at hand. He might not even acknowledge why you are there, and as such make you very uneasy about what's going on.<br /></li></ul><p>Feel free to share your top five, so we can set up an official rooster to call on in case we ever need to get into that business.<br /></p><p>...<br /></p><p>So that's was our glorious gathering in Switzerland this summer. Check back here in March 2024 when I should be wrapping my report from the wonderful Dwarven Warriors 6; or next summer as I might finish a report from The Plague 2 in Drammen. I'm going there tomorrow, and for the occasion I've finally completed a deck I've been itching to play for over 10 years. It's not very good nor fun, but it is kinda cool.<br /></p>Mghttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00555613518338194305noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2299444734264560627.post-29920819165596136742023-07-13T14:07:00.024+02:002023-07-14T21:37:07.620+02:00Oldschool Tron<p>In early 1994, the Antiquities expansion provided us with a peculiar set of lands.<br /></p><div style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhHuEVb-d8fm5BYqYJXx8KaK5kQawhJXZadWBuasuHRMk7X50KAu-z6iMSd9EY7PERqH-CzgtnK208dC_quCT6D1Vj2_OgNjusqh4hcDNp-O-wyEjgFfEd0LwOgPI3F6A42dYOR4bzaR6ia6rAmDc9XlHfD2oqs15yOgKwJylvAG1VEPP2MhxxDX2NVxdg/s3020/20230624_205949.jpg"><img border="0" data-original-height="3020" data-original-width="3020" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhHuEVb-d8fm5BYqYJXx8KaK5kQawhJXZadWBuasuHRMk7X50KAu-z6iMSd9EY7PERqH-CzgtnK208dC_quCT6D1Vj2_OgNjusqh4hcDNp-O-wyEjgFfEd0LwOgPI3F6A42dYOR4bzaR6ia6rAmDc9XlHfD2oqs15yOgKwJylvAG1VEPP2MhxxDX2NVxdg/s320/20230624_205949.jpg" width="320" /></a></div><p> </p><p>The Urza lands were the only cards in the set apart from Strip Mine that didn't have the word "artifact" printed on them anywhere, and they were the first Magic cards that explicitly referenced other non-basic cards.</p><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg7-EBR578hyVJ1g7WMY-v8ErcbQeJcLDNhxx23FP0LgxBDee2Xa0OrqJcR_GPC7kTAHzvbGXmQSeNpSMrq0OqM0eZVggSPnVX5i22aNAvCSSGqTrZdyQ8LxifHw4rcmyIfX1-i58hTmxXbT15UIepfMoUNNrQZrAJ6QcYHYBp1bjsooEwQ8clIbvGk9UU/s4032/20230710_205024.jpg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="4032" data-original-width="3024" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg7-EBR578hyVJ1g7WMY-v8ErcbQeJcLDNhxx23FP0LgxBDee2Xa0OrqJcR_GPC7kTAHzvbGXmQSeNpSMrq0OqM0eZVggSPnVX5i22aNAvCSSGqTrZdyQ8LxifHw4rcmyIfX1-i58hTmxXbT15UIepfMoUNNrQZrAJ6QcYHYBp1bjsooEwQ8clIbvGk9UU/s320/20230710_205024.jpg" width="240" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">I said <i>other</i>.<br /></td></tr></tbody></table><p> </p><p></p><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg546X6kbxxq4TUik4VVW0Ab-Gqkp_W4ZQAYe9xTIJJO2TzmpTGYo3wpcmp0S1Xji3ZazVId51V9qn2TlLE6217qxr6PLM1VyLc6EEBLT5KM3FvfhqyPFpKc8p1Dlhw3lLNnKHtLuau4Pb1PnhRjJy-LethVxM0JyYcqr6d3IKLqDlIfrSTmAYQ5_JwBuI/s4032/20230710_204909.jpg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="4032" data-original-width="3024" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg546X6kbxxq4TUik4VVW0Ab-Gqkp_W4ZQAYe9xTIJJO2TzmpTGYo3wpcmp0S1Xji3ZazVId51V9qn2TlLE6217qxr6PLM1VyLc6EEBLT5KM3FvfhqyPFpKc8p1Dlhw3lLNnKHtLuau4Pb1PnhRjJy-LethVxM0JyYcqr6d3IKLqDlIfrSTmAYQ5_JwBuI/s320/20230710_204909.jpg" width="240" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Uh, that's not a <i>specific</i> other card. Also that one got errata.</td><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><br /></td></tr></tbody></table><p></p><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiF7K4O8JfHKHbRikpv0SyUlVyCNMHjcc9Jt8CHEqdjjlj03TCB1BLpJkOMvnpF1Zn27IvZaXZXhm2nhWY3G8KglER4L8wbak3I8zaOm5gut_rKEmpGD0joqWfhs9ZWdlxa4t7kX2FJPDqBO-QdlTl-kid6PrQiPMh6OxV6b3hAuexu35OaOa4sK0fO0Ik/s4032/20230710_205135.jpg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="4032" data-original-width="3024" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiF7K4O8JfHKHbRikpv0SyUlVyCNMHjcc9Jt8CHEqdjjlj03TCB1BLpJkOMvnpF1Zn27IvZaXZXhm2nhWY3G8KglER4L8wbak3I8zaOm5gut_rKEmpGD0joqWfhs9ZWdlxa4t7kX2FJPDqBO-QdlTl-kid6PrQiPMh6OxV6b3hAuexu35OaOa4sK0fO0Ik/s320/20230710_205135.jpg" width="240" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Come on, that's an <i>art </i>reference, not a <i>rules</i> reference.<br /></td></tr></tbody></table><br /><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjaPLdTo0dsFRlIQ9wz_ZJ4WYOq84B8fvTeRpec-orE4UQJ6Il0Wjs4RO7e7Y6XIrgVXQDyQmnMJJXCMvd7oONiMeDmQJZWX7Hz_OzplEY3Yw8gDa4uyG-HFF1XJw7FJT2Q2wr8VtGB6GQSWakBjsvY6qDSnbtUULJNWWGcjZb5D1x3S47nNERjj9dMmIM/s4032/20230710_205633.jpg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="4032" data-original-width="3024" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjaPLdTo0dsFRlIQ9wz_ZJ4WYOq84B8fvTeRpec-orE4UQJ6Il0Wjs4RO7e7Y6XIrgVXQDyQmnMJJXCMvd7oONiMeDmQJZWX7Hz_OzplEY3Yw8gDa4uyG-HFF1XJw7FJT2Q2wr8VtGB6GQSWakBjsvY6qDSnbtUULJNWWGcjZb5D1x3S47nNERjj9dMmIM/s320/20230710_205633.jpg" width="240" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Hey, that one wasn't in stores until a couple of months later.<br /></td></tr></tbody></table><br /><p></p><p></p><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiu9FmTMspO489qshddoQil57FcoO8BJZI37Uh_FykbsJDVuRWx9KUIk9Q18ROi7Frv_dnfSWQbohUalhkQc4657rVAn58DRd_liNaf-FYJ8qohs4JlpVp0jzzUq54SqrnVpu0trAaAeFS5fqoagUMiwDcmVjFf-Xhsp0CUyOP0tZ3qTPgbwY8uSxVCGfw/s4032/20230710_210045.jpg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="4032" data-original-width="3024" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiu9FmTMspO489qshddoQil57FcoO8BJZI37Uh_FykbsJDVuRWx9KUIk9Q18ROi7Frv_dnfSWQbohUalhkQc4657rVAn58DRd_liNaf-FYJ8qohs4JlpVp0jzzUq54SqrnVpu0trAaAeFS5fqoagUMiwDcmVjFf-Xhsp0CUyOP0tZ3qTPgbwY8uSxVCGfw/s320/20230710_210045.jpg" width="240" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Ok dammit, point taken.</td></tr></tbody></table><p></p><p>So, the Urza lands were the first cards that blatantly asked you to play them together, can I say that without interrupting myself? That "<i>the whole is greater than the sum of the parts</i>"; or "<i>a system is never the sum of its parts; it’s the product of their interaction</i>"; or "<i>1+1+1=7</i>"*; or similar wisdom attributed to Aristotle, Ackoff, or some flawed mathematician was first explicitly introduced with the Urzatron. </p><div style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiEO3bxT4ke_vgQaTPTBvhe_5c14zTLUVsMQELnSZ7QZfnc0ZHGDokz1kg1XSXGzoMtqxZrFpCVi0dBTXA9dW8ReuVrra7JdmANBL0ujpGEn7DRt5nVdeZkbasuzSyHKQ95TJKu2YWFEwd5SwXocJoRTv1kkg40AiWz9VlRG-CY2DuuYaD5uc4QL38gTVQ/s1920/TRON-1982-Wallpapers-4-315806617.jpeg"><img border="0" data-original-height="1200" data-original-width="1920" height="200" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiEO3bxT4ke_vgQaTPTBvhe_5c14zTLUVsMQELnSZ7QZfnc0ZHGDokz1kg1XSXGzoMtqxZrFpCVi0dBTXA9dW8ReuVrra7JdmANBL0ujpGEn7DRt5nVdeZkbasuzSyHKQ95TJKu2YWFEwd5SwXocJoRTv1kkg40AiWz9VlRG-CY2DuuYaD5uc4QL38gTVQ/s320/TRON-1982-Wallpapers-4-315806617.jpeg" width="320" /></a></div><p>The "Tron" name is not a misguided acronym for "ToweR, pOwer plant, miNe"; nor is it referencing the classic 1982 movie. Rather it's a reference to the early 80s super robot anime Beast King GoLion which was re-cut and rebranded as Voltron for the US audience in a slightly later 80s. The series is superficially about five pilots who command five robot lions which can combine to form a giant mech called Voltron.</p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiDvOaMi-fBGHOJR7f0sd2V50x7ZW1qsstwWhAJeULuz6XDIErWOqxv7KjEk3JlJp-4h0CfcR4Wg16UfP5kh2RefpazwA7FzHtxmrsD8NgJbtbXwxAG4lMf6AW3wr1qjwRJyov_9oePbzn6wqxVsC9MWc1iHedLy-z7qLhQHmNAfnJfNG4scwViLizbdaE/s1000/717ax6Q1wGL._AC_UF1000,1000_QL80_.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1000" data-original-width="716" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiDvOaMi-fBGHOJR7f0sd2V50x7ZW1qsstwWhAJeULuz6XDIErWOqxv7KjEk3JlJp-4h0CfcR4Wg16UfP5kh2RefpazwA7FzHtxmrsD8NgJbtbXwxAG4lMf6AW3wr1qjwRJyov_9oePbzn6wqxVsC9MWc1iHedLy-z7qLhQHmNAfnJfNG4scwViLizbdaE/s320/717ax6Q1wGL._AC_UF1000,1000_QL80_.jpg" width="229" /></a></div><p></p><p>Can't say I really followed the series back in the days. I was always more of a Hyper Combat Unit Dangaioh kinda guy. And I honestly didn't find the Rick & Morty episode that spectacular either. But Voltron surely gave us a good pop-cultural expression for that Aristotle quote - if something is greater than the sum of the parts, it's a 'tron. Combine five robot lions to a supermech; get Voltron. Combine three colorless lands to seven; get Urzatron.<br /></p><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiyncwcTotT-mWBWhqVtQKvVQJJUf97DqrKaP0JPY0Y6ZaFiZjJ790jRiTMyzWl0U0e8AjUJ_l7ov0U4yOjsXosodu9A-KbKMKNoTNdAOLZ_hVX8QgOCIOpDHu95b5mc0fgOSNnJOIz0s0NluiDcqQPC1aEzWACVbWb4nq5nqKssCwpkKTccl5xOrmiCzs/s4032/20230609_213525.jpg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="3024" data-original-width="4032" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiyncwcTotT-mWBWhqVtQKvVQJJUf97DqrKaP0JPY0Y6ZaFiZjJ790jRiTMyzWl0U0e8AjUJ_l7ov0U4yOjsXosodu9A-KbKMKNoTNdAOLZ_hVX8QgOCIOpDHu95b5mc0fgOSNnJOIz0s0NluiDcqQPC1aEzWACVbWb4nq5nqKssCwpkKTccl5xOrmiCzs/s320/20230609_213525.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">HYPER COMBAT UNIT ACTIVATE!</td></tr></tbody></table><p>So I wanted to try it out. Urzatron is a very powerful deck in the Modern format, but in Oldschool it has been almost alarmingly absent, in particular in formats where Mishra's Workshop is restricted. One part is the challenge assembling the Tron, another is the somewhat lacking payoff. But let's see what we can do.</p><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhHuEVb-d8fm5BYqYJXx8KaK5kQawhJXZadWBuasuHRMk7X50KAu-z6iMSd9EY7PERqH-CzgtnK208dC_quCT6D1Vj2_OgNjusqh4hcDNp-O-wyEjgFfEd0LwOgPI3F6A42dYOR4bzaR6ia6rAmDc9XlHfD2oqs15yOgKwJylvAG1VEPP2MhxxDX2NVxdg/s3020/20230624_205949.jpg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="3020" data-original-width="3020" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhHuEVb-d8fm5BYqYJXx8KaK5kQawhJXZadWBuasuHRMk7X50KAu-z6iMSd9EY7PERqH-CzgtnK208dC_quCT6D1Vj2_OgNjusqh4hcDNp-O-wyEjgFfEd0LwOgPI3F6A42dYOR4bzaR6ia6rAmDc9XlHfD2oqs15yOgKwJylvAG1VEPP2MhxxDX2NVxdg/s320/20230624_205949.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">WORKPLACE ASSEMBLE!</td></tr></tbody></table><p> </p><p>We'll play all twelve Urzatron lands, so what should the rest of the mana base look like? There are some options of course, but probably we want to play 4 Mishra's Factory, a Strip Mine, a Mishra's Workshop, and a Library of Alexandria. And if we do we're already up to 19 colorless sources. We are hence kinda limited to cards that cost at most one colored mana; spells like Transmute Artifact and Argivian Archaeologist get sketchy with so many colorless sources. So we could go for e.g. red with spells like Fireball and Wheel of Fortune; or blue with stuff like Sage of Lat-Nam and the Power cards. Or - and this is not really an "or" - we could go full colorless. </p><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhPSmdpy_mQCxcYPiK1If1vZlUmj84c2xyITIRkEFwGduh25qyQJgUccMzJevQlM_5SpNwccEJ5STNCbm5OL8vJPwdRYeeyS0Zd2Ics4Q_KF-V1vNbdCXBUw7ix_I6r-9d4Ym_urDVyCKJVsmdlsRWxQhwoVd1QtFVsHUATOkXRsWMy_i4IuHUO8iKJexM/s3637/20230624_204307.jpg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="2713" data-original-width="3637" height="239" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhPSmdpy_mQCxcYPiK1If1vZlUmj84c2xyITIRkEFwGduh25qyQJgUccMzJevQlM_5SpNwccEJ5STNCbm5OL8vJPwdRYeeyS0Zd2Ics4Q_KF-V1vNbdCXBUw7ix_I6r-9d4Ym_urDVyCKJVsmdlsRWxQhwoVd1QtFVsHUATOkXRsWMy_i4IuHUO8iKJexM/s320/20230624_204307.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><p><i>Of</i> <i>course</i> we go full colorless.</p></td></tr></tbody></table><p>At this point it seems no more than fair to play a bunch of restricted mana sources.</p><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiH7G_YlPSErZMGkEYx-lNrcM0r4EWFlskxjU60BDrr4NrYbcHeh8VDECtwPc-SU_fPPdovyL2z3NNJIfZh0ttgJ8XLqiYL5nHXKmIsiXjF_6uQa4dZQrPtKtRvqK-JPoLwAfamtUsKe6RkN7kGTAEIYHsc3dkxcdq6OHk5L5m2xPcZVPJ0rGJJ3f_EplU/s3379/20230624_204114.jpg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="3379" data-original-width="2578" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiH7G_YlPSErZMGkEYx-lNrcM0r4EWFlskxjU60BDrr4NrYbcHeh8VDECtwPc-SU_fPPdovyL2z3NNJIfZh0ttgJ8XLqiYL5nHXKmIsiXjF_6uQa4dZQrPtKtRvqK-JPoLwAfamtUsKe6RkN7kGTAEIYHsc3dkxcdq6OHk5L5m2xPcZVPJ0rGJJ3f_EplU/s320/20230624_204114.jpg" width="244" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">This is almost like a reverse budget deck; instead of building a good deck cheaply, we're building a horribly expensive deck with a kinda mediocre game plan. <br /></td></tr></tbody></table><p>...and since we don't have to spend all our land drops on getting fancy mana for colorful spells, we also have the option to play a bunch of sweet utility lands.</p><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhsmNLZg-sGzHtbx1I3MbisUcHVNl0tMl_Ea3QclZfpx3mWsJKsSPppdxi6dp1scY_LyB04OM6CMnyzMZYVh9wGLcZOeiUCz59FzMqlf7Z0I0XPnj1fgtrm1aWMuBdm771dQYQTNqsHO7PRD-UXvKmUs6Oi1y9CLthdgOEE1Le60d39euU5Smfx7bwc3k0/s2497/20230624_204431.jpg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="2308" data-original-width="2497" height="296" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhsmNLZg-sGzHtbx1I3MbisUcHVNl0tMl_Ea3QclZfpx3mWsJKsSPppdxi6dp1scY_LyB04OM6CMnyzMZYVh9wGLcZOeiUCz59FzMqlf7Z0I0XPnj1fgtrm1aWMuBdm771dQYQTNqsHO7PRD-UXvKmUs6Oi1y9CLthdgOEE1Le60d39euU5Smfx7bwc3k0/s320/20230624_204431.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">How does a Desert tap for mana while an Oasis doesn't?<br /></td></tr></tbody></table><p>I'm already liking this. Now let's dive into the potential creature roster. <br /></p><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhdmuNZ9g-8rTP7-9kaXJ7hprlmzDmOBm3hpeO3V6jQ9oyGHDgUjcdvX3ToyHmqS3rWudmVoxBwkuSQUPhp17TvuCSbaKw3nKmoNGF4pFeUrxZh6Q4YxWr9D3kGiv-yYhAalAUR6KNCx-WCeKADu4NBX3mgzwsUolWZmk8fGchqq13c6ozOGMWbp1v4JHA/s2807/20230624_203520.jpg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="2734" data-original-width="2807" height="312" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhdmuNZ9g-8rTP7-9kaXJ7hprlmzDmOBm3hpeO3V6jQ9oyGHDgUjcdvX3ToyHmqS3rWudmVoxBwkuSQUPhp17TvuCSbaKw3nKmoNGF4pFeUrxZh6Q4YxWr9D3kGiv-yYhAalAUR6KNCx-WCeKADu4NBX3mgzwsUolWZmk8fGchqq13c6ozOGMWbp1v4JHA/s320/20230624_203520.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Ooh, Shapeshifter!<br /></td></tr></tbody></table><p>Antiquities was really a good set for this archetype. While we're lacking a bit on the low end, the midrange and late game drops are spectacular. In particular - if our goal is to spike the archetype - I think we should play a good number of these guys:<br /></p><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEieg9IgJDG0QswCxNojUEReEY9w6l1_XYpgIMDKaaFnpKVbB471OFd_LujFMIptLaoBh68bDeGpjmUCTeGqO-StgpwZ6APYy_UgQRx3e-7zcsae6kGEwKbxOVMFsgCbhDKjteP0Q3_izmmjPFSOxbFMRuolrbBtBLBWLo-DHFbEfugtKaEVTmKWJ3WgOqE/s3133/20230624_203618.jpg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="2350" data-original-width="3133" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEieg9IgJDG0QswCxNojUEReEY9w6l1_XYpgIMDKaaFnpKVbB471OFd_LujFMIptLaoBh68bDeGpjmUCTeGqO-StgpwZ6APYy_UgQRx3e-7zcsae6kGEwKbxOVMFsgCbhDKjteP0Q3_izmmjPFSOxbFMRuolrbBtBLBWLo-DHFbEfugtKaEVTmKWJ3WgOqE/s320/20230624_203618.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://oldschool-mtg.blogspot.com/2021/07/top16-most-playable-creatures-in.html">Top16 summons</a><br /></td></tr></tbody></table><p>Ok, so what do we have for card advantage?</p><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjHK8iJgO5uQEW-k88mRjucJvj6X52VU15BaN26AB7Pd7Fr8pRK4F7-vLAVgIX0Cbp7tFeTqWXI4wMhSjALlfJ6Z2Jvq_o0PpB5aVp7fbnTNxWP8UJfEuhlMGpbi3IcB4-wShgcFw4sx5TKy52V-p6uDxO5MX0aadLVU07XEFkATAY3aud7mJCUCi4Bebg/s2521/20230624_203816.jpg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="2521" data-original-width="1891" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjHK8iJgO5uQEW-k88mRjucJvj6X52VU15BaN26AB7Pd7Fr8pRK4F7-vLAVgIX0Cbp7tFeTqWXI4wMhSjALlfJ6Z2Jvq_o0PpB5aVp7fbnTNxWP8UJfEuhlMGpbi3IcB4-wShgcFw4sx5TKy52V-p6uDxO5MX0aadLVU07XEFkATAY3aud7mJCUCi4Bebg/s320/20230624_203816.jpg" width="240" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Books and sticks.<br /></td></tr></tbody></table><p>This is a very good book deck, as we tend to have a lot of mana but few cards in hand around the mid to late game.</p><p>When it comes to other utility cards, there are four which I think we absolutely want in our 75.</p><div style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg4QaIagPRN7PyH3_aZqV9fEr1A6-3K6iYD2OxyEm9OdNc4Fu5nmWv3KavsW-9GBbvpXMxdJqXU0_e3727CS8gquhKI6rCjrGF_S-o9b-NTfe5b6FfyjrhEqK8LOtucTz2AMOn3_TxkME7CTjn6tYJCMfS64v-nS2j975_BYMR7-4xZnpx9BpacoenixZE/s2451/20230624_205014.jpg"><img border="0" data-original-height="2451" data-original-width="1839" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg4QaIagPRN7PyH3_aZqV9fEr1A6-3K6iYD2OxyEm9OdNc4Fu5nmWv3KavsW-9GBbvpXMxdJqXU0_e3727CS8gquhKI6rCjrGF_S-o9b-NTfe5b6FfyjrhEqK8LOtucTz2AMOn3_TxkME7CTjn6tYJCMfS64v-nS2j975_BYMR7-4xZnpx9BpacoenixZE/s320/20230624_205014.jpg" width="240" /></a></div><p>Candelabra is just a perfect fit for the archetype; not only does it generate absurd amounts of mana when Tron is assembled, we also play loads of utility lands that benefit from it. Nevinyrral's Disk may not be that important in the main deck, but post board we need a way to beat cards like Energy Flux. Tawnos's Coffin is solid removal by itself, but in particular get amazing when we play 6-8 Trisklavi. Chaos Orb is Chaos Orb.<br /></p><p>In addition to these four headliners, we have loads of interesting options.</p><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg4tA1l85EajHFYCRV-UgvowyskCZM5ZiNpLl-lHcI6Qrya84ICmvT9HLVQLpZYDTeEcAKswbVfOoWiwsHfumiY9Vd8XQa_UMpeNeouvQi5ryg3r3yJbOQ5PbHp9OzBnJKl9BTBubHblfolH9nyMvrHqM1g4IOmhoWFS8-zGYCRwDLmSnc-KrVgO39hRMc/s3664/20230624_205328.jpg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="2633" data-original-width="3664" height="230" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg4tA1l85EajHFYCRV-UgvowyskCZM5ZiNpLl-lHcI6Qrya84ICmvT9HLVQLpZYDTeEcAKswbVfOoWiwsHfumiY9Vd8XQa_UMpeNeouvQi5ryg3r3yJbOQ5PbHp9OzBnJKl9BTBubHblfolH9nyMvrHqM1g4IOmhoWFS8-zGYCRwDLmSnc-KrVgO39hRMc/s320/20230624_205328.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">These are well worth considering.<br /></td></tr></tbody></table><p></p><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEivdPN-ke11UF5JmnYhCejWkVkQgtXB57koyA8XBSks2XZ-wDgjmoYsxDxbrJ2o8QuvlNkHgTaMGqJRfckfAx3v7vMgWeAtvKNFd-ya_eR_RkCaqX0b7EWKWMlunK5tqf3aGKjefNeWDGq8Uvr3Re00sdfb7ZTVeTSJ6u-tfaRJhPfozvVRZi53p0_ccjA/s3242/20230624_205712.jpg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="2886" data-original-width="3242" height="285" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEivdPN-ke11UF5JmnYhCejWkVkQgtXB57koyA8XBSks2XZ-wDgjmoYsxDxbrJ2o8QuvlNkHgTaMGqJRfckfAx3v7vMgWeAtvKNFd-ya_eR_RkCaqX0b7EWKWMlunK5tqf3aGKjefNeWDGq8Uvr3Re00sdfb7ZTVeTSJ6u-tfaRJhPfozvVRZi53p0_ccjA/s320/20230624_205712.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">These make slightly less sense, but could surely still make the cut. Token generators like The Hive or Serpent Generator are also viable options.</td></tr></tbody></table><p>We end up around here for our v1.0:<br /></p><p></p><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi3T2w0OfTOHiYo4hDiNBekffLSNt-1G_E0dRMgJyR_azbJJJOKq0iVt7f0Fz-k8igvFIZW6gZcglKpnFiQj_hf4Vh43F14oQ-B1d5AxruZZC3kbFmiGGlfLD5T7PsC0g0UrJEYSev4Od29dIuPtFa9WSmtHq8mSurAUHzXTAcQdFFEsczRygUH19QZmwc/s2640/20230607_224909.jpg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1458" data-original-width="2640" height="177" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi3T2w0OfTOHiYo4hDiNBekffLSNt-1G_E0dRMgJyR_azbJJJOKq0iVt7f0Fz-k8igvFIZW6gZcglKpnFiQj_hf4Vh43F14oQ-B1d5AxruZZC3kbFmiGGlfLD5T7PsC0g0UrJEYSev4Od29dIuPtFa9WSmtHq8mSurAUHzXTAcQdFFEsczRygUH19QZmwc/s320/20230607_224909.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Oldschool Tron.<br /></td></tr></tbody></table><p></p><p>After some goldfishing, minor tweaks were made. One Jalum Tome and one Book of Rass moved to the sideboard to make room for maindeck Rocket Launcher and Disrupting Scepter, and the 4:2 Su-Chi / Clay Statue split was changed to 3:3 to make the Disks a bit better. Time to take it for a swing.<br /></p><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhOKsyZFgysgQDpFHjlfcyMUu1Kz_3Wq9uU8ipS40flKg9DZ9zQARYNZq02NmvJxbmoeJl4CwNavmZOfaO9RKDGEXmReuXoC-_opRRnCACKGvly2doHh8lDDqJPy4D98gtdqWjXkCTUyXV2PP_HhY4VjfR9jLAJv3ayfEZkH60XQhS_tRxl73tgD1U-g1g/s4032/20230609_210037.jpg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="4032" data-original-width="3024" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhOKsyZFgysgQDpFHjlfcyMUu1Kz_3Wq9uU8ipS40flKg9DZ9zQARYNZq02NmvJxbmoeJl4CwNavmZOfaO9RKDGEXmReuXoC-_opRRnCACKGvly2doHh8lDDqJPy4D98gtdqWjXkCTUyXV2PP_HhY4VjfR9jLAJv3ayfEZkH60XQhS_tRxl73tgD1U-g1g/s320/20230609_210037.jpg" width="240" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">SOLID like maintainable Java code.<br /></td></tr></tbody></table><p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"></div><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiLMhxzySfA1XUpRNqTTe8PM18pGQ47KkCvou0Tfexqqvei2MyLDzl6Cq6TitIN2yhXABFfScMt-8C_LzlM16NTtS3Rlg7Lg2h4f3z4d9GStceOOwFX4GuwgF0gj5jPrwTbzupM9r8QZ9ephSXPvQzq7JpyYijxz3OkcyuLbBbLMqwMj2KVX4Dc9Zj-RRI/s4032/20230609_213504.jpg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="4032" data-original-width="3024" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiLMhxzySfA1XUpRNqTTe8PM18pGQ47KkCvou0Tfexqqvei2MyLDzl6Cq6TitIN2yhXABFfScMt-8C_LzlM16NTtS3Rlg7Lg2h4f3z4d9GStceOOwFX4GuwgF0gj5jPrwTbzupM9r8QZ9ephSXPvQzq7JpyYijxz3OkcyuLbBbLMqwMj2KVX4Dc9Zj-RRI/s320/20230609_213504.jpg" width="240" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">And people just love playing against the deck!<br /></td></tr></tbody></table><p>When it was time to run the gauntlet at a tournament I found myself boarding
in Fountain of Youth and Aladdin's Ring every game, so they should
probably start maindeck. The gathering of choice was LepreCon 7, a wonderful 34-player tournament in Karlstad which I hadn't visited since LepreCon 2. <br /></p><p></p><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh66RJ83wB1FpNavCUYDrHyPjmc4-t7gljwtRHz_wHHOVElJnlkYsfzKzf-_wNh7xlNn1bt1-50CA5wMIk4EiGec2YD9fIdv--DCH98rAj-c991Q46nGmo05jOoKzH-7fibkCodQA7HCiMuKd3XAq-A8ms59vLHzXmlRthr17Tzm5n2gO-jmFDenu3nAbA/s4032/20230610_144826.jpg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="3024" data-original-width="4032" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh66RJ83wB1FpNavCUYDrHyPjmc4-t7gljwtRHz_wHHOVElJnlkYsfzKzf-_wNh7xlNn1bt1-50CA5wMIk4EiGec2YD9fIdv--DCH98rAj-c991Q46nGmo05jOoKzH-7fibkCodQA7HCiMuKd3XAq-A8ms59vLHzXmlRthr17Tzm5n2gO-jmFDenu3nAbA/s320/20230610_144826.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Everyone likes to play against Tron!<br /></td></tr></tbody></table><p></p><p>In all seriousness my opponents actually seemed to enjoy facing the deck. There were perhaps minor frustration when someone realized that their Fellwar Stones were full blanks in the matchup, or when they tried to get damage past a Maze of Ith when I had Candelabra in play, but in general people tend to appreciate getting burned out by Aladdin's Ring or taking 21 from a Triskelion/Tawno's Coffin Combo.</p><p>All in all I ended up 3rd in the swiss at a 4-1 record, before getting run over by The Deck in the quarterfinals. <br /></p><p></p><p></p><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhJWXkgSmUz8ZfBTBE4ZrCAvnLrjlIxmZh6ZbqsxFi5l78deWCA-V7NFZFO3tH_Rl_7UuWr742XkpwnQRXKrZ1qckgCyf-_IsH1JUPu3iRuH0I6AwkfpStHAyoe75kc37ICKKoBu8A74KSllLsX-rqJyzozxUxRXSMidHhHIPCIeSIWwGdKIR9Up7hrn4g/s2430/20230624_212720.jpg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="2430" data-original-width="1823" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhJWXkgSmUz8ZfBTBE4ZrCAvnLrjlIxmZh6ZbqsxFi5l78deWCA-V7NFZFO3tH_Rl_7UuWr742XkpwnQRXKrZ1qckgCyf-_IsH1JUPu3iRuH0I6AwkfpStHAyoe75kc37ICKKoBu8A74KSllLsX-rqJyzozxUxRXSMidHhHIPCIeSIWwGdKIR9Up7hrn4g/s320/20230624_212720.jpg" width="240" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Spoils.</td></tr></tbody></table><p>It think it's <i>possible</i> for Tron to beat The Deck, but it is likely one of its worst matchups. I really can't complain though, UrzaTron preformed amiably and LepreCon was a beautiful gathering. I'll surely revisit this deck, in particular if I find myself at an Atlantic Rules tournament in the future. Four Workshops and access to Ring of Renewal looks pretty gas...</p><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg1go3G_bxXUuMjg-zMq1XtaAdESP18V6W6Y-NX2tGKr7k2BfHivh9oG_nvORj1Wy18w26dwR07yfboYCyw5sc6xW1adHFkdhY6xgoBeFEfhkOGC-hSniZn03Fe08O542Z4Peu1CPEtN_gCvGOlUvY7Rn0febzaD7CrJ9Xqr_XcXcpG1rEjt0dCRYLdIH8/s1046/Shops.jpeg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1046" data-original-width="828" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg1go3G_bxXUuMjg-zMq1XtaAdESP18V6W6Y-NX2tGKr7k2BfHivh9oG_nvORj1Wy18w26dwR07yfboYCyw5sc6xW1adHFkdhY6xgoBeFEfhkOGC-hSniZn03Fe08O542Z4Peu1CPEtN_gCvGOlUvY7Rn0febzaD7CrJ9Xqr_XcXcpG1rEjt0dCRYLdIH8/s320/Shops.jpeg" width="253" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">David's Tron from the 2021 Atlantic Winter Derby.<br /></td></tr></tbody></table><p></p><p>'Til next time!</p><p>...<br /></p><p>*There was an opportunity for a bad joke here, tailored for the nerds who are both into early 1994 Magic expansions and binary calculations, where we note that in fact 1 1 1 = 7. <br /></p>Mghttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00555613518338194305noreply@blogger.com10tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2299444734264560627.post-83255608727869166732023-06-30T23:26:00.009+02:002023-07-13T20:21:31.944+02:00How to clean a Magic card<img src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjqVQVYSa4WUNE_nTeIRV3cq4h3-VlFSkxQIfE6urn6tvNL7Pg33gkmb0Bu0v7b_HtYynr8Hq8XtFVHZexF896z4BHEOg-08BTWVSuq-5S4NTTyNXPV4Uc4ZZ7YLfvOX5M0ehS-9FS1itimltRqcvfWBALuvTpwRNgzA3ZMVoUCQjygJYoYlTUUmsJmhnA/s2822/20230604_103035.jpg" style="display: none;" />
<p>A couple of months ago I bought a mystery box of mostly early 2000s era bulk.</p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj8gZIXHEVhW4ns2OkcG66imZCYkHtndSUxiiX4IfnPQvYuWCHvQMh15nJ7zP7ZCzF5bTSNc4AVEymwGcpxZcDefb3iHPvVLjdSyRkhqLZdLI_xlI7-3EZsr1TlMAiWX7iOkDjelKoD-EcWPa9ifetVDzopWakSsmGv6CFrqKbjoZqZ8yCoDbpthrnHVsY/s2674/20230328_143400.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="2005" data-original-width="2674" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj8gZIXHEVhW4ns2OkcG66imZCYkHtndSUxiiX4IfnPQvYuWCHvQMh15nJ7zP7ZCzF5bTSNc4AVEymwGcpxZcDefb3iHPvVLjdSyRkhqLZdLI_xlI7-3EZsr1TlMAiWX7iOkDjelKoD-EcWPa9ifetVDzopWakSsmGv6CFrqKbjoZqZ8yCoDbpthrnHVsY/s320/20230328_143400.jpg" width="320" /></a></div><p>I was well acquainted with the old owner 15-20 years ago, when we both were a part of the Vintage - and later Legacy - scenes in Gothenburg. We also had a common interest in punk music and beer, so a few of my finest memories of our friendship are away from cardboard. I'm particularly fond of recollecting one hungover morning circa 2005, when he woke up on the floor of my tiny dorm room to find that Suburban Commando was serendipitously live on my equally small TV. We called a number to a supposed pizzeria (which I was never able to actually locate), and magically got delivered two of the best kebab pizzas I've ever had. It was an afternoon of Mike's special kebab, Hulk Hogan, and re-runs of Red Dwarf (Stoke me a clipper!) that perfectly encapsulated a slice of the best of what my early 20s could offer. A hundred years prior no king could eat that well, nor enjoy such entertainment.</p><p>These days we're older. </p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg67WGfTP8ox28QZJk8Z9uhCEY_lWM1TK6UEYOlgmOvlKCzGv4krRDLZd_E8zdugte2Iv9SBe7kcCjEpSBYWqq3wcSyH9veEV6VmgoOToIBZsCeIpByF3PWnk0fvYU17f8KAjqhXAJNYGLQK3NdMtpCSH7FvlgrMiaaVGiyfjJtW_LzlcAfDZJOv8k-7tg/s680/red_dwarf_x.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="400" data-original-width="680" height="188" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg67WGfTP8ox28QZJk8Z9uhCEY_lWM1TK6UEYOlgmOvlKCzGv4krRDLZd_E8zdugte2Iv9SBe7kcCjEpSBYWqq3wcSyH9veEV6VmgoOToIBZsCeIpByF3PWnk0fvYU17f8KAjqhXAJNYGLQK3NdMtpCSH7FvlgrMiaaVGiyfjJtW_LzlcAfDZJOv8k-7tg/s320/red_dwarf_x.jpg" width="320" /></a></div><p></p><p>We hadn't talked for well over decade, but happenstance had me bidding on a few cards on an auction that turned out to be his. He reached out when he realized, and we did some catching up. We both had kids now, we both had moved away from Gothenburg to different Scandinavian capitals, and we both lived with a different pulse than fifteen years prior.</p><p>Long story short, he didn't play Magic no more, and had sold most of his valuable cards on the auction. But if I wanted to dig through the 15 kg of draft bulk still in his storage, he would be happy to send it to me for a nominal price.<br /></p><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgE7vWANzoWFzmgWIjeaeqIqEV8-iRlmG-BGIuYJQFFmIZLMbmueRp2ohSeLh7_U5jAxYN6FO3sqHBAO9q5BOPhOX44qHMlVhwIQffIunyQY0MW7fv3PuzVUA0HnNTCZAhl0F3bOQj5BjnbC0ggeNvSBRihMFanlaIeh8ZCART47wNuP0_jkM3vaR0NUAw/s3744/20230328_154256.jpg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="2728" data-original-width="3744" height="233" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgE7vWANzoWFzmgWIjeaeqIqEV8-iRlmG-BGIuYJQFFmIZLMbmueRp2ohSeLh7_U5jAxYN6FO3sqHBAO9q5BOPhOX44qHMlVhwIQffIunyQY0MW7fv3PuzVUA0HnNTCZAhl0F3bOQj5BjnbC0ggeNvSBRihMFanlaIeh8ZCART47wNuP0_jkM3vaR0NUAw/s320/20230328_154256.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Sweet. I should note that his asking price for the lot was "Zero, or, I mean,
you can pay for the postage. And if it isn't only a pile of crap,
feel free to give me something for it if you feel like it."</td></tr></tbody></table><br /><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhpuG40ClNEvlM3dqtO4nRfqPJOBxSCAoflLKd2uNuQGYwoVO78cCL2OP29aalvGYirwwNwWUCkifzTdCAR_6kKxqnKpe0CGKmkY6zc8FZvolx9MhEtBDn4MTL5UNWmaNChjtBwuXZxDSQTzRGIiGb2mB8ZPhxHhi2zB_N3CMNPRLpiUzeuRIZR4J1OZGg/s4032/20230330_154843.jpg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="3024" data-original-width="4032" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhpuG40ClNEvlM3dqtO4nRfqPJOBxSCAoflLKd2uNuQGYwoVO78cCL2OP29aalvGYirwwNwWUCkifzTdCAR_6kKxqnKpe0CGKmkY6zc8FZvolx9MhEtBDn4MTL5UNWmaNChjtBwuXZxDSQTzRGIiGb2mB8ZPhxHhi2zB_N3CMNPRLpiUzeuRIZR4J1OZGg/s320/20230330_154843.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Turns out a few draft commons from Masques era are kinda sough after these days, so some reparations were offered. <br /></td></tr></tbody></table><p>One thing with finding old bulk, or generally a pile of old cards, is that a lot them look like this:<br /></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiUwRrBEjy7ug1NxqX7XMxRb-6C0xIDF7-B9cOBF8K5wEv7ZPSeySh7OIxuDxCswnbAOlVQDlV549A3Xrfy1fbzI-TSNsyH7MjCNQCbWnIn9thSRLb5qK4adlwexck_C12FVtLQ0dAykCsv2pkRNVkWPZOfEL2VKFFRUHVjepuVfiUa0qM5FOCFtHKV2oE/s3017/20230625_230046.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="3017" data-original-width="3017" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiUwRrBEjy7ug1NxqX7XMxRb-6C0xIDF7-B9cOBF8K5wEv7ZPSeySh7OIxuDxCswnbAOlVQDlV549A3Xrfy1fbzI-TSNsyH7MjCNQCbWnIn9thSRLb5qK4adlwexck_C12FVtLQ0dAykCsv2pkRNVkWPZOfEL2VKFFRUHVjepuVfiUa0qM5FOCFtHKV2oE/s320/20230625_230046.jpg" width="320" /></a></div><div> </div><div>Early 2000s cards aren't as bad as mid 90s cards though. In the mid 90s, sleeves were banned from most tournaments and we played outdoors using high grit sand paper as play mats.<br /></div><p>One thing that was popular in the mid 90s was to "touch up" any scuffed black borders with black ink - a practice that is wildly frowned upon these days. I guess mainly due to the fact that a card altered in such a way can never be professionally graded, and pretty much any store today would hence grade such a card as "poor". I personally don't really care that much; I'm not into graded cards, and from a purely nerdstalgic perspective inked cards are a historical curiosity of sorts. So if I'm getting a discount on an otherwise fine Wrath of God because some dude in '94 decided to ink a scuffed corner, I'm good with that.<br /></p><div><p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhuRqR3tSGcZexzPAypPnAgF2r25wHDJUW2ipbpj1K-0rdw0ENA-kCjSHy0KbeTtyAecPhDKOF7N1Y4gPdYVLhqT8X2U9VabYC270wwP4_6vfTQaBANwT4u9XyPitygxklzb8LBPdRGn6qTxdsbZoQleiXKf4snXCLJHeu2WYYXDgpDcooQynLA7zfisJc/s4032/20230625_225353.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="4032" data-original-width="3024" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhuRqR3tSGcZexzPAypPnAgF2r25wHDJUW2ipbpj1K-0rdw0ENA-kCjSHy0KbeTtyAecPhDKOF7N1Y4gPdYVLhqT8X2U9VabYC270wwP4_6vfTQaBANwT4u9XyPitygxklzb8LBPdRGn6qTxdsbZoQleiXKf4snXCLJHeu2WYYXDgpDcooQynLA7zfisJc/s320/20230625_225353.jpg" width="240" /></a></div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEirMie-rDBfShwIvRrX86OZzrSl0g9ssCv_w5ANps-MWCfkp9b1g73K41ymVFxDKaHqUbpq2joU3FUV6HuAHevRbt6YyXR--hG5J6JNTbfN4dmkydctXxu_sUcSYbg4GBUiPB217C4m3KBgxdkgfqmfgxkJg9byiAI6sFwmZDHn2bRxzGJ_2t-WAbEkXkE/s1370/20230625_225247.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1274" data-original-width="1370" height="298" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEirMie-rDBfShwIvRrX86OZzrSl0g9ssCv_w5ANps-MWCfkp9b1g73K41ymVFxDKaHqUbpq2joU3FUV6HuAHevRbt6YyXR--hG5J6JNTbfN4dmkydctXxu_sUcSYbg4GBUiPB217C4m3KBgxdkgfqmfgxkJg9byiAI6sFwmZDHn2bRxzGJ_2t-WAbEkXkE/s320/20230625_225247.jpg" width="320" /></a></div> </div><div>That said, I would strongly recommend anyone against inking their cards, especially these days. And in particular if there are any vague plans of trading or selling them at some point in the future.</div><div> </div><div>But while I'm against painting over damage on cards, removing dirt is another ballpark. We used to play our Revised cards sleeveless on packed mud in 1995 after all, and very few people seem to have opted to clean said mud.<br /></div><div> </div><div></div><div><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhT_qmOFewIm7LLHIj5AAvVB7bMWyyw3K1OABy4UsNsQDVzUJxN48K2QmPnugQe0EMInz8vT1mOFF3NYEY-B7R1oBPPDVybtD7EWHw9zGzFBtkgAuJC_mboFvy-EXZGvLsXc9cQL82TpssMOKL0nmg-EL3UxvNFvo6tTr5UrweWLQfs5VPjnfPseLDnpHY/s4032/20230604_102651.jpg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><img border="0" data-original-height="4032" data-original-width="3024" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhT_qmOFewIm7LLHIj5AAvVB7bMWyyw3K1OABy4UsNsQDVzUJxN48K2QmPnugQe0EMInz8vT1mOFF3NYEY-B7R1oBPPDVybtD7EWHw9zGzFBtkgAuJC_mboFvy-EXZGvLsXc9cQL82TpssMOKL0nmg-EL3UxvNFvo6tTr5UrweWLQfs5VPjnfPseLDnpHY/s320/20230604_102651.jpg" width="240" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">This is a dirty card.<br /></td></tr></tbody></table></div><div><div> </div><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiOQCuRJ17vrj2AqOgxBr0J8bJoVJZy33klJWJ55ThpiyMxJorYcB2pF5VfNjZm06uCjmnd3zXfdS-xvKRJrz5-GHJz-HZyS5VE2fS6JgUa3rXJ5LRfufEimU-Uk9fP5lX3tC1RvnVEUSUwOaPiia6nWYYZkwFo2FzSWqBoCPKKqyUPVKtgfIJYssZfxg8/s3505/20230604_102701.jpg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="3505" data-original-width="2819" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiOQCuRJ17vrj2AqOgxBr0J8bJoVJZy33klJWJ55ThpiyMxJorYcB2pF5VfNjZm06uCjmnd3zXfdS-xvKRJrz5-GHJz-HZyS5VE2fS6JgUa3rXJ5LRfufEimU-Uk9fP5lX3tC1RvnVEUSUwOaPiia6nWYYZkwFo2FzSWqBoCPKKqyUPVKtgfIJYssZfxg8/s320/20230604_102701.jpg" width="257" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Such memories it holds <3<br /></td></tr></tbody></table><div> <br /></div><div>Anyway, cleaning a dirty card is very simple. </div><div><ol style="text-align: left;"><li>Find a Q-tip</li><li>Dip the Q-tip in the tiniest amount of water</li><li>Carefully swab off the dirt with said Q-tip</li></ol><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhSjRPv4nB6Z9hnkX6VPgI8pEBYg69IvdFeL9bUkVgWAJRZjxSeet75vkxE8W_por5uteTcvd2AtmbF_uXbNu27hUL0lb_E0N9Cfg80cYxWjw66r7lsfdvqkUPcliezZtr0hb1uj04goeR3dEKoE1-AWvQGPq1iHj2V4tMaKMrL2nM_czEABmk0b86xF5Q/s3043/20230604_102812.jpg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="3043" data-original-width="2298" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhSjRPv4nB6Z9hnkX6VPgI8pEBYg69IvdFeL9bUkVgWAJRZjxSeet75vkxE8W_por5uteTcvd2AtmbF_uXbNu27hUL0lb_E0N9Cfg80cYxWjw66r7lsfdvqkUPcliezZtr0hb1uj04goeR3dEKoE1-AWvQGPq1iHj2V4tMaKMrL2nM_czEABmk0b86xF5Q/s320/20230604_102812.jpg" width="242" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Slow and steady.<br /></td></tr></tbody></table><p> </p><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjqVQVYSa4WUNE_nTeIRV3cq4h3-VlFSkxQIfE6urn6tvNL7Pg33gkmb0Bu0v7b_HtYynr8Hq8XtFVHZexF896z4BHEOg-08BTWVSuq-5S4NTTyNXPV4Uc4ZZ7YLfvOX5M0ehS-9FS1itimltRqcvfWBALuvTpwRNgzA3ZMVoUCQjygJYoYlTUUmsJmhnA/s2822/20230604_103035.jpg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="2786" data-original-width="2822" height="316" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjqVQVYSa4WUNE_nTeIRV3cq4h3-VlFSkxQIfE6urn6tvNL7Pg33gkmb0Bu0v7b_HtYynr8Hq8XtFVHZexF896z4BHEOg-08BTWVSuq-5S4NTTyNXPV4Uc4ZZ7YLfvOX5M0ehS-9FS1itimltRqcvfWBALuvTpwRNgzA3ZMVoUCQjygJYoYlTUUmsJmhnA/s320/20230604_103035.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Progress!<br /></td></tr></tbody></table></div><br /> <table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhAs3sii0Do7ZP_2K_rm0T83x-Mnj2bK89_f9UpMyjARoylUcYBlbGs4uVZQ7KNMjjQm4fT-RVwcib6Ogmr3TZxfCiKwwi5dL3onOOcqVCwIljCy0Afw_KtMTb-MFgTgNpLVXgnlea7vix41Nk9g3G_8P8DKtx28gt75pzFNUuF75iVhbqKEPXGcFvqjwI/s3043/20230604_104237.jpg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="3043" data-original-width="2282" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhAs3sii0Do7ZP_2K_rm0T83x-Mnj2bK89_f9UpMyjARoylUcYBlbGs4uVZQ7KNMjjQm4fT-RVwcib6Ogmr3TZxfCiKwwi5dL3onOOcqVCwIljCy0Afw_KtMTb-MFgTgNpLVXgnlea7vix41Nk9g3G_8P8DKtx28gt75pzFNUuF75iVhbqKEPXGcFvqjwI/s320/20230604_104237.jpg" width="240" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">That's a fine-looking Dragon, Lou.<br /></td></tr></tbody></table></div><div> </div><div><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgO-PvcdLHUHfl055wGR3htsH0WkX-pQgksLN7D0d1PG8s_IPHPVySSlOiMUdjPvKnS1V_vURBiFr5E6XPTNIgMf5ENKa5R2qTRFan8xu7vD_XJIgln4uf0XieCcXUdtQB7V51u0LTFBSQBFqegbPms464JN6U4rz2m-9v6A_0HUXteXGa5ZshXnQaCgKU/s4032/20230604_104247.jpg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="4032" data-original-width="3024" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgO-PvcdLHUHfl055wGR3htsH0WkX-pQgksLN7D0d1PG8s_IPHPVySSlOiMUdjPvKnS1V_vURBiFr5E6XPTNIgMf5ENKa5R2qTRFan8xu7vD_XJIgln4uf0XieCcXUdtQB7V51u0LTFBSQBFqegbPms464JN6U4rz2m-9v6A_0HUXteXGa5ZshXnQaCgKU/s320/20230604_104247.jpg" width="240" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Now to ink the back... (NB: Please don't ink your cards.)<br /></td></tr></tbody></table><br /></div><div><br /></div><div><br /></div>Mghttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00555613518338194305noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2299444734264560627.post-47782233589065982872023-06-16T18:41:00.025+02:002023-07-05T09:57:45.205+02:00Salt Tiers<img src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjiDIuUNOes7_bbhBab8tBhn2EMEmwesTtHNzMcQ6V0EhNgDDfvgeXeJGgIEw8KuquuHH2xoADP6tYIDNoJNjvljnubddlXlfChV9HNqGEVsW59OpsTleXDtLGpyb3pxT8s2xLjrQ_wVDZeU4px7G7j5juJV4WYMLCwkGIumkNGf0dTcwf14kCpILD2/s4032/20230607_204751.jpg" style="display: none;" /><p>In the oldest days, the main purpose of a creature was to attack and block. And whenever a summon would stray from this core raison d'être, it would be to act as another type of permanent. Llanowar Elves would do a good impression of a land, Ali from Cairo could seem like an enchantment, Prodigal Sorcerer basically has the text of an artifact. But what creatures were not, were spells.</p><p>All that was to change with the set Visions in 1997. A small handful of creatures in Visions came with a spell attached to them; Unsummon, Verdigris, Terror. It was a taste of things to come.<br /></p><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgfyYQXsrKp1H_xwfi3-ZHItFsv-3x6n0R1sGxe_3HEoUIgHQ3IHh9hwv0NXNhLFY1zvrwximkhE7K47pLlX7vPy_zm8JCkVkZdXHfI3XKY-uoYJJoAreNhMnmHcGs6UZaqXnUmMrFML_J-T9t4_3HWdGB6KYg9kszwtbzVIFx4nfC1Ga8-SpKOSKFQ/s3538/20230615_161756.jpg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="2654" data-original-width="3538" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgfyYQXsrKp1H_xwfi3-ZHItFsv-3x6n0R1sGxe_3HEoUIgHQ3IHh9hwv0NXNhLFY1zvrwximkhE7K47pLlX7vPy_zm8JCkVkZdXHfI3XKY-uoYJJoAreNhMnmHcGs6UZaqXnUmMrFML_J-T9t4_3HWdGB6KYg9kszwtbzVIFx4nfC1Ga8-SpKOSKFQ/s320/20230615_161756.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">In the industry, we call these "<a href="https://mtg.fandom.com/wiki/Vanilla">Virtual Vanilla</a>".</td></tr></tbody></table><p>These days it's almost a given that a good creature should have a positive effect the turn it comes into play. Combat stats and keyword abilities have become secondary to the spells or additional rules text slapped onto our summons. When was the last time a creature with only keyword abilities was actually good in Standard? Baneslayer Angel in the early 2010s, something like that?<br /></p><p>Back in the 90s, us beggars couldn't be choosers. We needed them creatures for combat, and stats were critical. When Alliances was released in 1996, the by far most hyped card wasn't Force of Will or Lake of the Dead. No, the chase rare (and most expensive card) from Alliances was Balduvian Horde.<br /></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh9MHW8uagx1_xEOcNqycPJGKDF8VFbwKIS7OyVTdDYCgSj_P5vKzJyP7Yfnr5lVhrJKA9f_0vjTiN1S2GzMyN6ISB6wdYon7a0-VsSt8y8IR-9MjL8LhyT7XhKK5ZEk_4zhgkmVM5P2HbkUYc36hyDMrqVDkIrJz51swpp5P16VQ6esbI3P-Aridx8/s3342/20230616_143531.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="3342" data-original-width="2506" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh9MHW8uagx1_xEOcNqycPJGKDF8VFbwKIS7OyVTdDYCgSj_P5vKzJyP7Yfnr5lVhrJKA9f_0vjTiN1S2GzMyN6ISB6wdYon7a0-VsSt8y8IR-9MjL8LhyT7XhKK5ZEk_4zhgkmVM5P2HbkUYc36hyDMrqVDkIrJz51swpp5P16VQ6esbI3P-Aridx8/s320/20230616_143531.jpg" width="240" /></a></div><p></p><p>Now that's a 5/5 for 2RR that would be strictly better if it had no rules text at all. </p><p>A couple of months ago we looked at the <a href="http://oldschool-mtg.blogspot.com/2023/02/vanilla-tier.html">"vanilla creatures" from Magic's first year</a>; the creatures that have no abilities. Today I'd like to introduce the concept of "salt creatures"; the subset of summons whose entire textbox consists of drawbacks. </p><p></p><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiNG7r1qVS8hlybXpww0XK3Sp2564HnIYdbiw1CdEjoPa_NDtoOecx4BIyUKblnVQWGzoT9aDJscOq2v5pRfgAlstEK2GDwNE9FOWVOGdhBlsHQj8KRRxt_YFSe3R-2Z0MQnJMetmqjkLR7iP1B7DG44OJgApK6uDZ9OCV6GQT67msWoEPVYQFgU50f/s4032/20230607_204053.jpg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="4032" data-original-width="3024" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiNG7r1qVS8hlybXpww0XK3Sp2564HnIYdbiw1CdEjoPa_NDtoOecx4BIyUKblnVQWGzoT9aDJscOq2v5pRfgAlstEK2GDwNE9FOWVOGdhBlsHQj8KRRxt_YFSe3R-2Z0MQnJMetmqjkLR7iP1B7DG44OJgApK6uDZ9OCV6GQT67msWoEPVYQFgU50f/s320/20230607_204053.jpg" width="240" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Land, Mox, Tempting Wurm, scoop.<br /></td></tr></tbody></table><p></p><p>Now, there are a few creatures that have drawbacks that could be considered beneficial in the right deck without jumping through too many hoops. The poster-child for that kinda salt creatures is probably Tolarian Serpent - a card that was initially play tested as an Enchantment called "Super Self-Mill" that simply milled you for seven each upkeep. </p><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgs7yawxPjv2xXnM2biwhnuwTiiv26I9gdvOeni_gUlPYahV47FFz_LWjA4iaZaNHbWTGeRgGdkCn1XB271lD15gXa-Aj3UeQvSfOuosQSaxxHO2xDbQ6bGtEzVDIJLw-yhlGZrtVoSS63YWBfRzuZ3fi8t-VlDhzaIlvBWsNZrqS3RTj0TGxJSDnsH/s4032/20230615_150857.jpg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="4032" data-original-width="3024" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgs7yawxPjv2xXnM2biwhnuwTiiv26I9gdvOeni_gUlPYahV47FFz_LWjA4iaZaNHbWTGeRgGdkCn1XB271lD15gXa-Aj3UeQvSfOuosQSaxxHO2xDbQ6bGtEzVDIJLw-yhlGZrtVoSS63YWBfRzuZ3fi8t-VlDhzaIlvBWsNZrqS3RTj0TGxJSDnsH/s320/20230615_150857.jpg" width="240" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">In honor of the Tolarian Serpent, I shall call this kind of salt creatures "sea salt creatures".<br /></td></tr></tbody></table><p></p><p>The set in which Tolarian Serpent was printed, Weatherlight, was the first proper "graveyard matters" expansion. Hence the ability to put cards from the library into the graveyard was for the first time seen as a potentially beneficial thing by the playtesters. Most players at the time would need a bit of convincing though - having lost their fair share of games to the popular Millstone decks of the era - and so the "drawback" was plastered onto a huge body to make the card a bit more appealing to both <a href="https://magic.wizards.com/en/news/making-magic/timmy-johnny-and-spike-revisited-2006-03-20-2">Johnny and Timmy</a>.<br /></p><p>Weatherlight was also the first set where I personally got to see the joy of turning drawbacks into benefits when I was on the receiving end of a turn one Dark Ritual into Hidden Horror, turn two Animate Dead into a ludicrous fatty.</p><div style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj5Pmm23UEJ5gIQG2jCjKpNv3R1i69ewzvCfcnqTSSnDp8NQXgF1ZhuNhLD2G8D32S72r9hdp-34w0qvT0EOFzsIYc5Dd6c3JGL3hT6NKvfl3FIF_CJ4fC45H0kAqheQmtVrNH14MK7KQOtd9GK7R_dhMW7G-1P1IWjFz_sbmN9Ccsvp619t_1_H1zN/s4032/20230615_151232.jpg"><img border="0" data-original-height="4032" data-original-width="3024" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj5Pmm23UEJ5gIQG2jCjKpNv3R1i69ewzvCfcnqTSSnDp8NQXgF1ZhuNhLD2G8D32S72r9hdp-34w0qvT0EOFzsIYc5Dd6c3JGL3hT6NKvfl3FIF_CJ4fC45H0kAqheQmtVrNH14MK7KQOtd9GK7R_dhMW7G-1P1IWjFz_sbmN9Ccsvp619t_1_H1zN/s320/20230615_151232.jpg" width="240" /></a></div><p>I distinctly remember the guy saying that he played Hidden Horror for the drawback - not for the body - which blew my mind.</p><p>These days salt creatures are few and far between, even more so than vanilla creatures. There's the occasional reprint, like Emperor Crocodile, or the rare new creature that would be stronger with an empty text box, like Death's Shadow, but they are more of curiosities than staples.</p><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEipymeqYb2-Uom4hw5kE0s0HvGnh4k5Rrwn-YlHpiWXKkI5QwOQBPtpNeBgRskUkI__2Kz78v7k4xUkNdHV4OLhJkZkyu6IUKC1JAKgYfBWs6bQI0xDT8DVZzXHvKyPY_jzlQ3zr4e82J9NqfPzuAFxWGnCVbeI6iT0prpWOcIzlCKkiOSt44kLwdqy/s680/mindlessnull.hq.jpg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="680" data-original-width="480" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEipymeqYb2-Uom4hw5kE0s0HvGnh4k5Rrwn-YlHpiWXKkI5QwOQBPtpNeBgRskUkI__2Kz78v7k4xUkNdHV4OLhJkZkyu6IUKC1JAKgYfBWs6bQI0xDT8DVZzXHvKyPY_jzlQ3zr4e82J9NqfPzuAFxWGnCVbeI6iT0prpWOcIzlCKkiOSt44kLwdqy/s320/mindlessnull.hq.jpg" width="226" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Though I cannot properly express how much joy this card gives me.<br /></td></tr></tbody></table><p></p><p></p><p><span style="font-family: inherit;"></span></p><p style="font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"></span></p>When we get salt creatures with the modern frame, it is more often than not "sea salt"; creatures with drawbacks that - at least on paper - could be built around.<span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span><p style="font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"></span></p><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjPMDQfKW2bJ3FRr1bM-yy3dKqTdRoxQWkfpq_8CoAOcZeBQTqjtRi4K31poVwNrHBbFZsF7urZFLX-GlwZAYhGMGQOuLECvcv_-yPMyXtab1W-U6Qtj-yjPNceOkI3ptzC1FebV8bDHbUCvCKu3zfgHyxCrsQ4xjXsj5vKN81OzbVgTvNmo2MmgIwM/s652/rottingregisaur.hq.jpg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="652" data-original-width="460" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjPMDQfKW2bJ3FRr1bM-yy3dKqTdRoxQWkfpq_8CoAOcZeBQTqjtRi4K31poVwNrHBbFZsF7urZFLX-GlwZAYhGMGQOuLECvcv_-yPMyXtab1W-U6Qtj-yjPNceOkI3ptzC1FebV8bDHbUCvCKu3zfgHyxCrsQ4xjXsj5vKN81OzbVgTvNmo2MmgIwM/s320/rottingregisaur.hq.jpg" width="226" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Play me in your BR Madness deck.<br /></td></tr></tbody></table><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"></span></div><p></p><p>(Sidenote: There exists a number creatures that in sum total would
be superior if they had no abilities, but they have some beneficial
abilities alongside the drawbacks. These are, I don't know, "flake salt
creatures"? They are flaky because they don't know if they should be good or bad?) <br /></p><p></p><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh_lpgaxkjWnf7kQkOAQ3Q7z4XPGfYp-gaotGU2KtZt7nVreMVBh1o5NEyqZF5R7OG3NnJFTRUcqqgP3Q5yZlWYg9vgGBFVOYwbQPhli4bnRvKx8f54694GxMSJ_6eOCSDm2FRLrN7FY84bdSKUrWZI8ZMAj7w29XNVNqpzV5-2pkGc9VCDg7x-lbKg/s4032/20230607_204018.jpg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="4032" data-original-width="3024" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh_lpgaxkjWnf7kQkOAQ3Q7z4XPGfYp-gaotGU2KtZt7nVreMVBh1o5NEyqZF5R7OG3NnJFTRUcqqgP3Q5yZlWYg9vgGBFVOYwbQPhli4bnRvKx8f54694GxMSJ_6eOCSDm2FRLrN7FY84bdSKUrWZI8ZMAj7w29XNVNqpzV5-2pkGc9VCDg7x-lbKg/s320/20230607_204018.jpg" width="240" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Flake Salt?<br /></td></tr></tbody></table> <table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhoBiT3cCgAlTilw1gzYdaUhtY2ge7TfXBUBknelPcevctHEuKz1p92rw-a5J0wDh2gYHgNS4SypdpuvllXLYBzYOxIOqSjrdaarkJXxpCOQhPGg59VLjhkjf7lRQVAiT4a1I0FXmD_w5yc5cItM4jziwt8CtSb-PD1DMC-Fre1avHtjjco1GS0Lf8z/s4032/20230615_150944.jpg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="4032" data-original-width="3024" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhoBiT3cCgAlTilw1gzYdaUhtY2ge7TfXBUBknelPcevctHEuKz1p92rw-a5J0wDh2gYHgNS4SypdpuvllXLYBzYOxIOqSjrdaarkJXxpCOQhPGg59VLjhkjf7lRQVAiT4a1I0FXmD_w5yc5cItM4jziwt8CtSb-PD1DMC-Fre1avHtjjco1GS0Lf8z/s320/20230615_150944.jpg" width="240" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Sure, flake salt.<br /></td></tr></tbody></table><p></p><p>End sidenote)<br /></p><p>Ok, enough history and linguistics. It's 93/94 list time!</p><div style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjiDIuUNOes7_bbhBab8tBhn2EMEmwesTtHNzMcQ6V0EhNgDDfvgeXeJGgIEw8KuquuHH2xoADP6tYIDNoJNjvljnubddlXlfChV9HNqGEVsW59OpsTleXDtLGpyb3pxT8s2xLjrQ_wVDZeU4px7G7j5juJV4WYMLCwkGIumkNGf0dTcwf14kCpILD2/s4032/20230607_204751.jpg"><img border="0" data-original-height="4032" data-original-width="3024" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjiDIuUNOes7_bbhBab8tBhn2EMEmwesTtHNzMcQ6V0EhNgDDfvgeXeJGgIEw8KuquuHH2xoADP6tYIDNoJNjvljnubddlXlfChV9HNqGEVsW59OpsTleXDtLGpyb3pxT8s2xLjrQ_wVDZeU4px7G7j5juJV4WYMLCwkGIumkNGf0dTcwf14kCpILD2/s320/20230607_204751.jpg" width="240" /></a></div><h2 style="text-align: left;">S tier</h2><div style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj_OoyI5sZDUTkAx7uSvWPwDduX0HaNOdsoYF_0br3ZrsYeqxg73BKIXZFC1eIgH2fAR3D-lPUmX8S8NqCUCFM2LtVUCbO_sptAqKvvXEQoZOAcihp5ojDUhW_7pFXcMdYvpfD6IWAku5zcYLkIr7ScKim4yaYohCVqmRy0hh78xwZEPOpJoAtykcD6/s3359/20230607_204944.jpg"><img border="0" data-original-height="1725" data-original-width="3359" height="164" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj_OoyI5sZDUTkAx7uSvWPwDduX0HaNOdsoYF_0br3ZrsYeqxg73BKIXZFC1eIgH2fAR3D-lPUmX8S8NqCUCFM2LtVUCbO_sptAqKvvXEQoZOAcihp5ojDUhW_7pFXcMdYvpfD6IWAku5zcYLkIr7ScKim4yaYohCVqmRy0hh78xwZEPOpJoAtykcD6/s320/20230607_204944.jpg" width="320" /></a></div><p>The S tier summons are the dudes that have been on active duty winning Giant Sharks in recent years. The number of major tournament top8s these three have would be too plenty to mention, but each of them have tournament wins in 100+ player fields, including World Championships. They are among the true cream of the crop among old school Magic creatures, and they all have the data to back it up.</p><div><h2 style="text-align: left;">A tier</h2><div style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgJ3nE4TnM4dOpdXD1gKHyjR4tTfBrNQkOGsVEYSCHqH3k-d5EUeT8bz5Nxj9g3E5pVCYwOXHunqScQuL3QsElANECxwAvPWmNHt-uLHFY58Vu6ZTOm-sdmswbqziY62KZCodVZg69-OgwaIN7hoLHUTjILGwTtBc8YnTcv3J8S4v0yHWd7dqxkLLRb/s2398/20230607_204949.jpg"><img border="0" data-original-height="1905" data-original-width="2398" height="254" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgJ3nE4TnM4dOpdXD1gKHyjR4tTfBrNQkOGsVEYSCHqH3k-d5EUeT8bz5Nxj9g3E5pVCYwOXHunqScQuL3QsElANECxwAvPWmNHt-uLHFY58Vu6ZTOm-sdmswbqziY62KZCodVZg69-OgwaIN7hoLHUTjILGwTtBc8YnTcv3J8S4v0yHWd7dqxkLLRb/s320/20230607_204949.jpg" width="320" /></a></div></div><div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"> </div></div><div>The A tier is also very data driven: which other salt creatures have top8'd Shark tournaments or other major gatherings in the last years, but are short of the very top in our current meta? A few players might know that Dan-Dan Top8'd e.g. n00bcon 11 in Jordan Boyle's Merfolk deck, but did you also know it actually won n00bcon 6? Yeah, Dan-Dan has a Shark and a Worlds title to its name, so maybe it should be up rubbing elbows on the S tier. It is a kinda close call, but I feel like it comes just short of the highest tier in 93/94 Magic. Oh, and speaking of Dan-Dan, if you've somehow missed it and want to try a cool way to use your fishes, check out the <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Otdgj8fBQxc">Forgetful Fish format</a>! <br /></div><div><div><h2 style="text-align: left;">B tier</h2><div style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiSWxKh7yLG1BQsUQd2w_oePFKtt6Icj8JJ_8RNOLTs-NrM2robE_-gtjssnR4X1TXur1lULaA1KC5rg1Pom4zbs3TGXqfubutwoDoqN4bPnPSIQ1A1tm9_YtE7qw0YCCObdAbiC959v-c14dDlhdIAFD6e-zL7OVIiDMQxgfAnUFkymZEkTC73N3s0/s4032/20230607_204954.jpg"><img border="0" data-original-height="2803" data-original-width="4032" height="222" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiSWxKh7yLG1BQsUQd2w_oePFKtt6Icj8JJ_8RNOLTs-NrM2robE_-gtjssnR4X1TXur1lULaA1KC5rg1Pom4zbs3TGXqfubutwoDoqN4bPnPSIQ1A1tm9_YtE7qw0YCCObdAbiC959v-c14dDlhdIAFD6e-zL7OVIiDMQxgfAnUFkymZEkTC73N3s0/s320/20230607_204954.jpg" width="320" /></a></div><h2 style="text-align: left;"></h2><h2 style="text-align: left;"></h2><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"></div>From a purely stats perspective, a couple of the summons in the B-tier also have Shark top8s to their name. Though I believe Erg Raiders last claim to high fame was in 2014, and Wall of Earth around the same time. These are still eminent summons and excellent creatures to sleeve up in most metas, though they tend to be a bit more tier2 than tier1 on the battlefield. Erg Raiders do need some backup to not be stopped cold by opposing Factories, Wall of Earth decks unarguably play second fiddle to Time Vault decks, and Ydwen Efreet has to compete with cards like Ball Lightning and Blood Moon as red 3-drops go. But these guys could still surely win a tournament, and when they do, it comes with a spicy feather in the hat to the pilot.</div></div><div><div><h2 style="text-align: left;">C tier</h2><div style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgLcnkaOJ2K_Gnz_jr5LDc6QTr7qd_KtODrb8df8vyq9eUj8Y8HeRtNNX3PSQy1GhgsivXA3n0wV-tvw8nJvmRPnvp_Ul5Xglp_M63F2IaYtDIthUQ1LdGB6agk8W5h5PgMN76DRyJghJbMCpJGQIQ2OScCStYAthr3PhBDjd_qbnhc0vb6zH7HGPVo/s3984/20230607_204958.jpg"><img border="0" data-original-height="2375" data-original-width="3984" height="191" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgLcnkaOJ2K_Gnz_jr5LDc6QTr7qd_KtODrb8df8vyq9eUj8Y8HeRtNNX3PSQy1GhgsivXA3n0wV-tvw8nJvmRPnvp_Ul5Xglp_M63F2IaYtDIthUQ1LdGB6agk8W5h5PgMN76DRyJghJbMCpJGQIQ2OScCStYAthr3PhBDjd_qbnhc0vb6zH7HGPVo/s320/20230607_204958.jpg" width="320" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"></div></div><div><div></div><div> </div><div>So these are all fine I guess. Cyclopean Mummy is the best oldschool zombie if you want to build something with Zombie Master. And if everyone would just stop playing Lightning Bolt, Ghazban Ogre could be awesome. Maybe he could be a sideboard card in Green Weenie or RG Berserk or something? And I could probably write around a thousand words on Brass Man right here btw, but I'll spare you. </div><div><h2 style="text-align: left;">D tier</h2><div style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhU8x1lk-B_4Nhb8G8uFwn6KXCSYF13st7kN5iqqTKx_Pp9tTWEhWbASyhTErEkk5poujZ4laSnS7iCXQwPwVB8BZfeevQEMrsnRhkzhLUdUez-nhol2LIIESe2jLMaIFVbZLGiifepDcrwurhoy2cCl8pQ6jwbfDvaWYCaeYSh4DgA2fo39sShu1uX/s3886/20230607_205007.jpg"><img border="0" data-original-height="1930" data-original-width="3886" height="159" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhU8x1lk-B_4Nhb8G8uFwn6KXCSYF13st7kN5iqqTKx_Pp9tTWEhWbASyhTErEkk5poujZ4laSnS7iCXQwPwVB8BZfeevQEMrsnRhkzhLUdUez-nhol2LIIESe2jLMaIFVbZLGiifepDcrwurhoy2cCl8pQ6jwbfDvaWYCaeYSh4DgA2fo39sShu1uX/s320/20230607_205007.jpg" width="320" /></a></div><h2 style="text-align: left;"></h2><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"></div>Now we're cooking with spice. At least if we're playing non-highlander 60-card formats, these critters are a rare sight to behold on the battlefield. But you know you want to beat someone down with Mijae Djinn, right? And how on earth could an aggro deck ever hope to beat Wall of Heat? These are proper wildcards in 60-card constructed formats, but still serious role players in Brothers' Highlander and auto-includes in any oldschool cube.<br /></div></div><div><div><h2 style="text-align: left;">E tier</h2><div style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhlS_h6WxXFgvfvH_tA-V0Vy-bgs_B5uRfltomQq1p1ufnraz0Wci7MbigjKbl5nMLg3Nq7ByrkGiBmCphaB94repr4bABCmmsqz27JnOuI4ZBbvkN-4wgW6tj8-PaRhVVgbdtcChFRLMiLKz9REXV64qW7jJA7uWXIVP-I7pN6cscJCFOa0X9Lvyyt/s4032/20230607_205013.jpg"><img border="0" data-original-height="2010" data-original-width="4032" height="160" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhlS_h6WxXFgvfvH_tA-V0Vy-bgs_B5uRfltomQq1p1ufnraz0Wci7MbigjKbl5nMLg3Nq7ByrkGiBmCphaB94repr4bABCmmsqz27JnOuI4ZBbvkN-4wgW6tj8-PaRhVVgbdtcChFRLMiLKz9REXV64qW7jJA7uWXIVP-I7pN6cscJCFOa0X9Lvyyt/s320/20230607_205013.jpg" width="320" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"></div></div><div> </div><div>As an honorary member of the Ohio Akron Legionnaires I feel a little bad placing our mascot all the way down here, but if I'm paying 8 mana for a creature that dies to everything between a Psionic Blast and an opposing Dan-Dan it would be kinda nice if he didn't stop my other creatures from attacking. I still play him in my Brothers' Highlander deck, but I can't help thinking about <a href="https://www.svenskamagic.com/kortparmen/index.php?cardid=43092">Zetalpa, Primal Dawn</a> when I see the mana cost.</div><br /><div>Island Fish Jasconious is a bit too janky for normal formats, but it is excellent in any <a href="https://www.svenskamagic.com/kortparmen/index.php?cardid=15113">R&D's Secret Lair</a> deck. As it is printed with the creature type "Island Fish", it is technically an Island and you can fetch it with Polluted Delta. <br /></div></div></div><div><div><h2 style="text-align: left;">F tier</h2><div style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhAVL86hsBUeeSJ_1IfHt4RUhFJnhDIFvbBylWWeGf_5UBE2Ae1mbf0h1Fz1WnkizDpkIBA3Asp6dZS-vS6BcelXf1Lx0fd0Cq1LGwvgehTjk21HkwW8t_G7bIegj2iXUKRorMyHeKgHJJPK1sUGyTQn8b_ghjVSSucznyzy5romO4dwiVq9PJHRQ5W/s3254/20230607_205017.jpg"><img border="0" data-original-height="2471" data-original-width="3254" height="243" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhAVL86hsBUeeSJ_1IfHt4RUhFJnhDIFvbBylWWeGf_5UBE2Ae1mbf0h1Fz1WnkizDpkIBA3Asp6dZS-vS6BcelXf1Lx0fd0Cq1LGwvgehTjk21HkwW8t_G7bIegj2iXUKRorMyHeKgHJJPK1sUGyTQn8b_ghjVSSucznyzy5romO4dwiVq9PJHRQ5W/s320/20230607_205017.jpg" width="320" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"></div> </div><div>God damn Mold Demon. Why can't you cost four mana? I might even be inclined to sleeve you up at five, but SEVEN? </div><div> </div><div>... <br /></div></div><div></div>Mghttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00555613518338194305noreply@blogger.com5tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2299444734264560627.post-1036300810017567412023-04-04T23:57:00.012+02:002023-04-08T20:26:54.136+02:00Arvika AftermathHey, I should write something about Arvika Festival 8! That was a noble gathering, and I wanna spill some digital ink to preserve he memories and impressions.<br /><p></p><div style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjGGtUUPqXHbnyjUzUzT-mAuuiyoFz0biuxI5OXsvwpe-XC912b3mGn_804B5V2IgZ_eSQ8B39YeABQrklAHLjW9ar0FI12T0-rh4KoB9P6Qxkq5BDBG-xTEvEeJmHZ7vTqpWhpvlrTuyHU5N4IFdicnFbzZWlcAkvqUunTaM1Zhl287WfPT3N67S24/s1387/Screenshot%20from%202023-03-28%2013-17-32.png"><img border="0" data-original-height="1040" data-original-width="1387" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjGGtUUPqXHbnyjUzUzT-mAuuiyoFz0biuxI5OXsvwpe-XC912b3mGn_804B5V2IgZ_eSQ8B39YeABQrklAHLjW9ar0FI12T0-rh4KoB9P6Qxkq5BDBG-xTEvEeJmHZ7vTqpWhpvlrTuyHU5N4IFdicnFbzZWlcAkvqUunTaM1Zhl287WfPT3N67S24/s320/Screenshot%20from%202023-03-28%2013-17-32.png" width="320" /></a></div><p></p><p>Heh. Probably a good thing that I'm not organizing n00bfest this weekend. Let's leave that to some slighly more professional Time Elementals. It appears I keep bouncing myself.</p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj-jVZ_3OmWTMEl0q1-2bkQOceL1G0KMAiCrPmfOf1MhnjY0HG-5u7aGG41fuCB92SHC2S6iLCjWRRlgkHao1ObmfQPvHHy41KfmFm6gmVcZyK37izt5KPbHISNz0P0CQr_yOsuZON_HQjo6efGehpyjyKsOxa0sKzNlwggEkDKAmbikGcmaXFlPEyb/s445/timeelemental.hq.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="445" data-original-width="312" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj-jVZ_3OmWTMEl0q1-2bkQOceL1G0KMAiCrPmfOf1MhnjY0HG-5u7aGG41fuCB92SHC2S6iLCjWRRlgkHao1ObmfQPvHHy41KfmFm6gmVcZyK37izt5KPbHISNz0P0CQr_yOsuZON_HQjo6efGehpyjyKsOxa0sKzNlwggEkDKAmbikGcmaXFlPEyb/s320/timeelemental.hq.jpg" width="224" /></a></div><p></p><p>So, yes, Arvika Festival. What a great time. Svetzarn and KungMarkus outdid themselves yet again, and this was quite possibly the most enjoyable large tournament I've ever played. Spot-on organization, great location, awesome people, good food, and sweet Magic. I was to travel by myself from Oslo at midday Friday, but as an international wizard you rarely walk alone. On the train from Oslo to Arvika I immediately encountered two Brothers of Fire - Reigning World Champion Stebbo and The Legendary Jonas Twitchen - who had just arrived from the UK.</p><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhSbDXfWmRPOb0y04M16H-_VJuM-BDq8o0lxzKmISvHPVXsHy3ZSNZRCRybRJPFvBxm7jau1QSKQ8Rh16UqJ8RBmL4stLtWnHW0g-SybwpSpM-abz5eg-dJAgvNCBa2RucFPTmfe3wPJSBHXQ-xGDO0t853c7-vOV78ISnrIwPwGXSwYp7xS47qeXGP/s4032/20230224_152309.jpg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="3024" data-original-width="4032" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhSbDXfWmRPOb0y04M16H-_VJuM-BDq8o0lxzKmISvHPVXsHy3ZSNZRCRybRJPFvBxm7jau1QSKQ8Rh16UqJ8RBmL4stLtWnHW0g-SybwpSpM-abz5eg-dJAgvNCBa2RucFPTmfe3wPJSBHXQ-xGDO0t853c7-vOV78ISnrIwPwGXSwYp7xS47qeXGP/s320/20230224_152309.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Train People.<br /></td></tr></tbody></table><p>Reindeer Invitational Ante was played, cards were traded, and beer was spilled on neighboring seats as the steel beast took sharp turns. I stole a Flood with a Bronze Tablet, and was melted by a Lava Burst. And, to my great surprise and unspeakable pride, I was to be inducted into the Brothers of Fire brotherhood on that very train. I've been a hang-around/prospect of the Brothers for many years, and this was like the greatest fraternal honor I've been bestowed as a traveling magic player. <br /></p><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhokPrV6kdh7MDGXbtAfrdoSGhRgi6prw_LfBPyfZVwmK0K19LA7hASbZO4uDLjnWXhTc0EVFggbH07uMmeeyUIqyvUpXDU58XsTC77KJ_J-KYfPjPAzjOYzfgWhKoY-MyjwPAsWroy0dFzNsygkcCGi3pVF6U_VBJwiKe2wmDhm2Pesn88R6H4_o2F/s680/brothersoffire.hq.jpg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="680" data-original-width="480" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhokPrV6kdh7MDGXbtAfrdoSGhRgi6prw_LfBPyfZVwmK0K19LA7hASbZO4uDLjnWXhTc0EVFggbH07uMmeeyUIqyvUpXDU58XsTC77KJ_J-KYfPjPAzjOYzfgWhKoY-MyjwPAsWroy0dFzNsygkcCGi3pVF6U_VBJwiKe2wmDhm2Pesn88R6H4_o2F/s320/brothersoffire.hq.jpg" width="226" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">"For my confession they burned me with fire, and found that I was for endurance made."</td></tr></tbody></table><div><br /></div><div>Arriving in Arvika we immediately walked up to the new site. We've upgraded from the old community building to a kinda fancy hotel, a stone throw from the train station. Met up with a myriad of good people, including a good portion of the US delegation.</div><div><div><br /></div><div><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgxi3RnKj6nolfB2RIyxQISbYrx3x53aH562iYnraqUBgUiHREiktUU5pUZFjpfBmKuWcdiLbrUcvBrcN6GKswtdCji0Jpy0WMfDKNO0wdKC9nS-8OkgXHgp2HvGm_XrQjZ-tcYotMVk-5xtTTv5qQlZ2LqSP62rQMe_AHMxzlBO3QMxHS7BLWO1IF8/s4032/20230225_115000.jpg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="3024" data-original-width="4032" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgxi3RnKj6nolfB2RIyxQISbYrx3x53aH562iYnraqUBgUiHREiktUU5pUZFjpfBmKuWcdiLbrUcvBrcN6GKswtdCji0Jpy0WMfDKNO0wdKC9nS-8OkgXHgp2HvGm_XrQjZ-tcYotMVk-5xtTTv5qQlZ2LqSP62rQMe_AHMxzlBO3QMxHS7BLWO1IF8/s320/20230225_115000.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Simon, Danny, and Will. <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CdXesX6mYUE">Mr Internationals</a>.<br /><br /></td></tr></tbody></table></div><div>But the real loregasm and fanboy moment was that I got to hang out with the legendary Drew Tucker. Drew Tucker has been one of the most important artists in my life, at least for the last 29 years. When I first saw his stuff, as an 11-year old, I mostly tought it was kinda bad and blurry. Then I spent a few years "not getting it", until eventually the card Vertigo so well captured my own fear of heights, and I learned to view his work on a more impressionistic level. When I eventually read his interview in the Duelist #3 more pieces fell into place, and today I can in good conscious say that he's been my biggest influence for how I look Magic cards as art.</div><div><br /></div><div>So, an important dude when it comes to my appreciation of art in general, and fantasy art in particular. And now I got to hang out with him in Arvika!</div><div><br /></div><div style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhwJRCyX4P9RVseWAyEl5jDx0yFYkr8OTfxsqR-cWxWRJZL7SsteT77wBjbV1rMLbntTxTqKZupoKhh54j--9AhKsepz3itk_OETrw6i70LQZOwihUEl-1ZxeK12EmhAsq3rgY-L6mOZkPRrkkO4E2ujKRPVErVfYZyeeuoW8buSA5_YU7M97Z87HrW/s1560/received_512780704369165.jpeg"><img border="0" data-original-height="1560" data-original-width="1170" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhwJRCyX4P9RVseWAyEl5jDx0yFYkr8OTfxsqR-cWxWRJZL7SsteT77wBjbV1rMLbntTxTqKZupoKhh54j--9AhKsepz3itk_OETrw6i70LQZOwihUEl-1ZxeK12EmhAsq3rgY-L6mOZkPRrkkO4E2ujKRPVErVfYZyeeuoW8buSA5_YU7M97Z87HrW/s320/received_512780704369165.jpeg" width="240" /></a></div><div><br /><div>A few months earlier when I first heard he would come to the Festival, I reached out to him to comission a re-paint of Dark Banishing. I really wanted an original Tucker piece in my nerd cave, and after long deliberations between Flare, Ashes to Ashes, Vertigo, and Dark Banishing, it ended up on the grisly melancholic removal.</div><div><p></p><div style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgCRRxajtW7yRm2DPOglgcd1WVaYnFJ-6VSeV1hDyhHEbZAbDQkxxupR8Yw52ewhRiat5ojaIc3IMrv-M0BwdhwFrFt-gy2pWvKcbnPtTXKii9ObHRWbIxaKutwPBXPWpgi6n3xtmw20xK4gkrzGk2SW_REVITisgo_NLzGXomoy8sJzbE_sVHGP1a8/s1170/received_125983300193663.jpeg"><img border="0" data-original-height="876" data-original-width="1170" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgCRRxajtW7yRm2DPOglgcd1WVaYnFJ-6VSeV1hDyhHEbZAbDQkxxupR8Yw52ewhRiat5ojaIc3IMrv-M0BwdhwFrFt-gy2pWvKcbnPtTXKii9ObHRWbIxaKutwPBXPWpgi6n3xtmw20xK4gkrzGk2SW_REVITisgo_NLzGXomoy8sJzbE_sVHGP1a8/s320/received_125983300193663.jpeg" width="320" /></a></div><p></p><p>After hanging out with various wildcards at the site, Kalle, Markus, and I returned to Markus's place for some quiet Friday Night Magic and fine-tuning of our decks. Ate some traditional Swedish kebab pizza, shared a few beers, shared a few laughs.</p><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjZmHwu4w_hNqkphyMYMbA4HanIlnpMpiR0jGlm6E2DLpB4iWFk5Uuo5hVn_-Isi5DSbL49T3DhAdodrfQdlIrXfzE7Km3NTAzn0BMla60pI_HDU_HuYCSyxIXGX1iMe9M5Pdfjt0KvrqH-M7VMbCtUwa1mRAnyRpl9sgjrTa53RkV7dLKks33h-aYl/s4032/20230224_225041.jpg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="3024" data-original-width="4032" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjZmHwu4w_hNqkphyMYMbA4HanIlnpMpiR0jGlm6E2DLpB4iWFk5Uuo5hVn_-Isi5DSbL49T3DhAdodrfQdlIrXfzE7Km3NTAzn0BMla60pI_HDU_HuYCSyxIXGX1iMe9M5Pdfjt0KvrqH-M7VMbCtUwa1mRAnyRpl9sgjrTa53RkV7dLKks33h-aYl/s320/20230224_225041.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Painted wizards.</td></tr></tbody></table><div><br /></div><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhrazlpb9ey5mqHyMca2VNunodVKt_22JPKXuJaQAECHnnHlcnHdNbG0m_bfJsNjOOWb7pI-PACoUjxn6USaok-fWAy5BuZVrSqaq4dIbhBr9eVI-LDfNjrZ-1b5X1T9XN3TOvSdb7wpazcNyX0wz3jeUdqqrVEWuAi7zHnbpFGaz1DD8iQwWuRsrTz/s3237/20230224_200048.jpg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="2920" data-original-width="3237" height="289" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhrazlpb9ey5mqHyMca2VNunodVKt_22JPKXuJaQAECHnnHlcnHdNbG0m_bfJsNjOOWb7pI-PACoUjxn6USaok-fWAy5BuZVrSqaq4dIbhBr9eVI-LDfNjrZ-1b5X1T9XN3TOvSdb7wpazcNyX0wz3jeUdqqrVEWuAi7zHnbpFGaz1DD8iQwWuRsrTz/s320/20230224_200048.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Weapon of Choice (and the next generation of sorcerers)</td></tr></tbody></table><p>The morning arrived promptly. There's something special in the air during these kind of tournaments for sure. Anticipation and excitement combined with high school reuinon and party.</p><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiaSmxoG4YIOWJZfK4MMUP1cLQD6o7b89nmJhNHthy6UZj3VQB_GLTItlXwrfScwaNWBC3Bz-cyy9ljOsXksjkw7f61yMnFMm8hJjk_5lggVm2ZwN04aKkqvJJM-PuiEpOl2_UK72bWUetZWds-orjolQes0QS04yPEPJIokdp_OJyKsLHArXwoojhr/s4032/20230226_003259.jpg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="3024" data-original-width="4032" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiaSmxoG4YIOWJZfK4MMUP1cLQD6o7b89nmJhNHthy6UZj3VQB_GLTItlXwrfScwaNWBC3Bz-cyy9ljOsXksjkw7f61yMnFMm8hJjk_5lggVm2ZwN04aKkqvJJM-PuiEpOl2_UK72bWUetZWds-orjolQes0QS04yPEPJIokdp_OJyKsLHArXwoojhr/s320/20230226_003259.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Gajol and Berntsson. Wild cards.</td></tr></tbody></table><br /><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiE8lFPcbB3cF56lNhs09BbYwDTQkmhiR3UpU_NAxyHF-GRBfYCMWQthkjGO5mVo4adANEh9Cqcdwt63l3L28q8KbJbsNdIPZz9ZppqSDh0-3jN9uEmw9SYfQd69B2D0L9DPcZcKirJE_lmbDxnqxx-l0g4WbaFukLdZG9dOBeS6J6LRCUM_KPpWqb8/s4032/20230226_003256.jpg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="3024" data-original-width="4032" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiE8lFPcbB3cF56lNhs09BbYwDTQkmhiR3UpU_NAxyHF-GRBfYCMWQthkjGO5mVo4adANEh9Cqcdwt63l3L28q8KbJbsNdIPZz9ZppqSDh0-3jN9uEmw9SYfQd69B2D0L9DPcZcKirJE_lmbDxnqxx-l0g4WbaFukLdZG9dOBeS6J6LRCUM_KPpWqb8/s320/20230226_003256.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Ruaro, Olle, and Kalle, with Vigo in the background. Half of the these guys will top8 in a few hours.</td></tr></tbody></table><br /><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi_HjKdUpOP7DBCBlwsmb3raGSReHQJOn3PRI5WrTEohoQ71mC4G2_EK4hDOjFDJEsvl6Zl6Cg_iPS-hMst3lGWQ0R6FE00ao3uI78ZkEOHdnIpQ1LdNvP1-I2DeXzW3B3ZLWp5bJI9RR4C_2wSzwu69CnHBUpVq4EW00YphALRUH-mqByHebjHozsG/s4032/20230225_194600.jpg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="3024" data-original-width="4032" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi_HjKdUpOP7DBCBlwsmb3raGSReHQJOn3PRI5WrTEohoQ71mC4G2_EK4hDOjFDJEsvl6Zl6Cg_iPS-hMst3lGWQ0R6FE00ao3uI78ZkEOHdnIpQ1LdNvP1-I2DeXzW3B3ZLWp5bJI9RR4C_2wSzwu69CnHBUpVq4EW00YphALRUH-mqByHebjHozsG/s320/20230225_194600.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Alban and Mitja with their glorious collection of cardboard is part of the scenery at the Festival.</td></tr></tbody></table><br /><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiRfk91PZeQL0GUYn3QWMCyP5kR6eWxWjnRTfYk7Mue5dxy8FlNQX7PVUTq6_5jRfUA5InjFw15Ns-PgpNqV_KtqXazK13t0y4LfeSL_OKvB-aM-LB1GiNH_e-aKBwj32IYzeLwYlMf2UYr3MxNXaEV-pazssEH1VCdDZOi399E2YTJrvvST7dV2FbY/s4032/20230225_143509.jpg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="3024" data-original-width="4032" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiRfk91PZeQL0GUYn3QWMCyP5kR6eWxWjnRTfYk7Mue5dxy8FlNQX7PVUTq6_5jRfUA5InjFw15Ns-PgpNqV_KtqXazK13t0y4LfeSL_OKvB-aM-LB1GiNH_e-aKBwj32IYzeLwYlMf2UYr3MxNXaEV-pazssEH1VCdDZOi399E2YTJrvvST7dV2FbY/s320/20230225_143509.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Viktor "Oldschool" hanging out with Drew Tucker. Happy place :)</td></tr></tbody></table><p><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjBEjms6AhNWB8LlZXV6pR0PhlvYjsxk5ZwYkwHL_X6NzBz1p5NSKvVQi-BLNOulTuoLrI1Ctun_p09sXb6hGmDF2o3BEZrPHBolyqI5d39qGDntnW75I3viHk0dDUazfF6rOcwATjCvKzEcRZyjzMpkxIswPE7cC1CTFdSTeknJFeQYSv9UDX9T5q8/s4032/20230225_134843.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em; text-align: center;"></a></p><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><img border="0" data-original-height="4032" data-original-width="3024" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjBEjms6AhNWB8LlZXV6pR0PhlvYjsxk5ZwYkwHL_X6NzBz1p5NSKvVQi-BLNOulTuoLrI1Ctun_p09sXb6hGmDF2o3BEZrPHBolyqI5d39qGDntnW75I3viHk0dDUazfF6rOcwATjCvKzEcRZyjzMpkxIswPE7cC1CTFdSTeknJFeQYSv9UDX9T5q8/s320/20230225_134843.jpg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;" width="240" /></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Enough friendly socializing, commence violence!<br /></td></tr></tbody></table><br /><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjKFhzI3DZSYr6vmvcF9JjJzdrQhEGTUKxKWhJXuqnih3vtJfCHQ39CnhgmFjLJqac57vW9mtEZ-vZC3vAcaeiG2pO51oQD3k9-ylH77fr5rNAgn6IVc4ljez1mINhjqTL5g0zLhH75mTmWjfzkf5imrxIf_tKo2ubp3Q1duSuhKKEeVFi48xUDAAF-/s4032/20230225_134847.jpg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="4032" data-original-width="3024" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjKFhzI3DZSYr6vmvcF9JjJzdrQhEGTUKxKWhJXuqnih3vtJfCHQ39CnhgmFjLJqac57vW9mtEZ-vZC3vAcaeiG2pO51oQD3k9-ylH77fr5rNAgn6IVc4ljez1mINhjqTL5g0zLhH75mTmWjfzkf5imrxIf_tKo2ubp3Q1duSuhKKEeVFi48xUDAAF-/s320/20230225_134847.jpg" width="240" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Though even at this point we're kinda friendly. The Reindeer is of course a perfect gentleman.</td></tr></tbody></table><br /><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhq0Jd6dcWGdwMEDZJU_xsvfbcIP9i4rNIUzKk0Oco7NKKm1N_1JsBzzf9971Zh2fwxQAMznDcfBMmXLERsxTPrnsn-MKhRP6h8wm6y7D6db38qPY_3EuwhaP-s0PNLmkK9F5PakFQ9S11mhuYUp_R5UoudiZ-dqxIhGVIzZVlL2vzEv-ItXgc_1tcY/s4032/20230225_161823.jpg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="4032" data-original-width="3024" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhq0Jd6dcWGdwMEDZJU_xsvfbcIP9i4rNIUzKk0Oco7NKKm1N_1JsBzzf9971Zh2fwxQAMznDcfBMmXLERsxTPrnsn-MKhRP6h8wm6y7D6db38qPY_3EuwhaP-s0PNLmkK9F5PakFQ9S11mhuYUp_R5UoudiZ-dqxIhGVIzZVlL2vzEv-ItXgc_1tcY/s320/20230225_161823.jpg" width="240" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Even my old nemesis Jocke Almelund shows a happy face and goes full gentleman.</td></tr></tbody></table><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgO079ps_PDeg13z8_uhb5HixuSyODDv-QbbcSM3Ls1MUNV4deBgGj8Uc9AJX0SM41PDe7ib59wYjD4mWIe38Wl4mdieujazEB38p9MTwlvtw64w9lXIXZwJpl5HsTItFqf0sG1ubMG7cuYRrD90LjKAJpnNfirxIVJyyIqx0IaA6g4bv-JA0CwhK2F/s4032/20230225_161826.jpg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="4032" data-original-width="3024" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgO079ps_PDeg13z8_uhb5HixuSyODDv-QbbcSM3Ls1MUNV4deBgGj8Uc9AJX0SM41PDe7ib59wYjD4mWIe38Wl4mdieujazEB38p9MTwlvtw64w9lXIXZwJpl5HsTItFqf0sG1ubMG7cuYRrD90LjKAJpnNfirxIVJyyIqx0IaA6g4bv-JA0CwhK2F/s320/20230225_161826.jpg" width="240" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Not even Ancestral. Reindeer Invitational level right here.</td></tr></tbody></table></div><p>Uh, so I didn't really take any more pictures during the Swiss. I played a bunch of good Magic, won more than I lost, and was caught up in the atmosphere. Dinner was also great, good food and lots of it. Somewhere around round five there are some software issues with the pairing app, so it takes quite some time to get round six going. Around this time I hear that Fluffy has brought his new Premodern cube, and there's a spot for me around the draft table if I want. So I decide to drop and draft. I love cubing and do it far to rarely. And great games were had, in particular a real nail-biter against Anton Glans on Reanimate. </p><p>I am getting slightly intoxicated around the late hours, and join a wildly sober Gordon in the commentator booth to ruin his evening. The top8 bracket is insanely stacked.</p><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh5r4bgiBtl7qkF1Pgn9YNT1Mq1vvuLp8rhXTfXMcUSpIOUzm8FEy_ttsLAZzCjCSz9BVh-4Cm9b5i6liIq-1QLyPUxCsWpmTOJ7Rp3sJyN4GqWaeHq5e7p87aVJkUG_a-o_It0cdjyJ6ntpuaSWznNsn4TVy9JyBGGWfQuTL7AiacyaDqWmiTEagaY/s999/Screenshot%20from%202023-04-04%2008-23-48.png" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="429" data-original-width="999" height="137" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh5r4bgiBtl7qkF1Pgn9YNT1Mq1vvuLp8rhXTfXMcUSpIOUzm8FEy_ttsLAZzCjCSz9BVh-4Cm9b5i6liIq-1QLyPUxCsWpmTOJ7Rp3sJyN4GqWaeHq5e7p87aVJkUG_a-o_It0cdjyJ6ntpuaSWznNsn4TVy9JyBGGWfQuTL7AiacyaDqWmiTEagaY/s320/Screenshot%20from%202023-04-04%2008-23-48.png" width="320" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Top8.</td></tr></tbody></table><div><br /></div><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgpqqQuGHUiA9fWZCsRUSaqNqKvD-AdFsToDAAwAGChdckICJrAb5axrZSTQd8SyeivsPSeX-w7DEoY5RFjPOYTHP3RofHBuSJdRC4isPaLW2yLOOhUFpuadZxBjVIxFQ7oRNXKEH1MbWWjxrCHecLJQyCiPYIdNt1gyZIdqZDB4hcgijsYDd6QPOfB/s3412/thomas.png" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1919" data-original-width="3412" height="180" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgpqqQuGHUiA9fWZCsRUSaqNqKvD-AdFsToDAAwAGChdckICJrAb5axrZSTQd8SyeivsPSeX-w7DEoY5RFjPOYTHP3RofHBuSJdRC4isPaLW2yLOOhUFpuadZxBjVIxFQ7oRNXKEH1MbWWjxrCHecLJQyCiPYIdNt1gyZIdqZDB4hcgijsYDd6QPOfB/s320/thomas.png" width="320" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">People's spice award goes to Thomas Nilsen's Chains of Mephistofeles deck.</td></tr></tbody></table><p></p><p></p><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEieyBK566XZxDMhaucCNXvxGHHs7rMohUYvA7xoIU2KC9_YnV976McKDVRAEd-H-owZewk13VYc563p1kfdyxjvmUbzZivrRh9NUxblTf_XFWEDBqDW4nxQHnOnsFqVEofI8vKa87gXDx9JGiVKI5159HQUn-IYyab6sVhZWkGOYo-3yTYmQHupYBv3/s4032/20230226_023351.jpg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="4032" data-original-width="3024" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEieyBK566XZxDMhaucCNXvxGHHs7rMohUYvA7xoIU2KC9_YnV976McKDVRAEd-H-owZewk13VYc563p1kfdyxjvmUbzZivrRh9NUxblTf_XFWEDBqDW4nxQHnOnsFqVEofI8vKa87gXDx9JGiVKI5159HQUn-IYyab6sVhZWkGOYo-3yTYmQHupYBv3/s320/20230226_023351.jpg" width="240" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Svante is happy with yet another top4 Shark finish.</td></tr></tbody></table> <p></p><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhhUsfPXG-mNhcyAjh31vK5JzMsJg_EDXUNQ_JQzvCyymF9OWZ7FAmPA605uGYYsD3RR5Oh_0VJ7o2ZdQxqeY0XVO-RSQn99Mbk37tKSFQetdhedvf8Xwlrrbk-v0_LGDDN5Pg3fE3GIxqJlQUgXFpb3GGBYBsIH-tTs2MctUihpRTfuO3bPraab4s1/s750/332746880_1301200480458405_1490611118458216111_n.jpg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><img border="0" data-original-height="422" data-original-width="750" height="180" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhhUsfPXG-mNhcyAjh31vK5JzMsJg_EDXUNQ_JQzvCyymF9OWZ7FAmPA605uGYYsD3RR5Oh_0VJ7o2ZdQxqeY0XVO-RSQn99Mbk37tKSFQetdhedvf8Xwlrrbk-v0_LGDDN5Pg3fE3GIxqJlQUgXFpb3GGBYBsIH-tTs2MctUihpRTfuO3bPraab4s1/s320/332746880_1301200480458405_1490611118458216111_n.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">And another Shark goes to Olle Råde, dominating like it's 1996.<br /><br /></td></tr></tbody></table></td></tr></tbody></table><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi-LEKG-YYBP7WYXoytYkq4Gs5ON7RZC-qxQae9VxCOM92yIQd3BI_8ryILilEnTT5-dT2_ygwaUnTzt7-4vjEZ4t-zvZZhhunZAOH2pIjaqvGgn5V1MxqvO09ZK0DqqkWYVfMUspjAoUf7Gm1jfkbgzLSIb_yope8qAfk8dcOh9Kdc0JkcWztMimby/s852/olle.png" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="479" data-original-width="852" height="180" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi-LEKG-YYBP7WYXoytYkq4Gs5ON7RZC-qxQae9VxCOM92yIQd3BI_8ryILilEnTT5-dT2_ygwaUnTzt7-4vjEZ4t-zvZZhhunZAOH2pIjaqvGgn5V1MxqvO09ZK0DqqkWYVfMUspjAoUf7Gm1jfkbgzLSIb_yope8qAfk8dcOh9Kdc0JkcWztMimby/s320/olle.png" width="320" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Olle's winning deck from Arvika Festival 8. <br /><i>"The 2/3/1/3 creature-split, the sign of someone who has jammed the same deck over and over and over and over."</i> -Robin Lundh</td></tr></tbody></table><p></p><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjrLTbmn93FYX-FIPzvxaQa7rH69i3ExjaDn8dtiCMxzejiwPya8sspc4DWd5Kjp2KiCjTVcCH347ovcO2H6UsrVUrinFvc0yoMbne562ioFJJqCBsqgfbNkzpYaoj0AHyO8rRi9R8V253eBhIR4KopNuOl9YHE7piN35UchULSLPnW4Mqq30A7OHQg/s2048/333828255_1833402190376783_3282355765012115640_n.jpg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="2048" data-original-width="1542" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjrLTbmn93FYX-FIPzvxaQa7rH69i3ExjaDn8dtiCMxzejiwPya8sspc4DWd5Kjp2KiCjTVcCH347ovcO2H6UsrVUrinFvc0yoMbne562ioFJJqCBsqgfbNkzpYaoj0AHyO8rRi9R8V253eBhIR4KopNuOl9YHE7piN35UchULSLPnW4Mqq30A7OHQg/s320/333828255_1833402190376783_3282355765012115640_n.jpg" width="241" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">At another part of the world, the night just started and Simon Christie is running Beta duals in 40k. In the background, Kalle and I hang out with Drew Tucker!</td></tr></tbody></table><br />It is a bit unclear exactly how I survived and got home. I'd like to think I walked, but the wee hours of the festival are a bit blurry now a month later. Regardless, I have a cosy night's sleep at Markus's place next to Kalle. In the morning, I go for a road trip to Oslo with Mari, Danny, Shane, and DFB.<p></p><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgdllJhVeWCPPzLt7FX0Q3n0OJxAG_fOoJJvdYp7_-NP4hqZEiBQodZs8ANeK0D3MJfMV9RL9o6WVTk10p0Zd7uTsVmXAuUM7q4tGrh7Telf8B2RSCssXQU6CTOS0H6yd-QeOXl7-uyy8afKYw7zRSg1ip2WPyrz5Z3v42npZrMNf7X-d0oIu0EDDcp/s3648/20230226_143432.jpg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><img border="0" data-original-height="2736" data-original-width="3648" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgdllJhVeWCPPzLt7FX0Q3n0OJxAG_fOoJJvdYp7_-NP4hqZEiBQodZs8ANeK0D3MJfMV9RL9o6WVTk10p0Zd7uTsVmXAuUM7q4tGrh7Telf8B2RSCssXQU6CTOS0H6yd-QeOXl7-uyy8afKYw7zRSg1ip2WPyrz5Z3v42npZrMNf7X-d0oIu0EDDcp/s320/20230226_143432.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Mirth Mobile.</td></tr></tbody></table><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg2Yv96fEXyrxlzHAiV9vIJiBzzD4-Herd3bz83ooGcRDZ8I6fnt2vQshzZFmLmB6pPXZeWaub7oFDPfJL4SYycIp7W4mRebPFSgD65BS56-WeI_umek6reOMxHptCWp9swIeEQuvn_YUbgBa8rHonuUpR70mAyCTEgXLIPLzOEBjJydgoR_0PpkhdB/s3648/20230226_143439.jpg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><img border="0" data-original-height="3648" data-original-width="2736" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg2Yv96fEXyrxlzHAiV9vIJiBzzD4-Herd3bz83ooGcRDZ8I6fnt2vQshzZFmLmB6pPXZeWaub7oFDPfJL4SYycIp7W4mRebPFSgD65BS56-WeI_umek6reOMxHptCWp9swIeEQuvn_YUbgBa8rHonuUpR70mAyCTEgXLIPLzOEBjJydgoR_0PpkhdB/s320/20230226_143439.jpg" width="240" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Shane is a bit out of shape, as he was on the recieving end of Mari's brilliant game Duelling Chaos the night before. If you haven't heard of it, I'm sure Mari will be happy to introduce you. Regardless, the weapon of choice for said duel had been Bäska Droppar, a traditional Swedish liquid that makes american Malört taste like tap water, so I'm kinda impressed that he only threw up outside the car.</td></tr></tbody></table><div><br /></div><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiQu8zUmMGAc7CyK3iVZwS3JlZ30YkhIlcm9t2nbmHUFk7Op_Xz0qbHsKhqyZaP7pwnrBxlu_zKWDcoaNnpeeN6RvJ90XFSZ0Mp5q34LGVFlQPhlZJdo2J0oBC8JowTUbC8FRrc8cVBek6wRp5kaDDmmhicYXWx5XWnZDzKeobdkbUXU-T7Ajs5ovwB/s4032/20230227_004648.jpg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="3024" data-original-width="4032" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiQu8zUmMGAc7CyK3iVZwS3JlZ30YkhIlcm9t2nbmHUFk7Op_Xz0qbHsKhqyZaP7pwnrBxlu_zKWDcoaNnpeeN6RvJ90XFSZ0Mp5q34LGVFlQPhlZJdo2J0oBC8JowTUbC8FRrc8cVBek6wRp5kaDDmmhicYXWx5XWnZDzKeobdkbUXU-T7Ajs5ovwB/s320/20230227_004648.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">I am blessed with house guests for the evening. It was very nice to get to show DFB and Danny my actual home turf.</td></tr></tbody></table><br /><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiYMx8jzZMHcW5_aXuDdbXXrPISaDMTfqQ4evJMpPxy7RS2BrhaUcOlZaOSu5MgkbrVh11113GJOracBWKZ0s-HN6WNsORh7Zsmnv-kVMHDcMR960QBlHToY8ai8Vi_HkoVPtb3I8TRAVjpiazHndfFhXVI3Vpt8fj9aE4oKbmHaB_flxeYMKrenr5P/s4032/20230227_100110.jpg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="3024" data-original-width="4032" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiYMx8jzZMHcW5_aXuDdbXXrPISaDMTfqQ4evJMpPxy7RS2BrhaUcOlZaOSu5MgkbrVh11113GJOracBWKZ0s-HN6WNsORh7Zsmnv-kVMHDcMR960QBlHToY8ai8Vi_HkoVPtb3I8TRAVjpiazHndfFhXVI3Vpt8fj9aE4oKbmHaB_flxeYMKrenr5P/s320/20230227_100110.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">See you next month! (or, as of this writing, in two days)</td></tr></tbody></table><div><br /></div>So that's a few slices of Arvika Festival 8, the best tournament. And yeah, perhaps of most significance as Aftermath goes, Simon Christie managed to run his campaign all the way, and Shahrazade is now unrestricted in Swedish 93/94. This is the first change on the B&R since covid started, so it was in a sense high time for some sort of update. The final decision to unrestrict was done via spontaneous voting on the chat in the drunken hours of the stream. But still, no going back now, so go ahead and build you Ring of Ma'ruf / Shahrazade decks.</div><div><p></p><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiv2qsdcUkkOHb5zrKyRmYOtFOO6N9F5bRPJ-PstUbBajUMeNE8fEAa81zobIPY4qiD8M8r10CbXIhse8OyfwD6kHTnCHwRPdM8u7CFQ_zdQrnoVEEEpuYRwvkJuM3ldJ1OGYIrlCmGrySm4FIk1xky0GsWoKk2y8B46mIz29W8BrWkaWApfpiZn-6v/s680/shahrazad.hq.jpg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="680" data-original-width="480" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiv2qsdcUkkOHb5zrKyRmYOtFOO6N9F5bRPJ-PstUbBajUMeNE8fEAa81zobIPY4qiD8M8r10CbXIhse8OyfwD6kHTnCHwRPdM8u7CFQ_zdQrnoVEEEpuYRwvkJuM3ldJ1OGYIrlCmGrySm4FIk1xky0GsWoKk2y8B46mIz29W8BrWkaWApfpiZn-6v/s320/shahrazad.hq.jpg" width="226" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><i>Dinarzad said, "<a href="http://oldschool-mtg.blogspot.com/2018/08/the-tale-of-crippled-beggar.html">What a strange and wonderful story</a>!" Shahrazad replied, "What is this compared to what I shall tell you tomorrow night?"</i></td></tr></tbody></table><p>That's all! See you at n00bfest in a couple of days!</p></div><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiemCMw3nVcReAosy65Bgc3IqdtYG3eAbjNFmAHwMBHNUw3Fp3zJnt6mf-y1PBnBTqpsTCAWKv5zzMAXpUI2jYVGpI2FxCHi28gRan2jCy5H5N4yNAs10upYk--c0iDZRoTPtacEuM-l7SvjYZXwwE6wrIrnsHwWDq1abIl9Z7IfRiAz61GrnU8wv-B/s2048/337292483_1175589813103914_3586601851685545496_n.jpg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="2048" data-original-width="1536" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiemCMw3nVcReAosy65Bgc3IqdtYG3eAbjNFmAHwMBHNUw3Fp3zJnt6mf-y1PBnBTqpsTCAWKv5zzMAXpUI2jYVGpI2FxCHi28gRan2jCy5H5N4yNAs10upYk--c0iDZRoTPtacEuM-l7SvjYZXwwE6wrIrnsHwWDq1abIl9Z7IfRiAz61GrnU8wv-B/s320/337292483_1175589813103914_3586601851685545496_n.jpg" width="240" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Let the era of the Hammerhead begin.</td></tr></tbody></table><br /></div></div>Mghttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00555613518338194305noreply@blogger.com5tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2299444734264560627.post-24216788659302246062023-02-24T13:18:00.015+01:002023-02-25T19:34:49.628+01:00Vanilla Tiers<p>Here's a statement: Magic is a great game. Like, the game system is really, really good. The whole concept with the turn structure, mana development, color wheel, combat math, and all that is second to no game I've ever played, and I'm the kinda guy that have been frequenting tabletop conventions for the last quarter century.<br /></p><p>The way Magic does "creatures" and "combat" might seem a bit complicated at first glance - e.g. back in 1994 me and my sister didn't realize that creatures "healed" at the end of each turn, and it took well into late 1995 before we understood that one attacker could be blocked by multiple creatures - but it was really the thing that made the game what it was. It was in combat you won after all. The size/cost ratio of creatures was a huge learning experience. You could not have convinced me in the first months of playing the game that Savannah Lions was a better card than Fire Elemental. Pretty much everyone who played in 1993 have stories of a friend (or themself) trading away a Mox for a Craw Wurm. Creatures, "clean creatures" in particular, defined the experience that made Magic a world-wide phenomena.<br /></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhoSAI8Xk24fQf5ibwCobXbD74uGntFuk0JKGoznTz2FpRcekGCmcwiG42zl1uqoXd-5Fb5wUoommFMmNRfRR9B84lRYkihc9zM3rHKtEWMeCXKkYA5_B5KOYHdWraLpUHeyIOM1-gzF8PK6aY9JQZL97vxqDQTJoFySrAug5e4grvzpbOzPvXSVL5m/s1889/20230223_095945.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1149" data-original-width="1889" height="195" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhoSAI8Xk24fQf5ibwCobXbD74uGntFuk0JKGoznTz2FpRcekGCmcwiG42zl1uqoXd-5Fb5wUoommFMmNRfRR9B84lRYkihc9zM3rHKtEWMeCXKkYA5_B5KOYHdWraLpUHeyIOM1-gzF8PK6aY9JQZL97vxqDQTJoFySrAug5e4grvzpbOzPvXSVL5m/s320/20230223_095945.jpg" width="320" /></a></div><p></p><p>That's not to say that the creatures with abilities weren't even more sought after, of course. A Mahamothi Djinn or Shivan Dragon would always look more impressive than a Craw Wurm. An appearance of Granite Gargoyle had all the Gray Ogres in the area hide in shame. But the vanilla creatures - the creatures without any abilities - would still provide the baseline for the game. This was how we learned. This was Magic.<br /></p><p></p><p>In my not-so-humble and wind-scarred opinion, a great core set will have twelve to 16 vanilla creatures and a great expansion will have three to six. That tend to create the best flavor and a good limited experiences. It also makes it possible to introduce new players to the game without making it neither overly complicated nor overly simplified. <br /></p><p>Like, 9th Edition had 26 vanilla creatures, which was way too many (that's the same number as Portal!). Starter 1999 had 29 vanilla creatures - a third of all the creatures in the set - and no living human has fond memories of Starter 1999 (with the possible exception of Kalle stumbling across a Grim Tutor in a bulk bin in 2009). ABU however, arguably the greatest core set, had 15 vanilla creatures. 4th Edition had 16. Two of my own personal favorite core sets, 6th Edition and Magic 2010, had 16 and 13 respectively.</p><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiQBMeWmm5kEOmlXFTCLBmmlx7G3blFgEzTQlDXFa4tx998eCZeFfX1p0PtI9rPz_cPAWgnya67dL_IsZ6dhK-Bc_nCYfAcTkOdELqniwv5aLmoK2cemdTbSXASoYH5adPoYm7b6MlqaGWMGjVXP2QhzuLc8thvqDhItIG_62i78letsz7JiAhYppm8/s1910/Screenshot%20from%202023-02-23%2021-17-31.png" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1910" data-original-width="872" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiQBMeWmm5kEOmlXFTCLBmmlx7G3blFgEzTQlDXFa4tx998eCZeFfX1p0PtI9rPz_cPAWgnya67dL_IsZ6dhK-Bc_nCYfAcTkOdELqniwv5aLmoK2cemdTbSXASoYH5adPoYm7b6MlqaGWMGjVXP2QhzuLc8thvqDhItIG_62i78letsz7JiAhYppm8/s320/Screenshot%20from%202023-02-23%2021-17-31.png" width="146" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Craw Wurm still going strong.<br /></td></tr></tbody></table><p>With the more complicated (and specific) expansion sets, we can severely cut down the number of vanilla creatures but having a handful is still important for both flavor and limited purposes. Looking at a few of "the greats" of modern Magic expansions, Innistrad had six vanilla creatures, Khans of Tarkir had five, and Dominaria had six.<br /></p><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiqx_bpBTe0BcITCDyuRw1PQ-gKCD5Y1OYDkPevwH5bOWlQZfLRjtlpUSe4mW5c3FebL9dvWppMmBeQxpdjgAWBUWzkldLIXdevnHdMsTC3b0VQ_9bzIjFSCvGTe4g93YLtZg_QGXkJlDHP2TJ67hnRtEhJuYSwjVEd2e34EeMOc5rrfCdxFHdN4r1k/s1249/Screenshot%20from%202023-02-13%2021-18-16.png" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1249" data-original-width="1067" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiqx_bpBTe0BcITCDyuRw1PQ-gKCD5Y1OYDkPevwH5bOWlQZfLRjtlpUSe4mW5c3FebL9dvWppMmBeQxpdjgAWBUWzkldLIXdevnHdMsTC3b0VQ_9bzIjFSCvGTe4g93YLtZg_QGXkJlDHP2TJ67hnRtEhJuYSwjVEd2e34EeMOc5rrfCdxFHdN4r1k/s320/Screenshot%20from%202023-02-13%2021-18-16.png" width="273" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Craw Wurm has grown a bit since 2010...<br /></td></tr></tbody></table><p>In traditional oldschool, Alpha through The Dark, there are 34 vanilla creatures out of the 871 legal cards. In the current Standard, there are god damn <i>zero</i> vanilla creatures out of 1,874 legal cards. That is a strange combination of being ahistorical and disrespectful to the core mechanics of the game. So I figured it was high time to raise our glasses for our currently dismissed ability-less friends with a good ol' power level list of the 93/94 vanilla ensemble. Let's go!</p><div style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhBbITKpDdTlzG3yrz3TpMn6T78LHSDlm5CsYRNgV4-VUpabsgVz5nrRqMZwuPPkShtbPFhw0xUfcv6BgGwSfG8gsd_5pSx1tCL8fxYdpjjEyt6GYOLssizQdtn7Bh2cBv4BWmGvww0-tj4Lh7Prbj81JxylClSMxWiDFCnnyAooyrEiZKAEitfZExH/s4032/20230220_000701.jpg"><img border="0" data-original-height="4032" data-original-width="3024" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhBbITKpDdTlzG3yrz3TpMn6T78LHSDlm5CsYRNgV4-VUpabsgVz5nrRqMZwuPPkShtbPFhw0xUfcv6BgGwSfG8gsd_5pSx1tCL8fxYdpjjEyt6GYOLssizQdtn7Bh2cBv4BWmGvww0-tj4Lh7Prbj81JxylClSMxWiDFCnnyAooyrEiZKAEitfZExH/s320/20230220_000701.jpg" width="240" /></a></div><p><b> </b><b>S Tier</b></p><div style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiL_tYYV_uW7kCmZM9FTSi33pPn_5O48OZ4bO-_xIfH1C_y35DQ47WiMFH8VtpytIIwav2Kkq-NJ6DCBWQACf9qiPf3lVHFiBRafCO15FeLXTi3pHbjfga_8aV1i_q3C1v1VfVflO4UMnYJDP4BAbf_pPd7AJZ3-UfRY09zB2CQE4i5gDY4yZqgLehz/s3331/20230219_235729.jpg"><img border="0" data-original-height="2380" data-original-width="3331" height="229" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiL_tYYV_uW7kCmZM9FTSi33pPn_5O48OZ4bO-_xIfH1C_y35DQ47WiMFH8VtpytIIwav2Kkq-NJ6DCBWQACf9qiPf3lVHFiBRafCO15FeLXTi3pHbjfga_8aV1i_q3C1v1VfVflO4UMnYJDP4BAbf_pPd7AJZ3-UfRY09zB2CQE4i5gDY4yZqgLehz/s320/20230219_235729.jpg" width="320" /></a></div><p></p><p>The S tier goes beyond any measure of vanilla, and goes straight
into "top creatures in oldschool, period". Creatures in the S tier need
to have been in multiple World Championship top8s, and have been on active duty in
Shark-winning decks. Hello Savannah Lions!</p><p><b>A </b><b>Tier</b></p><div style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhXWXVe0AuSO6itgiBj_Q-lLYJwl8BBMX_dEm81pVbtJI-NiEzK9m1HiEH7dGWxYrRcyAB3fHwhay6JNEGFwDgKoU-0_khPIJKtlHEA6zzYBhP64LJY1WBLRIxm12Bo0diuWZB4QIpk8O8GUBpTLtb3jYjibtxVOz3SKV1hyDNWO03cySaXkuOKLdAL/s3308/20230219_235737.jpg"><img border="0" data-original-height="2517" data-original-width="3308" height="243" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhXWXVe0AuSO6itgiBj_Q-lLYJwl8BBMX_dEm81pVbtJI-NiEzK9m1HiEH7dGWxYrRcyAB3fHwhay6JNEGFwDgKoU-0_khPIJKtlHEA6zzYBhP64LJY1WBLRIxm12Bo0diuWZB4QIpk8O8GUBpTLtb3jYjibtxVOz3SKV1hyDNWO03cySaXkuOKLdAL/s320/20230219_235737.jpg" width="320" /></a></div><p>The A tier holds the other vanilla creature that has been represented in a World Championship or other highly competitive 100+ player tournament top8. I actually thought there would have been two or three creatures here, but Durkwood Boars and Grizzly Bears seem to have fallen just short in 100+ player Gatherings.</p><p><b>B </b><b>Tier</b></p><div style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiZCjxFMECmrzctsBy1btytyCfZExlaO76uLp_h_D2kmMJwy3uOY1QBZf0ov57zhZQkwKLGDnIokseuVpMA0r3iy1M51SjEbpP4_heDW-LB0Jd3h479TY2QMaQ9dulp2qiQqUNRokwi7iK81_BpnaGT4vgt9610h_zOoGiZYuClXjvCfkzWZmPE0y79/s3432/20230220_000523.jpg" style="text-align: center;"><img border="0" data-original-height="845" data-original-width="3432" height="79" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiZCjxFMECmrzctsBy1btytyCfZExlaO76uLp_h_D2kmMJwy3uOY1QBZf0ov57zhZQkwKLGDnIokseuVpMA0r3iy1M51SjEbpP4_heDW-LB0Jd3h479TY2QMaQ9dulp2qiQqUNRokwi7iK81_BpnaGT4vgt9610h_zOoGiZYuClXjvCfkzWZmPE0y79/s320/20230220_000523.jpg" width="320" /></a></div><p>B tier have the creatures that - while very good - have come just short of fully proving their glory in fierce competition. Andrés Hojman took a pair of Durkwood Boars to 11th place in the 193 player <a href="https://sentineloldschoolmtg.com/2022/08/06/2022-old-school-magic-summer-derby-results-and-deck-photos/">Summer Derby 2022</a>, Grizzly Bears have been putting up some solid results in Green Weenie and similar decks (though being a bit unlucky in that Argothian Pixies compete on the same mana cost), and Jasmine Boreal and Earth Elemental are spicing it up in the right meta; beating Angels and Su-Chi in combat while surviving Psionic Blasts.</p><div><p><b>C </b><b>Tier</b></p><div style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjaH8KbZexlN7UcJhQQvN745_seMVJMrZbQTDphKiXbiak825MY96PCQAss_C4O_en4WD2_md9j5zdfpYf2yRFvnDL9dwkhMumEPleWe1nCpmkSTWXoJDFNXnckF6rwwm8lx3NSMi-SpJejHtAdlgMs0DXfWmo3FEI4viBD7z7VbYJ0ZijZ9T76EN9K/s3808/20230220_000446.jpg" style="text-align: center;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1738" data-original-width="3808" height="146" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjaH8KbZexlN7UcJhQQvN745_seMVJMrZbQTDphKiXbiak825MY96PCQAss_C4O_en4WD2_md9j5zdfpYf2yRFvnDL9dwkhMumEPleWe1nCpmkSTWXoJDFNXnckF6rwwm8lx3NSMi-SpJejHtAdlgMs0DXfWmo3FEI4viBD7z7VbYJ0ZijZ9T76EN9K/s320/20230220_000446.jpg" width="320" /></a></div><p>C tier holds cards that you would definitely consider spicy in a non-highlander tournament, but are a common sight in highlander; in particular in formats like Brothers' Highlander. These are cards that are auto-include in any old school cube and high picks in any oldschool limited format. (Kobolds of Kher Keep snag a tier higher than the other Kobolds due to their interaction with Rohgahh of Kher Keep.)</p><p><b>D </b><b>Tier</b></p><div style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhao7KQu4T3uMLqQHbiJ3MusTr7Ncf2Y_32xSBH5zfRS8ktxhY0kHSgABLLMCRqHgp6BEUekkU-uB_sJzmp2t94Vn1QcR7T36iaBbkZVK3BCHPL_tED_4AorOl3pgFtsvccqLlWqRE44a1dFIt6WBIvS7UN1tGVNojMaKranOJZKtD2sp5tb0mDpc8D/s2843/20230220_000606.jpg" style="text-align: center;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1166" data-original-width="2843" height="131" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhao7KQu4T3uMLqQHbiJ3MusTr7Ncf2Y_32xSBH5zfRS8ktxhY0kHSgABLLMCRqHgp6BEUekkU-uB_sJzmp2t94Vn1QcR7T36iaBbkZVK3BCHPL_tED_4AorOl3pgFtsvccqLlWqRE44a1dFIt6WBIvS7UN1tGVNojMaKranOJZKtD2sp5tb0mDpc8D/s320/20230220_000606.jpg" width="320" /></a></div><p>D tier cards are kinda bad, but do see some play in fringe decks; mainly due to their creature type or for purely flavourful reasons. Ironroot Treefolk might not be a very good card compared to Durkwood Boars or Moss Monster, but it does have some very nice flavor text. And Hurloon Minotaur goes nice with <a href="http://oldschool-mtg.blogspot.com/2016/11/swagic-and-denimwalk.html">a demin jacket</a>.</p><p><b>E </b><b>Tier</b></p><div style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgnH3RvyGKW1CDdIHplnipkH2dU0tCU6k0dS2mPG-bEh_xW4cyeyw4AHUTJe9u39W5kMw9jweBmYqvxHmXWX5l9D_Aq28zIy_JsJyqwgDibWicDS33PmwZiCRcRhdSXd7UhdGYpxBziFRVX1mggFkUcDrDeWhvQF3UB2aAmQNVjYm3QkMrcy3kdUWH8/s4032/20230220_000127.jpg" style="text-align: center;"><img border="0" data-original-height="919" data-original-width="4032" height="73" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgnH3RvyGKW1CDdIHplnipkH2dU0tCU6k0dS2mPG-bEh_xW4cyeyw4AHUTJe9u39W5kMw9jweBmYqvxHmXWX5l9D_Aq28zIy_JsJyqwgDibWicDS33PmwZiCRcRhdSXd7UhdGYpxBziFRVX1mggFkUcDrDeWhvQF3UB2aAmQNVjYm3QkMrcy3kdUWH8/s320/20230220_000127.jpg" width="320" /></a></div><p>At tier E we have proper chaff. These cards are some combination of overcosted and strictly worse than alternatives. Though still somehow iconic stuff here; Gray Ogre and Squire are renowned cards, and most oldschool players show great respect to <a href="https://ragingbullseries.com">a Raging Bull</a> these days.</p><p><b>F </b><b>Tier</b></p><div style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg__f_-pnAA_7pSlzmlB7khHA-I7ZJkdVpA3ReSs44hYCNIKChZpAS7mSIDyZHRp0ap80aZTtA0XD-X_aMlPSTLtIMKsgS_iUdcIDReI1bvXzj97k6Ap8Nosb2u3ippODCcmpmfiPR2dBQVJNImLi9AJtmGk3WZaHnJ30Fk7ZqiRihJ7lL5jAfsPPFs/s3271/20230220_000140.jpg" style="text-align: center;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1901" data-original-width="3271" height="186" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg__f_-pnAA_7pSlzmlB7khHA-I7ZJkdVpA3ReSs44hYCNIKChZpAS7mSIDyZHRp0ap80aZTtA0XD-X_aMlPSTLtIMKsgS_iUdcIDReI1bvXzj97k6Ap8Nosb2u3ippODCcmpmfiPR2dBQVJNImLi9AJtmGk3WZaHnJ30Fk7ZqiRihJ7lL5jAfsPPFs/s320/20230220_000140.jpg" width="320" /></a></div><p>Tier F holds cards that are overpriced by two mana, dies to random blasts (elemental and psionic), and are stopped dead by a miser's Karakas. The mana cost is a bit sad because these two are really flavorful cards on most other metrics.</p><p>Here's a handy chart to print out for self-study:</p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi-w_JZu5nHfBrPdiGEFXcjGNooN7tyHAIIyWgUEScMb6wWMDIcNBkkY_C-WQSd0CJ2-AKviWFKy4Txvh1Fy-gxmJtKjH_Gv-IBw-X-vn5kn3eUiU4nETwmPWKwQ7GqrsvoPLgSxcuLpaomXgxnNI7BOHsSBxDtDcVmLbDARoZpLVbLPCIInGMMZruj/s3733/20230219_235618.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="3733" data-original-width="2100" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi-w_JZu5nHfBrPdiGEFXcjGNooN7tyHAIIyWgUEScMb6wWMDIcNBkkY_C-WQSd0CJ2-AKviWFKy4Txvh1Fy-gxmJtKjH_Gv-IBw-X-vn5kn3eUiU4nETwmPWKwQ7GqrsvoPLgSxcuLpaomXgxnNI7BOHsSBxDtDcVmLbDARoZpLVbLPCIInGMMZruj/s320/20230219_235618.jpg" width="180" /></a></div><br />Now Imma run down to the train station and jump on a ride to Arvika. Hope to see a bunch of you there!</div>Mghttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00555613518338194305noreply@blogger.com9tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2299444734264560627.post-68875517247294558152023-02-02T14:44:00.032+01:002023-02-06T00:11:51.125+01:002022 Introspective<img src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjJFxcs4YhIl0wkuZ0v4tchEXzSeWUocUeC1FLhJrYqGqNk7mPKdx736DR28JAcKeIuHzzuCNIUd887jQ6R1Lqc67E06m31t2quPpwB09ydqwep4wbGYgF82hTPq3Mv_thR4LMsEM2BYN_qqejgq1xDO9wlpROUgikq6mns3HPMTIo6I_C81puQEdZS/s3648/20221008_203235.jpg" style="display: none;" />
<p>So Mg, what have you been up to lately?</p><p></p><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEixHry0KpH6ngPIxzLEC3xgcNGDESMqf7wlfhVNtWpdFaTmot6xl0LnhvIOXKeEEVdSO6eTtv0vG0nQBr97xaiZjK1ITlIh70RYy09srnSF21IwU8Q3mRuJzjpwGqA7TvStJ2_6z1sAYJG-e815p109jMlWP5jVNxkEM9ayIpYgDmaaTYVpM985pSFp/s440/mine,mine,mine!.hq.jpg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="440" data-original-width="312" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEixHry0KpH6ngPIxzLEC3xgcNGDESMqf7wlfhVNtWpdFaTmot6xl0LnhvIOXKeEEVdSO6eTtv0vG0nQBr97xaiZjK1ITlIh70RYy09srnSF21IwU8Q3mRuJzjpwGqA7TvStJ2_6z1sAYJG-e815p109jMlWP5jVNxkEM9ayIpYgDmaaTYVpM985pSFp/s320/mine,mine,mine!.hq.jpg" width="227" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">ALL THE THINGS!<br /></td></tr></tbody></table><p></p><p>On a personal level it probably happened more just last August than during the entirety of 2021. I've tried to sit down and summarize more than once, but I was facing a sort of change fatigue, and occasionally it was like my mind didn't fully get out of the pandemic. Sometimes it felt like I left a few things back in late 2020, like my ability to sit down and write.</p><p></p><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhcukjgizfDvGxg28bH3vmtg23WZuFVk-F9VIwsxQx8Ett0KttYhI9hAh-Ldsvx4kYtjQFgwbpe882zwnzQeeW2TkSr4ANJI4nCbDz4e7BSb7Otllgg7MALCNWOruxYK2tNN2junJqUJSi2KJPLZ7fF4v5JBORg_I401eevm7--BpNxLgMuXbaQ5Brb/s445/powerleak.hq.jpg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="445" data-original-width="312" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhcukjgizfDvGxg28bH3vmtg23WZuFVk-F9VIwsxQx8Ett0KttYhI9hAh-Ldsvx4kYtjQFgwbpe882zwnzQeeW2TkSr4ANJI4nCbDz4e7BSb7Otllgg7MALCNWOruxYK2tNN2junJqUJSi2KJPLZ7fF4v5JBORg_I401eevm7--BpNxLgMuXbaQ5Brb/s320/powerleak.hq.jpg" width="224" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">"Book of the Year (Non-Fiction)" would be <a href="https://stolenfocusbook.com/">Stolen Focus</a>. </td></tr></tbody></table><p></p><p></p><p>So I've kinda plugged out from having the pulse on the global oldschool scene during the last year, focusing more on the IRL games I've come across and the slightly deeper underground. I guess I couldn't keep up with everything, and finding the hours to write - or even read - would sometimes feel like a chore more than a hobby. So I wrote less, followed less stuff on the internet, deleted my Twitter and Instagram accounts, and focused on my love for Magic and The Gathering. And somehow the last six months have been my most consistently enjoyable Magic period for years.</p><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjJFxcs4YhIl0wkuZ0v4tchEXzSeWUocUeC1FLhJrYqGqNk7mPKdx736DR28JAcKeIuHzzuCNIUd887jQ6R1Lqc67E06m31t2quPpwB09ydqwep4wbGYgF82hTPq3Mv_thR4LMsEM2BYN_qqejgq1xDO9wlpROUgikq6mns3HPMTIo6I_C81puQEdZS/s3648/20221008_203235.jpg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="2736" data-original-width="3648" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjJFxcs4YhIl0wkuZ0v4tchEXzSeWUocUeC1FLhJrYqGqNk7mPKdx736DR28JAcKeIuHzzuCNIUd887jQ6R1Lqc67E06m31t2quPpwB09ydqwep4wbGYgF82hTPq3Mv_thR4LMsEM2BYN_qqejgq1xDO9wlpROUgikq6mns3HPMTIo6I_C81puQEdZS/s320/20221008_203235.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Yay!</td></tr></tbody></table><p></p><p>But there's been just so many things since the end of summer. I've lost almost 10 kg in weight. The day-to-day at work is wildly different. My little sister got married. I was on a panel discussing product management with Gibson Biddle. The wife and I sold our apartment, bought a house, and moved to a very different part of life. I was interviewed for a book. I sold my Chaos Orbs. I have an actual nerd cave. <i>I got a second kid a few days ago.</i><b></b></p><p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgAWixOGJWQLHMlxv76J64_FwAkQkQtpqJOsyxO0SHz6M_G4AWQ6MQ5Qwt034RvcBvxtTtppW8G3IIbIe_y0sbW-GG6GLPBT2VVn-gJQlA6eGaDQsH1LSdpzChpWEP6c4TXH0Z8j7QGp-T15SKFPL0iz9CDzXvlz47YEWBT7oLvALlfJa-RrAvXnvmP/s445/Sororal%20Exaltation.jpeg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="445" data-original-width="312" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgAWixOGJWQLHMlxv76J64_FwAkQkQtpqJOsyxO0SHz6M_G4AWQ6MQ5Qwt034RvcBvxtTtppW8G3IIbIe_y0sbW-GG6GLPBT2VVn-gJQlA6eGaDQsH1LSdpzChpWEP6c4TXH0Z8j7QGp-T15SKFPL0iz9CDzXvlz47YEWBT7oLvALlfJa-RrAvXnvmP/s320/Sororal%20Exaltation.jpeg" width="224" /></a></div><p></p><p>2022 was a good year. Damn, if I'm to use 2020 or 2021 as the yardstick, it was even spectacular. I got a bit tired, for sure, but I managed to avoid hitting any proverbial walls. Part of that balancing act was reevaluating my approach to the hobby and spending less time online, so this retrospective will be even more subjective than usual. I simply do not know who should be "rookie of the year" or things like that. This is just my personal rant of 2022, but there will be some picture of pretty cards, so maybe you'll indulge me still.</p><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgFzuGn1MDyRNme6dAeeheRCpZ-iZnYirIvc-i9Bkzp1g8tLouFhJtDQbd3eBJ3UYvAKJuU3aKlYdzyO2T44msaYX4i2YRok6yftdWfDFLrLuFcwwt4K0FUQHN89WrVy3tdWZqrpkRsJhm_KxD6emvCm4WUlP2ssqdIw8DJpCbiAkUjtOL5vNsBF42W/s4032/20221105_154237.jpg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="4032" data-original-width="3024" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgFzuGn1MDyRNme6dAeeheRCpZ-iZnYirIvc-i9Bkzp1g8tLouFhJtDQbd3eBJ3UYvAKJuU3aKlYdzyO2T44msaYX4i2YRok6yftdWfDFLrLuFcwwt4K0FUQHN89WrVy3tdWZqrpkRsJhm_KxD6emvCm4WUlP2ssqdIw8DJpCbiAkUjtOL5vNsBF42W/s320/20221105_154237.jpg" width="240" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Peak.</td></tr></tbody></table><p>Where to start? I think I already talked the paint of the wall regarding the first few months of the year in my <a href="https://oldschool-mtg.blogspot.com/2022/06/n00bcon-13-organizers-report.html">n00bcon organizer report</a>, so I wont regurgitate. But in the early summer I returned to one of my top3 worldwide conventions, Wexio. The roadtrip crew consisted of me, Honka, GaJol, and Flax; excellent people with excellent resumes.<br /></p><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiRr9iSPnmC9N7XzzNw05KOuWoRUBREwDaCfF5uNyzeRV8aMCrZAhyWCI5x9QgMdnctX2VNb7wDMOfwM29eKDL2tlU21whTzDVetM7YIVuCKfvnbvbchvT6yGdzsreOuaPKe2NMl4YFETOWRaGCdmA6R7Wb7zym3f60ZfnNrJTr-UD00sIXxHSRSoMY/s4032/20220618_121534.jpg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="3024" data-original-width="4032" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiRr9iSPnmC9N7XzzNw05KOuWoRUBREwDaCfF5uNyzeRV8aMCrZAhyWCI5x9QgMdnctX2VNb7wDMOfwM29eKDL2tlU21whTzDVetM7YIVuCKfvnbvbchvT6yGdzsreOuaPKe2NMl4YFETOWRaGCdmA6R7Wb7zym3f60ZfnNrJTr-UD00sIXxHSRSoMY/s320/20220618_121534.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Me, Honka, Jokemon and GaJol oldschooling in Växjö.<br /></td></tr></tbody></table><p>We were like four people for the Oldschool tournament; a flashback of sorts to the first 93/94 tournament at Gothcon back in 2008. In the years pre-covid, WSK was still kinda small and intimate; it usually hosted around 12-20 people in the Astrid Lindgren part of Sweden. I wrote about <a href="https://www.eternalcentral.com/old-school-of-thought/">the first 93/94 tournament at WSK on Eternal Central</a> back in the before-time, and I've had a couple of good runs there before, <a href="https://oldschool-mtg.blogspot.com/2015/07/pictures-from-wsk.html">winning the tournament in 2015</a> and <a href="https://oldschool-mtg.blogspot.com/2016/07/party-crashing-at-wexio-2016.html">placing second 2016</a> to name two reports on this blag. This was my weapon of choice:</p><p></p><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjeA8suyPR4wO3BT0Q-Ts0WP-OeVGyFTFAYofIe8cBkfl1h4w9lnGrIYsZxuJWUpcYaaDgQDBXPT_Bbi_twj7w8bMEl8G21tjMFJ1sOph-S96S91SRux2lT2T1kv9YFDPxGXdILpA7InhTMlxsM8evnkzMNGmnEgkOFlRzRk95fBlNmSser4gK_-HSB/s2963/20220519_222629.jpg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="2963" data-original-width="2936" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjeA8suyPR4wO3BT0Q-Ts0WP-OeVGyFTFAYofIe8cBkfl1h4w9lnGrIYsZxuJWUpcYaaDgQDBXPT_Bbi_twj7w8bMEl8G21tjMFJ1sOph-S96S91SRux2lT2T1kv9YFDPxGXdILpA7InhTMlxsM8evnkzMNGmnEgkOFlRzRk95fBlNmSser4gK_-HSB/s320/20220519_222629.jpg" width="317" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Project M.<br /></td></tr></tbody></table><p></p><p></p><p>And somehow I won. The pride was unspeakable.</p><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjh65LBDKeyi2rETPIKUfMqaXbyCzpKt7aEsiidt5tFJWV-oqYccVnqy6z8sScIg2cVUqjWqV5qPmp4748ifOgJx6w5NmHHawefYnNC9ZyyItODb-RAHrWcZdCqNhUcacYM5CEyapIz9Spgphd5cX0vBc0pX5qubIcvg03u1UxTTltGkGBy-u-c-DHj/s4032/20220618_143002.jpg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="4032" data-original-width="3024" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjh65LBDKeyi2rETPIKUfMqaXbyCzpKt7aEsiidt5tFJWV-oqYccVnqy6z8sScIg2cVUqjWqV5qPmp4748ifOgJx6w5NmHHawefYnNC9ZyyItODb-RAHrWcZdCqNhUcacYM5CEyapIz9Spgphd5cX0vBc0pX5qubIcvg03u1UxTTltGkGBy-u-c-DHj/s320/20220618_143002.jpg" width="240" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">The prize was supposed to be a Prodigal Sorcerer, but the organizer didn't find one so I got a Sea's Claim as a stand-in. I'll use it to claim a Tim some time in the future.<br /></td></tr></tbody></table><p></p><p></p><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjmtjg3M8xLD588BpG9wAOmFghp-Xc9545ruxZOdtzgU24c_dE5SBFPhNhfolY5Q3rnS7LitL9FoUsNkoa27mB34t-sXNbuL4kttmHfPrtTT6t0TZdbZ9CCCUJm6HkzRBn2ZvUrNoQt_1fsKLjA5ZvNDoGojc2E8Lr4HYVo4zdGeqFvyORCMNFYoUoo/s4032/20220618_122841.jpg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="4032" data-original-width="3024" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjmtjg3M8xLD588BpG9wAOmFghp-Xc9545ruxZOdtzgU24c_dE5SBFPhNhfolY5Q3rnS7LitL9FoUsNkoa27mB34t-sXNbuL4kttmHfPrtTT6t0TZdbZ9CCCUJm6HkzRBn2ZvUrNoQt_1fsKLjA5ZvNDoGojc2E8Lr4HYVo4zdGeqFvyORCMNFYoUoo/s320/20220618_122841.jpg" width="240" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Vs GaJol in the final.</td><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><br /></td></tr></tbody></table><p></p><p>WSK offered a lot of other sweet non-93/94 Magic as well. In particular the World Championship of Tribelander was spectacular, as always. <br /></p><p></p><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiUlsrc_O5dq_LGafl-lkt0LYH2Yi3Mju21eO6DvsHR1Iobx47RZa1RncbZjbc3QDFZNHYDHZk9EbH2V5kDT5WghN2zl0pP45muU-oKo9gbY0eorjz8hUFxQYcTb5UzUU_F42qmwRMviv63OmBr4lT_nf8KQ86m-MRFxBgG9LiG6eLc7B5SeixdrDU3/s2944/20220619_002128.jpg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="2944" data-original-width="2208" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiUlsrc_O5dq_LGafl-lkt0LYH2Yi3Mju21eO6DvsHR1Iobx47RZa1RncbZjbc3QDFZNHYDHZk9EbH2V5kDT5WghN2zl0pP45muU-oKo9gbY0eorjz8hUFxQYcTb5UzUU_F42qmwRMviv63OmBr4lT_nf8KQ86m-MRFxBgG9LiG6eLc7B5SeixdrDU3/s320/20220619_002128.jpg" width="240" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">In the semifinal four-player pod I was handed this card - signed by the other three players - as I sat down. An outside player I back-stabbed in a previous pod had bribed them to take me out first. I lucked out immensely and somehow managed to beat them and advance. That game will survive as one of my most memorable multiplayer matches ever.<br /></td></tr></tbody></table> <p></p><p></p><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhBek-OgP8D8aqDqtTZgZyxkvTQmngvFlFv3-XfFlRd_6a9Wt9it4g3U0Fsa_J4uJGdZ5Q4tP1lKG8fAS9AJMkANzgNnTUgn1KzPpKsUixP2ngcDV7pTYgE9vciOvQV1QrU4OftUlGDbeNweIoKkyZZxt2WtGlu4EnfzRjTEshJU0MQfI_zkIaLvnH_/s4032/20220619_025159.jpg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="3024" data-original-width="4032" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhBek-OgP8D8aqDqtTZgZyxkvTQmngvFlFv3-XfFlRd_6a9Wt9it4g3U0Fsa_J4uJGdZ5Q4tP1lKG8fAS9AJMkANzgNnTUgn1KzPpKsUixP2ngcDV7pTYgE9vciOvQV1QrU4OftUlGDbeNweIoKkyZZxt2WtGlu4EnfzRjTEshJU0MQfI_zkIaLvnH_/s320/20220619_025159.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">GaJol (Trolls) and I (Witches) getting unfairly eliminated in the final Tribelander pod.<br /></td></tr></tbody></table><p></p><p></p><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgro2WIsCDKko09sxLW6N08hN4Wqza2mn2o2Bg2sH-E_Ak2N46x2b9dvVAd7UYzdOxOllS5rGx1ZCAiX39RQddJx9JQu3YNUbh_qBCg73vxrGHCWdT_RxKUH6MFY3wSw3dYKs0EBjbftfi57r9htCl9LJgt6zWl5-e4ebeLhTwC0_TIzkF3ELfQo72B/s4032/20220619_025424.jpg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="4032" data-original-width="3024" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgro2WIsCDKko09sxLW6N08hN4Wqza2mn2o2Bg2sH-E_Ak2N46x2b9dvVAd7UYzdOxOllS5rGx1ZCAiX39RQddJx9JQu3YNUbh_qBCg73vxrGHCWdT_RxKUH6MFY3wSw3dYKs0EBjbftfi57r9htCl9LJgt6zWl5-e4ebeLhTwC0_TIzkF3ELfQo72B/s320/20220619_025424.jpg" width="240" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Flax, perhaps most known around these parts as the original Wizards' Tournament referee, picks up the Tribelander World Champion title.<br /></td></tr></tbody></table><p></p><p>As the summer went on, I got the opportunity to travel down to Switzerland and hang out with an awesome collection of rad player during <a href="https://oldschool-mtg.blogspot.com/2022/07/pastacon-2022-stream-of-conscious-report.html">Reinvitational, aka PastaCon</a>. </p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgqRmbRrsmjCghwM6SMCLwlV-uxIM8x0EU9MLyKxVSw94zXvXUTqrGfz0HnEGFc4fxxbIWNM4ZKyeYkO5OzebsadAqC2jsWtHCRTCT3iLu7EccYdKArtSK2daT2A9egbjZ43kccldRN2MLV_GdT7_17gC2xb1nbXjmo8QqsWqzVa4zhNvEF0RW1lzkC/s4032/IMG_20220714_221223.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="3024" data-original-width="4032" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgqRmbRrsmjCghwM6SMCLwlV-uxIM8x0EU9MLyKxVSw94zXvXUTqrGfz0HnEGFc4fxxbIWNM4ZKyeYkO5OzebsadAqC2jsWtHCRTCT3iLu7EccYdKArtSK2daT2A9egbjZ43kccldRN2MLV_GdT7_17gC2xb1nbXjmo8QqsWqzVa4zhNvEF0RW1lzkC/s320/IMG_20220714_221223.jpg" width="320" /></a></div><p></p><p>If you want to read more about that joyful gathering, feel free to click the link. One additional thing I didn't really touch upon in the report is how sweet it is to see more Scandinavians traveling to meet communities outside their national groups. Something has surely changed since the pandemic, for the better.</p><p>During the late summer a lot of life happened at once. With a pregnant wife and a three-year old at home, traveling for leisure had to scale down. So I sadly had to pass on the <a href="https://oldschool-mtg.blogspot.com/2022/10/dwarven-warriors-2022-witness-account.html">Dwarven Warriors tournament</a> in the Netherlands. </p><p>At the same time it got more evident that our living quarters in Oslo eventually had to scale up to accommodate for that long-awaited extra human. We had had notifications for potential future homes up since long before the pandemic, though the time plan was still a couple of years out, if at all - or so we thought in late July. But then a remarkable opportunity came up in the late summer which made us seriously consider making a move before schedule. But if we would, it was clear that I needed to re-prioritize some parts of my nerding, and I had to get my hands on some cold, hard cash. </p><p>I saw the Chaos Orb binder collecting dust in shelf behind me, and kinda knew what I had to do.<br /></p><div style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjuKB_NuwoYivlTgyWzujhC8yIe4l5flVLoD2k4f6JydGKSRKDVOm_pbdv5r34_32PyZmE7wr16m_HtdlCpcArZXoo1HaM5h3rUdR3Yulx7rkCETaZGc8IRhciCac1O18Ptfw2rFhCa4WjlCPTvsU-2uKy5Sz8dycNwJ3G4D7aOrN8-PR1xwNtJJXyF/s1119/Screenshot%20from%202022-11-30%2020-35-13.png"><img border="0" data-original-height="1119" data-original-width="944" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjuKB_NuwoYivlTgyWzujhC8yIe4l5flVLoD2k4f6JydGKSRKDVOm_pbdv5r34_32PyZmE7wr16m_HtdlCpcArZXoo1HaM5h3rUdR3Yulx7rkCETaZGc8IRhciCac1O18Ptfw2rFhCa4WjlCPTvsU-2uKy5Sz8dycNwJ3G4D7aOrN8-PR1xwNtJJXyF/s320/Screenshot%20from%202022-11-30%2020-35-13.png" width="270" /></a></div><p></p><p></p><p></p><p></p><p>There were a lot of strange things in that collection, including a few literally unique pieces, and giving it up after so many years of building was a bit sentimental. Though my wife's reaction when I mentioned that I could probably sell that binder, and how much we could probably get for it, was almost worth it in itself. I'm open with most people how much I spend on my hobby, and that a few things could have a secondary market value these days, but the sheer magnitude of some price tags are still shocking for most people outside the collecting hobby. </p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhaeEmaklmTE36K5BuXUdhP09RX_2KfM522Vdp-ruD5F25uB6jhMEp_imfp05dTQyq63NzcJIO6gcOASIzh-KY-youPKrZ1A6aODOKY80wH_x8Kjd92GTKJcpcXgfUV4vA0Z31WmhoJU7Tl_dkFGeZvke_XDZjGwxCNCf9JVeG79Axfe1i2OvC9FGgS/s445/windfall.hq.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="445" data-original-width="312" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhaeEmaklmTE36K5BuXUdhP09RX_2KfM522Vdp-ruD5F25uB6jhMEp_imfp05dTQyq63NzcJIO6gcOASIzh-KY-youPKrZ1A6aODOKY80wH_x8Kjd92GTKJcpcXgfUV4vA0Z31WmhoJU7Tl_dkFGeZvke_XDZjGwxCNCf9JVeG79Axfe1i2OvC9FGgS/s320/windfall.hq.jpg" width="224" /></a></div><p>The sale made buying the house far more viable, and the whole experience of such a windfall was very strange. I'd never really looked at my cards as "potential money" before; in the same sense I would get enjoyment from a rare or expensive beer I could get enjoyment from a rare or expensive Magic card, and just like with money spent on beer I would consider money spent on Magic cards as money lost. This was never a plan. But I surely can't complain about the side effect, especially not when we could use the cards to secure a place to live.<br /></p><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjw3vIWpxmeUCiaD_-yPG3L80pU9_tVTzSJU3rhdd8nyzhfnbkspRfI6HrTIYydXyGQWEc4KUFEzSvWNpDCmC2rjxubf74hToQSigHXve8tsF8x7xKbhrUyyB-3rudQtuqW1b1zqIXn0tDQ9Ufk-2iPKmi_88bmYjQYTDd0uGsZ0IeEl6q_qjMRtwyG/s4032/20220729_090617.jpg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="4032" data-original-width="3024" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjw3vIWpxmeUCiaD_-yPG3L80pU9_tVTzSJU3rhdd8nyzhfnbkspRfI6HrTIYydXyGQWEc4KUFEzSvWNpDCmC2rjxubf74hToQSigHXve8tsF8x7xKbhrUyyB-3rudQtuqW1b1zqIXn0tDQ9Ufk-2iPKmi_88bmYjQYTDd0uGsZ0IeEl6q_qjMRtwyG/s320/20220729_090617.jpg" width="240" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">A place where I could fit my newly acquired Magic cabinets, no less.<br /></td></tr></tbody></table><br /><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjkG_diwYzUlU5oc1mtqdvqMr3lIJU7CBsCSfJm6l0Fbj8ji4iS4XZUPIVA1NxFKtQEgjbZ58nCUyEyrFtLyIT2YJi5_S91S1sJaFKLPM4shkNO0C1pc28BaiuzFmWbp6lGfSZs7zJs76RhcHLmfEP5z_kq_R1XS8WmwPt_IcjY_E2iKTeCzpyUaxNa/s4032/20220729_090644.jpg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="4032" data-original-width="3024" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjkG_diwYzUlU5oc1mtqdvqMr3lIJU7CBsCSfJm6l0Fbj8ji4iS4XZUPIVA1NxFKtQEgjbZ58nCUyEyrFtLyIT2YJi5_S91S1sJaFKLPM4shkNO0C1pc28BaiuzFmWbp6lGfSZs7zJs76RhcHLmfEP5z_kq_R1XS8WmwPt_IcjY_E2iKTeCzpyUaxNa/s320/20220729_090644.jpg" width="240" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Had a post-pandemic visit to one of my way-back LGS's (one that had been active with collectible sports cards since before MtG was released), and heard that the owner was going into retirement. So I asked the new owner if they still had the old original WotC cabinets, and if I could buy them. They had, I could, and a few hundred bucks later I had some proper furniture for a future nerd cave. <br /></td></tr></tbody></table><p></p><p></p><p>I was lucky to pass on the Chaos Orb collection to the perfect caretaker; <a href="https://mtg.fandom.com/wiki/Joel_Mick">Joel Mick</a>. Partly because the collection absolutely shouldn't get lost in the mail, and partly because I saw a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to visit one of the founding fathers of MtG, I decided to fly to San Diego over a weekend to deliver the cards by hand. With transits, new CDC-rules, new ICE rules, and generally trying to travel in a not-quite-post-pandemic world, it was a surprisingly complicated 22 hour door-to-door trip from Oslo to southernmost California. <br /></p>But spending that weekend hanging out with Joel, Max, and Nemo was truly spectacular, and I'm very happy I went for it. Receiving such hospitality and generosity from that legendary host was mesmerizing. Nine hours of jet-lag and a steady stream of immaculate food and wine surely didn't play down the dream state of the weekend either.<div><br /><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjZaZLm6SbZ_Mwt8dLJQ5rBuS7-PBWNaWrXABkoaq57jZAPBmgDTUxwvbwu4IUse7ARODTHwWWlaoBFDhLLkJKTMAr7lYKzcccI6WVl1bFaTt6Obs7MMyTdU8xm7bHO5tnE-yy7cCnWipRrHdSQO4269EF-0794k48Oo6f45zXogMJUD0Ts3b7yO0YK/s4032/20220812_201758.jpg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="3024" data-original-width="4032" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjZaZLm6SbZ_Mwt8dLJQ5rBuS7-PBWNaWrXABkoaq57jZAPBmgDTUxwvbwu4IUse7ARODTHwWWlaoBFDhLLkJKTMAr7lYKzcccI6WVl1bFaTt6Obs7MMyTdU8xm7bHO5tnE-yy7cCnWipRrHdSQO4269EF-0794k48Oo6f45zXogMJUD0Ts3b7yO0YK/s320/20220812_201758.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Handing over a binder.<br /></td></tr></tbody></table><br /><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhbzMF6p7cZgco5D126KwoJ0e6kJPMxwyTCeOH4mZebMRzCFdKbGk4wSgCYVHrawrdzNZgxqqlSUYpOdSy9GdP4qXY01rkmogOfNntAhaM7JqJMFqRjDoGGOvqzl4YY2-a1zG2BnbSQ8GaPDYn8oeRHxcGWCWuZg2-CuhA9SWXcd3UVFP6g4Zh0dQht/s4032/20220812_230355.jpg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="4032" data-original-width="3024" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhbzMF6p7cZgco5D126KwoJ0e6kJPMxwyTCeOH4mZebMRzCFdKbGk4wSgCYVHrawrdzNZgxqqlSUYpOdSy9GdP4qXY01rkmogOfNntAhaM7JqJMFqRjDoGGOvqzl4YY2-a1zG2BnbSQ8GaPDYn8oeRHxcGWCWuZg2-CuhA9SWXcd3UVFP6g4Zh0dQht/s320/20220812_230355.jpg" width="240" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Playing Alpha with an Alpha playtester.<br /></td></tr></tbody></table><br /><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi60molMJJ11UBQYcT0VX4KmmOVN3C0_M7zzRA_FKoTybpD_KhuD-q-3aw1YapYhM-PjnSnhhT6NIYE4OYrsvqkk8rjNH8BUm-7og6gUYm7xh0pqB_9J-nVV9JvZ_q3v_T-35F44P6_fHwh_oX5cFoUG8QVLGQ-6HzTOGq45FgPgbMu5MPr4GqnWFa2/s4032/20220813_174022.jpg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="3024" data-original-width="4032" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi60molMJJ11UBQYcT0VX4KmmOVN3C0_M7zzRA_FKoTybpD_KhuD-q-3aw1YapYhM-PjnSnhhT6NIYE4OYrsvqkk8rjNH8BUm-7og6gUYm7xh0pqB_9J-nVV9JvZ_q3v_T-35F44P6_fHwh_oX5cFoUG8QVLGQ-6HzTOGq45FgPgbMu5MPr4GqnWFa2/s320/20220813_174022.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Pretty sweet view from my guest room.<br /></td></tr></tbody></table></div><div></div><div></div><div><br /></div><div></div><div></div><div></div><div></div><div><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj-vcCtJyiRwQ0my8E-GQEe23i_TlkvgMuD5J0nS-GA1cU78mecQV264sLpzJypGvkhY1qdwjpE-WGDZbWLS_lf1xvaPoMIKWfFVFyXLupwvL35O8nWdBldtQvvBS3SNkKvZsvpR11bNn-KtpgS8FuktPbYF9346oxvKaPBOsq0CsT3xfGk8vgSfbjz/s4032/20220813_174015.jpg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="3024" data-original-width="4032" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj-vcCtJyiRwQ0my8E-GQEe23i_TlkvgMuD5J0nS-GA1cU78mecQV264sLpzJypGvkhY1qdwjpE-WGDZbWLS_lf1xvaPoMIKWfFVFyXLupwvL35O8nWdBldtQvvBS3SNkKvZsvpR11bNn-KtpgS8FuktPbYF9346oxvKaPBOsq0CsT3xfGk8vgSfbjz/s320/20220813_174015.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Though the view from the living room wasn't shabby either.<br /></td></tr></tbody></table><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"> </div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhT2BbSH2KbDYKNdcjTvyjtUlvsFfwIMFEGhanKhAcDKIVNQVrk5xbPmSetJIyih8RAQ5NY5jTYR733NHS5TlgFPRxsC1d98g5FpKb5rTkZbQnHzVC_G5E7DznPIwC35NFvQMMH5dkzyQ6udOUK048Dvv5gzR3th8bXWpCHOtLelRnG0pyNMvCs8uPs/s4032/20220813_174037.jpg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="4032" data-original-width="3024" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhT2BbSH2KbDYKNdcjTvyjtUlvsFfwIMFEGhanKhAcDKIVNQVrk5xbPmSetJIyih8RAQ5NY5jTYR733NHS5TlgFPRxsC1d98g5FpKb5rTkZbQnHzVC_G5E7DznPIwC35NFvQMMH5dkzyQ6udOUK048Dvv5gzR3th8bXWpCHOtLelRnG0pyNMvCs8uPs/s320/20220813_174037.jpg" width="240" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Every other closet is was treasure trove for a fogey like me. Collections and trinkets without compare.<br /></td></tr></tbody></table><br /></div><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiCM8D61YZ-sFE7vTCSgi8ndT9FQKyUippjLVtGSxa8djo6gK8kTXMA6NDNQYDCSmHQmQnof01rhHW4V-Ju5HMpH-Py2LLyAl9QJLONSDJDQFtR-ElozuScEO69HyK1ZlBzkyaMEITo-AbE23DklBJ9BQ4lERxKXK9L3iiFuEpbitXzp0m3-Xc8bvJA/s4032/20220813_210240.jpg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="4032" data-original-width="3024" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiCM8D61YZ-sFE7vTCSgi8ndT9FQKyUippjLVtGSxa8djo6gK8kTXMA6NDNQYDCSmHQmQnof01rhHW4V-Ju5HMpH-Py2LLyAl9QJLONSDJDQFtR-ElozuScEO69HyK1ZlBzkyaMEITo-AbE23DklBJ9BQ4lERxKXK9L3iiFuEpbitXzp0m3-Xc8bvJA/s320/20220813_210240.jpg" width="240" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">This is the greatest wording of Lich there ever was.<br /></td></tr></tbody></table></div><div><br /><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgeLUl8rxb--5mgtYJYM0QOak51sBYMrlD3UjujuFArVCyTdkXtTfHCqRw8sgkoZ4caTqCbu9Q26z1AtCvmqJ8ovHN9Zp4HxQDVwU9MFj_ZKERaP23wqMnpEQ9PJmuzr8Hm31F-wXGHS66I-a16Y8m7iW1b9gg-YBPNO44lPDfy_cfAkEMUg2imzb0m/s4032/20220813_231341.jpg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="3024" data-original-width="4032" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgeLUl8rxb--5mgtYJYM0QOak51sBYMrlD3UjujuFArVCyTdkXtTfHCqRw8sgkoZ4caTqCbu9Q26z1AtCvmqJ8ovHN9Zp4HxQDVwU9MFj_ZKERaP23wqMnpEQ9PJmuzr8Hm31F-wXGHS66I-a16Y8m7iW1b9gg-YBPNO44lPDfy_cfAkEMUg2imzb0m/s320/20220813_231341.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Drafting Double Masters 2022 with Joel, Nemo, and Max.<br /></td></tr></tbody></table><br /><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhP537q2FGF_8yD7r8x5f_KNGFzD9uIdvgADgZIHiy1X7SoNBaZOfSIQ-dt34b9UZImNfab13JfYwrWEVOGBR3NlM_4NaFbclgFVWmVlsMkDVC2IMuoMzFolscsaSZeHo-HKpD2oJFDnwJNL9Cdo23OhSZ-cQjx_c9jJ_PuMqM15_Q2h51Ia44AxyoW/s4032/20220814_105658.jpg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="3024" data-original-width="4032" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhP537q2FGF_8yD7r8x5f_KNGFzD9uIdvgADgZIHiy1X7SoNBaZOfSIQ-dt34b9UZImNfab13JfYwrWEVOGBR3NlM_4NaFbclgFVWmVlsMkDVC2IMuoMzFolscsaSZeHo-HKpD2oJFDnwJNL9Cdo23OhSZ-cQjx_c9jJ_PuMqM15_Q2h51Ia44AxyoW/s320/20220814_105658.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Boom, that's a sweet 3-0 deck. First time I've drafted Spider Spawning, and I'm kinda getting what that fuzz is all about.<br /></td></tr></tbody></table></div><div><p></p><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgRGg6b46Ez25-v0EDAsLKRqIjwMFPuPG5O1TZraR0WZ0s6JyADDasvq_GIZ1_glp6Q34HXSD86RZTlPR-hZp-VDAovwdW91zx7Xis3H8UKqTxp4OJB3vV4OTB0FhfOM7cg3ZAmJmJs8NwO8a3vJIzxRWe_80QR6E1M_Uwm_JSLNHQ4vF0BUlT4qe-t/s4032/20220813_212838.jpg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="4032" data-original-width="3024" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgRGg6b46Ez25-v0EDAsLKRqIjwMFPuPG5O1TZraR0WZ0s6JyADDasvq_GIZ1_glp6Q34HXSD86RZTlPR-hZp-VDAovwdW91zx7Xis3H8UKqTxp4OJB3vV4OTB0FhfOM7cg3ZAmJmJs8NwO8a3vJIzxRWe_80QR6E1M_Uwm_JSLNHQ4vF0BUlT4qe-t/s320/20220813_212838.jpg" width="240" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Good times with dark beer.<br /></td></tr></tbody></table> <p></p><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhho5nRFbK2_IEpcZ54p-5xrY4wLEjeSKlZKJh0C6mCM2VxeNXjfgSDB7j8nJMoF6Ar3UxpeyJxov_4m-2akrOJK6eYcEB-zoBfY-8jVYNWwT0kwyklSMqGtucGB3N5V97M5uo6nhhCZ_4EIzBalWOFyAFjg9CIgbNyesJKJ4lssXhDgu6QeNP4BXWA/s4032/20220813_125727(0).jpg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="4032" data-original-width="3024" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhho5nRFbK2_IEpcZ54p-5xrY4wLEjeSKlZKJh0C6mCM2VxeNXjfgSDB7j8nJMoF6Ar3UxpeyJxov_4m-2akrOJK6eYcEB-zoBfY-8jVYNWwT0kwyklSMqGtucGB3N5V97M5uo6nhhCZ_4EIzBalWOFyAFjg9CIgbNyesJKJ4lssXhDgu6QeNP4BXWA/s320/20220813_125727(0).jpg" width="240" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">And I got to hang out with two lovely dogs. Went on a walk with them in a stroller, which was also a first.<br /></td></tr></tbody></table><p></p><p>I have a lot of stories of games and people and rarities from the weekend at Joel's place, but I think most of those anecdotes are best saved for physical meetings. But needless to say, I'm glad I went, and I'm happy that the Orbs got such a nice new home.</p><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiouPgR5EEsl4noCUSdXhftld-9HwFJUCU-Oo0BcHPa12n_0nH-0IaWlARl3ZEGDEKUokCuZFwZUbNGga3mY5LysxxGXgZ8Z2IYTa85T8zQH-s3bjP2DB7DJi_06m15ELTXXa7EoW29uJj2TYUAuicpJ5g0gy7bvE_HbUsHDPCaHc3iqxBENmxX8Jen/s4032/20230117_221051.jpg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="4032" data-original-width="3024" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiouPgR5EEsl4noCUSdXhftld-9HwFJUCU-Oo0BcHPa12n_0nH-0IaWlARl3ZEGDEKUokCuZFwZUbNGga3mY5LysxxGXgZ8Z2IYTa85T8zQH-s3bjP2DB7DJi_06m15ELTXXa7EoW29uJj2TYUAuicpJ5g0gy7bvE_HbUsHDPCaHc3iqxBENmxX8Jen/s320/20230117_221051.jpg" width="240" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Memories from JLM.<br /></td></tr></tbody></table><p></p><p>I came home and realized I was older. I always though that I would have wanted to buy a Medieval Madness pinball machine if I ever found myself with enough money for one. Instead it turned out that I had become shockingly boring, and I found myself DCA'ing most of the gains I didn't need for the house into various boomer stocks and funds. I guess reading too much Benjamin Graham and working at a bank for half a decade does something to one's sense of saving, though it happened so imperceptibly over the years that I hadn't realized the extent of it. Still, I wanted to buy <i>something</i> reckless, and I had my eyes on a couple of Tabernacles that Henk had posted for sale earlier during the summer.</p><p>I already had a Tabernacle, one could argue. It mostly hung out in my Legacy Lands deck. But it annoyed me more than I'd like to admit that my "complete" Legends binder had an empty pocket where a Tabernacle should be. And I also wanted to try Tabernacle in my Vintage Oath deck, yet never played it, as an even bigger pet peeve of mine than empty binder pockets is moving around cards between "permanent decks". I'd much rather have a sub-optimal build than a deck that isn't ready to go from the deck box. Yeah, "only having one Tabernacle" is a first-world problem if I ever heard of one, but hey, you're reading a blag post about early 90s Magic cards here. More than that, I also had it on my Magic bucket list to eventually build <a href="http://oldschool-mtg.blogspot.com/2015/01/winter-deck.html">a Mana Vortex deck</a>, and for that a wizard need multiple <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tabernacle">tents</a>.</p><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgQC02FTG_oYTeiw2Hs9z99O1XNv49fzA3-tW4VuoXFn3halAeKjeM7DZdr_FizIjA_yWxgJnqUPfWYIdFT1DLJRZxUnuPN3vuhTW4FmKLlh8-pAlBgD5Id4X_8fOwbZEKgCXGTx8R8QMgvQTCGtSN9Mqijia-O8Lj9bMKlD7e4Va1i5U_JOnpTJMkM/s4032/20230117_214719.jpg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="3024" data-original-width="4032" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgQC02FTG_oYTeiw2Hs9z99O1XNv49fzA3-tW4VuoXFn3halAeKjeM7DZdr_FizIjA_yWxgJnqUPfWYIdFT1DLJRZxUnuPN3vuhTW4FmKLlh8-pAlBgD5Id4X_8fOwbZEKgCXGTx8R8QMgvQTCGtSN9Mqijia-O8Lj9bMKlD7e4Va1i5U_JOnpTJMkM/s320/20230117_214719.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">These three are like 150 taches of gold! (That's some Exodus 26:6 humor for all y'all theologians in the house.)<br /></td></tr></tbody></table><p> </p><p>HW is a great dude to make deals with, and the tents were in kinda rough shape so his price was very reasonable (well, as reasonable as Tabernacles get I guess). And he needed the money to buy Juzams, which is a noble cause if I ever heard of one. But even with the recent windfall from selling the Orb collection, I didn't feel comfortable spending so much cash on a couple of lands I didn't necessarily need, so as a part of the deal I traded away one of my Juzams. So now I only have three Juzams. Trading away a Juzam is something I never thought I would do just a year ago, but I realized I had gotten an immense amount of enjoyment from the playset already, and that I almost never played more than three in my decks these days anyway. It was time. Growing older.<br /></p><p></p><p></p><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiSTMAUjOwi6wJIC6eO2KRPlMLCn0rCEViWALmcK7l3T3mc7vg6yKWLU-ZDgR6nDWhCpOgUHyi_megsHpMIKqG3oNQvuWSpOew_9NxgUKH9OapB0Y6CpdPYm09mOMOHaistdw-qTtPnf4j0CZr7pS0ltMnym3zeN-9XPsScrfKb6V2hlTODNBZSujtc/s2910/20220817_203206.jpg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><img border="0" data-original-height="2173" data-original-width="2910" height="239" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiSTMAUjOwi6wJIC6eO2KRPlMLCn0rCEViWALmcK7l3T3mc7vg6yKWLU-ZDgR6nDWhCpOgUHyi_megsHpMIKqG3oNQvuWSpOew_9NxgUKH9OapB0Y6CpdPYm09mOMOHaistdw-qTtPnf4j0CZr7pS0ltMnym3zeN-9XPsScrfKb6V2hlTODNBZSujtc/s320/20220817_203206.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">I hope the new home treats you well old friend. I'll never forget your smile.<br /></td></tr></tbody></table><p>I was to deliver the Juzam in hand to a familiar courier in Genoa, because now, after three years in the waiting, it was finally time for Winc0n.</p><p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjszVeJLhHkIFQcsseV3GsdcDZCd3qikBnPcJJ76QhYtsnmC76ozJRp3LDnWPyth-iNd5Ydpkr-9OQxndTIQlkhFDR1PmHEN7jkEoxtswDaK70WQjX9UnWrc34DqwaDasamSw36RF_HX7hokmOJf7m875fXYGcdUn2H5PlPTr_l28saYjiRMWZtzDyX/s1024/Winc0n_banner.png" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="274" data-original-width="1024" height="86" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjszVeJLhHkIFQcsseV3GsdcDZCd3qikBnPcJJ76QhYtsnmC76ozJRp3LDnWPyth-iNd5Ydpkr-9OQxndTIQlkhFDR1PmHEN7jkEoxtswDaK70WQjX9UnWrc34DqwaDasamSw36RF_HX7hokmOJf7m875fXYGcdUn2H5PlPTr_l28saYjiRMWZtzDyX/s320/Winc0n_banner.png" width="320" /></a></div>Winc0n could easily be another 4,000 words, but this is supposed to be an introspective more than a tournament report, so let's just check out some pictures. <br /><p></p><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEheIp2cXajel2VOxB-CzgpkEEPws0sUFuFRiP6dVsN70JCl0lw6qvkv4JFvyURlbBTzXXWln9yoBkLNfPaSS8Ge4BfWiiIXo96MO-uNyH0imm5UzZWrRVae7BzYWXYCz-ajA22dbNSEFUGVSyGt4SPqkDQm2lSoakV6n2VFQaUeMczpbv4QUFe6-3cO/s4032/20220902_180612.jpg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><img border="0" data-original-height="4032" data-original-width="3024" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEheIp2cXajel2VOxB-CzgpkEEPws0sUFuFRiP6dVsN70JCl0lw6qvkv4JFvyURlbBTzXXWln9yoBkLNfPaSS8Ge4BfWiiIXo96MO-uNyH0imm5UzZWrRVae7BzYWXYCz-ajA22dbNSEFUGVSyGt4SPqkDQm2lSoakV6n2VFQaUeMczpbv4QUFe6-3cO/s320/20220902_180612.jpg" width="240" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">My handsome roommate Danny Friedman posing with the ridiculously huge trophy.</td></tr></tbody></table><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEia9PGgsWedENMWODH9fiPyaknx-u5BWZH6NLy39vuz4rWyN8LEn6OSDvEx1atRtXqcjyi72vjCeRNxJVbQy0ED8I7kgHGCP20k27qrBdcJ8zMwIxL9uymZdYxQ13zRi6GdfO0DhMCsgSkxqX2kAELGYVdARpYAAN_U7uDV3aqjp3ZKjXkrbhqu2An_/s4032/20220902_201233.jpg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="3024" data-original-width="4032" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEia9PGgsWedENMWODH9fiPyaknx-u5BWZH6NLy39vuz4rWyN8LEn6OSDvEx1atRtXqcjyi72vjCeRNxJVbQy0ED8I7kgHGCP20k27qrBdcJ8zMwIxL9uymZdYxQ13zRi6GdfO0DhMCsgSkxqX2kAELGYVdARpYAAN_U7uDV3aqjp3ZKjXkrbhqu2An_/s320/20220902_201233.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">A story of champions forged into the prize. Good memories of old gatherings are triggered.</td></tr></tbody></table><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh7IYSuqRyhJ43XJb_yUHnl5vUlNbPIFHW5DJifJx-bNyCy3iro7LOralLaZZtyXXn0Jqt5Uu6QTP_MDyVCHMz3oQ3nl0AW0NkhBMvi3_ePNP260AsUmJTyEuYMPi1HKl9oxzxLHlJSg_D2oVRvjEGJmAYnq7NxbYCPkNSA2SjDNmfFxRnCQRzhv_4-/s4032/20220902_145552.jpg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="3024" data-original-width="4032" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh7IYSuqRyhJ43XJb_yUHnl5vUlNbPIFHW5DJifJx-bNyCy3iro7LOralLaZZtyXXn0Jqt5Uu6QTP_MDyVCHMz3oQ3nl0AW0NkhBMvi3_ePNP260AsUmJTyEuYMPi1HKl9oxzxLHlJSg_D2oVRvjEGJmAYnq7NxbYCPkNSA2SjDNmfFxRnCQRzhv_4-/s320/20220902_145552.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Hanging out with Danny and the Italian heroes at Megu's restaurant.</td></tr></tbody></table><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhnt0ROt-fIDw7w03rzasnQIbcl4Ow_QrUtRUIjbXbtHD4i3ZcCl2wo8VHCirjxsg89fsHk997b-A_ocbVbHKW3Oqce0q21tsw5DePDsfw7GnlqH8Fhb1xxIl34ouSVX_T54Jitkbu0CbP2hdat9vSEMhAcY3Fo3L8PbZ8oQzgCfymwYxf_ys2KYdUN/s2048/received_1238352997004177.jpeg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="2048" data-original-width="1536" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhnt0ROt-fIDw7w03rzasnQIbcl4Ow_QrUtRUIjbXbtHD4i3ZcCl2wo8VHCirjxsg89fsHk997b-A_ocbVbHKW3Oqce0q21tsw5DePDsfw7GnlqH8Fhb1xxIl34ouSVX_T54Jitkbu0CbP2hdat9vSEMhAcY3Fo3L8PbZ8oQzgCfymwYxf_ys2KYdUN/s320/received_1238352997004177.jpeg" width="240" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Danny breaks all continental etiquette by ordering coffee and desert as the rest of us order lunch. Confusion ensues, followed by chock.</td></tr></tbody></table><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhihHI0RAS1Dur3A8S754fQSpxsAj6Mbacph7S29l-mq8NULdEfZHvGIVHERCPyb8PNgIz445jRBRFSFrs4F5QOMGLIakjr7M79L6SSvK3fS79oK_FXPuCF5LwkfMzHdyjpXB_uIFDNNr5sLsqXVQfLk4ud814PopiVZKuwYco1SqAcgkw3VLgw8tSQ/s4032/20220902_152245.jpg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="3024" data-original-width="4032" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhihHI0RAS1Dur3A8S754fQSpxsAj6Mbacph7S29l-mq8NULdEfZHvGIVHERCPyb8PNgIz445jRBRFSFrs4F5QOMGLIakjr7M79L6SSvK3fS79oK_FXPuCF5LwkfMzHdyjpXB_uIFDNNr5sLsqXVQfLk4ud814PopiVZKuwYco1SqAcgkw3VLgw8tSQ/s320/20220902_152245.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Alcohol help sooth the wounds of the etiquette breach, but this is not something we'll ever forget. Nor forgive. Classic Danny.<br /></td></tr></tbody></table><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh-rBr0-BGvjVN_2FlhpMMOaBi-AlQeCblmco7CVKNHIJ4BGMMUF8Uiyu9jO2nlh_tRj533DuqKC28VoxszWCFrs6iQuV0stvSDDbrCWZBooST-QOPCRYJ0GBgvcGJ3B8pf3mzgemZGfCsN1NT5qugR0Ym0UnIrt_XpmeAi_QyhyzSRlMtpSgndbATC/s3016/20220902_140006.jpg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="2262" data-original-width="3016" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh-rBr0-BGvjVN_2FlhpMMOaBi-AlQeCblmco7CVKNHIJ4BGMMUF8Uiyu9jO2nlh_tRj533DuqKC28VoxszWCFrs6iQuV0stvSDDbrCWZBooST-QOPCRYJ0GBgvcGJ3B8pf3mzgemZGfCsN1NT5qugR0Ym0UnIrt_XpmeAi_QyhyzSRlMtpSgndbATC/s320/20220902_140006.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">The first evening has a Scryings tournament, and I'm ready to smash. I've come to believe that this deck is just wildly tier1. I played <a href="https://oldschool-mtg.blogspot.com/2021/02/masknought.html">a version of it</a> during Reindeer Double Elimination (which I manged to win), and I think this version is just better. Though I feel a growing headache from the travel, which could impact my ability to use it.<br /></td></tr></tbody></table><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhvDcp9EUTDJwlbUEEJetryFR4ulM6P1tgjSXGilTbNTDEl2v9Vsq1ITKztpr4zfdghCpOG1zgvlwRQdAoMMq5EiE_pKAfMT1FVbRwzyjXAHDHAP-m1BtlzAGYzQfVghWnsvoOS3em54Eoh2lCZ1ZPvzuFac9YuA4QSnFTf5G2nW8wlCOoXxAdqzzdJ/s4032/20220902_201042.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="3024" data-original-width="4032" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhvDcp9EUTDJwlbUEEJetryFR4ulM6P1tgjSXGilTbNTDEl2v9Vsq1ITKztpr4zfdghCpOG1zgvlwRQdAoMMq5EiE_pKAfMT1FVbRwzyjXAHDHAP-m1BtlzAGYzQfVghWnsvoOS3em54Eoh2lCZ1ZPvzuFac9YuA4QSnFTf5G2nW8wlCOoXxAdqzzdJ/s320/20220902_201042.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>Hey, another Swede! Last time I was here (during <a href="https://oldschool-mtg.blogspot.com/2019/10/blind-notes-from-fishliver-oil-cup-ed-3.html">Fishliver Oil Cup Ed. 3</a>), I was the only Scandinavian playing, but that's clearly not the case anymore.<br /></div></div><div></div><div></div><div><br /></div><div><div><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjdL5rmEJpp7fCqp187QGpqzxm8k33mKzr8SMjzUmt0rY5-Eje_oEznuOLOTHIultIaBSFwJjhnk7XVoXDpK6gLKJeUpcgN8atUEHwUR3QZbAuIA1rSUzYs1_EMQKjfm7SkEY0IQXZwFU8N69lpb_Wq-FPU95aynXucmfLiISKqkGE7dcsZvv78COD4/s4032/20220902_210053.jpg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="4032" data-original-width="3024" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjdL5rmEJpp7fCqp187QGpqzxm8k33mKzr8SMjzUmt0rY5-Eje_oEznuOLOTHIultIaBSFwJjhnk7XVoXDpK6gLKJeUpcgN8atUEHwUR3QZbAuIA1rSUzYs1_EMQKjfm7SkEY0IQXZwFU8N69lpb_Wq-FPU95aynXucmfLiISKqkGE7dcsZvv78COD4/s320/20220902_210053.jpg" width="240" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">And my next opponent is a gentleman from Guatemala! World
Championship's gathering players from across the world.<br /></td></tr></tbody></table></div></div><div></div><div></div><div></div><div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"></div><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiAKaRm8-AxG35AJ-tE6t1MOlepKWsANtKQVCShF5tpGIIbHrkatlKrBVkSTICjO3pjsC9LryD330c18TgoXI1UmjF4pq6DK06P04SoBdNR5UoaDmzehgba-_znHueJIe-CRHKUdaw1SRfSwDf9ZinTGaX77gHNrbnPXacTCMrZYuMCAMmYmGDKYnTs/s4032/20220903_155908.jpg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="4032" data-original-width="3024" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiAKaRm8-AxG35AJ-tE6t1MOlepKWsANtKQVCShF5tpGIIbHrkatlKrBVkSTICjO3pjsC9LryD330c18TgoXI1UmjF4pq6DK06P04SoBdNR5UoaDmzehgba-_znHueJIe-CRHKUdaw1SRfSwDf9ZinTGaX77gHNrbnPXacTCMrZYuMCAMmYmGDKYnTs/s320/20220903_155908.jpg" width="240" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">A wild Shark appears! While not going full Åland, I'm feeling kinda powerful in the Scryings tournament. I'm 3-0 by now, and no match has felt that close. But as I start to play my fourth round, it dawns on me that this is a five-round swiss, and it is likely that I'll top8 even if I somehow manages to lose both this match and the next one. So I'm bound for three more hours at least, and my headache is growing. It is close to midnight, and I'm supposed to play the World Championship tomorrow. So I decide to take the grown-up route with a scoop-and-drop in the middle of round four. I had a really good time in the tournament already, so why ask for more.<br /></td></tr></tbody></table></div><div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"></div></div><div></div><div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjvpT_hiO1he96hS884gXojN-hQAwrDTANg-ZmERMdBEG7mXBwufQ1SxyKScxcsMGvC9Ckdd5rMmtrpVltfQLmVq0zvCuX4UEEVwsNpmvlk_NPzihJyfmg4vvNCqf-B1ru0yT-bsOdmV6HBKdP3-kLH97EwEJan8lOAyOpnGS5ni2BoPAI05AYE3BW8/s1125/received_441617951254258.jpeg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="844" data-original-width="1125" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjvpT_hiO1he96hS884gXojN-hQAwrDTANg-ZmERMdBEG7mXBwufQ1SxyKScxcsMGvC9Ckdd5rMmtrpVltfQLmVq0zvCuX4UEEVwsNpmvlk_NPzihJyfmg4vvNCqf-B1ru0yT-bsOdmV6HBKdP3-kLH97EwEJan8lOAyOpnGS5ni2BoPAI05AYE3BW8/s320/received_441617951254258.jpeg" width="320" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">I get a solid ten hours of sleep and wake up next to a joyful bedmate who managed to catch about half as many. Still, a beautiful morning for both of us.<br /></td></tr></tbody></table><br style="text-align: left;" /><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjosrgBeYkcQ8VtNI57th8DCpIFUGIsTnlu1Hl4btAk8xrFzlv7f_o-i7MtxWdl7Mmysa7Ya7UTCMtmugCLh_cbCUodtWgmDgQcHBxZm0KuBQ79Bp7id2DZGk1E8E5m-KkvPOZknqYZZEV4MhHqSrQzCsATP8PiY_mTMavfvpi3J335f2j8Q_5ZGqpG/s1500/received_777445886839125.jpeg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1500" data-original-width="1125" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjosrgBeYkcQ8VtNI57th8DCpIFUGIsTnlu1Hl4btAk8xrFzlv7f_o-i7MtxWdl7Mmysa7Ya7UTCMtmugCLh_cbCUodtWgmDgQcHBxZm0KuBQ79Bp7id2DZGk1E8E5m-KkvPOZknqYZZEV4MhHqSrQzCsATP8PiY_mTMavfvpi3J335f2j8Q_5ZGqpG/s320/received_777445886839125.jpeg" width="240" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">We send a few questionable pics to our partners back home, and then the game is on!<br /></td></tr></tbody></table></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj-IBrWDYL8NAeU8HgvY80dvvvUOw_w_KkuRtyF9N6A_2Jy3oqkzzzHwGJ_9DAy8xI4SEnCR2B35EKOyc0oHu1Tfs4l6F-H0IEXYO-qHBeG1QUCvMhqXCatwoY_mzFJ92DxKA3KbOWvvME5nIpN3y-tIeHlNDgiAXyy7rf8OJ5bozfJ6EZkdbpuiULC/s4032/20220903_122518.jpg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="4032" data-original-width="3024" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj-IBrWDYL8NAeU8HgvY80dvvvUOw_w_KkuRtyF9N6A_2Jy3oqkzzzHwGJ_9DAy8xI4SEnCR2B35EKOyc0oHu1Tfs4l6F-H0IEXYO-qHBeG1QUCvMhqXCatwoY_mzFJ92DxKA3KbOWvvME5nIpN3y-tIeHlNDgiAXyy7rf8OJ5bozfJ6EZkdbpuiULC/s320/20220903_122518.jpg" width="240" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">After the faux pas at the restaurant yesterday, a shameful visit to McDonalds it is!<br /></td></tr></tbody></table><br /><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjQgXwx-t9bQBEfw2m69OAFG5Sg2gsqS_61eX75OAb2zWewHjCq8oZ1LfIUFHrydRgJsUBCm1PomXjLi2sKGLqem1blAMwzUJGwgy6m7u8tFldpqY2HtEi6yIA_lIBi5EdqBHnpBV5RaOzzm7ShjJU2sobRAWkeQI4tQ_Rt17UgePPSLkIqP9W8Cdhm/s4032/20220903_152621.jpg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="4032" data-original-width="3024" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjQgXwx-t9bQBEfw2m69OAFG5Sg2gsqS_61eX75OAb2zWewHjCq8oZ1LfIUFHrydRgJsUBCm1PomXjLi2sKGLqem1blAMwzUJGwgy6m7u8tFldpqY2HtEi6yIA_lIBi5EdqBHnpBV5RaOzzm7ShjJU2sobRAWkeQI4tQ_Rt17UgePPSLkIqP9W8Cdhm/s320/20220903_152621.jpg" width="240" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">To the site, drooling over some sweet cards from Sky Guild.<br /></td></tr></tbody></table></div><div></div><div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"></div></div><div></div><div><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgmwjvPaxBMVD08RD-8AoX4oLyuse-Cj4cTX3OPsANOB5yQFoWPSwsYMftingZnOgSXiI5atQONSPOa1Qd1xl1Rc4Dn5r4Xk3W20iG4ExLfPNOkoTmOb47EwrlnxqMFZ07SY5-Pcl8VEmHb2TWDoRd4zEw0hnAN4-B40OjmVktk32DAH8Mj5tw1xnfH/s4032/20220903_234844.jpg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="3024" data-original-width="4032" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgmwjvPaxBMVD08RD-8AoX4oLyuse-Cj4cTX3OPsANOB5yQFoWPSwsYMftingZnOgSXiI5atQONSPOa1Qd1xl1Rc4Dn5r4Xk3W20iG4ExLfPNOkoTmOb47EwrlnxqMFZ07SY5-Pcl8VEmHb2TWDoRd4zEw0hnAN4-B40OjmVktk32DAH8Mj5tw1xnfH/s320/20220903_234844.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">The traditional bro-pic with The Legendary Jonas Twitchen. Won't be a Championship without it.<br /></td></tr></tbody></table><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"></div><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiRNCcz1K316s0rRaiMVQ0KTyBID45MhMlvYusCWO3KVpebYjRJpYnqzlwXoXjy32umfGkWugH8D9vC_6xrpwVd1gAVjsaK8K9UdBCG5eEBJ9X0zipyNbtq11f-ADWPcLxnZYG27NH2TDMqYUi5k3v58-xFC-fhXXdgywbCfiLE4Vk74o4-MnBLtsmC/s4032/20220904_002904.jpg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="4032" data-original-width="3024" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiRNCcz1K316s0rRaiMVQ0KTyBID45MhMlvYusCWO3KVpebYjRJpYnqzlwXoXjy32umfGkWugH8D9vC_6xrpwVd1gAVjsaK8K9UdBCG5eEBJ9X0zipyNbtq11f-ADWPcLxnZYG27NH2TDMqYUi5k3v58-xFC-fhXXdgywbCfiLE4Vk74o4-MnBLtsmC/s320/20220904_002904.jpg" width="240" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">A man and his birds. Jason managed to <a href="https://slanfan.com/anteante/the-bird-watchers-log/">win Bwendolyn</a> from me during a game of 40K. That's the 4th time since 2019 he became the owner of that beautiful bird; that's gotta be a record.<br /></td></tr></tbody></table><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgw79fi9-RfPZ8eMPrxWVUOFZ2hjlTwZQhzs0_vJddAxhgNH8pLh13u3USDY1UXgeIC1zhYlJby5rnPT8ktPRcQxxmHWdIoRhe7eWpDESJ8OWJUd9AVVc7eZu4gvgHuDsG9SJhzD-dvczg7p2RE5m5uIRcuzdGhfxQ-u6gVUYmBrnZA5ZDXzii8u44y/s4032/20220903_164335.jpg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="4032" data-original-width="3024" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgw79fi9-RfPZ8eMPrxWVUOFZ2hjlTwZQhzs0_vJddAxhgNH8pLh13u3USDY1UXgeIC1zhYlJby5rnPT8ktPRcQxxmHWdIoRhe7eWpDESJ8OWJUd9AVVc7eZu4gvgHuDsG9SJhzD-dvczg7p2RE5m5uIRcuzdGhfxQ-u6gVUYmBrnZA5ZDXzii8u44y/s320/20220903_164335.jpg" width="240" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Someone asks me to sign their graded Lord Magnus. That was a new one.<br /></td></tr></tbody></table><br /></div><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj5dbVpL5boRRFap1tmoogUIEfHYNeA0POFaYCFekVT9z1FC3RZnShPqIqm5fJvByONSwaewxW1Qu1UT218nZj4UI8TNGhB0wGtgPdAGPv8WcmL1-P9Lm6XNI9Ui-bm7S68r6PtKonWEI7gi4ovIUjFHuOSzpgOxvfVbaEuMMqWcwimZYzuIu6wNcmE/s4032/20220903_201752.jpg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="4032" data-original-width="3024" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj5dbVpL5boRRFap1tmoogUIEfHYNeA0POFaYCFekVT9z1FC3RZnShPqIqm5fJvByONSwaewxW1Qu1UT218nZj4UI8TNGhB0wGtgPdAGPv8WcmL1-P9Lm6XNI9Ui-bm7S68r6PtKonWEI7gi4ovIUjFHuOSzpgOxvfVbaEuMMqWcwimZYzuIu6wNcmE/s320/20220903_201752.jpg" width="240" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">But Birds and graded Legends be damned, there's one signed card we're actually fighting for here, and that's a Shark.<br /></td></tr></tbody></table><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgsEoTS3RAdjuZcQPnsVuxe_YVy1dDKa3_8RafhBfImpFQalwa8iOGXtRv2R9L0gNFb-vIoVBD0BORMiNxTB0f8G9nAMGiawO0Ztxen8iDQmGnJgfyIXNmJUQAY4zWt5bXyGkMIO5Y6Cs55nsHVy2dcYS_J4xkyux-AowK2lDIh1d33L2hglV1DbcP6/s4032/20220903_201758.jpg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="4032" data-original-width="3024" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgsEoTS3RAdjuZcQPnsVuxe_YVy1dDKa3_8RafhBfImpFQalwa8iOGXtRv2R9L0gNFb-vIoVBD0BORMiNxTB0f8G9nAMGiawO0Ztxen8iDQmGnJgfyIXNmJUQAY4zWt5bXyGkMIO5Y6Cs55nsHVy2dcYS_J4xkyux-AowK2lDIh1d33L2hglV1DbcP6/s320/20220903_201758.jpg" width="240" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Signs have escalated to the back.<br /></td></tr></tbody></table></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjeA8suyPR4wO3BT0Q-Ts0WP-OeVGyFTFAYofIe8cBkfl1h4w9lnGrIYsZxuJWUpcYaaDgQDBXPT_Bbi_twj7w8bMEl8G21tjMFJ1sOph-S96S91SRux2lT2T1kv9YFDPxGXdILpA7InhTMlxsM8evnkzMNGmnEgkOFlRzRk95fBlNmSser4gK_-HSB/s2963/20220519_222629.jpg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="2963" data-original-width="2936" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjeA8suyPR4wO3BT0Q-Ts0WP-OeVGyFTFAYofIe8cBkfl1h4w9lnGrIYsZxuJWUpcYaaDgQDBXPT_Bbi_twj7w8bMEl8G21tjMFJ1sOph-S96S91SRux2lT2T1kv9YFDPxGXdILpA7InhTMlxsM8evnkzMNGmnEgkOFlRzRk95fBlNmSser4gK_-HSB/s320/20220519_222629.jpg" width="317" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">My weapon of choice is again Project M. I have a good run, ending up in eleventh (?) place after losing my last match at table 2 against Simone Merlo. So 5-2 today and 3-0 drop yesterday. Channeling that inner Swede.<br /></td></tr></tbody></table></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhOKit0Oj5FZWoRsv1RwtP4ngze1N_3S3fiYzy1xmrXydQm--IY4_D8toZyUEdnYxyWUKckgI7XKN3lth2ItuAcjtKL3DsCLu1wBxR8U3xswzOVtSD7L9a87XWUaUb4vjZM0tll1IfJVGOIV9pmAH171zV490eg0eNSy2dhAQf3St53aR2J234511sF/s4032/20220903_221623.jpg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="4032" data-original-width="3024" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhOKit0Oj5FZWoRsv1RwtP4ngze1N_3S3fiYzy1xmrXydQm--IY4_D8toZyUEdnYxyWUKckgI7XKN3lth2ItuAcjtKL3DsCLu1wBxR8U3xswzOVtSD7L9a87XWUaUb4vjZM0tll1IfJVGOIV9pmAH171zV490eg0eNSy2dhAQf3St53aR2J234511sF/s320/20220903_221623.jpg" width="240" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">The glory of 9th place goes to Mle from Sisters of the Flame. Congrats!<br /></td></tr></tbody></table></div></div><div></div><div></div><div></div><div><br /></div><div><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhRnk9YdoKJmEX1CaTiz9hjj_xp-YCtbb0vFCAZbkBQzxwyTBi1cRJXNPmnIG2___ixHvYf3SxHqMAnAo9EX5Nx4qN1F6iSIjZvVLDDgo5RshGKzKn__iAROo2moR4cKrxWaudC9LyjqdIAOf-necZgzbJTFGWImK_msE-NXIG0S0seB6mGq2OKl4aB/s4032/20220904_010612.jpg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="3024" data-original-width="4032" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhRnk9YdoKJmEX1CaTiz9hjj_xp-YCtbb0vFCAZbkBQzxwyTBi1cRJXNPmnIG2___ixHvYf3SxHqMAnAo9EX5Nx4qN1F6iSIjZvVLDDgo5RshGKzKn__iAROo2moR4cKrxWaudC9LyjqdIAOf-necZgzbJTFGWImK_msE-NXIG0S0seB6mGq2OKl4aB/s320/20220904_010612.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">It's top8 time. Mitja sets the mood.<br /></td></tr></tbody></table></div><div><br /></div><div><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj8RtJKy3Qu1ZP7t8sphVTbOeuE9m8-ftY2E7ooIXj109_JiKFRqIrwt2wGa6tEM5Clg5zhur8-5gMcg0BCPshNprKqhg-U09rI8Y-J3miP2zjyBAV7kmtv9uh42mdipKLCxTOBgIV-hV6msCpvyd9HfRoBJIwhxS869MOCz_YSIlNH4g8S99l6UOj5/s4032/20220904_010929.jpg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="3024" data-original-width="4032" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj8RtJKy3Qu1ZP7t8sphVTbOeuE9m8-ftY2E7ooIXj109_JiKFRqIrwt2wGa6tEM5Clg5zhur8-5gMcg0BCPshNprKqhg-U09rI8Y-J3miP2zjyBAV7kmtv9uh42mdipKLCxTOBgIV-hV6msCpvyd9HfRoBJIwhxS869MOCz_YSIlNH4g8S99l6UOj5/s320/20220904_010929.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">The
commentator booth has been taken over by Mano's son, some sort of
Lobsterboy, and The Reindeer's personal pasta chef. Things are getting wildly
serious.<br /></td></tr></tbody></table></div><div><br /></div><div><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEie7dSDCN8fvMQqhGIiy6EaVGiPIWLbxuVlizFlfQmf9HGwdeL7y4Og-NIEWorwqhfe5KRXX04zpgWY1spjGqJ5sk_obNluMalr2zr9vsdAkSLzRTP1ZVDCahuDJcm9sEuxmUD4QCv-nHJxNQdc36lDnehtG8FWMz-VWXrcyhr-eVlrY1zSeXs26F4p/s4032/20220904_005701.jpg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="3024" data-original-width="4032" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEie7dSDCN8fvMQqhGIiy6EaVGiPIWLbxuVlizFlfQmf9HGwdeL7y4Og-NIEWorwqhfe5KRXX04zpgWY1spjGqJ5sk_obNluMalr2zr9vsdAkSLzRTP1ZVDCahuDJcm9sEuxmUD4QCv-nHJxNQdc36lDnehtG8FWMz-VWXrcyhr-eVlrY1zSeXs26F4p/s320/20220904_005701.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Finals.</td></tr></tbody></table></div><div><br /></div><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhEuR4RKtbiIUjdT71Ee2nflo21JyBy2zsRYJJaXaBNgQF_t25RRYplafSTTcsxkEuzR2eqGdnosvsTOFuKZEPwVe3eog3cE416iKFiMFohgBHc04KiLFF126YTKRrFsjkWR8PT0PRZT3iAnb3l0MP9ba9aF9LKUWtANc8kLVD6NIdjfPgxpHTzaEgk/s4032/20220904_014549.jpg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="4032" data-original-width="3024" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhEuR4RKtbiIUjdT71Ee2nflo21JyBy2zsRYJJaXaBNgQF_t25RRYplafSTTcsxkEuzR2eqGdnosvsTOFuKZEPwVe3eog3cE416iKFiMFohgBHc04KiLFF126YTKRrFsjkWR8PT0PRZT3iAnb3l0MP9ba9aF9LKUWtANc8kLVD6NIdjfPgxpHTzaEgk/s320/20220904_014549.jpg" width="240" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">A World Champion emerges! Congrats Brother Stebbo!<br /></td></tr></tbody></table><div><br /><p>Winc0n was awesome in so many ways. The most heartfelt, perhaps, for me was that it marked an end of the isolation. As Winc0n eventually unfolded, we hadn't had a World Championship since Easter 2019; three and a half years prior. And now, way overdue, we were finally able to gather again. <br /></p>Following that "end of covid tournament", it made ironic sense that my next big gathering would be The Plague.</div><div></div><div></div><div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhNdBvgxy2-FsMrax98XjtMJsqadbrfUs4VbfidFA4DRkIWeojUmZOgU-_XD6dF_LrbCPGp06ObaU79dvQMbHRIU4uilXkswwF7TrfWNu6xIAp0CA1MdSwdmILFap9qHPqHa8dCnzhb3-GUmucdIGyQLABkBfKe4uyR_cyMT1P0JJ1xt3js3pUF9Dw0/s4032/20221008_195632.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="4032" data-original-width="3024" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhNdBvgxy2-FsMrax98XjtMJsqadbrfUs4VbfidFA4DRkIWeojUmZOgU-_XD6dF_LrbCPGp06ObaU79dvQMbHRIU4uilXkswwF7TrfWNu6xIAp0CA1MdSwdmILFap9qHPqHa8dCnzhb3-GUmucdIGyQLABkBfKe4uyR_cyMT1P0JJ1xt3js3pUF9Dw0/s320/20221008_195632.jpg" width="240" /></a></div></div><div>At 44 players, it was the largest showdown of old wizards in Norway yet. Though "old wizards" might be a misnomer here, as the youngest challenger, Elliot, hadn't turned double digits. It's cool to see how The Gathering is starting to become The Family Gathering, and the older generation is starting to bring their kids to the tournaments.</div><div> </div><div><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjI8dJQHQihHne6kfy3ed2-5M8qQCPjMBRhk8cvPoov8DEYtRBGN6z4xAmxLKsUU0YFhm2T8AI3yr3EbW4x2fqOiKRNgxI4BG8RwHxZaOZLbUin1sjpaagRaeAMPBHzSTpQcHhqOEt4mAKpW5Ef0Ee_7JWvMmU6BDb5aphz_7BzmzDpahyKeJ-GjkSj/s4032/20221008_195640.jpg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="3024" data-original-width="4032" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjI8dJQHQihHne6kfy3ed2-5M8qQCPjMBRhk8cvPoov8DEYtRBGN6z4xAmxLKsUU0YFhm2T8AI3yr3EbW4x2fqOiKRNgxI4BG8RwHxZaOZLbUin1sjpaagRaeAMPBHzSTpQcHhqOEt4mAKpW5Ef0Ee_7JWvMmU6BDb5aphz_7BzmzDpahyKeJ-GjkSj/s320/20221008_195640.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">When I was his age Magic didn't even exist, and now he's here kicking our asses.<br /></td></tr></tbody></table></div><div><br /></div><div>As it was a flavorful event, inspired by the art of <a href="Theodor Severin Kittelsen black death">Theodor
Severin Kittelsen</a> and the Black Death, I decided to go a bit flavor over function with my spells.<br /></div><div><br /></div><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh49rETBXdIJ3f96ADUJoS7GOIw2khTU8KAda5tXCPUTjZw10-oj88wXcc5UdNHesZv54P6lrwxcMn2O2KM_SuP-kdyq13WABmFzkUm7E2Ouex7HJxbPjVEpr6mJ1R5DHL2iYIFunZePIcminKc3UkcOz17xDvIeVTP3DXn2EmtoyUMkgc86L0TcvUS/s3217/20221008_080108.jpg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="3024" data-original-width="3217" height="301" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh49rETBXdIJ3f96ADUJoS7GOIw2khTU8KAda5tXCPUTjZw10-oj88wXcc5UdNHesZv54P6lrwxcMn2O2KM_SuP-kdyq13WABmFzkUm7E2Ouex7HJxbPjVEpr6mJ1R5DHL2iYIFunZePIcminKc3UkcOz17xDvIeVTP3DXn2EmtoyUMkgc86L0TcvUS/s320/20221008_080108.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">The Black Death.<br /></td><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><br /></td></tr></tbody></table><div></div><div><br />If you want to steal the tech and spike harder, splashing red for Wheel of Fortune and Shatter improves the pile's performance. As does splashing blue for the three power cards. But I wanted to go mono-black, mono-black-border, and no creatures maindeck (as they had died from the Pestilence). I have more than a few hours under the belt with the Distress archetype (having come up with the name of it and whatnot), so this seemed solid. And it was sweet to bring one of the new Tabernacles out for a swing.</div><div><br /><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhjE7X_6aI29Dp_sg9BJqbyhxS1j6KxdAyuKlTLjQyBIZDD-1o0RQdnl8U2cz2_ZpdE7BKBui_oQh9wn9tcpp7ZvlJQ65ZPDmXdX_Hee7dNJYpG-tDTOqvcIiBcptLJQNSnqbpd8ePSY4EOQA9HA4KLcVd-otpCe8I_hcJR5PYHyItP5V__6jgPJfsa/s4032/20221008_134309.jpg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="3024" data-original-width="4032" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhjE7X_6aI29Dp_sg9BJqbyhxS1j6KxdAyuKlTLjQyBIZDD-1o0RQdnl8U2cz2_ZpdE7BKBui_oQh9wn9tcpp7ZvlJQ65ZPDmXdX_Hee7dNJYpG-tDTOqvcIiBcptLJQNSnqbpd8ePSY4EOQA9HA4KLcVd-otpCe8I_hcJR5PYHyItP5V__6jgPJfsa/s320/20221008_134309.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Game on.<br /></td></tr></tbody></table></div><div><br /></div><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiCAKytttl25gLKlQM649kQ15NAu8IobVk9VbUBKkvlOUWnUHGpqYRThIFhDM4ynMFAClx2NQ_Fp8Cg75Ms94fpidNZyQw2ja9JN7yznehxo3w_yeLQNqJRgvxJoDdEwQ5Zru4DwG9DXc2D_99qeMyy2aDPwxCwxOU-LaMYD84EQunAaKQFlJPgnNcw/s4032/20221008_134306.jpg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="3024" data-original-width="4032" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiCAKytttl25gLKlQM649kQ15NAu8IobVk9VbUBKkvlOUWnUHGpqYRThIFhDM4ynMFAClx2NQ_Fp8Cg75Ms94fpidNZyQw2ja9JN7yznehxo3w_yeLQNqJRgvxJoDdEwQ5Zru4DwG9DXc2D_99qeMyy2aDPwxCwxOU-LaMYD84EQunAaKQFlJPgnNcw/s320/20221008_134306.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Simon Gauti from Denmark joining to have the full <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kalmar_Union">Kalmar Union</a> represented.<br /></td></tr></tbody></table><div><br /></div><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjxaLM-aCRBcp97znRtGr4jw7JeLpkudQTHzxOh_DuLmUp6E7CXk5RdXsV3SAQcjpbIEotW03PcqZ_Y-DrbO_jxq4-YhZuwvNRTMr28-J2aZoWP1hb8WNUHXCte9-_LBH2p-CitQDuVD1DBzv-Qay_7JKmqhMvfHqHvTYAduj5AIV_3P0HBjjnzRWmz/s4032/20221008_212141.jpg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="3024" data-original-width="4032" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjxaLM-aCRBcp97znRtGr4jw7JeLpkudQTHzxOh_DuLmUp6E7CXk5RdXsV3SAQcjpbIEotW03PcqZ_Y-DrbO_jxq4-YhZuwvNRTMr28-J2aZoWP1hb8WNUHXCte9-_LBH2p-CitQDuVD1DBzv-Qay_7JKmqhMvfHqHvTYAduj5AIV_3P0HBjjnzRWmz/s320/20221008_212141.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Dudes trading and playing for fun after the swiss.<br /></td></tr></tbody></table><div> </div><div><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjJFxcs4YhIl0wkuZ0v4tchEXzSeWUocUeC1FLhJrYqGqNk7mPKdx736DR28JAcKeIuHzzuCNIUd887jQ6R1Lqc67E06m31t2quPpwB09ydqwep4wbGYgF82hTPq3Mv_thR4LMsEM2BYN_qqejgq1xDO9wlpROUgikq6mns3HPMTIo6I_C81puQEdZS/s3648/20221008_203235.jpg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="2736" data-original-width="3648" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjJFxcs4YhIl0wkuZ0v4tchEXzSeWUocUeC1FLhJrYqGqNk7mPKdx736DR28JAcKeIuHzzuCNIUd887jQ6R1Lqc67E06m31t2quPpwB09ydqwep4wbGYgF82hTPq3Mv_thR4LMsEM2BYN_qqejgq1xDO9wlpROUgikq6mns3HPMTIo6I_C81puQEdZS/s320/20221008_203235.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">My deck over-preforms, and I somehow end up in the top4 along with Kalle, Simon Gauti, and Ole. Nova Pentacle was a proper MVP btw, boarded it in almost every game and it helped me win some absurdly unfavorable board states.<br /></td></tr></tbody></table></div><div> <br /></div><div></div><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjLwQPhFCJzv8lbiLzXEHJTdpD58Ok5Z3GD62JgluBTJrk_lyIRCfzPNmTZ5rdoDGQVMgLEims38Kjv-a9VrxRdQAYVYcyV3wSAmv1PW1NMQHSnl3Bm8-4HrI_N_XI5hJ1oCldI3Ec_p5JKy6HI2F8FBcwMeuLgARGh-1_Dghq3z2Mfm97kKdwNVs-l/s4032/20221008_202339.jpg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="3024" data-original-width="4032" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjLwQPhFCJzv8lbiLzXEHJTdpD58Ok5Z3GD62JgluBTJrk_lyIRCfzPNmTZ5rdoDGQVMgLEims38Kjv-a9VrxRdQAYVYcyV3wSAmv1PW1NMQHSnl3Bm8-4HrI_N_XI5hJ1oCldI3Ec_p5JKy6HI2F8FBcwMeuLgARGh-1_Dghq3z2Mfm97kKdwNVs-l/s320/20221008_202339.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">My luck finally runs out in the semifinals, and I'm unable to find my way past a murder of Triskelions. No Golgothian Sylex to be found.<br /></td></tr></tbody></table><div><br /><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjc6b1d8ALl1niy8BEc2w3y8FLjsYnsXbM3Xboe4bpTQoE2aFAME3HNSw-77naB_3ytqnDCaKuiCHc6rAZ_25Zvg9ZYjdv255TqWomOJelDcUxr_jpKCtVtZW-v5BatJsFRzgMxtgYca0eAK3HeA6x_yFLqFCu2qjui29SSgRs8VjY_zLXs4ZKuo7ZW/s4032/20221008_202322.jpg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="4032" data-original-width="3024" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjc6b1d8ALl1niy8BEc2w3y8FLjsYnsXbM3Xboe4bpTQoE2aFAME3HNSw-77naB_3ytqnDCaKuiCHc6rAZ_25Zvg9ZYjdv255TqWomOJelDcUxr_jpKCtVtZW-v5BatJsFRzgMxtgYca0eAK3HeA6x_yFLqFCu2qjui29SSgRs8VjY_zLXs4ZKuo7ZW/s320/20221008_202322.jpg" width="240" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Ole cackles maniacally before he goes on to <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=q0N3R3ynC_0">face Kalle in the finals</a>.<br /></td></tr></tbody></table><p>Shortly after The Plague it was time for me and the family to move to our new place. That whole ordeal could easily fill a couple of more blag posts, but I presume that the few people that still lurk around here are more interested in cardboard than the Norwegian housing market.<br /></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgWb9K4O47QfpuAA4AqT7q21FgVotOU5xUvH-zf9aI3_IJ_Y_1IMvH_0AAjCLMk-WXHAW6hvRCKWIT0XiQQtMtBgY3L4TnZtxBwvC-Cq8l_3WTUYnLZSKvp0REYQ_Z-2rrPV8371-SvQf6gP_kOgSPUg_bGTjs1e-xmaxKkiz3Da5azXwHerqOb1Vx2/s3415/20220629_000403.jpg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="2561" data-original-width="3415" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgWb9K4O47QfpuAA4AqT7q21FgVotOU5xUvH-zf9aI3_IJ_Y_1IMvH_0AAjCLMk-WXHAW6hvRCKWIT0XiQQtMtBgY3L4TnZtxBwvC-Cq8l_3WTUYnLZSKvp0REYQ_Z-2rrPV8371-SvQf6gP_kOgSPUg_bGTjs1e-xmaxKkiz3Da5azXwHerqOb1Vx2/s320/20220629_000403.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Speaking of things that only few people find interesting; I got these proxies as "filler cards" during a recent mail day, do you think they would be legal to play in <a href="https://brothersoffire.home.blog/2021/04/01/major-new-format-announcement/">MAILDAY 50</a>? I could pretend that I think they are real if that helps.<br /></td></tr></tbody></table><br /></div><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhdmQg6CbotZAsz6sGCmHjfs0Is11BJBxV6upyEKLQ1Lr3y2MXKhPcTtvJD9mCzXaOsnNv-CDTFfzGZb_Fr9K2YRb3zrA1IL99SfJxE4MRdyjNcseWO1b46mbs4AeYlOAt2mQa6uSxVyWV1lf7v3V20HfuV-PTWzoDTFerPBGcLWN7bPxvw6a2tukBQ/s4032/20230117_214830.jpg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="4032" data-original-width="3024" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhdmQg6CbotZAsz6sGCmHjfs0Is11BJBxV6upyEKLQ1Lr3y2MXKhPcTtvJD9mCzXaOsnNv-CDTFfzGZb_Fr9K2YRb3zrA1IL99SfJxE4MRdyjNcseWO1b46mbs4AeYlOAt2mQa6uSxVyWV1lf7v3V20HfuV-PTWzoDTFerPBGcLWN7bPxvw6a2tukBQ/s320/20230117_214830.jpg" width="240" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">But here's some phresh nerd-cave furniture for all y'all fools still sticking around. I am positively giddy to have laid my hands on this. My wife also smiled kindly when she saw it, though it's possible that was a bit more kind sympathy than raw amazement.<br /></td></tr></tbody></table><p></p><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjz2BDnnj2DRRMlpnli2tOtBZ_mH_A5vLcFhTH3zx3DawdlvNwXr2UXOsd-Dtl8Yq_5ych-Z4qOi3slMhuTevkLNzykei5g_9BiMbNkRo1H5VWZHzpBgP3kus3grooJiV4IdUA4VwuGQmaUWipF4-FYeiQuMF52VDUnXqdRD-acuJ3ljuODDigntwkw/s3004/20230117_214906.jpg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="3004" data-original-width="2865" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjz2BDnnj2DRRMlpnli2tOtBZ_mH_A5vLcFhTH3zx3DawdlvNwXr2UXOsd-Dtl8Yq_5ych-Z4qOi3slMhuTevkLNzykei5g_9BiMbNkRo1H5VWZHzpBgP3kus3grooJiV4IdUA4VwuGQmaUWipF4-FYeiQuMF52VDUnXqdRD-acuJ3ljuODDigntwkw/s320/20230117_214906.jpg" width="305" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">A subterranean desk area that would have made 14-year old me proud.<br /></td></tr></tbody></table></div><div></div><div><br /><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgwQg8CoTxiJa2qjrvj9S2SfdM8_PzkuQ2RF-MqkKPioXQkXE-PYuG2fAGRLMFUG2C_tpr2LUQKO4SYmzGUF6b1SxSWOf7XwNIIYpwpIBRaEyttotHmq8kCaYIP3evaYxRUXVqj1LENjHX--WZnbrCoAHGKjdFBsxLJDhjBL1CSpJXMtuIIlA3otLlR/s4032/20221130_200113.jpg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="4032" data-original-width="3024" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgwQg8CoTxiJa2qjrvj9S2SfdM8_PzkuQ2RF-MqkKPioXQkXE-PYuG2fAGRLMFUG2C_tpr2LUQKO4SYmzGUF6b1SxSWOf7XwNIIYpwpIBRaEyttotHmq8kCaYIP3evaYxRUXVqj1LENjHX--WZnbrCoAHGKjdFBsxLJDhjBL1CSpJXMtuIIlA3otLlR/s320/20221130_200113.jpg" width="240" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">And yeah, I framed a playmat. Hmm. I guess it is <i>possible</i> that I've walked a bit deep into the nerd quagmire...<br /></td></tr></tbody></table><p>With the move out of the way, it was time to load up for BSK. I've been a hangaround at the Borås convention since 1997, and the oldschool tournament there has been an annual thing since 2010, making it the oldest recurring gathering in the format save n00bcon. And in general, BSK is just a spectacular celebration of Magic. </p><p>I was to share a hotel room with Kalle, and I was particularly excited to get to meet my old friend Arvid Grahn again, for the first time in like 10 years. Arvid was once my neighbor, and we worked together at the Rotary Pub back during the second Bush administration. He's the guy that helped me look past my general nerd shame; before I met him, I had "friends" and "Magic friends", and carefully avoided mixing the two worlds. And he was one of the core designers of the Tribelander format, as well as the guy who won the first ever oldschool tournament at Gothcon 2008. These days, he didn't have a deck though, so I repurposed my 40K deck as a traditional Sligh pile for him:<br /></p><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi7o808jEgOVuD-KPndb7qMSWSNi6LN0vg1mV8FlfsS4EDwJrBnVKNA1oSj_1zkt9-5itg48zat30b5_0YjWnnYKd7pVwAht5r3JiiLbjfFQkj1UNLOXBdcELl8odv-VdtQOFqQkACoKK_5Zai6N7x7ZJPsuArJgzenKNso2N67OlRnSeCHQBL_A0k_/s2851/20221104_115453.jpg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="2851" data-original-width="2837" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi7o808jEgOVuD-KPndb7qMSWSNi6LN0vg1mV8FlfsS4EDwJrBnVKNA1oSj_1zkt9-5itg48zat30b5_0YjWnnYKd7pVwAht5r3JiiLbjfFQkj1UNLOXBdcELl8odv-VdtQOFqQkACoKK_5Zai6N7x7ZJPsuArJgzenKNso2N67OlRnSeCHQBL_A0k_/s320/20221104_115453.jpg" width="318" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">"Why do you only play three Chain Lightning?" "I lost the fourth playing Ante with Svante Landgraf in Switzerland." "Ah, good answer."<br /></td></tr></tbody></table><p>My own deck of choice of BSK was perhaps even spicier than the last couple of mono-colored monstrosities I had sleeved up. The thing was that I was going to play the Vintage tournament at BSK, and for that one I had sleeved up a full-power Oath of Druid Storm deck. And I really don't enjoy moving cards between decks while on the road, and felt uncomfortable traveling across borders with too much power. So I decided to leave Project M at home and just play Monogreen Midrange instead. It's a fun deck, and surprisingly playable.<br /></p><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjXjJ7MgO82YlyDNb9DVPgvR8wIgo8kTVE0LnKEXBWsy_Z0a3JfqvKHGUFf7XHseLLQEvtdgknPV6HJ76p-uZM0PWvedUJZnwHoLRFgZ6Q3Swa05cFg12mx9AtuApCyyjtVqP7xUZ3i6mXeKnMGVeM94jEdOUejFw7oQcYG_zOA6mFxtAZ9k-fLbbaR/s3515/20221105_152516.jpg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="2794" data-original-width="3515" height="254" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjXjJ7MgO82YlyDNb9DVPgvR8wIgo8kTVE0LnKEXBWsy_Z0a3JfqvKHGUFf7XHseLLQEvtdgknPV6HJ76p-uZM0PWvedUJZnwHoLRFgZ6Q3Swa05cFg12mx9AtuApCyyjtVqP7xUZ3i6mXeKnMGVeM94jEdOUejFw7oQcYG_zOA6mFxtAZ9k-fLbbaR/s320/20221105_152516.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">I am not 100% sure with regards to the correct number of Ifh-Biff and Cockatrice here. If Cockatrice would be a 2/5 I'd slam two for sure, but as it trades with cards like Serra, Su-Chi, and PsiBlast I think just one is correct. I could likely cut one Su-Chi for a second Ifh-Biff, and the SB Clay Statue could be Master of the Hunt. If I had owned any black bordered Hurricanes, I'd find room for at least 1 within the 75 as well, probably replacing a Storm Seeker. And to be extra gentlemanly, I skipped Library of Alexandria, which you should obviously play if you want to increase your odds of free wins.<br /></td></tr></tbody></table><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiM_xQjXKFfslMithJuSA1rlVi7M0vQGHi4pyfCuHgTiFfGW2drVwsNGOdcpM-KYtDMRfXw47Jto8tG-q6hNBoeVXR2WcI_w5m1gpF004QFWM7SoY4GV9YNKoJ5Vzd0a0gWx10WpbGZs_I0NaLP4i4uWGTEl0faxOXelk4dYYWa0mUfT7yWFbP5IKyj/s4032/20221105_205128.jpg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="4032" data-original-width="3024" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiM_xQjXKFfslMithJuSA1rlVi7M0vQGHi4pyfCuHgTiFfGW2drVwsNGOdcpM-KYtDMRfXw47Jto8tG-q6hNBoeVXR2WcI_w5m1gpF004QFWM7SoY4GV9YNKoJ5Vzd0a0gWx10WpbGZs_I0NaLP4i4uWGTEl0faxOXelk4dYYWa0mUfT7yWFbP5IKyj/s320/20221105_205128.jpg" width="240" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Relic Barrier mirror against old BSK winner (and two-time n00bcon winner) Pefken.<br /></td></tr></tbody></table><br /><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgARKVkZ8adhIVtFW0VSoNHP6UAq-u7LEMaBJVO26L2coIzkM6uzMYi2uV61d29eUfityEBhGUET9LIKmD0xuZUkl22yWQEKidwasNxApVjSvUSrRgwFfp9qGdiE9V1pr3YZ_S8NggQWkrhDV76ALtId0UC1WJOa7FEfHK-OWj9n3XGWOoPohlKg9Pj/s4032/20221106_001335.jpg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="4032" data-original-width="3024" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgARKVkZ8adhIVtFW0VSoNHP6UAq-u7LEMaBJVO26L2coIzkM6uzMYi2uV61d29eUfityEBhGUET9LIKmD0xuZUkl22yWQEKidwasNxApVjSvUSrRgwFfp9qGdiE9V1pr3YZ_S8NggQWkrhDV76ALtId0UC1WJOa7FEfHK-OWj9n3XGWOoPohlKg9Pj/s320/20221106_001335.jpg" width="240" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">My
deck over-preforms, and again I find myself in the Top8. My
quarterfinal opponent is Vigo who is playing Green Weenie. This is very close to
an unwinnable matchup for him; basically we have the same core disruption
but I get to draw a few more cards and my dudes are like 3/3 while his are like 1/1. His deck has a <i>far</i> better matchup against the actual decks in the Top8 like The Deck or LionDib. Hah!<br /></td></tr></tbody></table><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjoUJEHWWbgzQcKWbJZwSfBm_s6MY60LjEGtCTZ-G2Cza1VVCyxk6KnE7D2BZ3-jwtwRbRvIEFZmaHs7Y_yy9hPtafbjb1wfrcVR3hD2wAYdO71ynGqPbA5pAIYOJLSJPjxJO0_RrivOzrsjmbOI4jLFAADIyf77rW1-w7cEeOgFE8ACp5BLHDynIWw/s4032/20221106_021535.jpg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="4032" data-original-width="3024" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjoUJEHWWbgzQcKWbJZwSfBm_s6MY60LjEGtCTZ-G2Cza1VVCyxk6KnE7D2BZ3-jwtwRbRvIEFZmaHs7Y_yy9hPtafbjb1wfrcVR3hD2wAYdO71ynGqPbA5pAIYOJLSJPjxJO0_RrivOzrsjmbOI4jLFAADIyf77rW1-w7cEeOgFE8ACp5BLHDynIWw/s320/20221106_021535.jpg" width="240" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Eventually I find myself in the finals, facing off against last year's BSK winner and generally well-rounded Magic player Svante Landgraf. We trade the first two games 1-1 before he just annihilates me in the third. Yeah, that picture up there is not me having scooped up my cards, that's after he destroyed every single one of my permanents. "Here, but no further", said the end boss.<br /></td></tr></tbody></table><br /><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEikUxQ5OopfdLrtXKRGOqz9aEaZBwm3KCVFxMawyF5lAf8Nr3ClG4yjR46K-iLMhqq223Hxj12YwoLPLkPf0sQsnqkO0PH7R2FyNYCO8-Nyg1tkpzWnb0-LnrR8jmWq5hY43FW7XTxjD33QUnbIE0YJgiLuGBPWgrZb_coaSyO5GmzCjAf3S9W4njpA/s4032/20221106_021633(0).jpg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="3024" data-original-width="4032" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEikUxQ5OopfdLrtXKRGOqz9aEaZBwm3KCVFxMawyF5lAf8Nr3ClG4yjR46K-iLMhqq223Hxj12YwoLPLkPf0sQsnqkO0PH7R2FyNYCO8-Nyg1tkpzWnb0-LnrR8jmWq5hY43FW7XTxjD33QUnbIE0YJgiLuGBPWgrZb_coaSyO5GmzCjAf3S9W4njpA/s320/20221106_021633(0).jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Sore loser and proud winner.<br /></td></tr></tbody></table><p></p><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjwtHrEXJj2Vzu30FfIqfj3GQwkMXYTzHC9Ugdwv38IJSUEU6wlWbRxLNKbQC_rT6uQTbUc1CIDLqzedSzosEw1Kh88BQGjUVgLCVQJ6_CcwoI0uPtoT3dZWbrIt5E-K5-ITgg15iVQiTcaeWEynAsh4xwQUyhJunAFNB8xQ3WTTnEQ5kH0zUgG64fQ/s3648/20221105_020559.jpg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="2736" data-original-width="3648" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjwtHrEXJj2Vzu30FfIqfj3GQwkMXYTzHC9Ugdwv38IJSUEU6wlWbRxLNKbQC_rT6uQTbUc1CIDLqzedSzosEw1Kh88BQGjUVgLCVQJ6_CcwoI0uPtoT3dZWbrIt5E-K5-ITgg15iVQiTcaeWEynAsh4xwQUyhJunAFNB8xQ3WTTnEQ5kH0zUgG64fQ/s320/20221105_020559.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">In
a sense I'm still the real winner, as I get to cosy down next to Kalle
in bed after the endeavor. Suck on that, Doctor Landgraf!<br /></td><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><br /></td></tr></tbody></table><p>So, that concludes my Magic introspective for 2022. If this would have been a broader retrospective, which has been the tradition here for the previous ten years, there are a lot of names that I would have shouted from the rooftops. Henk, Erwin, The Reindeer. Megu & the Fishliver crew. Markus and Svetzarn. Mitja and Alban. Far too many Americans to mention. Far too many more Europeans to mention also. But I guess that my loudest shout goes to all the guys who
made online friendships during Covid and then moved them offline. The new Flying Men in the community.<br /></p><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgHVQZNS8hdoEyhuWhI6JmgTn5SOnp7itwLlmlZnUTiuNCnkU7IMVQRAO1AQ1L-qUDJaAq0E_ov8ex5M9Jkw5u_0nNXK11HFx9YqpAtvkMLeU1GbOeLyKuhdWJ_m0fGHPUQpP7V_G88Em-9rYrqLUkz0-oFEyEIOdMZWc0aEqVAsFV8yHNAKDQoJazy/s4032/20220903_222246.jpg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="3024" data-original-width="4032" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgHVQZNS8hdoEyhuWhI6JmgTn5SOnp7itwLlmlZnUTiuNCnkU7IMVQRAO1AQ1L-qUDJaAq0E_ov8ex5M9Jkw5u_0nNXK11HFx9YqpAtvkMLeU1GbOeLyKuhdWJ_m0fGHPUQpP7V_G88Em-9rYrqLUkz0-oFEyEIOdMZWc0aEqVAsFV8yHNAKDQoJazy/s320/20220903_222246.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Gogo, gaga, one of us!<br /></td></tr></tbody></table><p>There are some sweet gatherings I'm looking
forward to in 2023. I plan to go to Italy for two weeks in October with the family, sneaking away for a couple of days to join the championship at Winc0n 2. During the summer I hope to return to Switzerland and eat pasta at Casa Reindeer. The Easter will turn Gothenburg into a Mecca of 93/94 players, with <a href="https://n00bfest.world/">the first n00bFest</a>.</p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg9dNCRZVU7aUWp8HWpz73ZuTMdnthHVKYHwyDVfDkt3rz5NURGiQBIR1HYgFzibkIZsLjMIZCHw3A1ZmXF4EnPQL3vDgrFNUOr-r1UOeGkuUkprWP2w2aCsvf1-GUBv4WJ4YeSZTJQiqsc8bYKTxf6ERmkE8vPGf9NdQYXPF3aNNC3vuOXxUvWbx0R/s1024/n00bfestlogo.png" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="187" data-original-width="1024" height="58" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg9dNCRZVU7aUWp8HWpz73ZuTMdnthHVKYHwyDVfDkt3rz5NURGiQBIR1HYgFzibkIZsLjMIZCHw3A1ZmXF4EnPQL3vDgrFNUOr-r1UOeGkuUkprWP2w2aCsvf1-GUBv4WJ4YeSZTJQiqsc8bYKTxf6ERmkE8vPGf9NdQYXPF3aNNC3vuOXxUvWbx0R/s320/n00bfestlogo.png" width="320" /></a></div><p>But before that, we have Arvika Festival 8 coming up February 25. And Markus and Svetzarn really went for the bleachers this time. Last year Markus asked me what the largest Swedish-rules oldschool tournament had been, and I noted that n00bcon in the years before the pandemic had a cap on 120 players, so around there would be the bar<i>*</i>. In typical Markus fashion he scoffed and said he could easily beat that - in a post-pandemic world nonetheless. I laughed and said that he could have the Shark I had planned for a possible n00bcon if he somehow managed to get over 100 players to travel to god damn Arvika; a city in the middle of the Swedish woods with 14,000 inhabitants. And now, a month before showdown, they have 126 oldschool players signed up and paid. So hats off to him I guess. And Drew Tucker is coming, so that's awesome.</p><div style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjiy9VaEoXykK3ImTneqtC_upcYPrDdazKr-prsPYc0CjgQlddqCRukokIzTNm48nky36aVEbGnDcxOwkD8tcKs7YqB2SAJ0okL0qc8eU2jU903-kAcSaJIIRCbTo27UuO007pUQ3yhHjrzu9A_18_-COdLtxW7C-Go5jgHGHEskS7-hxx1wHg4srDi/s582/tSTtO4M49ZzyCrDHEK11deBgFSzX9wcrhMDYknWkFj6jnCHWyEpCMcXZMZDtF7y56.jpg"><img border="0" data-original-height="467" data-original-width="582" height="257" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjiy9VaEoXykK3ImTneqtC_upcYPrDdazKr-prsPYc0CjgQlddqCRukokIzTNm48nky36aVEbGnDcxOwkD8tcKs7YqB2SAJ0okL0qc8eU2jU903-kAcSaJIIRCbTo27UuO007pUQ3yhHjrzu9A_18_-COdLtxW7C-Go5jgHGHEskS7-hxx1wHg4srDi/s320/tSTtO4M49ZzyCrDHEK11deBgFSzX9wcrhMDYknWkFj6jnCHWyEpCMcXZMZDtF7y56.jpg" width="320" /></a></div><p>If this was the kind retrospective we'd do while working on some continuously improving process, we would probably ask questions like "what could we improve for 2023?" and "what went well in 2022?". Start,
stop, continue? So. I kinda like being a bit less online, hanging out some more in the moment and the IRL with my hobby. Deleting my Twitter and Instagram profiles ended up a net positive. So I think I'll continue
with that. As for 'start', I'd like to play a bit more with the locals; I've been
terrible at joining the local pub meetups in the last months. And I've just found out that there's a Legacy scene here in Oslo, so I should check that out. </p><p>As for stopping, I should stop
overthinking my own output of content (or lack thereof). The tournaments I organize and the things I write are honestly not that important anymore, and that's a good thing. I can still post some musings every now and then, or organize some tournaments, and not worry too much about reach. If I, or anyone, want to check out more frequent Scandinavian Oldschool content, <a href="https://www.youtube.com/@farmsteadmtg4014">Farmstead</a> has a thousand subscribers now, and he frequently uploads very well made videos. When I abstained from organizing n00bcon in 2023 due to the extended family, KungMarkus and Svetzarn took it to organize a 120+ player Swedish-legal Shark Tournament, and The Reindeer and Mitja and FloVo took over the Gothenburg Easter celebrations with n00bFest - inviting the world's wizards to the Rotary Pub, the Skansen redoubt, and the Wizards' Tournament. Things continuously improve. And continuous improvement is the whole purpose of doing retrospectives after all.<br /></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjbSZ6t6mw8OAimjDQMEWzzu6anzxm6UL6ABkFrvHpsTNkIfjbJ6-h8-_gNP02g9IolhCd56-4MQ7BoqTQEMyV85cxK_8847GcFFrdOHMpOCThOZDeQzVFbOhbqzkSbs-tzgtTF-ykdGczaZo8nfLtu3kV6Cf49IW252fund8XP4pw138Xs39M3ny3P/s680/metamorphosis.hq.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="680" data-original-width="480" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjbSZ6t6mw8OAimjDQMEWzzu6anzxm6UL6ABkFrvHpsTNkIfjbJ6-h8-_gNP02g9IolhCd56-4MQ7BoqTQEMyV85cxK_8847GcFFrdOHMpOCThOZDeQzVFbOhbqzkSbs-tzgtTF-ykdGczaZo8nfLtu3kV6Cf49IW252fund8XP4pw138Xs39M3ny3P/s320/metamorphosis.hq.jpg" width="226" /></a></div></div><div> </div><div>Thank you for sticking around, and thanks for making this hobby - and this format! - better and better. I can't wait to gather with you all again in 2023! <3<br /><p></p><b><br /></b></div><div><b> </b></div><div><b> </b><i>* Exact number is 122 on-site for n00bcon X due to a mistake that made us overflow the cap. Additionally for
any besserwisser nerd historians; n00bcon 11 and Urborg Feast played in the same city at the
same time for the same Top8/Shark, and capped at a total of 170
players; though that was on two separate locations with separate swisses.
The largest in-person event that allowed for a more relaxed reprint
policy I believe was Eternal Weekend 2019 EC Event with 196 players in Pennsylvania.
And the largest event if we go online and move away from simultaneous
playing is probably the 2021 Winter Derby with its 375 players in
cyberspace. (Please correct me if I have some numbers wrong, or missed some major showdown.)<br /></i></div>Mghttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00555613518338194305noreply@blogger.com15tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2299444734264560627.post-70816030642984711782022-10-12T20:45:00.006+02:002022-10-13T14:01:47.992+02:00Dwarven Warriors 2022: Witness accounts from Michael Schroers and Martin Purrio<img src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjbP2w29hwSp528m_BYYQWht_jZjKcx4N-Aq4pX4M20_Y3T36vaW4QZiyQUJ469R9XYX04j0U6LQYVdU6y_txz7Aou22pu_Uv4dNosHKr3zvv7mh5l9d1iNY3RGsSo0PKD9BAR5gnHl7KZ4WaNrOPlTaAo2OmJTDkxK2x8tsqOOX5A8aT_zLcgjw7Ki/s416/image12.jpeg" style="display: none;" /><i>Real Magic, proper oldschool. Dwarven god-damn Warriors. It is my great pleasure to give the stage to Michael and Martin. Enjoy! /Mg out</i><br /><p>Finally it was on! After weeks of discussing which drinks we could serve the lady of the house, which giveaways we could bring, and if Erwin deserved a present or not, Dwarven Warriors was just a few hours away. Being able to take a day off and sending the students home early, gave us a head start.</p><p>After all the waiting the enthusiasm was almost unbearable, so we quickly had a proper curry wurst for lunch and grabbed some ice cubes at the gas station to cool our drinks. In the end preparation is everything! Michael did already have the pleasure to participate in 2021 and has been pushing Martin to build a deck ever since, but when Martin met Erwin and the Dutch crew for the first time no pushing was needed any longer. The energy of the gathering at 4000 recharges your batteries for weeks and weeks to come... at least ours.</p><div style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgUJ30SgMx5JkiDAy4lJRVaZFYSsyFlKshzNwu0TZD8zMeNLpW6JuStJX5OwWGoR7EvbzXDw9zYISXkJsS2EfJ_9LYJtmvPq61RMIPNtowFui0vqZNxz5jTeX2ulA3W5rO6EJnSTB_hzp9TsAuID0QLk6Rkk7D85JCwtvg3K0VGsnbc6CDn5tRekuim/s492/image1.jpeg"><img border="0" data-original-height="369" data-original-width="492" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgUJ30SgMx5JkiDAy4lJRVaZFYSsyFlKshzNwu0TZD8zMeNLpW6JuStJX5OwWGoR7EvbzXDw9zYISXkJsS2EfJ_9LYJtmvPq61RMIPNtowFui0vqZNxz5jTeX2ulA3W5rO6EJnSTB_hzp9TsAuID0QLk6Rkk7D85JCwtvg3K0VGsnbc6CDn5tRekuim/s320/image1.jpeg" width="320" /></a></div><p>So off we go to slowly roll down the Dutch motorways. After a few hours of driving we arrived at Erwin’s place pretty relaxed and ready to go off!</p><p>We were warmly greeted by our hosts Marijke and Erwin before entering the garden, where the "Magic" was going to happen. Nick, Dyan and Hunter were already jamming cards and drinking beer for various hours so we jumped right in not wanting to miss another second!</p><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgMkuTQffUCMHN-SZ4gzzilRuE4UdbaS2SsMKsSMM8k0QQfl1luJGvdHIg2zeNa4h5BlhVIRJci9HlW7OTPiKR76ArFzuGBk5Vu3bCznZpZ2qC7oNwBxqBfWvytchfYtCoybpHNnSCeI3iIETQXaC6x__B2pwLpWAAOV6G_Kv2WEFIs79oZDxpNPgVn/s659/image2.jpeg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="659" data-original-width="494" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgMkuTQffUCMHN-SZ4gzzilRuE4UdbaS2SsMKsSMM8k0QQfl1luJGvdHIg2zeNa4h5BlhVIRJci9HlW7OTPiKR76ArFzuGBk5Vu3bCznZpZ2qC7oNwBxqBfWvytchfYtCoybpHNnSCeI3iIETQXaC6x__B2pwLpWAAOV6G_Kv2WEFIs79oZDxpNPgVn/s320/image2.jpeg" width="240" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Purple, who joined soon after we arrived, having fun with his new life counter and a huge Howl from Beyond. </td></tr></tbody></table><br /><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiaOunokQS1c3v8623YkRh21IbOP6gwhKZAzqiAPT9sj0HFRz96Kzw9MtLvd2qPpfECCFcFBHKJlI1BEV2axFq6w6biXWt29fTph4fPqURYZ-ijA2YIUd6DfkxLTBBSD3GUV0ENlWjDSDhITYY0oCsWDNCJaNi9G646ug2A-SKG0b49tQCNAzJ5Mzy6/s680/image3.jpeg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="510" data-original-width="680" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiaOunokQS1c3v8623YkRh21IbOP6gwhKZAzqiAPT9sj0HFRz96Kzw9MtLvd2qPpfECCFcFBHKJlI1BEV2axFq6w6biXWt29fTph4fPqURYZ-ijA2YIUd6DfkxLTBBSD3GUV0ENlWjDSDhITYY0oCsWDNCJaNi9G646ug2A-SKG0b49tQCNAzJ5Mzy6/s320/image3.jpeg" width="320" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Nick enjoys enchanting all my permanents except a lonely mountain.</td></tr></tbody></table><p></p><p></p><p>The feeling of Dwarven Warriors is special. Because it is hosted by the Demmers in their residence, you don’t feel like attending a tournament, but like visiting old friends for a garden party... a huge one. As at a friend’s party, everything is provided. Beer (bottled or from the tap), soft drinks, cocktails made by Purple himself, snacks and lunch, dinner and breakfast were all served to us.</p><p>With all the players being handpicked by Erwin, there were only the best of people, so the whole feel of the tournament was more than friendly. This year there was Hunter from the US, the Catalonian Crew, a crazy Belgian, ze Schermans, icemen from Norway, the Frisian connection, and the Dutch Guild attending.</p><p>Within the next hours quiet a bunch of people had already arrived and were jamming cards, changing and preparing decks or just enjoying the gathering. We, for ourselves, were pondering deeply about the correct number of Pestilences and Grizzly Bears. In the end most bears had to go to make room for a second hurricane main and more artifact removal... those pesky books seem to be everywhere.</p><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg0brb1FoGj11xMMsSks6yYfv1C3pXYb_g_H8rA4KYJ0cIGFopTQYa3d4Gu5PtkHlx57lnK4msRpH1SRKrR32PTF1ORbB-9mVoWdf6sGWv5FluDJNKqwjma381nU2nkV-ZDFipwwmgKm9sttn3rdRUnySzRRFgKVipEeGFquidIOjnGnjqHkN4bgyBK/s607/image4.jpeg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="456" data-original-width="607" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg0brb1FoGj11xMMsSks6yYfv1C3pXYb_g_H8rA4KYJ0cIGFopTQYa3d4Gu5PtkHlx57lnK4msRpH1SRKrR32PTF1ORbB-9mVoWdf6sGWv5FluDJNKqwjma381nU2nkV-ZDFipwwmgKm9sttn3rdRUnySzRRFgKVipEeGFquidIOjnGnjqHkN4bgyBK/s320/image4.jpeg" width="320" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Deck after the tournament: In favour of changes, Orcish Artillery and
the last Grizzly have been removed from the main deck. Additions for
next year will be two Fogs in main and side.</td></tr></tbody></table><p>Between 2:00 and 3:00 am we sneaked away to get some sleep before the next morning called. For some of us the night was tough... heavy snoring, profuse sweating and circulatory problems had to be overcome. But being old hands those unwanted side effects of heavy partying did not really restrict us. After a substantial breakfast around 9:0 or 10:00 we felt prepared for the first beer at high noon.</p><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjReb9OabkAKAELw7SOOSxrI7j-14cph9k9Pdh9Riaw-JU3oCMl5c02KJkwMGaCpVna1M_DOpHI2348qD7zXN_avXJ6lVa_7Xj410gFQwQl_qO76MREvJSW28EFkdSsec2scYtwX0sjzzcThfRT-9gmNW069NZ5F7n_Z9pv_yOFJ1Wx2XltIudfNuV-/s528/image5.jpeg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="528" data-original-width="396" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjReb9OabkAKAELw7SOOSxrI7j-14cph9k9Pdh9Riaw-JU3oCMl5c02KJkwMGaCpVna1M_DOpHI2348qD7zXN_avXJ6lVa_7Xj410gFQwQl_qO76MREvJSW28EFkdSsec2scYtwX0sjzzcThfRT-9gmNW069NZ5F7n_Z9pv_yOFJ1Wx2XltIudfNuV-/s320/image5.jpeg" width="240" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">The hosts giving an opening speech.</td></tr></tbody></table><br /><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh212zdxv9iB2ZXj_Jjba_2qY9kbunzabavGEC2qtQ4Q2CRDwJYUABxk-OoMiIf6lTzPhA3W1Qml74ZxSvrp6nUY94sgzONa-iZTfFN96j_iH2n3ygPgT9HyuW2wkzBbiYq1vaoKc3imVTxgBchEFXvCS0XRmdeVXX8z0XK4SK-S-88hh4yoXHxhBJo/s600/image6.jpeg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="450" data-original-width="600" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh212zdxv9iB2ZXj_Jjba_2qY9kbunzabavGEC2qtQ4Q2CRDwJYUABxk-OoMiIf6lTzPhA3W1Qml74ZxSvrp6nUY94sgzONa-iZTfFN96j_iH2n3ygPgT9HyuW2wkzBbiYq1vaoKc3imVTxgBchEFXvCS0XRmdeVXX8z0XK4SK-S-88hh4yoXHxhBJo/s320/image6.jpeg" width="320" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Some random guys smiling and drinking beer.</td></tr></tbody></table><p>The next 18 hours were spent as follows: Beer, games, beer, beer, games, beer, beer, games, beer, games/bye for Martin, beer, games, beer, games. In between Marijke and Ere prepared and served various snacks and meals to keep everyone fed and strong. A huge shout out and many thanks, hugs and kisses for these two wonderful ladies without whom the weekend wouldn’t have been possible and I'm certain people would not have had that much fun!</p><p>In the end time passed too quickly. We had tons of fun and Michael even won a few games with his RG stompyish deck. Martin had an amazing time as well, but could only score one win with his BW Pestilence deck. For next time, the acquisition of a pack of Zombie Masters has been contemplated.</p><p>All in all, the tournament was pushed into the background by all the new and old friends we met and chatted with during the breaks and before and after the tournament.</p><p>Then suddenly the winners were about to be proclaimed by Marijke, so everybody was called into the garden and made shut up. When our names were called as the winners of the Dwarven Warriors Cup, we first didn’t believe in our ears, because we both did not perform admirably in the tournament. But the trophy is not awarded for performance in the tournament, but for some other, softer and deeper skills. Anyhow, we were more than happy to have taken down our first trophy for the Rhineland Avengers and won’t question Erwin’s decision!</p><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgThn5H_jVba14Yzy1bejMkxgyzcNICY5nDjuFWn0QGnpvcWVfOvdfqsjVWWEEuHhXWZBL5zAJemhScH1yV4tTshGzC0PLUD9An7NzagVL4ZBwA3KqWEreTAvAD_gsmGEYoGD-z7XwgLbxgY_qNjciw5rhEjUgic73Mo3RuLdz538UQ_PBxEtBDObYx/s520/image7.jpeg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="452" data-original-width="520" height="278" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgThn5H_jVba14Yzy1bejMkxgyzcNICY5nDjuFWn0QGnpvcWVfOvdfqsjVWWEEuHhXWZBL5zAJemhScH1yV4tTshGzC0PLUD9An7NzagVL4ZBwA3KqWEreTAvAD_gsmGEYoGD-z7XwgLbxgY_qNjciw5rhEjUgic73Mo3RuLdz538UQ_PBxEtBDObYx/s320/image7.jpeg" width="320" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">The dwarf himself... </td></tr></tbody></table><br /><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgfFiYDuO4wjiuU3fNDQxhCQ5HwV--U3f-SQDr6uanqN1DXtM6O68uOelIgT_3Rf1vgQmu7BY4WGzAQcSuopbxJtnWquV7i2r4dVN3-Zc4zC0lVvZjdKyu93CoMLeKrOHKxOC6TXC_jjSwEAD9fshhlq8Zl8trYLe5-SP6uHVkHiTxhdrN8LyejI4V-/s807/image8.jpeg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="453" data-original-width="807" height="180" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgfFiYDuO4wjiuU3fNDQxhCQ5HwV--U3f-SQDr6uanqN1DXtM6O68uOelIgT_3Rf1vgQmu7BY4WGzAQcSuopbxJtnWquV7i2r4dVN3-Zc4zC0lVvZjdKyu93CoMLeKrOHKxOC6TXC_jjSwEAD9fshhlq8Zl8trYLe5-SP6uHVkHiTxhdrN8LyejI4V-/s320/image8.jpeg" width="320" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">...and two happy Avengers back in Germany Sunday afternoon.</td></tr></tbody></table><p></p><p>Albert from the Hanseatic Oldschool crew took down the final of the tournament against our host, Erwin. We can only speculate, if Erwin, being a true gentleman, maybe didn’t want to win his own tournament, but everybody who has ever seen Erwin play, knows that he always plays to win. </p><p>On the high note of ze Schermans winning the prices at the Dwarven Warriors Cup in 4000, the official part of the Tournament ended. Or so people thought. Having witnessed a few tournaments, we knew that at least one person always tends to drink one beer too many and in general does not get any recognition for that, so we prepared a Rhineland Avengers and Dwarven Warrior branded Beer cooler, to award to the “Tagesvollster” (The most drunk person of the day). This Saturday it was Henk, who easily took the win in this category. In the true spirit of the award, he lost the cooler in the bathroom and had no memory of winning it, when he was confronted with his failings in the morning.</p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgzd4vsykgwzleXe25I2TN7nuh49ZD6c9tZfvoL-0ZQuSB7wRndIL25FcaP8xP4jsGa7BAc5H4Z528b76UD2hF7wOk1_ob07ET6lYgeFyu-eEpwosimTmtFvQl2kKqc-Tud3B2kQ3fqdeomz9_xsG8yMfQ3q2mClEv43_w11V_mmlbyWWZ2AnGtYxAK/s419/image9.jpeg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="314" data-original-width="419" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgzd4vsykgwzleXe25I2TN7nuh49ZD6c9tZfvoL-0ZQuSB7wRndIL25FcaP8xP4jsGa7BAc5H4Z528b76UD2hF7wOk1_ob07ET6lYgeFyu-eEpwosimTmtFvQl2kKqc-Tud3B2kQ3fqdeomz9_xsG8yMfQ3q2mClEv43_w11V_mmlbyWWZ2AnGtYxAK/s320/image9.jpeg" width="320" /></a></div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi7nqu82A8tAGfaPS_8cVrRQ3BJ6ND5dJbNHktZB5Nr4GbzT3ZWdeIAwK5I518FlKBtj5j0Fu528-8thbgQW_g_ce4dERL7q-JfRl9gUYUY8wWqfsC-a-3UFqKLeBcfm_tDPlAaR4s4W_b3hcvU9TD5cGB0vSvmqEZjG4CbmY1Ku6xFyyHprTL2WFRL/s415/image10.jpeg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="311" data-original-width="415" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi7nqu82A8tAGfaPS_8cVrRQ3BJ6ND5dJbNHktZB5Nr4GbzT3ZWdeIAwK5I518FlKBtj5j0Fu528-8thbgQW_g_ce4dERL7q-JfRl9gUYUY8wWqfsC-a-3UFqKLeBcfm_tDPlAaR4s4W_b3hcvU9TD5cGB0vSvmqEZjG4CbmY1Ku6xFyyHprTL2WFRL/s320/image10.jpeg" width="320" /></a></div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgo4F1r7_YxOJD6OkyuMm0sgwyCQN5pVFHVb954FQoaQ6qzDipaOIS0kX6Jme_GN4lDdmpfvpyO-ur0Ig3v_61f-n-IAyCe_IwYXzo0J8WKd016GLNLX-EUPhyby3qel8CJHkvo6yHbBiInpj8-73i-7vsRx2L0vdYUdMUvy7koFZIyYDE7TYds_bM8/s418/image11.jpeg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="314" data-original-width="418" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgo4F1r7_YxOJD6OkyuMm0sgwyCQN5pVFHVb954FQoaQ6qzDipaOIS0kX6Jme_GN4lDdmpfvpyO-ur0Ig3v_61f-n-IAyCe_IwYXzo0J8WKd016GLNLX-EUPhyby3qel8CJHkvo6yHbBiInpj8-73i-7vsRx2L0vdYUdMUvy7koFZIyYDE7TYds_bM8/s320/image11.jpeg" width="320" /></a></div><p>Deep at night the party moved into the club house to give the neighbors the chance to catch a few hours of sleep. Tables were moved and the dance floor was opened. There is always a next level! Around 5am the real final four was proclaimed by Erwin, who was still partying with Richard, Hunter and Michael all sporting the rare Dwarven Warrior shirts made by Wilfred. The last picture of the night was taken, when Benja our crazy Belgian jumped out of the bathroom making it a final five.</p><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjbP2w29hwSp528m_BYYQWht_jZjKcx4N-Aq4pX4M20_Y3T36vaW4QZiyQUJ469R9XYX04j0U6LQYVdU6y_txz7Aou22pu_Uv4dNosHKr3zvv7mh5l9d1iNY3RGsSo0PKD9BAR5gnHl7KZ4WaNrOPlTaAo2OmJTDkxK2x8tsqOOX5A8aT_zLcgjw7Ki/s416/image12.jpeg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="312" data-original-width="416" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjbP2w29hwSp528m_BYYQWht_jZjKcx4N-Aq4pX4M20_Y3T36vaW4QZiyQUJ469R9XYX04j0U6LQYVdU6y_txz7Aou22pu_Uv4dNosHKr3zvv7mh5l9d1iNY3RGsSo0PKD9BAR5gnHl7KZ4WaNrOPlTaAo2OmJTDkxK2x8tsqOOX5A8aT_zLcgjw7Ki/s320/image12.jpeg" width="320" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Last men standing with Benja in the bathroom.</td></tr></tbody></table><p>Thank you Erwin and Marijke, you are an amazing family and outdid yourselves again. It was a great pleasure to enjoy the weekend with the friends we have made during our oldschool journey. We wouldn’t miss any of it and can’t wait to hand back the trophy next year to rock again in 4000!</p>Mghttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00555613518338194305noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2299444734264560627.post-51550114407739766792022-09-26T15:18:00.011+02:002022-09-26T15:24:11.501+02:00The Plague: An invitation from Daniel Ewald<p style="margin-bottom: 0in; text-align: center;"><i>"Should
you a Rat to madness tease</i></p>
<p style="margin-bottom: 0in; text-align: center;"><i>Why
ev'n a Rat may plague you..."</i></p>
<p style="margin-bottom: 0in; text-align: center;">—Samuel
Coleridge,<i> "Recantation"</i></p><p align="left" style="margin-bottom: 0in; orphans: 2; widows: 2;"><br /></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgGIT-AmdVHRBvnMKv6GKX85BNWw90_D2wfChDa8atom6pXeMPNIRWnhglorDyCd9ojD2-q1_2RZ9oBzMdbFpm94ctn8P4n415iLer8m2hKHvCUOPoTFxRDweYRgGjGVCYfuQNNv0pdxtooqhwdjzSGY9u9R-4qK6FGGflJgpABVw4oGhzePS5HjUo2/s714/image6.png" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="714" data-original-width="620" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgGIT-AmdVHRBvnMKv6GKX85BNWw90_D2wfChDa8atom6pXeMPNIRWnhglorDyCd9ojD2-q1_2RZ9oBzMdbFpm94ctn8P4n415iLer8m2hKHvCUOPoTFxRDweYRgGjGVCYfuQNNv0pdxtooqhwdjzSGY9u9R-4qK6FGGflJgpABVw4oGhzePS5HjUo2/s320/image6.png" width="278" /></a></div><p></p><div style="margin-bottom: 0in; orphans: 2; text-align: left; widows: 2;">Theodor
Severin Kittelsen, born in Norway in 1857, was a legendary artist and
illustrator, made famous mainly by his vivid illustrations to folk-
and fairy tales collected by authors Asbjørnsen and Moe, as well as
his illustrated book on the Black Plague, published in 1900.</div><div style="margin-bottom: 0in; orphans: 2; text-align: left; widows: 2;"> <br /></div><div style="margin-bottom: 0in; orphans: 2; text-align: left; widows: 2;">If
Kittelsen was born a hundred years later, he would surely be sought
after as a fantasy illustrator to games and collectibles such as
Magic: the Gathering. His style was way ahead of its time, some of
his works would undoubtedly fit the theme of dungeons, dragons and
decay perfectly. What could be a better backdrop to a tournament
theme? </div><p style="margin-bottom: 0in; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEggBVCrA9LlUipkvazy4iyAXv5DncXR1TRA2yWMpwVPU3e1T1JeGSgO4VWrAJXuxC9dOvOMRJJ68F5oQjg2riEboJqT9AlC6iwqldDMCL-h5GBdEa-WotblHVZDJxa1sI1t0QMjMJETBVpoiXTBKHH2e5IZHwx8VRYjX137SImEfdq5cs676YhGIx1R/s319/image7.png" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="282" data-original-width="319" height="282" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEggBVCrA9LlUipkvazy4iyAXv5DncXR1TRA2yWMpwVPU3e1T1JeGSgO4VWrAJXuxC9dOvOMRJJ68F5oQjg2riEboJqT9AlC6iwqldDMCL-h5GBdEa-WotblHVZDJxa1sI1t0QMjMJETBVpoiXTBKHH2e5IZHwx8VRYjX137SImEfdq5cs676YhGIx1R/s1600/image7.png" width="319" /></a></p>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in; orphans: 2; text-align: left; widows: 2;"><b> </b></div><div style="margin-bottom: 0in; orphans: 2; text-align: left; widows: 2;"><b>The
Plague</b> will be the biggest Old School Magic: the Gathering
tournament in Norway to date. Set in the epic locale of Spiralen, a
cafe and restaurant built on a hilltop overlooking Drammen city,
reached by a spiraling tunnel road carved into the mountain, built in
the 1960s. We cannot think of a better location.</div><div style="margin-bottom: 0in; orphans: 2; text-align: left; widows: 2;"> </div>
<h2 style="margin-bottom: 0in; text-align: left;"><b>What
to expect?</b></h2>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in; orphans: 2; text-align: left; widows: 2;"> </div><div style="margin-bottom: 0in; orphans: 2; text-align: left; widows: 2;">Epic
scenery. Local brews. Food. Antique cardboard. Scandinavians.
Madness, prizes and surprises. Metal? Metal.</div><div style="margin-bottom: 0in; orphans: 2; text-align: left; widows: 2;"> </div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in; orphans: 2; text-align: left; widows: 2;">We
will run a full day tournament on Saturday, October 8th. Registration
and arrangements are done in <a href="https://tolaria.app/events">Tolaria.app</a>. Be sure to sign up!
So far, we are approximately forty players and counting! </div><p style="margin-bottom: 0in; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiCh6491G1_dOGGfJie8w-35UZ24Zf6TlAFyUjnkbiJViiFusIuCmqMdTJBXUON1qmidTNX5Rk4jDtkYcu1lhrYCfX5OkzVT9dicvhQcxEdli5VSYualeQnZhYKkMYfkuYF3hAx_5nB67xOztDfhWvkQn-6SOjpA4T-tKrwhD9tbs9Bc3NAQ4e9dE9U/s531/image2.png" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="531" data-original-width="531" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiCh6491G1_dOGGfJie8w-35UZ24Zf6TlAFyUjnkbiJViiFusIuCmqMdTJBXUON1qmidTNX5Rk4jDtkYcu1lhrYCfX5OkzVT9dicvhQcxEdli5VSYualeQnZhYKkMYfkuYF3hAx_5nB67xOztDfhWvkQn-6SOjpA4T-tKrwhD9tbs9Bc3NAQ4e9dE9U/s320/image2.png" width="320" /></a> <br /></p>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in; orphans: 2; text-align: left; widows: 2;"> </div><div style="margin-bottom: 0in; orphans: 2; text-align: left; widows: 2;">On
Friday, October 7th we will host side events in Old School Cube and
AB4000 (Alpha-Beta only, Elfvalley Cup style). These events will be
set in locations appropriate for the amount of players.</div><div style="margin-bottom: 0in; orphans: 2; text-align: left; widows: 2;"> </div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in; orphans: 2; text-align: left; widows: 2;">If
you are planning to visit Norway for card slinging this year, Drammen
in October is the place to be. We look forward to welcoming you all!</div><p align="left" style="margin-bottom: 0in; orphans: 2; widows: 2;"></p><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjOz5XbzzFAE0wNtQ-X717nsp16_rk3uDQHjCSoeqBg1IDr5mwBvnOa8q9nD56nbbdQ10hprYZvnP7QJVZrkxNCHyiqDKIh-dVVnqf0gV2ds5wgvXsELsGr3z5Uo7e2Nn2K7HLEa-iNJn9NoKiAX9qzJurU9OpAWPnxjiFrlkB0KYMmIilV3zYhBnw7/s2048/image13.jpg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1219" data-original-width="2048" height="190" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjOz5XbzzFAE0wNtQ-X717nsp16_rk3uDQHjCSoeqBg1IDr5mwBvnOa8q9nD56nbbdQ10hprYZvnP7QJVZrkxNCHyiqDKIh-dVVnqf0gV2ds5wgvXsELsGr3z5Uo7e2Nn2K7HLEa-iNJn9NoKiAX9qzJurU9OpAWPnxjiFrlkB0KYMmIilV3zYhBnw7/s320/image13.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><div align="left" style="margin-bottom: 0in; orphans: 2; widows: 2;"><i>Black
plague playmat - one of a kind. Complete with acid stains.</i></div></td></tr></tbody></table><p align="left" style="margin-bottom: 0in; orphans: 2; widows: 2;"> </p><p align="left" style="margin-bottom: 0in; orphans: 2; widows: 2;"></p><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhvG_AqVhZ_3Thmo8PjZXdj0Eu_ENRB5NUCD9Ph0Rg00vtBV03Nc0K8UfiRXYxsO4pHD_1DeJfme4QgbdPQE3AF8bZBHvGsi7GLC4oJscw1vi8paaoZAcb6eOMPw-uxj3FEszjdsrZclvMBiEzhp8Ykex-tWivCjuT4OB5L3mbPm9Zw4qL_alLfKHrF/s2048/image14.jpg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="2048" data-original-width="1703" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhvG_AqVhZ_3Thmo8PjZXdj0Eu_ENRB5NUCD9Ph0Rg00vtBV03Nc0K8UfiRXYxsO4pHD_1DeJfme4QgbdPQE3AF8bZBHvGsi7GLC4oJscw1vi8paaoZAcb6eOMPw-uxj3FEszjdsrZclvMBiEzhp8Ykex-tWivCjuT4OB5L3mbPm9Zw4qL_alLfKHrF/s320/image14.jpg" width="266" /></a></td></tr><tr align="center"><td class="tr-caption"><div style="margin-bottom: 0in; orphans: 2; widows: 2;"><i>First
place gets a two-player themed playmat, with lots of space for
signatures and greetings.</i></div></td></tr></tbody></table><p align="left" style="margin-bottom: 0in; orphans: 2; widows: 2;"> </p><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhFvALJZyJeqnqmvHVCaU3LgnXpJAHO1yx-xlE2AjDZvM19dAoo0ihwd39YfJpHhYx3Qy5N-jyE6WHkV5L0eXPB3ziXD3uL2OA2EMwK33aM68fdSW7KGeSpInAR6Sq1I695Vx6RqQ45FvMib7r1RKrh0rLR-JwxxCpA-ji05-Ub8-3eEe1oz4UQCicS/s2048/image15.jpg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="2048" data-original-width="1694" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhFvALJZyJeqnqmvHVCaU3LgnXpJAHO1yx-xlE2AjDZvM19dAoo0ihwd39YfJpHhYx3Qy5N-jyE6WHkV5L0eXPB3ziXD3uL2OA2EMwK33aM68fdSW7KGeSpInAR6Sq1I695Vx6RqQ45FvMib7r1RKrh0rLR-JwxxCpA-ji05-Ub8-3eEe1oz4UQCicS/s320/image15.jpg" width="265" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in; text-align: center;">
<i>The stream table playmat.</i></div>
<style type="text/css">p { margin-bottom: 0.1in; line-height: 115%; background: transparent }</style></td></tr></tbody></table><p align="left" style="margin-bottom: 0in; orphans: 2; widows: 2;"></p><div style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjDJ39Zg-J0uc2Rbvf_gXFlcH3DPFvJR9SYDczhJbFMO9fmr6oSbUtkugYoulU2quWzM3fkbhyjHa3jYPQN8MZlNdCPD-Aj2mwnhR3vncragy5yi6fPIVAm4KoIsze193499T2AJdy_tPQ2Cq5FZvDs-4jcqLuJSUz8TDmYuCgpNFqZ6fXTLZjuwfRS/s1024/image11.png"><img border="0" data-original-height="680" data-original-width="1024" height="213" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjDJ39Zg-J0uc2Rbvf_gXFlcH3DPFvJR9SYDczhJbFMO9fmr6oSbUtkugYoulU2quWzM3fkbhyjHa3jYPQN8MZlNdCPD-Aj2mwnhR3vncragy5yi6fPIVAm4KoIsze193499T2AJdy_tPQ2Cq5FZvDs-4jcqLuJSUz8TDmYuCgpNFqZ6fXTLZjuwfRS/s320/image11.png" width="320" /></a></div><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiAeNcVx27Y9LSciqZAC_abrj1WynJehc3xxo3FCQI9uzzapdZxDozMKcqsh5SlaY5Pmke5O7TLhlQUBHHJY1iPokh7uqARHZoezV3EKnSM23KZODHzOkmA1bbtVeL664YnsZohs4LrNFQXRBishWmGltu6dIAN0CsabAo3aE4ZNdEmtQDGHklze5Kz/s600/image1.png" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="338" data-original-width="600" height="180" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiAeNcVx27Y9LSciqZAC_abrj1WynJehc3xxo3FCQI9uzzapdZxDozMKcqsh5SlaY5Pmke5O7TLhlQUBHHJY1iPokh7uqARHZoezV3EKnSM23KZODHzOkmA1bbtVeL664YnsZohs4LrNFQXRBishWmGltu6dIAN0CsabAo3aE4ZNdEmtQDGHklze5Kz/s320/image1.png" width="320" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">The café area.<br /></td></tr></tbody></table><p align="left" style="margin-bottom: 0in; orphans: 2; widows: 2;"></p>
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj_zFdEbe3PYfFbpr0nPolX-UzDg9Y6xOdqNz_HHzE0xB0PriswoyzBp54QKcLQtyTDVXid4_1xTFDnP1nzBwnmIkXCpu5p6hA2natnTb6Ni_LNdd16OZHU4Y86SZvbs540UvudVz-5m5lLlHfMqTfh7YK0bn1cq478B1zKG8ovX2R4jtcl9QIS70k4/s850/image3.png" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="350" data-original-width="850" height="132" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj_zFdEbe3PYfFbpr0nPolX-UzDg9Y6xOdqNz_HHzE0xB0PriswoyzBp54QKcLQtyTDVXid4_1xTFDnP1nzBwnmIkXCpu5p6hA2natnTb6Ni_LNdd16OZHU4Y86SZvbs540UvudVz-5m5lLlHfMqTfh7YK0bn1cq478B1zKG8ovX2R4jtcl9QIS70k4/s320/image3.png" width="320" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Outside view.<br /></td></tr></tbody></table><br /><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjvsN8yz2rUVjbNx9tNb8dUjTXmZ1yx12HrS7-V3QG7_YJF_iXpuFAgGyWZrAeKooFsVTyf_OxnDuS3Rm4idJFSdSj0oqEp5yh6vvsFlV6NBfBBR3zH8nuO4Ou_dI3Wh0m2Bsq1LyG9YeXa1tEGM3ONP2c8hZCiN4OoKBS5gpo6k0l0pvTym2ZCQnmz/s1200/image10.png" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="800" data-original-width="1200" height="213" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjvsN8yz2rUVjbNx9tNb8dUjTXmZ1yx12HrS7-V3QG7_YJF_iXpuFAgGyWZrAeKooFsVTyf_OxnDuS3Rm4idJFSdSj0oqEp5yh6vvsFlV6NBfBBR3zH8nuO4Ou_dI3Wh0m2Bsq1LyG9YeXa1tEGM3ONP2c8hZCiN4OoKBS5gpo6k0l0pvTym2ZCQnmz/s320/image10.png" width="320" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">The spiral (rainbow?) road.<br /></td></tr></tbody></table><p></p><p></p><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiJJOGR3ZzS42MwtU0MKlOYF3xrDpTevAzffqTSKNh6muoz047cmaIz0Bq0saUSzYBP6Ff3AOThKB1WF_kIizgA6ju8i4CeEZisukLFvdoCqPTnI5jl0EN5_H0sUXx4PTJom1KTdjwJWsY6P_ZeV5VD3YTfDHKd7oZAlVAN8g_N-fJJsE03NpKP8DxW/s637/image5.png" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="441" data-original-width="637" height="222" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiJJOGR3ZzS42MwtU0MKlOYF3xrDpTevAzffqTSKNh6muoz047cmaIz0Bq0saUSzYBP6Ff3AOThKB1WF_kIizgA6ju8i4CeEZisukLFvdoCqPTnI5jl0EN5_H0sUXx4PTJom1KTdjwJWsY6P_ZeV5VD3YTfDHKd7oZAlVAN8g_N-fJJsE03NpKP8DxW/s320/image5.png" width="320" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">There will be blood.</td></tr></tbody></table><p align="left" style="margin-bottom: 0in; orphans: 2; widows: 2;"></p><p><style type="text/css">p { margin-bottom: 0.1in; line-height: 115%; background: transparent }</style></p>Mghttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00555613518338194305noreply@blogger.com5tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2299444734264560627.post-43939923249190821992022-09-14T21:28:00.006+02:002022-09-14T21:32:46.589+02:00Silver Bullets - Lessons on how to use them propely. Oldschool World Championship report by Valerio Gregori<div><p><i>A little over a week ago the glorious World Championship of oldschool Magic took place. Finally, Genoa, Italy, was the place to be, and as such it is with a special pride I introduce our guest today; the most decorated Italian in the history of the Oldschool World Championships. And Valerio is no stranger to this blag either, having <a href="https://oldschool-mtg.blogspot.com/2018/05/more-gold-but-at-end-it-is-just-bronze.html ">previously recanted his way to the 3rd place at Worlds 2018</a>. But this year Bronze was not enough. It is my pleasure to introduce the official 2022 Vice World Champion; Valerio Gregori! Enjoy! /Mg out</i></p><p>Let’s start from the conclusion: what a strange feeling! I will go straight to the point, I finished second. Second means the first of the losers. Damn. I lost a chance to become the World Champion. I had the window to become it, a little one... and I missed it. This is what you feel when you come close to the final target but end short to it. If you are a competitive guy like me, this is what you feel. Bad. <br />The initial hours have been very hard, after some days I got back some lucidity and now I can appreciate more what an amazing run has been! Indeed it has been beyond any expectations... Here you will find the report of the day.</p><p></p><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgKD-R7YNzC8bYvhsnHSunipaToEU35pHv6FUigGri2IyfI6qvlzCSmbFXlSdFtcqldDav2EstZ8vgkEBgLN-twITD3Vyl8Z07Q1FDfYsydGCleVMhTBxSe_-vLqRdReI8gepJcKfWeH2XeLs54PTCO2gBYiP6dfqd3kJWCjkeyTZXzpTfi2RqbNy-D/s824/image1.jpeg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="824" data-original-width="618" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgKD-R7YNzC8bYvhsnHSunipaToEU35pHv6FUigGri2IyfI6qvlzCSmbFXlSdFtcqldDav2EstZ8vgkEBgLN-twITD3Vyl8Z07Q1FDfYsydGCleVMhTBxSe_-vLqRdReI8gepJcKfWeH2XeLs54PTCO2gBYiP6dfqd3kJWCjkeyTZXzpTfi2RqbNy-D/s320/image1.jpeg" width="240" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">WTF!!! I have been disenchanted!</td></tr></tbody></table><h3 style="text-align: left;">Background. </h3><p>The first (and last) time I played for the World Championship (and The Shark), was in 2018, at N00bcon X in Gothenburg, thanks to our Easter vacations in Sweden and a wild card that Magnus had given to me at that time. It was a blast, I eventually ended 3rd losing in the Semifinals to the future champ Alban, who has been both stronger and luckier than me (at least delivering a T1 Mindtwist on my teeth on Game 1). </p><p>More recently instead, the last tournament I played having physical attendance, has been OUR tournament, the Torinoob IV, in December 2021. It was really fantastic, with a lot of friends attending, incredible prizes (Ubi's Wheel of Fortune on top of all)... and our signed Hurloon Minotaur!</p><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiw6yO8L1X1IO_iIJWjOSNXpwJnrinUuCDxQaAKtoNltzf4lWTMNTq52dYt8yaYvYV0FV6Z0DI_yiQtKrlHSaB63vifN-sP6r4BWeMfqjTkLSzAw0cWg0rQRhj86vZRkALkVJ7y7BIsEfc6V6-OXOP6jLXswO5N67VrZfXzlaxqASw6QsQDcEPp6Xs4/s748/image2.jpeg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="561" data-original-width="748" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiw6yO8L1X1IO_iIJWjOSNXpwJnrinUuCDxQaAKtoNltzf4lWTMNTq52dYt8yaYvYV0FV6Z0DI_yiQtKrlHSaB63vifN-sP6r4BWeMfqjTkLSzAw0cWg0rQRhj86vZRkALkVJ7y7BIsEfc6V6-OXOP6jLXswO5N67VrZfXzlaxqASw6QsQDcEPp6Xs4/s320/image2.jpeg" width="320" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Torinoob IV, magic moments!</td></tr></tbody></table><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgmEGATTxUgkB2etpPOE0g_YRf3zlFzKuYN6eLBKYE4zZvrDXZNiwjmoKiVzq-jbW31akAUD2Mvc8leiQcmP5DM-shUAkOFNr5x5wLNGAoqXnZmOIWThSmHgS1nrMM9v3Oos7ML4Fr7-svG7OWmpWap27QxHWWwxVD7DAy0RkEBcBwg2Ohc9MEC_rin/s613/image3.jpeg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="613" data-original-width="458" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgmEGATTxUgkB2etpPOE0g_YRf3zlFzKuYN6eLBKYE4zZvrDXZNiwjmoKiVzq-jbW31akAUD2Mvc8leiQcmP5DM-shUAkOFNr5x5wLNGAoqXnZmOIWThSmHgS1nrMM9v3Oos7ML4Fr7-svG7OWmpWap27QxHWWwxVD7DAy0RkEBcBwg2Ohc9MEC_rin/s320/image3.jpeg" width="239" /></a></div><p></p><p style="text-align: left;"></p><h3 style="text-align: left;">Expectations.</h3><p style="text-align: left;">First, to finally have an onsite event again, with LIVE play. Live is Live. It is of human contacts and interactions, card touch & deck shuffling & cut... orbs flipping... rivers of beer (despite this year I was not allowed to drink, as I am old, I don’t recover any more and I must contain the size of my belly in some way... at least try to contain it...)</p><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEilXH6XaKHjIywL6JvLUVmNErNzxjRgSjQy6adLP1Gd5DZE9FJqeMH1u2VuLu-w_fAC0c6AVWX-NkmdhC0hDhLmpoIQvoHSCGvFNJRm7D2VQzWnP9jFy9MdrfjIk-4p1UYQcJdZ1FnK5wz-pAA72IYTHokuAv6JEEI2pEgvO2AUfImV4JV3W-PBEzKq/s819/image4.jpeg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="819" data-original-width="614" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEilXH6XaKHjIywL6JvLUVmNErNzxjRgSjQy6adLP1Gd5DZE9FJqeMH1u2VuLu-w_fAC0c6AVWX-NkmdhC0hDhLmpoIQvoHSCGvFNJRm7D2VQzWnP9jFy9MdrfjIk-4p1UYQcJdZ1FnK5wz-pAA72IYTHokuAv6JEEI2pEgvO2AUfImV4JV3W-PBEzKq/s320/image4.jpeg" width="240" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Don’t touch my Reindeer! Ratavuloira and Urborg firms are strong allies (perhaps Ratavuloira is stronger…)</td></tr></tbody></table><p>Consequently, to have finally again a trip with friends, like before pandemic, by car, to discuss all the stuff related and laugh about old stories, old friends, deck strategies, bad beats, miss-playing and so on.</p><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjUD-8b59KEJv44YkqqE6ZAJ0WvUZVgob0gO7bz3mj8zo2k4QQZ-BC2nQhCrzhuyOrkvGqeHToltTvUMNxWyrCK4fPRkfCPF9ZDkFmEBl40HKMP2J9DLPKSysW98l7nOFVH4_aRYz1qgTLKhIgsDZGdKKvFEj4Yc1npWQQ3172CV48rR5iMz-CESjW0/s853/image5.jpeg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="640" data-original-width="853" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjUD-8b59KEJv44YkqqE6ZAJ0WvUZVgob0gO7bz3mj8zo2k4QQZ-BC2nQhCrzhuyOrkvGqeHToltTvUMNxWyrCK4fPRkfCPF9ZDkFmEBl40HKMP2J9DLPKSysW98l7nOFVH4_aRYz1qgTLKhIgsDZGdKKvFEj4Yc1npWQQ3172CV48rR5iMz-CESjW0/s320/image5.jpeg" width="320" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Ratavuloira team Turin, almost complete… where is Brunazzen?</td></tr></tbody></table><p>Then, not secondary, to see Serendib Efreet and Serra Angel battle against each other again. This is the final meaning of Magic. And Triskelions.</p><p>Finally, to have a strong performance, to confirm the top8, and then see what will happen.</p><p style="text-align: left;"></p><h3 style="text-align: left;">Preparation.</h3><p style="text-align: left;">Sure. I performed my usual net-decking one week before the event. Searching for the most recent events, I found DFB’s Summer Derby with the usual incredible pictures... my eyes fell on the Lion-Dib variations in top16. I found very powerful both the list of Seth Roncoroni and of Simon Christie, who at the end took down the trophy. </p><p style="text-align: left;">I tested both for a week, with casual matches with my teammates, in the end not being completely satisfied by the performance. Losing too many times to a casual deck like Eureka drove me to change the decision and move towards Robots. To the latest evolution that has been shown in the Summer Derby, with 3 practically identical brews in the top.</p><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhPcKtyIsmoUp9fzEqhCR12KALQ-Ie1fklBZTeodbppydHzBrIkWrojrtDs6emaRhD4Y0c7Hc5Kp8YSIU0AzFCAP5Wpx_lEHm-pbmBm6DYH5Z_mt9nnEnxwm4dJsZxUCheSXX3JZ8e1rq4OuRsUYVYqdfIgDZeYQ1r3S-XQURILRkhU4jdzTTnI-Nva/s1017/image6.jpeg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="763" data-original-width="1017" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhPcKtyIsmoUp9fzEqhCR12KALQ-Ie1fklBZTeodbppydHzBrIkWrojrtDs6emaRhD4Y0c7Hc5Kp8YSIU0AzFCAP5Wpx_lEHm-pbmBm6DYH5Z_mt9nnEnxwm4dJsZxUCheSXX3JZ8e1rq4OuRsUYVYqdfIgDZeYQ1r3S-XQURILRkhU4jdzTTnI-Nva/s320/image6.jpeg" width="320" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">There is a new guy in town. His name is Robocop II.</td></tr></tbody></table><p>Applying just very small changes from my side, in the end only one, represented by few (3x) Serendib Efreets MD. They are strong, maybe the strongest. They are blue (perfect in my shell), and they fly (perfect against Moats). And they hit, very fast! I moved the CiaB and The Abyss to the side (I will re-consider this decision in future). The rest is copied 100%, and I must admit that the US players had developed a very lethal weapon. </p><p style="text-align: left;"></p><h3 style="text-align: left;">Short breakdown of the deck.</h3><p style="text-align: left;">4 Suchi, 4 Triskelion – The Core, tons of damage<br />4 Bolts, 4 Psionic Blasts – The Core, chapter 2, for additional damage from nowhere<br />3 Serendib – The Spicy addition, Moat-busters<br />3 Copy artifact – The Appendix, to ramp or to extend the reach<br />2 Shatter – The Surprise<br />7 The limited cards – The Limited Cards<br />29 Mana sources – Are needed</p><p style="text-align: left;">About the side.<br />2 The Abyss – A Present for Simo<br />2 City in a Bottle – More Presents<br />2 Shatters – Mirror management<br />2 Gloom & 2 Blood Moon – This is easy<br />3 REB & 1 BEB – Also easy<br />1 Shivan Dragon – The Signature</p><p style="text-align: left;">Did I test it? I should say no, as I generated the final version the night before Winc0n. But I tested few games with Vittorio using a preliminary version and had the chance to test the final one in a couple of games against El Magico Brunazzen in the morning of Winc0n, just few minutes before the start. From his expression, below, you can easily understand the juicy flavor of the brew. </p><p></p><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi-9oGc8FXkuc97zyyijQFjZA1c7Ld7_uEd-SgY6pMh8DIkzd9T_48aZMucRmeWFdjEh7B7W-ASxJ06SNhMC-g6wnUOpqmNDnIXzCGHSQKm-B-fXktJaRdio5afOCqDgg8oPcr5IrL8oKu-D5wacjac9tgJhEJ7aoXWVSLco4QUENauDwpNC10QlJF2/s882/image7.jpeg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="882" data-original-width="661" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi-9oGc8FXkuc97zyyijQFjZA1c7Ld7_uEd-SgY6pMh8DIkzd9T_48aZMucRmeWFdjEh7B7W-ASxJ06SNhMC-g6wnUOpqmNDnIXzCGHSQKm-B-fXktJaRdio5afOCqDgg8oPcr5IrL8oKu-D5wacjac9tgJhEJ7aoXWVSLco4QUENauDwpNC10QlJF2/s320/image7.jpeg" width="240" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">There is another guy in town. His name is El Magico Brunazzen</td></tr></tbody></table></div><p style="text-align: left;"></p><h3 style="text-align: left;">The tournament.</h3><p style="text-align: left;">Normally I remember a lot of plays, this time I have not that many memories, but I will try to do my best.</p><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEipM8J3M6aIl3P4Sqqhtq_GXZD3o9m_LQDEth-el5yjbd1kBQ2izAgDA95-5fBjUIA2mHbWXoy9Lkr_lD1OZ-92m3AmpwzjQZhvx9JcwnrpfxfR10uJkZh3Vb7Hv9NZ2RjcYBWCIdI2ulPU415l7UzZ64u3c2QNBZdmCuvAes6brkUl50BRD4Sru5nL/s669/image8.jpeg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="669" data-original-width="502" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEipM8J3M6aIl3P4Sqqhtq_GXZD3o9m_LQDEth-el5yjbd1kBQ2izAgDA95-5fBjUIA2mHbWXoy9Lkr_lD1OZ-92m3AmpwzjQZhvx9JcwnrpfxfR10uJkZh3Vb7Hv9NZ2RjcYBWCIdI2ulPU415l7UzZ64u3c2QNBZdmCuvAes6brkUl50BRD4Sru5nL/s320/image8.jpeg" width="240" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Winc0n starting pack.</td></tr></tbody></table><p><b>Turn 1 – against Mauro Prete with Dead Guy (2-0)<br /></b>Game 1 is signed by Mauro playing one of the most ancestral creatures overall, the Royal Assassin. I am stunned from the splendor of this card, and soon I find on the battleground two Assassins watching my creatures. But he remains stuck with 3 lands for the whole match, in the meantime I develop my game, I get rid of the assassins by Bolts and, once he finished his swords & disenchants, I start to hit with Mishra’s & Dibs. </p><p>Game 2 is copy paste of game 1, there is too much difference between a blue powered build like mine an unpowered one. But playing BW is always fantastic. Well done Mauro!</p><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjKtBgOl93W4Xd3rSryMT5DXp4fOJ8M_E88x_e1_4WUSkDHauSne0MUzm-Fp2C-UmaEk05mfCGKjct9F71lwROMxyXtcCbrBQrdNchKlC6BLreayiI3Jx5TQ06W7dF_eSwCz2EHXOLALxHoLLYCd_3aJvx1npHO1m9_fdNsV9P4jZKAY7V8zR3G2obZ/s856/image9.jpeg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="642" data-original-width="856" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjKtBgOl93W4Xd3rSryMT5DXp4fOJ8M_E88x_e1_4WUSkDHauSne0MUzm-Fp2C-UmaEk05mfCGKjct9F71lwROMxyXtcCbrBQrdNchKlC6BLreayiI3Jx5TQ06W7dF_eSwCz2EHXOLALxHoLLYCd_3aJvx1npHO1m9_fdNsV9P4jZKAY7V8zR3G2obZ/s320/image9.jpeg" width="320" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Also, Simo won fast is match, so we had time to search for Beppe’s table and support him in the appropriate way.</td></tr></tbody></table><p></p><p><b>Turn 2 – against Giacomo Zorzan with Red Robots (1-2)<br /></b>The games against Giacomo will be hard. He is on red artifacts, and the match is going to be win by who will be able to keep permanent pressure on the board. </p><p>Game 1 is signed by his Workshop turn 1. Anyway, I win the die roll, so I start, fundamental in this sort of mirror match. I remember that I start very fast thanks to a Serendib; he tries to build his board, not getting the result to overturn the race. 1-0. </p><p>Game 2 he answers to all my threats, Serendib and Suchi. On the opposite, Giacomo succeeds sticking a Suchi that starts making coast to coast, giving him the way to go to a final game 3. 1-1</p><p>Game 3 is incredible. I mulligan to 5, but I start again with a fast Serendib. The problem is that Giacomo opens again with Mishra’s Workshop and plays 4 consecutive Suchi from turn 2 to 5 as far as I remember. I eventually kill all of them, taking anyway a lot of damages in the process, and wasting precious blasts on his creatures instead that on him. This will be key for the match: I am already in the reach area, and few Bolts later I will find myself on 1-2.</p><p>1-1 overall, the tournament is already in meatgrinder mode for me after turn 2.</p><p><b>Turn 3 – against Andrea Bianconi with The Deck (2-1)</b><br />Almost a complete black-out here, as I don’t remember a lot about plays, just the mainstream theme, quintessence of the endless challenge between Aggro & Control. This was one of the turns which needed a re-pairing, at the end I must confront Andrea, a super nice guy in blue sleeves, like mine. </p><p>Game 1 is about me pushing with Suchi turn 1 (gets swords) backed-up with Serendib to which Andrea finds difficulties to answer, despite compulsive search with Jayemdae Tome; when he finally gets control of the creatures, it is too late as in reach of my fires.</p><p>In game 2 I am not able to really enter in the match, my score pad says LPs reduction in multiple of 4... A Serra Angels should have finished me in something like 5 turns. Game 3 is like game 1, as far as I remember, I put a lot of pressure on the board and Andrea cannot manage everything… I eventually finish him with bolts stuff.</p><p><b>Turn 4 – against Damien Emmenegger with UR Dib-Moon (2-1)</b><br />Damien is driving a lethal UR machinery, I had the chance to see him beating Ges in the first turn, as we were in the adjacent table… and I saw he can side in Energy Flux, one of the deadliest cards against my artifacts! In Game 1 his start is explosive, I take a quantity of bolts and psi-blast in face, being not able to overtake him in the race… he wins with 4 LP remaining, more than enough! 0-1 </p><p>To be on the play, in this match, is crucial. I start game 2 putting pressure with Mishra, and this time is Damien that doesn’t find the way to overturn the race, very soon we are ready for the third game. Game 3 has a slow start from Damien (if I remember well, he mulliganed to 6), on the opposite I start putting pressure again with Mishra and Dibs (which I decided to keep in, as sort of defense weapon in case of fast start from his side), leading to the final 2-1 in my favor, for an aggregate score of 3-1.<b> </b></p><p><b>Turn 5 – against Jonas Twitchen with UWR (2-0-1)</b><br />The games against Jonas have been very funny and have been streamed. They can be viewed on <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zZ13jQmSI30">YouTube at this link from 4:54:10</a>.</p><p>Have to say that every game we played, I felt myself in full control, despite the quantity of Black Lotus & P9 stuff Jonas delivered. Triskelion is the real key card here; he shines in the UWR match-up, being capable of killing all their critters and being hard to kill at the same time.</p><p>Game 1 sees my mulligan and his start with Black Lotus, Timetwister & Library of Alexandria (I am well trained to play against a turn 1 LoA, having tested a lot of time with Simo who is close to 100% of success in starting with LoA). After the reshuffle I build a strong offence, to which he tries to respond with Black Lotus (again), Time Walk etc., drawing double than me in the process. My pressure is relentless anyway, I bring him to 2 LPs, then he kills both of us delivering 11 damages to me and 2 to himself, with a series of Bolts and final Psi-blast. So, game 1 it’s a tie, but I am confident, as Jonas had to use a huge quantity of restricted cards + LoA, and I resisted.</p><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgm4GxtiI0lqIEA2Hg1BPWeYbo70y_qlmiemjydqdcg2ISHrquwJY7NoBiZqx-fbQNV5S-qWh0vUfsY0Hx3CjAjH_SYqqHYvg8VAl3u7tRenw5CGLGqIUZZHFwuCDztD-VUwMnPNXGE_aNNa277hUMYASVenuSCWr2ulWKdkzu_lvkeRzzLQe0RtO4E/s726/image10.jpeg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="726" data-original-width="545" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgm4GxtiI0lqIEA2Hg1BPWeYbo70y_qlmiemjydqdcg2ISHrquwJY7NoBiZqx-fbQNV5S-qWh0vUfsY0Hx3CjAjH_SYqqHYvg8VAl3u7tRenw5CGLGqIUZZHFwuCDztD-VUwMnPNXGE_aNNa277hUMYASVenuSCWr2ulWKdkzu_lvkeRzzLQe0RtO4E/s320/image10.jpeg" width="240" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Jonas laughing after the nth P9 played on his side, and more to come 😊</td></tr></tbody></table><p></p><p>In Game 2 (in reality, game 1 again), it’s my turn to start with LoA! But Jonas starts again with a monster hand... again Black Lotus, Ancestral Recall, Sol ring and Serendib... a disaster! Here I take a brave decision, opting to sacrifice my LoA with City in a Bottle and prepare a plan for a fast Triskelion. Indeed, it comes first a Suchi. A Timetwister from his side has the result of just helping me to seal the game, as entering on my turn, I play a super-heavy Mindtwist that eats almost entirely his hand. Jonas has just the time to Fireball my Suchi, then, seeing the time is flying over and seeing me with a full hand, decides to concede to go into Game 2.</p><p>Game 3 sees again Black Lotus from his side, he tries a Braingeyser with it, turn 2. I have the Red Elemental Blast to ruin completely this plan. I understand this Braingeyser was crucial for him when he skips the land drop. I put a Triskelion on the table, which receives answer. Then Jonas tries a Suchi, and at this point I have in hand both a copy artifact and a Psi-blast. I decide to go for the max gain, so I) let Suchi survive, II) copy it, III) blasting it. The plan didn’t work at all like that, as he kills my copy. I recover later landing The Abyss, that together with City in a Bottle, represents a robust prison against UWR menaces. A huge Braingeyser for me and a lot of vanilla draws for both, till the come of Triskelion which seals, as usual, the match. 2-0. Overall, 4-1.</p><p><b>Turn 6 – against Beppe with UW next level, full of Moats & Serra (1-1)</b><br />Beppe is one my best Magic friends. He came with me from Turin, we are from the same team, Ratavuloira Turin. We created together the Torinoob event. We have the same room in the hotel in Genova. No matter now, it’s almost a win-and-in, and we are ready to stick the knives in the stomach of the other: indeed, whoever will lose, will be teased for not less than a year...</p><p>Game 1, a disaster for me. We talked during the day, I know his strategy of Moats, he knows my strategy of Dibs. The issue is that, thanks to a fast Black Lotus, he sticks a Moat very fastly, then a Serra Angel. I try to manage the Serra, but then I cannot manage the following Mindtwist...</p><p>From the top, a Wheel of Fortune (appropriate name) helps me to restore at least the hand size... the issue is that I draw almost all mana cards… the good point is I that thanks to the Wheel I forced him to discard all the Serra Angels… he draws compulsively with the Tome till arriving to 7 cards residual in the grimoire, when I try to Braingeyser him. He saves himself with one of his last counters, than he destroys is own Moat, to attack with 3 Mishras... I go down fastly, too fast after his Time Walk... a very long game in the end, we have very few minutes for game 2, so I must concede. </p><p>In Game 2 I run fast like hell. I deploy Mishra, Suchi & Serendib. Again, he is very fast sticking the Moat, this time I can fly over, and I am drawing fires & more fires. I land the lethal damage just before the final turns are called. No chance to close the third game in 3 turns, neither for me. We tied 1-1, perhaps, winning the last match, we can enter both into top8. Overall, 4-1-1</p><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhZoaRaAAxXFvDeWqiKgxNjmK67kY6hIpgKoWMguctohBg1h_-P03Vqi6qC4kJdTTfxI8V8Wd0dR_SPMGj8xiv1j-gJ_3rvANRPvKQG19yla6dVHxRJuGDYkeIm6mcom_1ZwejQm43jWTqwy_806WWzFUIPaOh6r47JGr5HZBBerqbEFOFnORKlD-KV/s427/image11.jpeg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="317" data-original-width="427" height="238" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhZoaRaAAxXFvDeWqiKgxNjmK67kY6hIpgKoWMguctohBg1h_-P03Vqi6qC4kJdTTfxI8V8Wd0dR_SPMGj8xiv1j-gJ_3rvANRPvKQG19yla6dVHxRJuGDYkeIm6mcom_1ZwejQm43jWTqwy_806WWzFUIPaOh6r47JGr5HZBBerqbEFOFnORKlD-KV/s320/image11.jpeg" width="320" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Beppe Vs. Vale. From Ratavuloira Archives ® - All Rights Reserved.</td></tr></tbody></table><p><b>Turn 7 – against Denny with UWR (2-0)</b><br />We are here again, win and in, this is the moment of truth. My opponent is Denny, who has lost the very first match against to Beppe, then has had a fantastic run.<br />The games are about a merciless exchange of blows... Game 1 is super-fast, driven by Chain Lightning, Bolts & Dibs attacks. After some damage control attempts from both the parties, a not answered Suchi gives me the edge that I need to steal his life. The same happens in game 2, even faster. Again, a not answered Suchi, this time in the very early turns thanks to the Vault, leads me to victory.</p><p>With a score of 5-1-1 I am pretty sure I am in. Indeed with 16 points, I end the Swiss in 8th place. Mission accomplished! The joy is even higher, as I discover that both Simo (beating Mg) and Beppe (winning over Danny Friedman) are also in! </p><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj9NcnyfNUgnU7PyQnMoV_EpxIXtXRrxNVsiEvL3qkzXZyCm69H8Q72BWrNxxwZJppw7_6J_uhVPB4IypzVVk4DNGOiG60Hg-pehJ6gZlJSSf4ReNSRaFzLM9pH9bowDpT1sFKBxYXPa7agUNY4cY_MeiK31dS6JG1PTeEq1zsz2Ubpre1S8RW0woTM/s692/image12.jpeg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="692" data-original-width="521" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj9NcnyfNUgnU7PyQnMoV_EpxIXtXRrxNVsiEvL3qkzXZyCm69H8Q72BWrNxxwZJppw7_6J_uhVPB4IypzVVk4DNGOiG60Hg-pehJ6gZlJSSf4ReNSRaFzLM9pH9bowDpT1sFKBxYXPa7agUNY4cY_MeiK31dS6JG1PTeEq1zsz2Ubpre1S8RW0woTM/s320/image12.jpeg" width="241" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Simo Vs. Magnus, a Clash of the Titans!<br /></td></tr></tbody></table><p>Three of the Ratavuloira team are among the best OS players in the world! (It means, hands down, we are the best team :P)</p><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg6MqpbxTUbul-NqBNliukZHIE9DbB_u9nDi3F3AMDk42wnyjKn1gwG5lyAvHhDmsldJCtThXINRRSLznBHhzBYP59e7v5ernz5y67CTnM44lihcL4DtokOXC_feiddDUiwH2WYKdH-g2Z88kxYYh2qEaO2YXKn-JDigM5ABAejOgdnOfG1z8xr3KX9/s1023/image13.jpeg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="767" data-original-width="1023" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg6MqpbxTUbul-NqBNliukZHIE9DbB_u9nDi3F3AMDk42wnyjKn1gwG5lyAvHhDmsldJCtThXINRRSLznBHhzBYP59e7v5ernz5y67CTnM44lihcL4DtokOXC_feiddDUiwH2WYKdH-g2Z88kxYYh2qEaO2YXKn-JDigM5ABAejOgdnOfG1z8xr3KX9/s320/image13.jpeg" width="320" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">A strong team… maybe too strong!?!</td></tr></tbody></table><p><b>Quarterfinals: me (8) against Daniel (1) with UR Moon-Dib-Suchi (2-1)</b><br />Daniel is unbeaten in this tournament, with a score of 7-0 he has taken the first spot at the end of the Swiss. Not a good client, that’s sure. He starts first.<br />And he starts fast! Very soon I must face a Serendib Efreet… to which I respond with mine, which get killed by Chain Lightning, to which I respond, eye for an eye, Bolting his one! A Mindtwist from my side, powered by Black Lotus, eats almost all his hand… I have to say almost, as in the process he delivers to me 4 (FOUR!) Lightning Bolts, sending me to 5 LPs. I am almost dead, but not yet. I set up a couple of Suchi, generating an interesting clock. Which works. 1-0<br />Game 2, it is very simple: I just take plenty of damages, so fast that there is not chance to enter in the match. So, we tied, 1-1.</p><p>Daniel army is going to tie the match. </p><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgpwcbl96mbF0G8vxszvX4IhVgngDdfmsL_K0K4WjFPMpGK9U5FH3Oh-rbdZxAkCW8aCsHiBVXcIEkTFxI_kx4TcSaRskbyGDl4LbL4r4b4Q_x0run46OEcY8i81lCLkp6AiiAFuQ11ocQyEhjLjOYxUv_EYR5kCokFeCvmjzkWW-swA0BD9yrkCfrC/s935/image14.jpeg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="701" data-original-width="935" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgpwcbl96mbF0G8vxszvX4IhVgngDdfmsL_K0K4WjFPMpGK9U5FH3Oh-rbdZxAkCW8aCsHiBVXcIEkTFxI_kx4TcSaRskbyGDl4LbL4r4b4Q_x0run46OEcY8i81lCLkp6AiiAFuQ11ocQyEhjLjOYxUv_EYR5kCokFeCvmjzkWW-swA0BD9yrkCfrC/s320/image14.jpeg" width="320" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">A sober Gesiot is taking free lessons with the Old Man Gregori, how to
properly sling spells at Magic. He is training for next Toriboob V, that
will take place between 10th and 12th December</td></tr></tbody></table><p>Game 3 is again, a bar brawl, which I am happy to start. Indeed, the two decks know only one language, the violence. Life points go down fast, Mishra’s attack after Mishra’s attack. In the end I deliver the final, lethal damage, with still just 6 LPs on my notes… 2-1 & great games!</p><p><b>Semifinals: me (8) against Simo (5) with UWR LionDib (2-1)</b><br />You can see the whole video of this match, from approx. 10:05:00. The streaming is very funny thanks to the cool commentary of the infamous couple Delfino & Gesiot. Simo is one my best Magic friends, if not the best at all. We start to joke. He will win for sure.</p><p>Simo starts Game 1 very aggressively, attacking since the beginning with Mishra. I cast a fast Suchi, that is answered. I cast a Serendib more, in the meantime Simo is continuing pressing and attacking my life points, thanks to Mishra & Blasts… in few turns I find myself already in the reach area, and Simo’s hand is ready to punish me and send me to sideboard.</p><p>It takes a lot for me to properly side, I am super tired. I shuffle, check, re-check, I am not convinced… At the end, I decide to side IN Ciab and Moons, I remove some mana stuff, the Dibs… let’s start! I start and I mulligan. Despite this, I start aggressively, with a Suchi in turn 1. First 4 damages go through, but not twice.</p><p>Simo answers to almost everything, sometimes taking too many damages, but in the end effectively (a Psi-blast on Triskelion means always a 5 damages delivery...). He resisted to 3 Suchi & 3 Triskelion, but it seems that after the side he has packed the deck of answers removing the threats… Turn by turn, indeed, I found myself still quite high in life, and his bleeding doesn’t stop, despite the fact I am playing without red mana. In the end I draw the needed Mox Ruby and start to play red spells. A final triskelion completes the job and ties the match. </p><p>Game 3, Simo starts, I mulligan (again). When I deploy The Abyss, it seems to be game. Indeed, his hand starts to become full of blue and white creatures, well handled by Enchant World. It’s matter of time, but without any pressure on the board from his side, I can just sit waiting to draw what is needed. In the process I draw a lot of useless cards, all discarded by Simo’s Mindtwist. Then I start to draw Bolts, Psi-blasts and Trikes, till the end. </p><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEisyHO_Cjjp54Pg6PcIOAIx1yYyuz4mHtxVoiPUid9ts9vwniJ261REBQqxwQJqlQUh7sC5pw1PCoZ05wdyGDx6SWrSXKbrgOc6bE1xAenk1QLPoXEn2ow_URIOUwiCC8PAHy8iusGUP4IAMl67CpgaUDt9eqO43OaX-X2ovN9xSDepN2mQkQFTRQHR/s769/image15.jpeg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="769" data-original-width="576" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEisyHO_Cjjp54Pg6PcIOAIx1yYyuz4mHtxVoiPUid9ts9vwniJ261REBQqxwQJqlQUh7sC5pw1PCoZ05wdyGDx6SWrSXKbrgOc6bE1xAenk1QLPoXEn2ow_URIOUwiCC8PAHy8iusGUP4IAMl67CpgaUDt9eqO43OaX-X2ovN9xSDepN2mQkQFTRQHR/s320/image15.jpeg" width="240" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">The Semifinal, fratricidal confrontation.</td></tr></tbody></table><p></p><p><b>The final: me (8) against Richard Stebbing (3) with UWB Suchi (1-2)</b><br />You can see the video of this match for the first 2 games; third one went outside the 12 hours limit for the streaming, and you will have to follow my report.</p><p>Commentary has been great, also this time, thanks to Simo, Dave and Will; having these commentators, all World-class players, have to admit that my strategy in Game 2, not approved by them, was indeed the correct one has been super satisfying.</p><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhkzceCQzNuXWU2JV39c8dkj40Rvg6XMDTu_yvC57i5snv6Zf0oDI9K6Wuz3STr8yuTb3zfbS80qpDA2t_pm1RgpUTRQjiSBdJ8SiozbEuHPa8r728cn2Vda7SmGDxHv7UZhyY2Dc7VsjIhuYExrkWTAN9aqLfPB90FBQeO6I78nstcdULAbGaIFjrb/s1600/image16.jpeg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="900" data-original-width="1600" height="180" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhkzceCQzNuXWU2JV39c8dkj40Rvg6XMDTu_yvC57i5snv6Zf0oDI9K6Wuz3STr8yuTb3zfbS80qpDA2t_pm1RgpUTRQjiSBdJ8SiozbEuHPa8r728cn2Vda7SmGDxHv7UZhyY2Dc7VsjIhuYExrkWTAN9aqLfPB90FBQeO6I78nstcdULAbGaIFjrb/s320/image16.jpeg" width="320" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">The Final, a hard confrontation.</td></tr></tbody></table><p>As general comment, Finals have been a very hard match for me. Not only because Brother Stebbo is an excellent player, but also because I have been most of times behind in the games. The top of frustration has been reached at the start of Game 3, on which I suffered a mulligan to 5, quite demoralizing, having him on a turn 1 LoA.</p><p>Anyway, the game is the game. Let’s play it and see what happens. </p><p>Game 1, it has been terrible for me. Instead of playing the role of the aggressor, I face a Lion turn 1 (and Stebbo starts first, as higher ranked in the seeds). I am super happy, at least once, to have LoA turn 1, I play it… but suddenly the stupid land gets destroyed by Richard’s City in a Bottle turn 2. Well done and good main-deck choice, game changer by direct demonstration. From this moment, Stebbo puts a lot of pressure on the board, mainly in the shape of Suchi. Suchi will end the game very soon if not answered, I know very well, as it is also my weapon of choice.</p><p>With no removals in hand, I need to dig one by forcing a Braingeyser for 2. And I succeed, finding a Shatter! To let it resolve, I sacrifice my Ancestral Recall to Stebbo’s Counterspell, but finally I can destroy the nasty artifact creature, without risks. Unfortunately, I face soon a second one, followed by a Serra Angel… I am flooding, the only chance is to try a lucky Wheel and cross finger. But it will be not lucky for me. Indeed, he has gained too much advantage in the board, and I can’t recover the gap. 0-1. </p><p>Game 2, in contrary, it has been wonderful – and probably one of the best I played during this day. Despite the tiredness I am lucid to running change a streamlined game plan. Indeed, I start with LoA turn 1, Stebbo makes the same. His turn 2 Chaos Orb triggers in me the idea to change strategy. So, I deploy two moxen, then I go for a Mindtwist for 3 and the loot is great: Suchi, Serra Angel & Counterspell go in Richard’s graveyard. I cannot ask for more. I start pushing with Dib, which encounters the Orb originally destined to my LoA. To which, anyway, I am not anymore interested. Indeed, I insist in the action as I see he wants to reach back a 7-cards hand, which means he will not spend cards on my threats easily. My idea is to catch him in a tempo game. So, I keep high the pressure on the board with Suchi, then Triskelion… going for the breakthrough! And when he reaches the 7 cards to activate his LoA, it is already too late for him. Another Triskelion and another Bolt seal the game. 1-1, let’s move the dispute to the last game.</p><p>Game 3, it has been a drama. He keeps is hand, I have to mulligan to 6, a vanilla hand not worthing of the final game of the Finals. I try again, after a second reshuffle, I find no lands. So, I am forced to go to 5. A lot of times I have been able to overtake games starting with 5 cards, and a couple of times also with 4, but not in a final against one of the best players in the world. I keep anyway my 5. He starts with LoA. More desperation for me.</p><p>I try to enter in the game, he swords my fast Triskelion. I back-up with Serendib, which is not answered. Turn by turn, he digs with LoA searching for removal & blue mana, drawing double of the cards I draw. I am not finding red mana as well. Nevertheless, it is very clear he is not finding solution to my creature rebus, and I start to believe. Indeed, he goes down to 14, then 11, finally to 6 with the help of 2 Mishras, one getting Divine Offering. </p><p>So, he is at 6 LPs when he finally Tutors for blue mana, then he Time Walks. On the second turn, he deploys a Serra Angel, tapping out. An incredible sequence, what a battle and what a Mage! I go in the tank... I have a single red mana, and a single card in hand, a Lightning Bolt. The most conservative part of me wants me to stay in the game, proposing me to don’t waste the Bolt on him... Kill the Angel and see what happens, let the turns pass… But I am not convinced, I come back to this decision, I am pondering to Bolt him and topdeck another Bolt or Blast for the win... Also because if he untaps, he will control the stack with the double blue... I have few outs, luckily, I will connect one... But during the whole day I connected just once one out (the Wheel against Beppe)... And in the end, I don’t believe in the top-deck. I go back to the original decision, and I decide to draw. And the draw is, incredibly, Lighting Bolt.</p><p>Should have been my Silver Bullet. Will not.</p><p>Sipario. I don’t follow neither the original defensive scenario, I cast the Bolt in anger, sending him to 3 LPs, but then giving back him the turn, and consequently the start of stabilization for Stebbo. I will draw four useless cards and no red mana, before being Disenchanted by Defeat per hands of the Angel. </p><p>Excellent games! Good games for Richard, he played superbly, and the Shark is well deserved, congrats again!</p><p style="text-align: left;"></p><h3 style="text-align: left;">Conclusions.</h3><p style="text-align: left;">What a crazy experience! </p><p style="text-align: left;">It has been incredible, I finished just 3 LPs far from the Shark… with this one, I played two times the World Championship: once achieving the Top4, this time reaching the Final… so close! My friend Alban, consoling me, is confirming that next time the trophy will be mine. We will see. One safe point, I am consistent. </p><p style="text-align: left;">My friends were great; not only demonstrating to be among the top players in the world, but also giving me the “beautiful” Lightning Bolt, which will take the place of an Alpha one, as perennial memory.</p><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEguoZb9neC0RoPMHcETTzfHYqjSov6Knh_UQ4eOf8U6faSEj8Jmk8FaDZbKjvDtNWGcW2L2DqRbN3bf06xAAQK3foHcOGQKvIqQkqZYQce0EH2zhlTriN7A-3t6me1FYswxnYahVDSD1MeAq2yEd8VOvlFOk5niEcnSyDBMAZIFwevSqbcNCFATpJME/s989/image17.jpeg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="989" data-original-width="742" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEguoZb9neC0RoPMHcETTzfHYqjSov6Knh_UQ4eOf8U6faSEj8Jmk8FaDZbKjvDtNWGcW2L2DqRbN3bf06xAAQK3foHcOGQKvIqQkqZYQce0EH2zhlTriN7A-3t6me1FYswxnYahVDSD1MeAq2yEd8VOvlFOk5niEcnSyDBMAZIFwevSqbcNCFATpJME/s320/image17.jpeg" width="240" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">The path of penitence… it will be a long path… a loooooooooooooooong path!</td></tr></tbody></table><p>The tournament and the organization were incredibly good.</p><p>So, I want to thank my team: Simo, Beppe, Ges, Giorgio (for not coming too many times to watch my games, he is like a walking death note for me), Andrea, Brunazzen, Vittorio (playing last minute against him, I finally decided to switch to Robots); Christian, Mitja and Alban, they are super and part of the “extended” Magic family… also this year I am sure they will try to come & conquer in Italy, targeting our Torinoob trophy; Francesco, Lorenzo & Megu, congrats for another achievement, Winc0n 1 has been great. I also thank everyone that has supported me, appreciated my game play, and consoled me in the end. </p><p>This time, I gained the Disenchanted by Defeat & the “beautiful” Lightning Bolt. These incredible cards worth the day, and even more. But next time, after “Bronze” and “Silver”, there will be “Gold” in the title of the report – it’s a promise! Thanks for reading!<br /></p>Mghttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00555613518338194305noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2299444734264560627.post-82128917719003163172022-08-19T21:29:00.004+02:002022-09-17T17:54:48.447+02:00n00bcon 13 - A Tournament Report by Alex<p><i>We may not always be wizards of tradition here - what with a tapped Black Vise dealing damage, that Maze of Ith stopping Serra Angel, and a Triskelion gladly throwing any counters it got from Dwarven Weaponsmith - but a few things still appear as immutable law. One such tradition is apparently the belated publishing of n00bcon reports from Alex. While arguably not as delayed as his last one (which covered n00bcon 2017 and was published in 2020), we're still quite a few months after the fact. And this time Alex is nowhere to blame, as this glorious long-form report has been in my hands for almost a month. But now it is high time to go back to the near past for some tales from n00bcon 13. It is my great pleasure to give back the soap box to Alex. Lean back and enjoy. /Mg out </i> </p><p></p><p>In the spring of 2020, me and my good friend Wander decided to set a goal for ourselves: we were both going to assemble a Swedish Legal deck to play with next year at n00bcon. We only had a few older cards at that time. Although I once played <a href="http://oldschool-mtg.blogspot.com/2020/07/n00bcon-9-2017-belated-tournament-report.html">my first old school 1993-1994 event at n00bcon 9</a> (2017), I sold almost all of my cards after that. Back then, Wander came along for the ride, but was only allowed as a special spectator, since there was no chair left for him. Now we decided it was time for the both of us to return to the Rotary Pub and battle side by side. After first having a go at the budget friendly Mono Black, we both realized the predominant power of blue in the format. I was soon temped by the versatile and powerful UR Counterburn deck and Wander went for an UG Aggro deck with Berserks, secretly hoping to one day slowly kill someone with a spicy Wanderlust.</p><p>While we were doing our best to assemble a Swedish Legal deck from scratch within roughly a year time, we already knew the pandemic put a stop to almost all the physical get-togethers and all plans were unsure. It was still a real bummer when we learned that n00bcon wouldn’t be a live event in 2021. At the same time, the postponing of the traditional Easter event gave us additional time to collect more (power) cards for our decks. During the course of 2020 and 2021, I managed to assemble the Counterburn deck with all the staples expect for Black Lotus and the black splash. Missing Badlands and Mox Jet felt acceptable, but the omission of a Lotus, the most infamous Magic card, a card that you can always find a good use for in every deck, started to gnaw at me. The "play with what you have" part of old school is something I really appreciate, but in the end, when I settle for an archetype, I prefer to play with an optimal build. From a gaming perspective, I like both players to have equal chances, also with regard to the cards to can chose from. So when Ron Dijkstra, the organizer of the Uthden Troll Cup, put a Black Lotus up for sale, I knew I had to act. When I talked to him about this same Lotus one and a half year earlier, I passed on the opportunity. Now it nearly tripled in price (!), but I still wanted to see if it was possible. So I traveled to the North of the Netherlands and Ron was kind enough to take as many cards in trade as possible. This meant I had to part with a big chunk of my UR deck, but I figured I could get those cards back at a later moment in time, whereas a card like Black Lotus was way harder and less comfortable to acquire in the future. I now finally owned the holy grail!</p><p></p><p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhabmyT0Iz0Idrm2fTzw0Tf95aAU2DBndOritDw--QOTCKI3edQoVTzZc9udkDx0vNUW1v96s7LpPPPRUk2FMCoLNrctjban_JHGgLwfowoou9KQgUNxhNzmnrliQ-qp9hUed7BWdITiUgzGzj8BhoBuIw4XMdVtrH_gjEvbbqIy-xWUlMBEfJqzcYL/s2048/Picture%201%20-%20Black%20Lotus.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="2048" data-original-width="1536" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhabmyT0Iz0Idrm2fTzw0Tf95aAU2DBndOritDw--QOTCKI3edQoVTzZc9udkDx0vNUW1v96s7LpPPPRUk2FMCoLNrctjban_JHGgLwfowoou9KQgUNxhNzmnrliQ-qp9hUed7BWdITiUgzGzj8BhoBuIw4XMdVtrH_gjEvbbqIy-xWUlMBEfJqzcYL/s320/Picture%201%20-%20Black%20Lotus.jpg" width="240" /></a></div><p></p><p>After this move, I was unsure about what I could and wanted to build. I was trying to see which decks were feasible with my remaining cards and budget. The most obvious way was to try and play without blue, so I tried out WR Tax Edge and WRb Midrange. The latter I played late 2021 during <a href="https://uthdentrollcup.com/">Ron's Uthden Troll Cup</a>, the first live event after two years of social isolation, and one of the most memorable tournaments I played in. I had a blast, but it stung me that I lost a couple of games due to the card advantage my opponents got from their blue cards. It didn’t feel like a fair battle sometimes; having the power cards seem to have more impact than skill. I came to the rather sad conclusion that you are more or less ‘required’ to at least splash blue of you want to make top 8 at a big event. There are decks that can put up a good fight, like WGb Erhnamgeddon, Mono Red Artifact, Mono Green Aggro and Deathguy Ale, but you are putting yourself up for a quite a challenge if you dream of winning an event. So my inner spike eventually concluded that I simply had to join the club and play with blue myself. After many, many lists and financial calculations, I came up with a Tax Edge list that played white, red and blue, but didn’t use any dual lands, but 4 City of Brass instead. This was perfect, because this way I could spend money on power cards instead of lands, while still believing this was an optimal build and not necessarily a budget version. So now I finally settled for an archetype. But, since I also wanted to play with iconic cards like Braingeyser, Mana Drain, Fireball, I kept my UR deck mostly intact and during the next months I managed to get almost all the cards back which I had to trade away for the Lotus! Not sure anymore how that all went down, but I guess the pandemic period was a blooming time for gathering cards. A lot of people were building decks, selling, buying and trading. It felt like a crazy chase that took a lot of time and energy, but when the dust settled in 2022, I somehow ended up with enough cards to build not one, but two Swedish legal decks! So after two years of chasing cards, I was more or less done and Wander also managed to assemble his UG deck, only missing a few power pieces. Conveniently, during the Spring of 2022 covid was more or less under control, which meant there was an Easter party in Gothenburg waiting for us. It was finally time for us to return to Sweden!<br /><br />Although Wander and I both play Flying Men, we actually are two men that don’t fly. We try to avoid it if there is a reasonable alternative. So after some puzzling, we found a train ride from The Netherlands to Gothenburg that was doable: 15 hours outward, 17 hours return. This meant we had a lot of time to test! On Wednesday early morning we met each other at the train station and started our journey. Before we arrived in Denmark, we first had to go through Germany, which still required to wear a mouth mask in the train. I didn’t even bring it, happy to be able to breathe freely again. I had to buy one in the train and was so glad we didn’t have to wear it the entire 15 hours! It felt like a "relic from the past", one that I didn’t miss at all. In general, the train ride was really comfortable. We used proxy decks, drank a bear, and even got some so-called Arnbitter to try out from three Danish men who more or less opened a pub in the four-sitter next to us.</p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh55Xyz9-h1kpRiR_oQor_BU5v82FZiX6rqTyS4AVZFIgkGsJ1gcm075lF7PGpfyn8tV2xxGtuj_LrnMY75VFH30MaEVt8Cg0OSUkNvMGvVoK_dKfU0ZGAm_HdpfYQmurNQuewgB1tN6efvBe8s3DcNCJI7CFc0cdKA_Yv8MOQToGXJyjFC7X0w9Rtd/s9608/Picture%202%20-%20Playtesting%20train.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="3024" data-original-width="9608" height="101" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh55Xyz9-h1kpRiR_oQor_BU5v82FZiX6rqTyS4AVZFIgkGsJ1gcm075lF7PGpfyn8tV2xxGtuj_LrnMY75VFH30MaEVt8Cg0OSUkNvMGvVoK_dKfU0ZGAm_HdpfYQmurNQuewgB1tN6efvBe8s3DcNCJI7CFc0cdKA_Yv8MOQToGXJyjFC7X0w9Rtd/s320/Picture%202%20-%20Playtesting%20train.jpg" width="320" /></a></div><p></p><p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhDeEG4Fm9KtshNXAY5Bra_PKtHtwzDEjTolxUFrbBmx2ldJd3ZkWn-avYPltTQVxpWTSOl_w3g4l68VfDgn_rtr5m4tZ7teAxYv2zq-gHRuTfEL0GJ-E5jAgI2TewLoKN32d4VmuDbyhpT_7ddntaT9fIw7DMbIjZVC4_GXt8J06M3vtBByuwrP-Ar/s3026/Picture%203%20-%20Arnbitter.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="3026" data-original-width="2160" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhDeEG4Fm9KtshNXAY5Bra_PKtHtwzDEjTolxUFrbBmx2ldJd3ZkWn-avYPltTQVxpWTSOl_w3g4l68VfDgn_rtr5m4tZ7teAxYv2zq-gHRuTfEL0GJ-E5jAgI2TewLoKN32d4VmuDbyhpT_7ddntaT9fIw7DMbIjZVC4_GXt8J06M3vtBByuwrP-Ar/s320/Picture%203%20-%20Arnbitter.jpg" width="228" /></a></div><p>When we finally arrived in Gothenburg late at night, we met up with Reindeer, Mitja, and other Dutchies that also just arrived. All of us wanted to play some games, and we found a sports bar that was open till one o’clock. Unfortunately, it was already quite late and we couldn’t convince the bartender in charge to stay open just a tiny bit longer, even though he also happened to play Magic when he was younger. So after all, I just got in a few games against fellow countryman Dyan, before we returned to our hotels. Maybe it was for the better, since we could surely use the extra sleep for the remaining adventures.</p><h2 style="text-align: left;">Siab00rg</h2><p style="text-align: left;">On Thursday morning, we found out that the other die-hard Dutchies already went to the same sports bar when it opened at eleven to drink beer and further test their decks. Wander and I opted to spend the ample spare time we had to walk around the city. We already did some sightseeing in 2017, but back then, the so-called "Fish Church" was closed when we got there. So Wander wanted to walk there again, only to find out it was under construction this time. That one is still on his bucket list for a future visit. We bought some vintage clothes, had lunch in a science fiction book store and couldn’t resist playing some games there as well. During our stroll around the city, we could clearly see an elegantly shaped fortress dating from around 1700, towering over Gothenburg. That building would in fact be our venue for the tournament later that day: the Siab00rg event, a.k.a. "n00bcon warm up festival", hosted by Reindeer. In the afternoon, we climbed the stone stairs and followed the red carpet inside the thick-walled fortress, to play some matches in the midst of century old canons, with bottles of beer and lit candles next to our playmats.</p><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEigruWlc3KCzSpekYAjXyg5yidEHv5ukcZIRtspIFASyRD1Q7r7vPEfIEMPzmvMHJMXj09swb32WK3YPr51SCL6Pi0-1UuMml6q1LtE8Rq4gPi9-3MQceDDAJdpKO12fiHKrfhQS3FpnqQWyXV5-dMvxKvAtY41YFGiuPU2gSCzEuRaTT-Uxs2m6yS7/s4032/Picture%204%20-%20Kronan.jpg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="3024" data-original-width="4032" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEigruWlc3KCzSpekYAjXyg5yidEHv5ukcZIRtspIFASyRD1Q7r7vPEfIEMPzmvMHJMXj09swb32WK3YPr51SCL6Pi0-1UuMml6q1LtE8Rq4gPi9-3MQceDDAJdpKO12fiHKrfhQS3FpnqQWyXV5-dMvxKvAtY41YFGiuPU2gSCzEuRaTT-Uxs2m6yS7/s320/Picture%204%20-%20Kronan.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Skansen Kronan, Gothenburg</td></tr></tbody></table><p></p><p>I brought my two decks to Sweden: Tax Edge and Counterburn. I struggled to decide which deck to play at which event. With Tax Edge, I recently got a second place finish (6-1) at Dadbodcon, <a href="https://ragingbullseries.com/index.php/2022/03/14/guestblog-dadbodcon-2022-organiser-report/">a large tournament in Utrecht</a>, but I didn’t know for sure how solid that deck was, whereas Counterburn has its weaknesses, but has repeatedly proven itself to be a tier 1 contender. So in the end, I decided to play the more "original" and "fun" deck at Siab00rg and the more "safe" or "competitive" Counterburn at n00bcon, not in the least because I had been assembling that latter deck for n00bcon for about two years now.</p><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh8xbh9CRpZDzgCZ0DWUFq8rJpzm3IP1usAzV_fm1arlM1o_zi0mlIcmr3qxOF5RDf0iqzDJC8KL8o32XP4x5dI39E8PDII65Q9B9w1FIVRPg8aObR2pfoK4aDmG9RGeOmFd8lOnT44z2ROenvv6Wxph8So3VXLD3pqLwFZNE8GYtjcFYWeeyFpxuj4/s2960/Picture%205%20-%20Tax%20Edge%20decklist.jpg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1329" data-original-width="2960" height="144" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh8xbh9CRpZDzgCZ0DWUFq8rJpzm3IP1usAzV_fm1arlM1o_zi0mlIcmr3qxOF5RDf0iqzDJC8KL8o32XP4x5dI39E8PDII65Q9B9w1FIVRPg8aObR2pfoK4aDmG9RGeOmFd8lOnT44z2ROenvv6Wxph8So3VXLD3pqLwFZNE8GYtjcFYWeeyFpxuj4/s320/Picture%205%20-%20Tax%20Edge%20decklist.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">WRu Tax Edge.</td></tr></tbody></table><p>In round 1 of the Siab00rg tournament, I faced Leo Bruder, whose name I recognized from multiple top 8s. I knew he had good results with artifact-based decks. In game 1, I had 2 Savannah Lions in play and when he tapped 6 mana it suddenly dawned on me that Triskelion would be a blow-out card versus multiple Lions. Thankfully, it was a "mere" Tetravus and I had a Swords to Plowshares ready. He had some bad draws apparently, since he didn’t play anything relevant and the two Lions simply took care of business. The second game he did have the Triskelion and an Animate Dead to deal with my Lions and with me. Now the third game really was crazy. I opened with Mox Pearl and Land Tax, one of the best starts my deck can have. I thought this opening would surely get me three lands, but he opened with his own Pearl, a Mox Sapphire, a Copy Artifact on one of his Moxen, and a Mana Vault. I decided to not play a land and just said ‘go’ in my second turn. On his second turn, he played a Triskelion, but I had a Swords to Plowshares that I could cast with my Pearl. On my third turn, I drew a second Land Tax and played it. Leo took 1 damage from his tapped Vault and used Chaos Orb to kill my Pearl. Now I only had 2 Land Tax in play, but since he had a tapped Vault and only three other mana sources, it felt good to keep this situation as it was and hope to draw either one of my Winds of Change or Lotus + Land’s Edge, so I could win on the spot when he needed to play a land. Leo realized the potential danger of (double) Land Tax, so he declined to play a land. We just stared at each other, passed turns, and eventually I had to start discarding cards to hand size. Finally, on his eight (!) turn the first land of the game was played and he cast a Su-Chi. I got to search for lands, but since I didn’t drew a payoff card like Winds of Change, this whole turn of events ended rather anticlimactic. I tried to get back in the game with a Balance, but fell short and lost to the big Robots.</p><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjy39FMr8Nkp1zu79Vi0gIbH29Uk3uVA8BBJ60_Ig1NO98QPJxTlShDC4drTevSuKTTtq67AOEnXjIIzpPZcv5WFikwhn-dTAG_QFy1oo4Pz4VAcOVGB1XJjJPlNtRq8dh9LpebUZ-cBLboh5xSVkvvwZhGiMHBsA-NhI4qdfI1rMo2BGm3TGNtN2QB/s4032/Picture%206%20-%20Match%20against%20Leo%20Bruder.jpg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="3024" data-original-width="4032" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjy39FMr8Nkp1zu79Vi0gIbH29Uk3uVA8BBJ60_Ig1NO98QPJxTlShDC4drTevSuKTTtq67AOEnXjIIzpPZcv5WFikwhn-dTAG_QFy1oo4Pz4VAcOVGB1XJjJPlNtRq8dh9LpebUZ-cBLboh5xSVkvvwZhGiMHBsA-NhI4qdfI1rMo2BGm3TGNtN2QB/s320/Picture%206%20-%20Match%20against%20Leo%20Bruder.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">"Look ma, no lands!"</td></tr></tbody></table><p>For round 2, my opponent was Peter Monten, whose pet deck is RGu Aggro with Emerald Dragonfly and Wyluli Wolf. He made top 8 with <a href="http://oldschool-mtg.blogspot.com/2021/04/the-n00bcom-2-top8.html">that original deck at n00bcoM II</a>. This is a difficult matchup for me, since he only needs like one land to function and has many small threats. When I previously played my Tax Edge deck at Dadbodcon, my only loss was to Monten. We played some epic games back then, and this time I could take revenge. Game 1 was another wild game. He had a good start with Pendelhaven and Scryb Sprites. I Stripped his Pendelhaven, but he had Wyluli Wolf and a Factory. He started pressuring my life total and I only had a Lion for defence and a non-active Land Tax in play. When I finally managed to remove the Sprites and stabilize the board, he drew and played another Mishra’s Factory, forgetting for a split second that this would trigger the Tax. I got to search for lands and play a Winds of Change, which severely improved my chances, but I could not turn the game around immediately. During his next turn, I fell to 4 life and he was still on 16. He had one card in hand, but thankfully it wasn’t a Psionic Blast. I Taxed again on my turn and since I was dead on board, I had to go for it. I played Land’s Edge, discarded all seven lands in my hand to put him down to 2, and then I cast Wheel of Fortune. In response, he discarded the last card in his hand (a land) to Land’s Edge to put me on 2 as well. So now we were both on a mere 2 life and just had to see which one of us would be the most fortunate… I drew a hand with three lands and went for it: “Discard a land, deal 2 at you.” Peter responded by discarding a land himself. I discarded my second land in response, but so did he. I finally discarded my third and last land in response, but he also had a third land! I did have one more trick up my sleeve though: I had drawn a Swords to Plowshares and played that one on my own Savannah Lions to go back up to 4. As it turned out, Peter also drew exactly three lands and no burn, so I was lucky enough to win this very tight and long game. </p><p>I actually told Peter in advance of the tournament that I made some adjustments to my sideboard to deal with green aggro decks, specifically 2 Earthquake and 1 Falling Star (I would play 2 of those now by the way – awesome card!). For game 2, my hand contained a Lion and an Earthquake. He started with Llanowar Elves and I didn’t play my Lion, hoping to two-for-one him. It paid off, since his two drop was not a flyer, but an Argothian Pixies. I played an Earhquake for x=1 and my Lion. From there on, it was a really close race where I pressured him on the ground with my Savannah Lions and he attacked me in the air with a Dragonfly. After a Wheel of Fortune and a topdecked Lightning Bolt, I managed to close the game just in time, again standing on 2 life myself.</p><p>In round 3, I played against Mia. I opened rather fair with a Plains and a Lion, but on her turn things got out of hand quickly: she played Library of Alexandria, Pearl, Lotus, Sol Ring, Mana Vault and… Air Elemental! I didn’t see that last one coming. I thought that I could handle that one in time, because Mia didn’t seem to have any other pressure cards, but even after some Land Tax activations and multiple Winds of Change for 9 or 10 cards (!), I could not find my Swords to Plowshares or Chaos Orb, so the flyer simply killed me in 5 attacks. </p><p>In the second game, she had another very good start with a turn 1 Serendib Efreet, but this time I had the Swords to Plowshares ready. On turn 2 she played another Serendib Efreet though. I tried to race the Dib with a Lion and Factory. A timely Time Walk from my side turned the tables and I managed to win the second game on 2 life. The third game I had a turn 1 Library of Alexandria and a lot of advantage, but because the first games took a lot of time, we couldn’t finish the match.</p><p>After this, I played Lorenzo in round 4. His deck had perhaps the most greedy mana requirements I have ever seen: he played a UR deck with Ghost Ship and Ball Lightning! I had a perfect opening game 1: Factory, Black Vise, Pearl, Lion. After that I played and activated Land Tax and killed him with Land’s Edge. His deck was original and worked quite well actually, but it was a bit too slow and weak to Land Tax, so I won the second game pretty straightforward as well. </p><p>I faced Fredrik in round 5. On turn 1, I had Mountain, Black Vise, Black Lotus, Wheel of Fortune. I love these explosive starts that Lotus enables. I never played Vintage before, so one of the appeals of old school is getting to play with the Power Nine cards and getting to experience their power yourself instead of merely appreciating these cards from a distance as iconic but "unplayable", which was my position for a long time. I was feeling good about my opening, but on his turn 1 he played Land Tax and Ivory Tower. I didn’t expect to play a Tax mirror today. On my turn 1, I draw my own Tax, but I only had a Mountain in play. I could play a Plains and cast it, but this didn’t seem beneficial, so I played the Plains and a Savannah Lions instead, to get some pressure on the board. He searched up three lands, played a City of Brass and a Demonic Tutor. Maybe he searched up Armageddon, because on his next turn he cast that one. We both had two lands in play, but he also had two Moxen. If I now would play a land, he would get to Tax again. I had to though, because relying only on my Lion seemed too bad. The Lion did do a lot of work and my Vise nullified his Tower. I was really hoping that he wouldn’t draw another Tower. When he finally drew it, I drew a Lightning Bolt just in time to finish the game before he got to gain life.</p><p>During that first game, I thought about how he was going to win in the end, since Land’s Edge works both ways and he seemed to play the five color version with only the Edge as a win condition. I concluded that the only card that could really turn the game in his favor was Ivory Tower, whereas I had more options available to close the game. So in game 2, I conservatively saved my Disenchants for the Towers, letting an active Land Tax and Sylvan Library stay on the board. This strategy worked and I managed to win the second game, which was also very grindy.</p><p>I was now 3-1-1 in matches and in the sixth and last round, I got to play a "win-and-in" against the aforementioned Ron, who usually plays Atog and/or Rukh Valley brews. We knew the games could get grindy and didn’t want another draw, so we decided to really keep up the pace from the beginning. I won the die roll and kept a hand with Factory and Vise, but when he mulliganned down to 5, my hand and Vise plan also got worse. I didn’t get to put much pressure on him. He removed my Factory, played a Triskelion and won pretty quickly. </p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"></div><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhBREUokf1wHBaFY8T6hufX06Gk-iDU4NitgVZoTbmAcbfeqgb95wZdh5z4HyLL38V-0imAotAJXF75OKTfCcincfhn-ixGM0UZNoOKCDiYJ9qdh9WIezMXDsGzIZXBoGPcBcQBOwZ6T3mBcvMvrVynqiNNlr5ix611Qbonzu7vYwmFS6_ZH6CobIR6/s4032/Picture%207%20-%20Opening%20hand%20game%202%20Ron.jpg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="3024" data-original-width="4032" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhBREUokf1wHBaFY8T6hufX06Gk-iDU4NitgVZoTbmAcbfeqgb95wZdh5z4HyLL38V-0imAotAJXF75OKTfCcincfhn-ixGM0UZNoOKCDiYJ9qdh9WIezMXDsGzIZXBoGPcBcQBOwZ6T3mBcvMvrVynqiNNlr5ix611Qbonzu7vYwmFS6_ZH6CobIR6/s320/Picture%207%20-%20Opening%20hand%20game%202%20Ron.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Snap keep?</td></tr></tbody></table><p></p><p></p><p></p><p>The second game was great. I kept a somewhat sketchy hand with only one Mox Sapphire as a mana source, but it had Ancestral Recall and Time Walk and multiple very good white cards that only needed one white source. I started with Sapphire into Ancestral, but only drew one Mountain and no white mana. To make things worse, Ron had a turn 1 Relic Barrier that shut down my Mox, so on my second turn I could only play a Mountain and actually had to discard to hand size. I decided to throw the Time Walk away. Things got worse, because Ron had a Chaos Orb for my Mountain. I was really lucky though, because I drew a Black Lotus that allowed me to play Land Tax and Savannah Lions with no lands in play. He responded with a Shatter on my Sapphire and a Gloom, which was pretty devastating. Basically, the Gloom meant that I couldn’t cast anything unless I played like four lands in a row. For now, my only real plan of action was attacking with my sole Lion. Because Ron saw I had an active Land Tax and pressure on the board, and he had nothing going on except for the Gloom, he decided to play his Timetwister. He then cast Lotus, Mana Vault and Triskelion, that took care of my Lion. This game was starting to look really good for him. I did have an active Land Tax, which allowed me to play multiple lands to get back into the game, but Ron played a timely Winter Orb when I had most of my lands tapped. This, combined with the Gloom, gave my almost no outs and he was still on 15 life. He played a Shivan Dragon and I was dead on board. I did realize, however, that I could still win through Land’s Edge. On my turn, I had only two lands untapped and I got to search for three lands with my Tax. I could then play a land and cast Land’s Edge, but if I would, I would only have seven lands in my hand left to deal 14 to him and he was on 15! I did drew the Time Walk again that I had discarded earlier, so I played an Island and a Time Walk. This allowed me to Tax one more time, and start the turn again with two lands untapped. I played a Mountain, Land’s Edge and this time I had exactly eight lands left to deal 16 to Ron, who, considering his commanding position, was quite baffled by this comeback. </p><p>After this really close game, there were just a few minutes left in the round, so we played really quickly. Due to these circumstances, I was secretly hoping that he would play more lands than me, so I strategically kept two Land Taxes in my hand as a surprise. When he had five lands and multiple creatures in play that would kill me in two turns, I pulled the trigger and dropped both Taxes. The next turn I got to search for six lands, played a massive Winds of Change, removed all his creatures and played two Lions, which got there just in time. Top 8! </p><p>In the quarterfinal, I played against Morgan with a white and blue artifact-based deck. He started with Tundra, Sol Ring and I with Mox Pearl into Land Tax. He had a Factory and played a Su-Chi, so I was already under a lot of pressure. I searched up three lands, played a Mountain and a Winds of Change. After that, I played another Tax. He Disenchanted one of them, but I still got to play another Winds of Change for ten cards on my next turn and drew and answer for his Su-Chi and another Tax. I played a Mishra’s Factory as my third land, hoping this would lure him into playing a third land himself. He did, and when he tapped out for a Triskelion and Copy Artifact – probably feeling pretty safe, still standing on a healthy 20 life – I saw a window to execute my plan. At that moment, I had Land’s Edge, Lightning Bolt, Swords to Plowshares and three lands in my hand. On the end of his turn, I animated my Factory and played Bolt on it, which meant I got to search for six lands in my upkeep. I had to go for it, even though I knew I could ‘only’ deal 18 damage for sure. I was actually quite bummed that I had to Bolt my Factory. If I could have played my Swords on it, I would have won with the Bolt, but I spent my only white mana source to cast a Savannah Lions. After I got my six lands, I unfortunately didn’t drew another land or Bolt. I did draw a Winds of Change though. I played the Land’s Edge, discarded nine lands to put him on 2 and after that I played the Winds of Change. I shuffled the Swords back into my deck, but didn’t drew a Bolt or Land and lost. </p><p>During the second game, I had another good, but risky start: Lotus, Lion, Land Tax. Unfortunately, he played a Mox, Tundra and a Disenchant on my Tax. This wrecked my plan, and quickly after this he had a Mind Twist for my entire hand, followed up by a Su-Chi and a Triskelion. It was time to call it a day.</p><p>At Siab00rg the ambiance was excellent and I had some really epic games versus great and kind opponents. I was quite impressed by the Tax Edge deck. It performed better than expected and the combo engine of the deck combines multiple elements that are rare to find in old school: card advantage, card selection and shuffle effects. Because you play 4 Winds of Change, Timetwister and Wheel of Fortune, there are many times you can "spin the wheel" and this leads to very exciting scenario’s. Also, Land Tax allows you to have great comebacks in games that can look unwinnable. It functions like a white Ancestral Recall in some cases. Apart from that, the card Land Tax makes both players very aware of each land drop, which can lead to an interesting Tax subgame. </p><p>While it was a lot of fun, it was also pretty exhausting. With this deck, every decision matters. You really have to think about every land, every mana, think ahead and decide how you are going to win the game. Shuffling your (triple-sleeved) deck a lot also takes time and I had to close multiple games in the last 5 turns. This meant that I didn’t have a lot of time for chatting or breaks between rounds. This strengthened my decision to play Counterburn at n00bcon the day after.</p><p>After my quarterfinal match, I got to watch fellow countryman <a href="https://ragingbullseries.com/index.php/2022/04/29/you-never-forget-your-first/">Henk win the semi-finals and then finals with a nice "BB8" deck</a> with eight Bolts and eight Bots. I also played some casual games against Wander, and when the night fell, we descended the stairs to the city centre, and went back to our hotel beds for a good night’s rest.</p><h2 style="text-align: left;">n00bcon</h2><p>On Friday, Wander and I took our time for breakfast and decided to have a long walk to the Rotary Pub, instead of taking public transportation. We got ourselves an ice cream in the Spring sun. In search of the Rotary Pub, we somehow ended up in a rocky, hilly area. We still had some memories from 2017 and knew the pub could be a bit hard to find. When we found our way through the trees, we saw some familiar faces standing outside a building and soon found the renowned pub, that got to open its doors again after a long while.</p><p></p><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjU3rAbxSCAJvSnzpaX7GZCuOIRvepmCjuzujHpAYo6dOV9lvFrAKRHqZmWbGju6ChBH5-4wtKaUoQ-cxunxkDTJFSqyaNG1HacBkMNb4awZ-kCcDHSO5dzUiYF7snbhzp6S55ETVd6rvMOS0S7Q74LMn2sXc33KwQXLGuh07NQWPvch6joOLPPGqkN/s4032/Picture%208%20-%20road%20to%20Rotary%20Pub.jpg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="4032" data-original-width="3024" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjU3rAbxSCAJvSnzpaX7GZCuOIRvepmCjuzujHpAYo6dOV9lvFrAKRHqZmWbGju6ChBH5-4wtKaUoQ-cxunxkDTJFSqyaNG1HacBkMNb4awZ-kCcDHSO5dzUiYF7snbhzp6S55ETVd6rvMOS0S7Q74LMn2sXc33KwQXLGuh07NQWPvch6joOLPPGqkN/s320/Picture%208%20-%20road%20to%20Rotary%20Pub.jpg" width="240" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">The road less traveled to the Rotary Pub.</td></tr></tbody></table><p></p><p>The Counterburn deck I brought for the tournament had one Blood Moon mainboard and three sideboard. I thought this was a bit of overkill to be honest, but my idea was that against really greedy decks with no basic lands, you don’t mind having four ‘instant win’ cards available. Also, since I didn’t play black and had six Islands, this shell seemed very good to try out the full power of Blood Moon – a decision that was also inspired by the intriguing art that Kalle made for the event. </p><p></p><p></p><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhaHJdMYF0l0Nh6SWqKOqji-099hGcejIvLsXhY7nR_Hd1kJn0KDoQOd5iR3vU7qR04XGqKGCc1Bxl1ZDgniGugX0xVnanqx_zVx49hArSJC798pqLx8M3L1PmthjneK-7xnFek0BWZv19kYVlr9vhWvIAt3Piw0Bepz6aQloVMyHdyqH4nxw188eUA/s2968/Picture%209%20-%20UR%20Counterburn.jpg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1330" data-original-width="2968" height="143" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhaHJdMYF0l0Nh6SWqKOqji-099hGcejIvLsXhY7nR_Hd1kJn0KDoQOd5iR3vU7qR04XGqKGCc1Bxl1ZDgniGugX0xVnanqx_zVx49hArSJC798pqLx8M3L1PmthjneK-7xnFek0BWZv19kYVlr9vhWvIAt3Piw0Bepz6aQloVMyHdyqH4nxw188eUA/s320/Picture%209%20-%20UR%20Counterburn.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">UR Counterburn</td></tr></tbody></table><p></p><p>In round 1, I faced ‘Purple’, who was playing a blue, black and red midrange deck – I guess you get the colour purple when you mix those? I started with Island, Flying Men and on turn 2 I had Volcanic Island, Sol Ring and Timetwister. On his second turn, he played a Blood Moon, which I just shrugged away, but it turned out to be pretty annoying, since he followed it up with an Icy Manipulator to lock down my only Island. Multiple turns passed where I was unable to utilize blue mana. He cast a Sengir Vampire and an Air Alemental. The game was close, but the turn before I tried to squeeze out a victory, he played an Earthquake for 3 when I was at 3 life and he at 4.</p><p>During the second game, I had a tough decision when he was outtapped. I had four lands in play and no extra lands in hand. I had three cards to choose from: Serendib Efreet, Counterspell and Braingeyser. What to do? This is a typical puzzle for the Counterburn deck: are you going to hold up mana for the Counterspell, ideally hoping to draw a fifth mana source to be able to play Dib with Counterspell backup, or are you going to put pressure on your opponent by playing the Dib? I don’t remember my exact reasoning, but I decided to play the Dib and got punished: on his turn, he played Terror on it and then a Blood Moon. I thought that he would sideboard the Moons out, but he didn’t, and actually this one had a huge impact on the game because I didn’t drew any of my five remaining Islands nor my Mox Sapphire. When I finally drew an Island, he once again had an Icy to lock that one down. I lost the game with multiple uncastable Counterspells and a Braingeyser in my hand. </p><p>This rough start got me thinking about how good Blood Moon actually is in my deck. Before the tournament, I was already worried that six basic Islands might be one too few, but at the same time many of the stock URb Counterburn lists only play five Island and they play Blood Moon as well. Besides that, playing six basics is already quite exceptional in old school, because most players that play more than one color have really greedy mana bases. Still, all those UU-cards can be a pain to cast sometimes. Maybe this was just bad luck? I came to the event with a deck that wanted to exploit the power of Blood Moon, only to lose the first two games to my opponent’s Blood Moon! That felt crazy. </p><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiUNjisQw6PTwD-PO-8V56Q1gVwx6LYR7dL1gfkzLRBB91YkAOp-CLxC8YUPAeVX2nPtu-2-s4XDy-a7jhuJ6aJLbcDm9XIwP5UMr_15Gm9lEB5JgT-wgtczNyHMM0_NIBEWnV2A26bSE6-39Z0Jq58myhgeTp6j78zT6jfONuFQqce876GGQFMI1bx/s605/Picture%2010%20-%20Blood%20Moon%20artwork%20Kalle.jpg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="605" data-original-width="605" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiUNjisQw6PTwD-PO-8V56Q1gVwx6LYR7dL1gfkzLRBB91YkAOp-CLxC8YUPAeVX2nPtu-2-s4XDy-a7jhuJ6aJLbcDm9XIwP5UMr_15Gm9lEB5JgT-wgtczNyHMM0_NIBEWnV2A26bSE6-39Z0Jq58myhgeTp6j78zT6jfONuFQqce876GGQFMI1bx/s320/Picture%2010%20-%20Blood%20Moon%20artwork%20Kalle.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">You can’t play Blood Moon without breaking a few eggs. (Artwork by Kalle.)</td></tr></tbody></table><p></p><p>In round two, I played Tommy ("Artelas") who was on an interesting BRw Troll Disco deck. I had a nice start with two Flying Men and a Counterspell, but he got to resolve a Disk and had a Strip Mine and Sinkhole to remove my only two lands. I didn’t draw another land and the Disk made sure I had zero permanents in play. I couldn’t recover from that. During the second game, he again had Strip Mine plus Sinkhole and early pressure in the form of a Hippie and two Factories. When I finally got to three mana, he had a Red Elemental Blast for my Serendib Efreet and a Mind Twist for the win. So now I lost four games in a row and mana issues played a huge role in all of those games. When I played in 2017, I came with a mana denial plan myself, playing a BR deck, but now I was the one struggling to cast my spells.</p><p>Next up was Juan, a good friend of Purple. He played Pink Weenie, so when I started with City of Brass, Library of Alexandria, 2 Flying Men and a Serendib Efreet, I was really, really afraid of City in a Bottle. He didn’t seem to have it though. When he finally drew it later in the game, I had the Counterspell ready. Game 2 he started with two Ironclaw Orcs, but I Bolted both of them. After that he drew a lot of lands and my Serendib Efreets closed the game.</p><p>In round 4 I got to play Daniell, who brought a Mono Black deck. When he was still on 17 life, he played Greed, which I decided to Counterspell. It was a tough decision and I got punished for it, because the turn afterwards he played an Underworld Dreams, which I could only remove with Chaos Orb. Normally, this enchantment isn’t that annoying, but I had planned to play my Timetwister and now I couldn’t anymore. He also had a Maze of Ith for my Serendib Efreet. This was another difficult card for me to deal with and now I lost 2 lives per turn. When I finally drew the Orb and used it on the Maze, he cast a Drain Life for 4 on the Serendib Efreet and after that a Drain Life for 7 on me. I couldn’t recover from these life swings and the Dreams got there.</p><p>In the second game, I started with Island and Flying Men. He Strip Mined my Island. I played Volcanic Island and another Flying Men, and he had a Sinkhole for my Volcanic. Man, is everyone in this pub playing land destruction!? Thankfully, I already deployed two treats that he didn’t seem to have an answer for. He played an Underworld Dreams and, surprisingly, a Warp Artifact. Those put me on a clock, but mine was faster: the Flying Men, combined with some burn spells, gave me the upper hand this game.</p><p>In the final game, I had a Library of Alexandria in my opening hand, but he started the match with a land, Sol Ring and City in a Bottle. Ouch! I played an Island and passed. He Strip Mined my Island (of course!) and later cast a Greed, which he used to draw three cards. Apparently, he was not to worried about burn, so probably he had a Drain Life or even Ivory Tower. He then had a Sinkhole for my Volcanic Island (do you start the notice the recurring trend this year?), but thankfully this time I drew enough blue sources to stay in the game. When he cast a Hypnotic Specter, I stole it with Control Magic. It didn’t do much for me though, because he had a Maze of Ith. But since he didn’t seem to draw anything relevant for a couple of turns, I won with burn. </p><p>In round 5, I face Hall of Famer Olle Råde. It was exciting to play the mirror against him, since Counterburn is his pet deck, one that he has had many good results with over the years. He started with a turn 2 Dib, which I had to remove with a Lightning Bolt and a Chain Lightning. Sometimes you have to two-for-one yourself. After that, I played my own Dib, which he Counterspelled. The turn after, I tried to cast a Braingeyser for 4 and it resolved. I drew Ancestral Recall, Serendib Efreet and got ahead rather quickly, but even though I was way ahead in cards, it still felt close. My own Dib put me on 7 life and I had to be careful not to lose to a Psionic Blast + Lightning Bolt from his side. A Fireball for 8 closed the game in time for me. In the next game, we both had two Serendib Efreets in play. They stared at each other for a while, but Olle cleared the way with 2 Red Elemental Blasts and since he also had 3 Mishra’s Factory’s in play, I was totally outclassed this game. <br /><br />In game 3, I started with Island, Flying Men. He started with Ruby and 2 Factory’s and killed my Flying Men with a Bolt. It was clear to me that he didn’t have a blue mana source, but he probably kept his hand because of the Factory’s and removal. He decided to play Chaos Orb on my only red source to clear the way for his Factory’s, but I drew another Volcanic Island and cast Wheel of Fortune, the last card in my hand. This gave him blue mana though, and soon we both once again had not one, but two Serendib Efreets in play. This meant we both took 2 damage a turn and it wasn’t profitable to attack. When we were both at 8 life, I drew and played a Black Lotus when I only had two other blue sources in play. This prompted a reaction from Olle: he Bolted me, which resolved. He bolted me again, which I Counterspelled, but he had a Mana Drain. This interaction dropped me to 1 (because I had to tap a City of Brass). I still had an out though, because I had a Timetwister in my hand and he was now outtapped. I sacrificed the Black Lotus and cast the Twister. If I drew 2 Bolts I could get him down to 2 life and make him lose to his own Dibs (if he didn’t drew a Lightning Bolt to kill me in his upkeep in response to the triggers). I flipped the top 7 cards of my library one by one… No 2 Bolts, unfortunately, but there were some interesting cards there. We both analyzed and discussed the situation, seeing how the game would unfold and quickly concluded there was no way for me to win.</p><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhr23MTpnEDVmSKgBEkRUv-kLIQxUIGv0Iw48CZqAPlLjk4t_jHp42hBP4PbyUm4V3VmSbLB6CzpbjAMSwpnwzJTA1d_g7gzhb9cS0a-YnzZydnuN7xGC1mJNB5X6cS3_u2VEfyzdXGV5KdYaJrhJhqR1ww9m6Dnravo7Vqtw__hAcmOQ_tW2n1STtk/s1536/Picture%2011%20-%20Mirror%20vs%20Olle.jpg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1111" data-original-width="1536" height="231" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhr23MTpnEDVmSKgBEkRUv-kLIQxUIGv0Iw48CZqAPlLjk4t_jHp42hBP4PbyUm4V3VmSbLB6CzpbjAMSwpnwzJTA1d_g7gzhb9cS0a-YnzZydnuN7xGC1mJNB5X6cS3_u2VEfyzdXGV5KdYaJrhJhqR1ww9m6Dnravo7Vqtw__hAcmOQ_tW2n1STtk/s320/Picture%2011%20-%20Mirror%20vs%20Olle.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Mirror match against Olle Råde. So many Dibs! </td></tr></tbody></table><p>In the sixth round, I faced a deck you can always expect to play against at n00bcon: The Deck. This one, build by Simon Gauti Rokkjær, was extra special, because it contained many amazing (Cthulhu) alters and a surprising addition in the form of Clay Statue. Game 1, I had a really nice hand with Library of Alexandria, Lotus and Wheel, but he was on the play. This mattered a lot, since he started with Strip Mine (!), Sol Ring and Fellwar Stone. I went ahead with my plan anyway. He had a Jayemdae Tome, but I had Shatter for it, and I decided to play my second Shatter on the Sol Ring. I only had one blue mana source, which was annoying, since I had 2 Counterspells but I had to let Simon cast his Demonic Tutor into Ancestral Recall. It still was pretty close. For the first time in this tournament, I finally got to put my own Blood Moon to good use and things got really grindy. Later in the game, I Counterspelled his Ivory Tower and then he cast a Clay Statue, which my deck can’t remove. I decided to go with a burn plan: I played three Psionic Blast on him and a Chain Lightning, to put him at three life, but after that, I fell one burn spell short to finish the game, and the Clay Statue killed me with the help of a Factory.</p><p>The second game, I once again had a crazy opening hand: Volcanic Island, Mox Sapphire, Lotus, Wheel of Fortune. After that blistering start, I played an Energy Flux and a Blood Moon. During the game, I cast a Timetwister and later the Wheel of Fortune once more. So many draw-sevens! I had multiple Energy Fluxes and those were too much for him to handle, so I won this one. In the third and final game, I had a Flux and Moon, but no pressure. He removed my Moon and cast a brutal Mind Twist that got rid of my Wheel of Fortune and Timetwister… exactly the two cards I wanted to draw after the Twist! I couldn’t recover from this and lost to Factory beats.</p><p>In round 7 of the tournament, I played Kristian who brought an original Living Lands brew. I had a very good turn 1 (Island, Flying Men, Lotus, Serendib Efreet), but he had a crucial Balance. A bit later in the game, I drew my maindeck Blood Moon, which really shines in this matchup, but he had a Chaos Orb for it. I cast a Braingeyser and managed to close the game with burn, because I had two Counterspells for his two copies of Living Plane. I boarded in all my Blood Moons and during the second game I had to play one of those, even though I didn’t have an Island myself. This was difficult for me, especially since I didn’t draw a blue source for ages. We were both limited in our resources for a while and he managed to get the upper hand. </p><p>In the final game, he locked me down with a City in a Bottle and he also managed to get his combo on board: Living Plane + Tabernacle + Karakas. All my lands now had an upkeep of one mana and he could bounce his Tabernacle in my turn, so the effect would only be one-sided. I did have an answer available though: I could Bolt the Tabernacle and when he would use Karakas, I could Bolt it again. I was not sure, however, if this was a winning line. If he had another Tabernacle, for instance, this play would be really bad. So instead, I tried to use the Enchant World effect to my own advantage. I Bolted his Tabernacle on the end of his turn and he of course bounced it. Because he had to tap a few lands, I could now attack with almost all my lands. It was still a puzzle though, because he had a Maze of Ith, which he used to block one of my lands and untap another attacking land. I managed to squeeze some damage in there, and put him on six. I then played another Bolt on him. Since I still had a relatively healthy life total, my plan was to keep my lands alive by paying the untap cost until I would draw a burn spell for the last 3 damage. Maybe it was too risky of a line though, because I forgot that he also had other options to kill my lands, like Triskelion or Falling Star. Luckily enough I drew another Bolt the turn before I would lose all my lands. </p><p>I went 3-4 in matches at n00bcon. I am still not sure about how to evaluate Blood Moon, because I had a lot of mana issues myself. At the same time, if I had just drawn one Island in multiple situations, most problems would have been over and the game would have played out differently. Blood Moon underperformed for me and the 6 UU-cards in the deck were difficult to cast too many times. Svante, however, <a href=" https://endofturndrawacard.wordpress.com/2022/05/10/the-time-of-the-orc-has-come">made top 8 at both Siab00rg and n00bcon with a tweaked URb Counterburn deck</a> that played 2 Blood Moon main (and two Orcs!). The Moons contributed to that success and he believed that they are even better in the preboarded games. He did remove some Counterspells though, so that could also fix some of the mana issues.</p><p>I myself am a bit unsure at the moment about the general power level of UR(b) Counterburn. Even against unpowered decks, the games are generally really close, something <a href="https://endofturndrawacard.wordpress.com/2021/02/04/some-notes-on-the-2020-winter-derby/">Svante also noted before</a>. Cards like Dibs, Blasts and Cities also pressure your own life total and not having many answers to enchantments or big creatures, makes you vulnerable. I guess this is also a nice aspect of the Counterburn deck: usually, all the games are pretty tense and skill intensive. The decisions you make really matter. </p><p>After the Swiss, I got to see the very memorable quarterfinal between Svante and Richard, who was so drunk he couldn’t shuffle his deck anymore, but still managed to play almost perfectly. He played the same deck that Henk used to win Siab00rg. After the quarterfinal I once again played some games against Wander. And just like five years before, we stayed until the sun came up. We chatted with the remaining people there and had a nice midnight stroll back to the hotel.</p><p style="text-align: left;"></p><h2 style="text-align: left;">The Day After</h2><p style="text-align: left;">On Saturday, we met up in a big pub with endless corridors, floors and a roof terrace. Purple and Juan were there, together with a few Dutchies, Åland, Seb and Joel Larsson, who won n00bcon this year with The Deck. Joel brought a fancy Tribal Cube to the pub and we played a small tournament. I didn’t do that well, but Wander won the finals with Faeries. After the cube games, we hosted a casual old school tournament with nine people. I am not sure if the tournament was called "Poseidon Cup" or "Raging ODOL", but anyway, I decided to play Tax Edge again and somehow I got to play against all three Swedes in the room: first Seb with Eureka, then Joel with the BB8 deck that he borrowed from Richard, and last but not least, Åland in the finals, who was on Green Aggro. He was playing on his chili stout covered playmat, the result from a small beer accident at yesterday’s n00bcon event. The games were really close and we had a great time. I managed to go undefeated and take home a Hasran Ogress, signed by all players. We moved to the roof terrace and for a long time, we were the only ones there. It was a superb location and we stayed at the pub the entire day till around 2 A.M. After that, Wander and I had a few hours of sleep and then had to get up really early because our FlixBus to Denmark was leaving at 7.10. During the long train ride that followed, we made some new proxy decks. I thought that a WRU version of Counterburn – better known as "Fantasy Zoo" or "LionDibBolt" – was probably better than UR(b), but somehow I of course lost all the games we tested. After that, we were crazy enough to play The Deck mirror for a couple of hours, inspired by the finals of n00bcon, which showcased an extraordinary quick mirror match between Joel and Kaj. Wander was feeling pretty good with his Serra Angels mainboard, but since I lost multiple games in a row that were not really close, these mirrors were not so much fun.</p><p style="text-align: left;">When we finally arrived in the Netherlands, I almost forgot my backpack in the train. I was so focused on keeping an eye on the smaller bag that held my precious cards, that I forgot my other stuff. I ran back to the train, which luckily was still there. Because our next train passed by the city where Wander’s family lives, he arranged that his mother would come to the station to hand him over his mobile phone, which he apparently had left there. Wander quickly jumped in and out of the train when it stopped, and when he returned to our seat, I was baffled by the condition of this old school machine that he apparently still used. </p><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiiDpRhOidKVVoY94UJaHopvRnQWRQH5yiZzB-D3n34-0aTvRMjJbpAUpZSuM0ULYFMTVTT-5HU1qommcftlhbvHxn15ctNJg9Si9A3TBgSgLBS9RQOjPOlGu1GGpRFVKBMPi_aJyXyXxfVuI-pvuLXdFCmw40c_pxwn30bgdNBVxyhQtOueuxmKd2V/s973/Picture%2012%20-%20Wanders%20phone.jpg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="973" data-original-width="745" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiiDpRhOidKVVoY94UJaHopvRnQWRQH5yiZzB-D3n34-0aTvRMjJbpAUpZSuM0ULYFMTVTT-5HU1qommcftlhbvHxn15ctNJg9Si9A3TBgSgLBS9RQOjPOlGu1GGpRFVKBMPi_aJyXyXxfVuI-pvuLXdFCmw40c_pxwn30bgdNBVxyhQtOueuxmKd2V/s320/Picture%2012%20-%20Wanders%20phone.jpg" width="245" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Wander’s phone. </td></tr></tbody></table><p></p><p>We arrived home around midnight. The nicest part of being in Sweden was getting to meet fellow enthusiasts from all over the world, many of whom I chatted with before, sometimes when I "politely stalked" them about their Richard Garfield signed or altered cards... It was great to personally experience the warmth and generosity of the old school community. It felt different than five years ago, not in the least because this time so many people from the Netherlands came along. I guess we put our little country on the map. I wish to thank Reindeer and Magnus for organizing two amazing tournaments. I am also thankful for the amazing altered cards that I picked up for my decks.</p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgTcOxOGGI-WvZN73yFK9uCIVvOKWD6OJeB8xHLR3tHsStDoRU-slUnwPgBrtBH89K6hDMC7mHazJyZ-6k-TyVnkgvwJONBPXaT5TWJ_3fWP0nJAfjuPn3a_lmf-GgZbHiiKaF6sdUn_8Mj7pWnCCrwG0sRGTMg1zQn9Gw-M4XyOX-5bJWQzBFIyP9D/s2595/Picture%2013%20-%20altered%20cards.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="722" data-original-width="2595" height="89" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgTcOxOGGI-WvZN73yFK9uCIVvOKWD6OJeB8xHLR3tHsStDoRU-slUnwPgBrtBH89K6hDMC7mHazJyZ-6k-TyVnkgvwJONBPXaT5TWJ_3fWP0nJAfjuPn3a_lmf-GgZbHiiKaF6sdUn_8Mj7pWnCCrwG0sRGTMg1zQn9Gw-M4XyOX-5bJWQzBFIyP9D/s320/Picture%2013%20-%20altered%20cards.jpg" width="320" /></a></div><p></p><p>In Sweden, I also got some design sketches from Kalle that he used for the n00bcon 9 playmat in 2017 and for the Blood Moon inspired art he made for this year’s n00bcon. For me, these are a great memento for two tournaments that hold special value for me.</p><div style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgVpURSoDlA7L6U3JQT8FepKqZJeNFVOIeAEcPVljeXUpRpQh99w-aCYwq9Jh1UIewIVZbICzwGJOrS020RAWg8tRmAz_Kd98XskdpGMuLBMTzs_3MK8_AQF-S1zO52hCU39H613DKSFl-aFVzTPS9nCD9GMPWr5Ei2QhLdZPy4ntOe2YK-KrPr5vnl/s2614/Picture%2014%20-%20Sketches.jpg"><img border="0" data-original-height="1709" data-original-width="2614" height="209" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgVpURSoDlA7L6U3JQT8FepKqZJeNFVOIeAEcPVljeXUpRpQh99w-aCYwq9Jh1UIewIVZbICzwGJOrS020RAWg8tRmAz_Kd98XskdpGMuLBMTzs_3MK8_AQF-S1zO52hCU39H613DKSFl-aFVzTPS9nCD9GMPWr5Ei2QhLdZPy4ntOe2YK-KrPr5vnl/s320/Picture%2014%20-%20Sketches.jpg" width="320" /></a></div><p> </p><p>During n00bcon, there was an announcement: <a href="http://oldschool-mtg.blogspot.com/2022/04/winc0n-2022-oldschool-magic-world.html">winc0n, the long-awaited new world championship in Genoa</a>, Italy, was finally going to happen in September! Guess where Wander and I are riding the rails to next? <br /></p>Mghttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00555613518338194305noreply@blogger.com7tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2299444734264560627.post-7023717284342836012022-07-24T22:15:00.012+02:002022-07-26T19:48:04.723+02:00PastaCon 2022: A stream of conscious report<p>Reinvitational, yes. The Reindeer asked if I wanted to write something about last weekend, so write something I shall. For this was a weekend to write about.<br /></p><p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhQPIsrxFdQcLW5D3MXOGXtKo17dTuxwWEsRu7_ayqHmgNBeTZD3FhudJrGIx4aByZAm3XDXvQFcqRENQHvIGlgBVPqoPCGfSRkFXoJnUotA-4Wv7PQihNfuigtpSGj9Qph9YWeOrVvTSpJcEK9GSJG5vSDNxta_2HP-UsofSeKmfXosXyShCfHwv1y/s4032/20220716_205318.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="2268" data-original-width="4032" height="180" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhQPIsrxFdQcLW5D3MXOGXtKo17dTuxwWEsRu7_ayqHmgNBeTZD3FhudJrGIx4aByZAm3XDXvQFcqRENQHvIGlgBVPqoPCGfSRkFXoJnUotA-4Wv7PQihNfuigtpSGj9Qph9YWeOrVvTSpJcEK9GSJG5vSDNxta_2HP-UsofSeKmfXosXyShCfHwv1y/s320/20220716_205318.jpg" width="320" /></a></div><p></p><p>Background. Happenstances during the last couple of years have somewhat altered my approach to international travels. I'm not sure if disinclination is a word, but if it is, I'd probably use it to describe my current stance on airports. When one's last three international Magic trips have been last-minute disrupted by the Delta variant, an Italian airport strike, and the Omikron variant in turn, it takes a toll on an old man's enthusiasm to displace himself. And just two weeks before this magical weekend in the Swiss alps, I spent four hours standing in a security check line at Schiphol with my pregnant wife, while the plane home to our young daughter mercilessly departed without us. Huff. Flying.</p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiq3NK2U-mbAdINMTvpDwJ6qPDftbmEvcy4e93rKBhgdi697vccpw_P1fxp9E8yMcTQCgw91AEgMq6UKd4fSwClPljGJXS1eRd1FjhWNqtXKJQknxGwMHqtXN7L3zkCkEyf2j7aV8JN8rPFWwPWTOEAf4aDqUXJAmjUNdVSFxNOlESUhMt1ti76RpS1/s3532/20220724_214646.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="3532" data-original-width="2649" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiq3NK2U-mbAdINMTvpDwJ6qPDftbmEvcy4e93rKBhgdi697vccpw_P1fxp9E8yMcTQCgw91AEgMq6UKd4fSwClPljGJXS1eRd1FjhWNqtXKJQknxGwMHqtXN7L3zkCkEyf2j7aV8JN8rPFWwPWTOEAf4aDqUXJAmjUNdVSFxNOlESUhMt1ti76RpS1/s320/20220724_214646.jpg" width="240" /></a></div><p></p><p>I had actually tried to visit the Reindeer less than a year earlier,
to celebrate his 40th birthday in late October 2021. He shares his
birthday with my older sister, who also was to turn 40 that same
weekend. Still, I figured that I could go to Switzerland and hang with
friends, but then a divorce followed by a quick move to a new
place for my sister made me re-prioritize and focus on family in blood that weekend instead. Most all my attempts on international trips have been kinda cursed in the last year or two.</p><p>Anyway, what all this middle-age whining boils down to, is that if I was to expose myself to the likely heart break caused by yet another failed attempt to cross the skies, the potential upside would have to be something special. But oh boy did old Reindeer deliver hook, line, and sinker.<br /></p><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj1b674z12pcZ6udaPG91Qeth_pxTWLZC29SdwcmvuOBT-uOogZb1oY86SZsLTjmqHCPIn1xFy1U-0xIvk4b6UZXTpunfQySZBE59dLovN_fhrQDH9ArUlUg5NiY2yL2_Nm7t4drKl0uIERywdg2nRFPfyb4hb-WFeS5Tivl6AdNiUptoc0JfNleiQF/s4032/IMG_20220714_221223.jpg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="3024" data-original-width="4032" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj1b674z12pcZ6udaPG91Qeth_pxTWLZC29SdwcmvuOBT-uOogZb1oY86SZsLTjmqHCPIn1xFy1U-0xIvk4b6UZXTpunfQySZBE59dLovN_fhrQDH9ArUlUg5NiY2yL2_Nm7t4drKl0uIERywdg2nRFPfyb4hb-WFeS5Tivl6AdNiUptoc0JfNleiQF/s320/IMG_20220714_221223.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">The uppest of sides.<br /></td></tr></tbody></table><p>Reinvitational, these days also known as PastaCon, was a three-day invitational gathering at the glorious Casa Reindeer in the heart of Switzerland. A sweet-spot sized gathering of 20-30 players from around the globe, with familiar faces from Germany, Italy, Sweden, Norway, Chile, USA, Austria, UK, Spain, and, of course, Switzerland.</p><p>The whole experience was, in lack of a better word, magical. When self-proclaimed spike Svante Landgraf talks more vividly about going swimming than that he just top8'd, and when ol' champion Marc Lanigra drives from Germany just to hang out without even playing in the event, you know that you're in a good place. Gordon Anderson talked about coming here akin to "stepping out of reality".</p><div style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgMJyty-2lWbw-2cEPUe9kmWuiqwQQdfHNacv8h7w4tkDTxBk-DK9kXW_Do129vq0rBSLmhfmvYj_BsD2uFC9uGzJyg8tUT5rcSbfBO29DH3CBc3UQuU5Jf5f1yc_2zcBQo3uk1UGWNtRNjzvXAjWmPakAh35_1rPls3587_rmabyFE2vhhTfZ_3M5p/s2048/292240039_443990017364695_1331304711743528917_n.jpg"><img border="0" data-original-height="1536" data-original-width="2048" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgMJyty-2lWbw-2cEPUe9kmWuiqwQQdfHNacv8h7w4tkDTxBk-DK9kXW_Do129vq0rBSLmhfmvYj_BsD2uFC9uGzJyg8tUT5rcSbfBO29DH3CBc3UQuU5Jf5f1yc_2zcBQo3uk1UGWNtRNjzvXAjWmPakAh35_1rPls3587_rmabyFE2vhhTfZ_3M5p/s320/292240039_443990017364695_1331304711743528917_n.jpg" width="320" /></a></div><p> </p><p>I arrived at the site Friday around noon, after getting out of bed around 03:30 in the morning and jumping on a plane at 06:50. Most of the internationals had arrived the day before, hanging out on boats and stuff, but Friday was the day the scheduled events started.</p><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhn7XsRYjoPhs_U3wFo6VAsSELaCAaUoYxbVZpUO44K0FmQCAxFsryUFTiJXL4l9ZjwJpJnsyaw3ePbzHW0hzIivRrIfXwcnSJq-a1nos-fqKBXAieUs1GivzeVZs22mA5oKlnfApCyzwBo9UJw0MEB66eDIUOmTKawwB2ARUmakIVUpNePj1z1UxSG/s1256/IMG_0018.jpg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="942" data-original-width="1256" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhn7XsRYjoPhs_U3wFo6VAsSELaCAaUoYxbVZpUO44K0FmQCAxFsryUFTiJXL4l9ZjwJpJnsyaw3ePbzHW0hzIivRrIfXwcnSJq-a1nos-fqKBXAieUs1GivzeVZs22mA5oKlnfApCyzwBo9UJw0MEB66eDIUOmTKawwB2ARUmakIVUpNePj1z1UxSG/s320/IMG_0018.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Gentlemen on a boat.<br /></td></tr></tbody></table><p>As it was <i>vacation,</i> I'd decided to travel internet-less as much as possible, and so my active phone for the trip was a Matrix-style Nokia 8810. This led to some minor mishaps at Zurich airport, as all my (physical) notes on how to get to the Reindeer from the airport took starting point from the Geneva airport. I had a good while of confusion before realizing my folly, applying some old school technology to plot a new route, and arriving a bit late to the first event.</p><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi8gRMuxPwIvvDOm8l4-7-e8YrJysC-xzv0bdI400KRjwq1kgCNu3A1bQXTtGTFJZr4iMe97CxPRll8R7IOt3SCyR4-xLSc1-DzR86nr9qEClxnUauY8NBVLNb-Rg_VXcbAqZBkN9JRCCW4eLKxz5JBlwyWi10ahNvZujI_p-3xhR6NY0E0XUAlSUeU/s4032/IMG_20220715_205651.jpg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="3024" data-original-width="4032" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi8gRMuxPwIvvDOm8l4-7-e8YrJysC-xzv0bdI400KRjwq1kgCNu3A1bQXTtGTFJZr4iMe97CxPRll8R7IOt3SCyR4-xLSc1-DzR86nr9qEClxnUauY8NBVLNb-Rg_VXcbAqZBkN9JRCCW4eLKxz5JBlwyWi10ahNvZujI_p-3xhR6NY0E0XUAlSUeU/s320/IMG_20220715_205651.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Got picked up by a wicked handsome Marc Lanigra at the train station. Dude had gained a beard but lost something like 40 kg since I saw him last. In this game he beat me using a blue Hurricane, which is a rad way to go.<br /></td></tr></tbody></table><p></p><p> </p><p>Friday's main event was a spectacular surprise. Though anyone who spent time in middle-school circa 1996 playing Magic during recess should be familiar with the general concept. Participants first got to pair up with another player, and then choose their color of allegiance. Each player then got a box of cards, with strong focus on their main color of allegiance, along with some additional solid cards from their friendly colors, and some scraps from the enemy colors. We were going Shandalar, but IRL.</p><div style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEieI3uRahK-c1cAFd5fpz41aCRWxm6NLtNvV0nSkewz5jSrFMVfDYl-sV1CEXaeJ_4AAVUatnMmLYy_exIxKLQAH0xPtkFtAIWMK5DjByahQBCKRkF2CIxSnUvL5A4Gm0XdVKw6T4npuhzASFa5kccg9HFspzZ0r4aRoX8BRZf2HHtHM1kpwwAHeex-/s4032/20220718_232630.jpg"><img border="0" data-original-height="4032" data-original-width="3024" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEieI3uRahK-c1cAFd5fpz41aCRWxm6NLtNvV0nSkewz5jSrFMVfDYl-sV1CEXaeJ_4AAVUatnMmLYy_exIxKLQAH0xPtkFtAIWMK5DjByahQBCKRkF2CIxSnUvL5A4Gm0XdVKw6T4npuhzASFa5kccg9HFspzZ0r4aRoX8BRZf2HHtHM1kpwwAHeex-/s320/20220718_232630.jpg" width="240" /></a></div><p>In addition to the real cards - and no mistake, these were real cards, including fancy stuff like Beta and Arabian Nights - every player got a set of Urborg cards. These were home-made cards representing known events or people in the 93/94 community, along with some additional fantasy cards and Ante-cards.<br /></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjzWVtnADaE3CKWTN7bQ0MoSbFLPp8POey2mEBFtaY2K2xmWFf-pBa31KYpDS5m-HIsxOsfokMzSKJitLKplKdwRV29uuSndgMx89InVwBUEyv4KAtSo7KYCwUcb_rEc133zar7ZVe2nA1PIr0vg5ZhbNzX8a1XvOe2U6n8H6WBo5jrs8N8RQlpV5g7/s3754/20220718_232833.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="2815" data-original-width="3754" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjzWVtnADaE3CKWTN7bQ0MoSbFLPp8POey2mEBFtaY2K2xmWFf-pBa31KYpDS5m-HIsxOsfokMzSKJitLKplKdwRV29uuSndgMx89InVwBUEyv4KAtSo7KYCwUcb_rEc133zar7ZVe2nA1PIr0vg5ZhbNzX8a1XvOe2U6n8H6WBo5jrs8N8RQlpV5g7/s320/20220718_232833.jpg" width="320" /></a></div><p></p><p>The rules (yeah, we all got a tiny 1995-style rulebook along with the starter cards) was that we were allowed to use unlimited copies of ourselves, along with a single copy of one other Urborg card. Trading was highly encouraged, but we had to use "schoolyard value" for any trades. So stuff like my Beta Dwarven Demolition Team was basically worthless and had no offers at all, while my Chronicles Xira Arien had piles of trade opportunities (and me opening a Mahamothi Djinn meant that I was a blue/black player). Additionally, all games would be played for ante.<br /></p><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi7JVLJjhDr50ocjk0PCTqvq5YQion70yaZyKTyX4famtN7wakI-opXTikOx--dmDueSJ9lN7-swyZFp44VK3pY5rsRFUwSnxEbywSUjVAP0fxOKwZh-ltMqFjlPcE0WHDhiXPu_-qKDf3IlTpY5VkJ_08M3tktGBC35t1VtF0Ho5Zohvq7kLLrwXO-/s3681/20220718_233027.jpg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="2746" data-original-width="3681" height="239" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi7JVLJjhDr50ocjk0PCTqvq5YQion70yaZyKTyX4famtN7wakI-opXTikOx--dmDueSJ9lN7-swyZFp44VK3pY5rsRFUwSnxEbywSUjVAP0fxOKwZh-ltMqFjlPcE0WHDhiXPu_-qKDf3IlTpY5VkJ_08M3tktGBC35t1VtF0Ho5Zohvq7kLLrwXO-/s320/20220718_233027.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Apart from possibly Project M, this is likely the sweetest deck I've played since '97.<br /></td></tr></tbody></table><p></p><p>I managed to trade for a couple of heavy hitters, including a Sengir Vampire, and eventually found myself with a wicked rad pile. And then everyone started playing. </p><p> </p><p>It was a bit unclear how to actually win the tournament; it was more like everyone in the tournament was a winner and we were all back in middle-school together. Still there were incentives for good runs, e.g. the first team to get five wins got a new booster to add to their collection which was guaranteed to include a (proxied) power card. Second team to reach five wins would get another booster, as would teams that unlocked particular achievements. All in all, I had some of the best Magic of my life. Cast Krovikan Fetish on Black Knight and Rag Manned away an Air Elemental. Then the Reindeer grilled a pig, and we all ate meat and drank red wine to our heart's content.<br /></p><div style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiy86qtCC5_e0Z1PXXw_TbHugAMhdmjYqK4NYNZ_EN40fWPwpJhLGJ1RH8sUcJC7EoAEXb3wbHQZWCZy79vIcBkkeBUUkw6JGchL5Z0HtpxCHtTywLzfyooninDYQu30sfyeCYTH9PDaAg1ZMPVx8X5ilPtF98KOfUNbXT_B_8zJuQLUVmq02rNK5Vm/s4032/IMG_4759.jpg"><img border="0" data-original-height="3024" data-original-width="4032" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiy86qtCC5_e0Z1PXXw_TbHugAMhdmjYqK4NYNZ_EN40fWPwpJhLGJ1RH8sUcJC7EoAEXb3wbHQZWCZy79vIcBkkeBUUkw6JGchL5Z0HtpxCHtTywLzfyooninDYQu30sfyeCYTH9PDaAg1ZMPVx8X5ilPtF98KOfUNbXT_B_8zJuQLUVmq02rNK5Vm/s320/IMG_4759.jpg" width="320" /></a></div><p>Suddenly night was upon us, and the 40K decks hit the table. Jason, Svante, Tim, Gordon, The Reindeer, Slanfan, DFB, and myself made this a respectable gathering of 40K fools.<br /></p><p></p><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjMrgjzRnSI-YCqeHdEPVmWkUnO1SdqUa7TrT3iljQ8Klp2Osi4foSn5Jda-1Qk7_PRtaCHfVQdS9XeCTM5j7I5ZwpGFcpqP_yFbBdU5YAoXIPZ1GxXlerX0pbMVfyZmne8r1DQraFbnL-NF3binsnOtVUK89U10ymqkJjSAdN3llzQSrYEHISxOEki/s2016/292248728_1025950911439717_2264321269292648929_n.jpg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="2016" data-original-width="1512" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjMrgjzRnSI-YCqeHdEPVmWkUnO1SdqUa7TrT3iljQ8Klp2Osi4foSn5Jda-1Qk7_PRtaCHfVQdS9XeCTM5j7I5ZwpGFcpqP_yFbBdU5YAoXIPZ1GxXlerX0pbMVfyZmne8r1DQraFbnL-NF3binsnOtVUK89U10ymqkJjSAdN3llzQSrYEHISxOEki/s320/292248728_1025950911439717_2264321269292648929_n.jpg" width="240" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Lost a blind Chain Lightning to Svante; skillfully blinding the actual cheapest card in my deck (all my basics are A/B).<br /></td></tr></tbody></table><br /><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEga5-j1bowuBKpbMFkRFjgy51BELGlNuUe_Y1jao1FksMLkdwsZYsaRQpO97eenaFsI5iMvxFZ_-u4yPCoSJxGlyRPU58KIUVxU8dNv6Kec3vUjvHAasO04wKd690VPt-x_2zM_GO-gwSBQujQVoMJK2E2AY3Mlh7LX_uFvIqU62OFhp54mgBY3taXf/s2016/292607861_1264980834034949_8796508164452027913_n.jpg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1512" data-original-width="2016" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEga5-j1bowuBKpbMFkRFjgy51BELGlNuUe_Y1jao1FksMLkdwsZYsaRQpO97eenaFsI5iMvxFZ_-u4yPCoSJxGlyRPU58KIUVxU8dNv6Kec3vUjvHAasO04wKd690VPt-x_2zM_GO-gwSBQujQVoMJK2E2AY3Mlh7LX_uFvIqU62OFhp54mgBY3taXf/s320/292607861_1264980834034949_8796508164452027913_n.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Giving the bird to Christian after losing a Ball Lightning to DFB.<br /></td></tr></tbody></table><p></p><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjMItJPCzinJQTwN4W7Aqa9GGsLhahjeB_xJV26S-vnk_vACEN-tO4t3cYXZanMnaCNR10nDmhFv2rtCWN8dbNnSzLd6sDK6nFxHBoZppumS9NEhwSeRbg1TuLR4dqU3tIU8i5fgLsjecKWJO9r-RcvPC7B4gGCcKIRlW4uaGUaE7fF_0DUbdlDhsK9/s2048/291759395_571606957900091_2056504549709113646_n.jpg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="2048" data-original-width="1536" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjMItJPCzinJQTwN4W7Aqa9GGsLhahjeB_xJV26S-vnk_vACEN-tO4t3cYXZanMnaCNR10nDmhFv2rtCWN8dbNnSzLd6sDK6nFxHBoZppumS9NEhwSeRbg1TuLR4dqU3tIU8i5fgLsjecKWJO9r-RcvPC7B4gGCcKIRlW4uaGUaE7fF_0DUbdlDhsK9/s320/291759395_571606957900091_2056504549709113646_n.jpg" width="240" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Tim flips a good Bird in our game. Damn, really wanted that Chaos Orb.<br /></td></tr></tbody></table><p>In the end my trades on the ante tables was a bird, a Chain Lightning, and a Ball Lightning for three birds. One of the birds was really cool though, a full-art Ken Meyer Jr. alter that I won of blind ante with Jason. Win of the evening likely goes to Gordon Anderson, who managed to pick up a Mind Twist <i>and</i> a Sol Ring in the same game against Jason.</p><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgTYdI2kaOm8ISp2ybKJIF1rPk7Y4iphLUs7Rb8Ae1MODkqCDozqa4Pca7_UXROy3njLXrXjnkMfk8m0VDFolpR4h6DRYiVrW9L_duROkLkEnuRQmxhm5f0FISBsbfXK0Omgi3YzDY24e5gLgwX9hDli6SlvtVOA4-UxNWQqjnrzePiwbCr__C_ylsb/s2048/293376473_534915891536884_201122004513986152_n.jpg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="2048" data-original-width="1536" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgTYdI2kaOm8ISp2ybKJIF1rPk7Y4iphLUs7Rb8Ae1MODkqCDozqa4Pca7_UXROy3njLXrXjnkMfk8m0VDFolpR4h6DRYiVrW9L_duROkLkEnuRQmxhm5f0FISBsbfXK0Omgi3YzDY24e5gLgwX9hDli6SlvtVOA4-UxNWQqjnrzePiwbCr__C_ylsb/s320/293376473_534915891536884_201122004513986152_n.jpg" width="240" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">And this is a bird that I'll eventually have to try to rescue from across the ocean. Gordon altered one of his losses with my coat of arms and named the bird Magnus.<br /></td></tr></tbody></table><br /><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhYuYN-O5h-9yzeYESl5xMqm5FHk3S4_3GL8rLLxK-_OKfP0PYdeDx85kBAWVclqyvNhMTAQHJsVC9PuwqopH2-a4AaK4_Wf2RdiQffgFRcX7RTjawEscnWmmWTf1ltZ2meYiWmyO5HpNheRDHY2MMRtrTFaovln2XcgyW-foRhmXtZbrgFqulAB15D/s1256/C8144462-E378-49E8-A052-4D0DA85D38FF.jpg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="942" data-original-width="1256" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhYuYN-O5h-9yzeYESl5xMqm5FHk3S4_3GL8rLLxK-_OKfP0PYdeDx85kBAWVclqyvNhMTAQHJsVC9PuwqopH2-a4AaK4_Wf2RdiQffgFRcX7RTjawEscnWmmWTf1ltZ2meYiWmyO5HpNheRDHY2MMRtrTFaovln2XcgyW-foRhmXtZbrgFqulAB15D/s320/C8144462-E378-49E8-A052-4D0DA85D38FF.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Into the night.<br /></td></tr></tbody></table><p>Saturday started with me sleeping in and casually missing out on the weisswurst and pretzel breakfast. The breakfast was reportedly great, but I hadn't slept for two years or so, so that option was too enticing to skip. <br /></p><div style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi5vo7mmgMje2AM2uc0jDFX3Yv7_S_-fBEzJgGc148mNtCyU7Xlz8a4vfLy9MzfaEzx167EHDYpaO6rJbNZ6TUaMNzpcdmCVZ0rjo0uWz3Jf0JpMMtwgSsbw3jMoneA7Pt6bOYgR-wE_geDhGubdRl_TEGVGvasOF12cyMW6-p5uOYSXB4mY4eFlYpw/s1920/291907245_569683967980935_977052695344645798_n.jpg"><img border="0" data-original-height="1920" data-original-width="1080" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi5vo7mmgMje2AM2uc0jDFX3Yv7_S_-fBEzJgGc148mNtCyU7Xlz8a4vfLy9MzfaEzx167EHDYpaO6rJbNZ6TUaMNzpcdmCVZ0rjo0uWz3Jf0JpMMtwgSsbw3jMoneA7Pt6bOYgR-wE_geDhGubdRl_TEGVGvasOF12cyMW6-p5uOYSXB4mY4eFlYpw/s320/291907245_569683967980935_977052695344645798_n.jpg" width="180" /></a></div><p></p><p>The main event was Gentlemen's Swedish 93/94; i.e. the traditional restricted list but with Library of Alexandria and Mind Twist banned. I sleeved up Project M (as is tradition), cutting the Library for Badlands and Mind Twist for Juzam Djinn.</p><p>There was some undeniably great Magic going on. A few person highlights:</p><ul style="text-align: left;"><li>Opponent plays Blood Moon to lock me out; I top Shivan Dragon to kill him in two hits due to all the lands being Mountains.</li><li>Opponent mulls to six, starts by land, mox, mox, Sol Ring, Black Lotus, Timetwister; finds another mox and Wheel on the Twister, and eventually plays like ten permanents and draws 20 cards before my turn one.<br /></li><li>I Demonic Tutor for Prodigal Sorcerer which seems almost impossible for my opponent to beat, but he has his one out in Chaos Orb and manages to kill Tim on sight.</li><li>I'm killed by a combination of Storm Seeker and Titania's Song.</li><li>Juzam Djinn smashes face, as always.<br /></li></ul><p>In the end I got about as many wins as losses, probably a few more losses than wins (great tournament report, this one). But somehow I found myself very happy to not top8. Because while I love playing oldschool in general - and Project M against great friends in particular - what I really wanted to play during the rest of the evening was the Urborg schoolyard deck from yesterday. Those piles of random were arguably even better Magic than our fancy tuned pet decks.</p><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh_L-4-kE0PYbvyhKQSww-edsnY_QdaF5xpVyxNw3Ig-Kbdo4WnhxP-PKJCntQ1DF7drDaNxLbzfQGAcZ3bwigfT9v3CETbjaNtg9oRduLufa9880eyAQfDF6bplIkZzFAe_hUxMtFtzxSJOWZ75EPjB4Jh5YA0XL5H-h7yy9Op1JeGVM5FEywoEy09/s3386/20220718_233044.jpg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="3386" data-original-width="2539" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh_L-4-kE0PYbvyhKQSww-edsnY_QdaF5xpVyxNw3Ig-Kbdo4WnhxP-PKJCntQ1DF7drDaNxLbzfQGAcZ3bwigfT9v3CETbjaNtg9oRduLufa9880eyAQfDF6bplIkZzFAe_hUxMtFtzxSJOWZ75EPjB4Jh5YA0XL5H-h7yy9Op1JeGVM5FEywoEy09/s320/20220718_233044.jpg" width="240" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Maindeck Megu ftw. Miss you man!<br /></td></tr></tbody></table><p></p><p></p><p>As the swiss unfolded, some Italian heroes went in to occupy the kitchen. And in the same vein n00bcon 13 became s0upcon, this is how Reinvitational became PastaCon.<br /></p><p style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhDxHZLyV4yIOma7Wp6K6_yTr-VvkajOloDNMIa6df9udZp6mEh4QA9aPee6i8OsLV_YdI1hg5QMadji-1_Ifct3KZW052shC9Zrqa9DKddRGFP5rBK_4RmmH67KNGN4SAIG-dB_rSbPkYThhliVwOAdxob2XHMhWcEd5pmYqd1uNARbV0Kg9Aj557D/s2048/290277416_577270743948680_880520654788415760_n.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="2048" data-original-width="1536" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhDxHZLyV4yIOma7Wp6K6_yTr-VvkajOloDNMIa6df9udZp6mEh4QA9aPee6i8OsLV_YdI1hg5QMadji-1_Ifct3KZW052shC9Zrqa9DKddRGFP5rBK_4RmmH67KNGN4SAIG-dB_rSbPkYThhliVwOAdxob2XHMhWcEd5pmYqd1uNARbV0Kg9Aj557D/s320/290277416_577270743948680_880520654788415760_n.jpg" width="240" /></a></p><p></p><p>If you never had a small group of Italians seize your kitchen to cook pasta, I now believe you haven't really eaten pasta. What followed was some spectacular food, which the Italians of course argued wasn't anything compared to what they could fix at home.<br /></p><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjCyhwT4iEngnNqfTsUNDQPDwE_mspknYYq5zvZzjjY8NuC-I6XIkCJjMnBDcaZ-qtXChc68j3W9zSkN_24s9X7jTGKOY497aGsXJIYzFwwVPq7fdgKr99EOJV9Ly2yNmDPigt6jIxcGUvAUbdFMLnetPD7ngv_DXNa-IrDbkow8D-We52XjsROP7fc/s4032/IMG_20220716_170925~2.jpg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="4032" data-original-width="3024" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjCyhwT4iEngnNqfTsUNDQPDwE_mspknYYq5zvZzjjY8NuC-I6XIkCJjMnBDcaZ-qtXChc68j3W9zSkN_24s9X7jTGKOY497aGsXJIYzFwwVPq7fdgKr99EOJV9Ly2yNmDPigt6jIxcGUvAUbdFMLnetPD7ngv_DXNa-IrDbkow8D-We52XjsROP7fc/s320/IMG_20220716_170925~2.jpg" width="240" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Come for the Magic, stay for the Pasta.<br /></td></tr></tbody></table><p>After having eaten infinite pasta, a few of us decided it was high time to go for a swim. The top8 was unfolding, but the crystal clear water between the alps next to Casa Reindeer held a special allure.<br /></p><p></p><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEicOhVT2eK9eyLxxVZIT5F8F9s_pUZYn91KZ69h9sCXlK_wlaMCea3-agYQ3rhPLZzqVmi5vZ8w6ETlMUr_oqo0QFD3sxZJxikw2kwMn0xffo9tl_-jdJO0mVHw6DkSZjMLAwXFsu-z4o-GdjmyHlaEL_204us36Exw9HQfK_EQH2Xe6AQN3XSZutTi/s2048/293401949_746371496511229_2481391524269937713_n.jpg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1152" data-original-width="2048" height="180" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEicOhVT2eK9eyLxxVZIT5F8F9s_pUZYn91KZ69h9sCXlK_wlaMCea3-agYQ3rhPLZzqVmi5vZ8w6ETlMUr_oqo0QFD3sxZJxikw2kwMn0xffo9tl_-jdJO0mVHw6DkSZjMLAwXFsu-z4o-GdjmyHlaEL_204us36Exw9HQfK_EQH2Xe6AQN3XSZutTi/s320/293401949_746371496511229_2481391524269937713_n.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Classic Magic tournament location.<br /></td></tr></tbody></table><p></p>Mitja mentioned that it would probably be possible to swim the entire way back to the tournament site, as the rivers flowed by the Reindeer's house. I found the idea brilliant, and the two of us decided to try it, with DFB and Gordon following from the shore to make sure we didn't super-drown in the current or hit too many sharp rocks.<br /><p></p><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhqDxtRrME_qit1ig2b1YKL4oRzE3kmpRZfa-0dnW2i4xgcsodtRyTz56Cfjhm7PeEi5_Osi8YL1T8ZieRcXHvgU3Wi7riqXFlYTwP3nOrgRWtZEDN6xgdlK90y0hyAmLmukvzT0wXizXTFFt-uAe3im4Ol3sSh3lzQo821CY217E5eXirgLsHJmppY/s4032/IMG_20220716_214115.jpg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="3024" data-original-width="4032" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhqDxtRrME_qit1ig2b1YKL4oRzE3kmpRZfa-0dnW2i4xgcsodtRyTz56Cfjhm7PeEi5_Osi8YL1T8ZieRcXHvgU3Wi7riqXFlYTwP3nOrgRWtZEDN6xgdlK90y0hyAmLmukvzT0wXizXTFFt-uAe3im4Ol3sSh3lzQo821CY217E5eXirgLsHJmppY/s320/IMG_20220716_214115.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Mitja and I, executing one of our most tactical moves of the weekend.<br /></td></tr></tbody></table><p></p><p>The funny (funny like Joe Pesci) part was that the sun was setting as we started swimming, and a few places along the river things got proper weird. Like, I'm convinced there lived trolls under one of the dark bridges we swam under. There are a few stories here, which I'm sure I'll regale while drunk on upcoming tournaments. But regardless, bleeding and happy, Mitja and I bested the dark waters.</p><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjzIiKpHpR77tatjbBFSkkH6VOPCijMKfJlrNmgJsXK6Z6xcmmqBVKLLYCGaiYYl1firkY0HA1LR0yD2JoHAVaPAlrPgha8-EJWWv-CPIWFa8ep9XLNaVt7vUObys6r1VIUbHL3B-8RXY19dIjU_BFyK-V4qBI2l8N65gsLRtNfj6I5NBf0t-6CeWi8/s942/IMG_0173.JPG" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="942" data-original-width="706" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjzIiKpHpR77tatjbBFSkkH6VOPCijMKfJlrNmgJsXK6Z6xcmmqBVKLLYCGaiYYl1firkY0HA1LR0yD2JoHAVaPAlrPgha8-EJWWv-CPIWFa8ep9XLNaVt7vUObys6r1VIUbHL3B-8RXY19dIjU_BFyK-V4qBI2l8N65gsLRtNfj6I5NBf0t-6CeWi8/s320/IMG_0173.JPG" width="240" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Two beautiful water nymphs unlocks their strategic achievement.<br /></td></tr></tbody></table><p>As we came back, The Reindeer proceeded to show his guests who the actual Alpha was and ended up winning his own tournament.<br /></p><p></p><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiqsDFduKepOd0PyHH3sm_4CNku_OHn_2YGJl5V5-MvENo5v8A4Ms0QA7XM76UjUoagEd9gKnyDoGwNU7k5wsaFBelw9lfap4iG15kN_1j3mVcpcI1GIdaCk4EdCMrKWHanRAQqEiW4XSiwyFBGU_nWWToB-2pcd8OvuKwIOfq1i6ciwTj6Fs1ibveJ/s4032/IMG_20220716_224314.jpg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="3024" data-original-width="4032" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiqsDFduKepOd0PyHH3sm_4CNku_OHn_2YGJl5V5-MvENo5v8A4Ms0QA7XM76UjUoagEd9gKnyDoGwNU7k5wsaFBelw9lfap4iG15kN_1j3mVcpcI1GIdaCk4EdCMrKWHanRAQqEiW4XSiwyFBGU_nWWToB-2pcd8OvuKwIOfq1i6ciwTj6Fs1ibveJ/s320/IMG_20220716_224314.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">PastaCon finals. The Maître d' vs The Chef.<br /></td></tr></tbody></table><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"></div><p></p><p>And that marked the dusk of PastaCon. We hung out a bit more, played some games, and shared stories. Drank wine.</p><div style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhiD319_sw6rBNEQPdgXfWIa80ixeHaMpGw2ed33qJSA_zKACrMg0Qf1CBHRSFBMEZ4H3XLncQwbaxPl58ODNJ6ajbv1mh8B6n0MwXzG4WnYZHbabLanwiIDUu8Ne6hUdmqQM48QHVEsCY_guXXBVs8J_SOe__pE0GRbwwqE5mKj1YjY3O57QTDh1XR/s2048/293502939_742299146992791_4221979210843735850_n.jpg"><img border="0" data-original-height="1536" data-original-width="2048" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhiD319_sw6rBNEQPdgXfWIa80ixeHaMpGw2ed33qJSA_zKACrMg0Qf1CBHRSFBMEZ4H3XLncQwbaxPl58ODNJ6ajbv1mh8B6n0MwXzG4WnYZHbabLanwiIDUu8Ne6hUdmqQM48QHVEsCY_guXXBVs8J_SOe__pE0GRbwwqE5mKj1YjY3O57QTDh1XR/s320/293502939_742299146992791_4221979210843735850_n.jpg" width="320" /></a></div><p>Sunday was homecoming day. So not much Magic, but I'll happily offer a few tourist pictures of nerds around Lutzern.</p><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhVtytTxCHCR2zfQONfpupU9wyG9RCM8QMoWupbiNaNAJbK3KYbtEVXPOQBkeJuIsk1-h-PatQ0cvyZK6yMbak-gWIr7aHp7yzdRVRdFz0eyiZ3XxKJLvF6iN7MdMQJv8RugBQRjE2JgApO7qLUnJ0UDHOSNbEkb2VBx6DLIy886N7zJ7JNSZFq_-Es/s2048/293431624_5873677752661838_7516322830030414255_n.jpg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1536" data-original-width="2048" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhVtytTxCHCR2zfQONfpupU9wyG9RCM8QMoWupbiNaNAJbK3KYbtEVXPOQBkeJuIsk1-h-PatQ0cvyZK6yMbak-gWIr7aHp7yzdRVRdFz0eyiZ3XxKJLvF6iN7MdMQJv8RugBQRjE2JgApO7qLUnJ0UDHOSNbEkb2VBx6DLIy886N7zJ7JNSZFq_-Es/s320/293431624_5873677752661838_7516322830030414255_n.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Mg, Slanfan, Jason, Tim, and Björn boyband posing in front of a Lion carved in a rock.<br /></td></tr></tbody></table><p></p><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjtChhQ69lARgaB8oJa8Ltlw1Fik2dmZTmVRvg_Kc_jJsOiopgSYyjjO2mkEdR3MMwyP9DGjh56Px89jgYaN7xgcpQZMgxbELpSztDRXU2YTWLzyPwSPqcUAS8YluDGN_dxPZ5_4zZckb9CoTCiXuoGRbCCinINhO0vcYCxWrcpuKtFJ9VoDz1S_9VS/s1256/20220717_082815.jpg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="942" data-original-width="1256" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjtChhQ69lARgaB8oJa8Ltlw1Fik2dmZTmVRvg_Kc_jJsOiopgSYyjjO2mkEdR3MMwyP9DGjh56Px89jgYaN7xgcpQZMgxbELpSztDRXU2YTWLzyPwSPqcUAS8YluDGN_dxPZ5_4zZckb9CoTCiXuoGRbCCinINhO0vcYCxWrcpuKtFJ9VoDz1S_9VS/s320/20220717_082815.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Svante Landgraf and DFB. Bridge people.<br /></td></tr></tbody></table><p></p><p></p><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiw8o-w8YL4Ji_g3RvsnToxyTGiTP39mhPdVBVe3fwKSQ4V5vbrso0DdA-Z0IlV1bCP1GwNa5PsGwsJeFOSGqGcPOmkPrh7sezGh0KkHqgOkrWLS9t8-CELI9K_PvuSR8X-v0tex1VZSvE2D41GLOP9S1vJ4eSGpuxi4CTntOFh5kHGb1xq6qageJnu/s2016/290302056_4924667227642964_1932306727190415932_n.jpg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1512" data-original-width="2016" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiw8o-w8YL4Ji_g3RvsnToxyTGiTP39mhPdVBVe3fwKSQ4V5vbrso0DdA-Z0IlV1bCP1GwNa5PsGwsJeFOSGqGcPOmkPrh7sezGh0KkHqgOkrWLS9t8-CELI9K_PvuSR8X-v0tex1VZSvE2D41GLOP9S1vJ4eSGpuxi4CTntOFh5kHGb1xq6qageJnu/s320/290302056_4924667227642964_1932306727190415932_n.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Horse country.<br /></td></tr></tbody></table><p></p><p></p><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjauPJKIsJPaUKlyFRUKyuj3nIenVnhbaDNwn-Wi6SlMx0M2Lu0Timv87vaninsbmJCmaRZ0A7nti3O2CmN6oyREcQfGP3EfG8BhpiQT4l9RoDI7YSihOgYw1N9M7gFCPEOXuSvfkGS-kNzNE3tmdpYbehtDkBnryEq2Av4PZqJ-teBw0wDgCO-LEUr/s1675/328CA941-78B8-4345-BE8C-3A414FE33028.jpg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="942" data-original-width="1675" height="180" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjauPJKIsJPaUKlyFRUKyuj3nIenVnhbaDNwn-Wi6SlMx0M2Lu0Timv87vaninsbmJCmaRZ0A7nti3O2CmN6oyREcQfGP3EfG8BhpiQT4l9RoDI7YSihOgYw1N9M7gFCPEOXuSvfkGS-kNzNE3tmdpYbehtDkBnryEq2Av4PZqJ-teBw0wDgCO-LEUr/s320/328CA941-78B8-4345-BE8C-3A414FE33028.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Quintessential Switzerland.<br /></td></tr></tbody></table><p></p><p></p><p></p><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg63z-8Y7dV3G6IfPycczohn0WvWE7-v8h15KkpQ0jnmWQgGQ2r5l0fCeEONq9DLTBKml5DgOTUBH14fS_br_lLtUmpSkH6NxiYTe4w2C9s0X9XcIBmVDInut21DoSknrCtpzpXf0SF32S2towIyavFK-x7gK8KsDvz-OVRjPHKi6p-H9PaksgHRJ9j/s4032/IMG_0190.JPG" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="3024" data-original-width="4032" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg63z-8Y7dV3G6IfPycczohn0WvWE7-v8h15KkpQ0jnmWQgGQ2r5l0fCeEONq9DLTBKml5DgOTUBH14fS_br_lLtUmpSkH6NxiYTe4w2C9s0X9XcIBmVDInut21DoSknrCtpzpXf0SF32S2towIyavFK-x7gK8KsDvz-OVRjPHKi6p-H9PaksgHRJ9j/s320/IMG_0190.JPG" width="320" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">There's a proper old-school castle on the hill in the horizon.<br /></td></tr></tbody></table><p></p><p></p><p></p><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgbbET1gYq_vrlXzu5y4Rd1AdW4hcXmOMf4ppvvixr2gPP6WlvUvfABSpFQcKzVtkFumMy5r34LMuWPb8z7l741c7yVPGOjbxgdnDwWwOGiKz5tcRgL2m9a7Xl6hle52wooWCdvcJcc1mTWutuniGVhlsNzTCA5bRUroCqOcmn1yVOpC0fxc4K5d_py/s2048/293126481_1280559246023944_4142625301571414514_n.jpg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="2048" data-original-width="1536" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgbbET1gYq_vrlXzu5y4Rd1AdW4hcXmOMf4ppvvixr2gPP6WlvUvfABSpFQcKzVtkFumMy5r34LMuWPb8z7l741c7yVPGOjbxgdnDwWwOGiKz5tcRgL2m9a7Xl6hle52wooWCdvcJcc1mTWutuniGVhlsNzTCA5bRUroCqOcmn1yVOpC0fxc4K5d_py/s320/293126481_1280559246023944_4142625301571414514_n.jpg" width="240" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Train Magic.<br /></td></tr></tbody></table> <table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhA7RAw7hS7dTL0i8oykcvklQ3Tux9QhRJOBHuaxlB4olEeK_Ft_DJITZb19u3tN2ZNyTw3cp2dLiErlzBKkuzH996oFlH7p4gi5NY9_8buEHLGErab0vs-jArBDFYRRr1wS4WJn-t38q5UFAA8gIqQ9AaNXNtZthRHQ_UmkfzDDUQ7s_kz-P57ooKU/s1256/IMG_0203.JPG" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="942" data-original-width="1256" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhA7RAw7hS7dTL0i8oykcvklQ3Tux9QhRJOBHuaxlB4olEeK_Ft_DJITZb19u3tN2ZNyTw3cp2dLiErlzBKkuzH996oFlH7p4gi5NY9_8buEHLGErab0vs-jArBDFYRRr1wS4WJn-t38q5UFAA8gIqQ9AaNXNtZthRHQ_UmkfzDDUQ7s_kz-P57ooKU/s320/IMG_0203.JPG" width="320" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Guru Switzerland.<br /></td></tr></tbody></table><p></p><p></p><p>There are more stories from PastaCon, of course. This was after all the first tournament I've been to where the organizer had rented their own cooling van, and where there was unlimited free draft beer, to name two. And I could tell you about eating salty peanuts in an airport lounge while having the fingertips cut up by sharp rocks in some river from the day before. Maybe about RiceCon, being <i>Sponsored by Björn</i>, "No Porobolem", or how Svante Landgraf obviously is a secret climber. But some of these stories are for the travelers, and some are for late nights at our next gathering. As for now, I must return to fight the robots.<br /></p><p></p><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgn6PMlc8QREK4Wcq8a7Ad-bAUb-kUZVf2am6bnfa2OYppxl2n4m2FP9aHHixAamZyDs8S5qRHKAItVm41U2kpZQgxuBmT40aIVS0WzwyCZjYH7zoK3na9lOMl_4VmuJsOE4_qh3DAe1AU3JTCFwcygdRkz4wbJ8p7KLSwV3aRPpKD_b063qmfp0kLp/s4032/20220718_225652.jpg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="4032" data-original-width="3024" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgn6PMlc8QREK4Wcq8a7Ad-bAUb-kUZVf2am6bnfa2OYppxl2n4m2FP9aHHixAamZyDs8S5qRHKAItVm41U2kpZQgxuBmT40aIVS0WzwyCZjYH7zoK3na9lOMl_4VmuJsOE4_qh3DAe1AU3JTCFwcygdRkz4wbJ8p7KLSwV3aRPpKD_b063qmfp0kLp/s320/20220718_225652.jpg" width="240" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Thanks Marc <3<br /></td></tr></tbody></table> Mghttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00555613518338194305noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2299444734264560627.post-12740449969073359262022-06-21T23:09:00.006+02:002022-06-21T23:25:10.492+02:00A Micro Look at Printing Alpha, by John Molseed<p><i>Every now and then I am bequeathed a rare blessing as the innkeeper of this blag. April was such a month, when I was contacted by a man named </i><i><span class="gD" data-hovercard-id="john.molseed@gmail.com" data-hovercard-owner-id="112" name="John Molseed" role="gridcell" tabindex="-1"><span>John on the prospect of him writing a blog post regarding some minutiae of Alpha printing patterns. I welcomed his idea, and was then pleasantly surprised by both the quality his writing and his deep knowledge on the subject. I, however, kinda suck at updating this blag these days, so this post is like a month overdue for everyone else who find gleeful passion in going deep nerd on the very first print run. So enough stalling. It is my great pleasure to finally give the soap box to John Molseed. /Mg out</span></span> </i></p><p>This blog has occasionally noted some of the variations in the Alpha run of the first edition of Magic. It has explored the existence of an <a href="https://oldschool-mtg.blogspot.com/2014/05/alpha-pimp-part-2.html">Alpha edition Volcanic Island</a> (it doesn’t exist), <a href="https://oldschool-mtg.blogspot.com/2020/12/deconstructing-print-runs.html">pondered print runs</a> and <a href="https://oldschool-mtg.blogspot.com/2013/07/alpha-pimp.html">rehashed rewordings</a>. A couple posts <a href="https://oldschool-mtg.blogspot.com/2014/01/spotting-fakes-part-ii-dont-panic.html">make passing note</a> of the color variation between some Alpha and Beta cards. Let’s tie these all together in a deep dive into the initial run of Magic’s first printing.</p><p>In 1993, collectible card games didn’t exist. Two entities – Wizards of the Coast and Cartamundi – were each doing their own thing. Wizards would design a game and hire a printing or production company to make it. Cartamundi would take orders for playing cards or collectible cards, put together the print plates and run 132-card sheets through their presses. Neither expected Magic: The Gathering to be the success it was and to become a prototype for a new collectible. For Wizards, it was just another game. For Cartamundi, it was just another print order.</p><p>This information comes from an informal interview I did with a European pressman who worked for Cartamundi. We were playing cards over pints, so take it with a grain of salt, but it’s still some fun, behind-the-scenes printing nerd stuff.</p><p>As Alpha rolled off the presses, the cards were separated – cut with sharp, 90-degree corners like the Collectors Editions have. They were then sent through a die to round the corners. The die is basically a big, sharp, metal tube to give the cards rounded corners.</p><p>The rounder, 2 mm die used to shape the cards was probably a spot decision by whatever pressmen were working at the time Alpha was being printed. It was never noted or logged anywhere because Cartamundi didn’t note such minutiae. This was just another playing card order to print and package.<br /><br />That die used might have been dropped a few times because the corners aren’t entirely symmetrical. Alpha collectors know the corners of their cards don’t always line up. However, if you rotate or flip the cards, you can come up with a symmetrical stack. That’s because the cards were sent through the unsymmetrical die in varying directions. Another detail that didn’t matter at the time. </p><p>After the approximately 2.5 million-card Alpha print run sold out, game designers also noted some errors in the first run and wanted to add some new cards. (The original art for Volcanic Island was shifted to become Birds of Paradise. Art for Circle of Protection: Black was late and didn’t get to final design and plating in time for the Alpha run.) So another run of cards was ordered and Cartamundi did their thing. Except not everyone at Cartamundi or Wizards of the Coast did their thing quite right.</p><p>Designers at Wizards didn’t properly tone the changed cards. In toning, you basically bring closer together your darkest and brightest spots on the cyan, magenta, yellow and black channels and then lighten the image overall for better readability. The Alpha run was toned terribly. Almost all of the new or corrected cards weren’t toned at all. As a result, Icy Manipulator, with its new rules text, Sedge Troll, Red Elemental Blast and Channel among others all have darker colors. Nearly every card that was corrected and re-plated has darker tones for that reason. They also had the full black border unlike their Alpha counterparts. (The partial, inner black border and the later-added outer black frame on Alpha cards was likely another last-minute production quick-fix.) </p><p>The new cards did too, including the much darker basic lands. For example, an Alpha CoP: Red has the same color and tone as the other Alpha CoPs. But the corrected Beta CoP: Red (with Mark Tedin credited as the illustrator) has the same tone as the newly-plated CoP: Black while a Beta CoP: Blue has the same tone as its Alpha counterparts.</p><p></p><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgiCuznSwkOmOVQ4atyEJsoSyDUiuuXbbB_gMe8vH5DQ6PI80yFwSlQsLHCZrWQmBG2nDxv6uc94-XsOuotJPOAvFbyjDg0DMMTSmxhgfxovVE9j67VoW9YiuE-BAup8z8yPCx63kO9d1fWHRgwbWcHxW1UE65B2_tYjQl1j9xaFGpEjTAiBYDN-GYk/s1280/CoPs.jpg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1226" data-original-width="1280" height="307" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgiCuznSwkOmOVQ4atyEJsoSyDUiuuXbbB_gMe8vH5DQ6PI80yFwSlQsLHCZrWQmBG2nDxv6uc94-XsOuotJPOAvFbyjDg0DMMTSmxhgfxovVE9j67VoW9YiuE-BAup8z8yPCx63kO9d1fWHRgwbWcHxW1UE65B2_tYjQl1j9xaFGpEjTAiBYDN-GYk/s320/CoPs.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><div>New cover art for Rolling Stones' "Gimme Shelter" single.</div></td></tr></tbody></table><p></p><p>This wasn’t intentional. The Beta run was intended to be indistinguishable from the Alpha run. In fact, some rare cards leftover from the Alpha run were set aside to package with the newly printed cards. (Hence the Alpha rares in Beta packages.)</p><p>So Beta was printed with new (and darker) plates for corrected cards. Then came time to cut the cards.</p><p>This time, a less rounded 1-mm die was chosen to cut them. A few people noticed. Although several legends and excuses have been repeated about this change, the fact that some Alpha-cut cards have since slipped out into circulation in later printings (such as Fourth Edition) reinforces the point that it had nothing to do with a dull or dirty die. It was simply print staff oversight.</p><p>Now for the fun part.</p><p>The newly-plated cards are fairly easy to spot with the differences in tone and wording (though corrected black cards aren’t immediately obvious). But what about other cards that didn’t get new print plates? How can you tell an Alpha Time Walk from a clipped Beta Time Walk?</p><p>With the widening difference in price between Alpha and Beta editions, it matters to collectors. It especially matters to players who exclusively play with Alpha cards. Some members of the Alpha 40 Worldwide group have literally taken a fine lens to this problem.</p><p>Offsets are helping, well, offset, the threat of clipped Beta cards and re-backed Collectors Edition Cards from being passed off as Alpha cards. In production, printing plates didn’t line up absolutely perfectly from print run to print run. </p><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj0-bxDJHiSyoaKG1l01JM1D3n-SApgAvPgG5gUKU_FnugDsRUBqzPXqzli7CJ3YW6fw3hxulu0HO7_eBvczHb8RKbDBD3uK8b_bC97FMPd4i-We1MYSHx93TjmrOLFwAQ3pIHwzRSgpyHFZej82QPiJlq5VTq7ElF4VVnpvPjWB_DrLx3BQ2VeSHJU/s2174/20220621_224355.jpg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1631" data-original-width="2174" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj0-bxDJHiSyoaKG1l01JM1D3n-SApgAvPgG5gUKU_FnugDsRUBqzPXqzli7CJ3YW6fw3hxulu0HO7_eBvczHb8RKbDBD3uK8b_bC97FMPd4i-We1MYSHx93TjmrOLFwAQ3pIHwzRSgpyHFZej82QPiJlq5VTq7ElF4VVnpvPjWB_DrLx3BQ2VeSHJU/s320/20220621_224355.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Editor's Chaos Orb example: Alpha, Beta, and re-backed CE. The
difference in printing between the cards is clear
on close comparison. E.g. Beta is slightly darker than the other two, and the re-back has "thinner" font.<br /></td></tr></tbody></table><p></p><p></p><p>Each early Magic print run has an offset fingerprint. From a distance, you don’t see it. However, with a magnifier and a bit of eye training, you can pick up a cyan offset of a fraction of a millimeter. Some are more obvious than others (such as the position of the mana symbol on these Craw Wurms).</p><p></p><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjDu3Xaq_9pYyo6zWJhvwhIXz2RrcowX31WHNpuMmGoTkJGeEitgLqm2ACART6UI7xDCMCW1KLCONq71p5FvP--Yxu_XqyMY0AVcZsrwqqDBw7plguvkcO1FFMhapEAYvDI5nbzW4F_m1zUz2-7KLfrkSacLyehk8Trav-SDFW9nuxvzNkUTx7uk5lD/s1512/Wurms.jpg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1512" data-original-width="1512" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjDu3Xaq_9pYyo6zWJhvwhIXz2RrcowX31WHNpuMmGoTkJGeEitgLqm2ACART6UI7xDCMCW1KLCONq71p5FvP--Yxu_XqyMY0AVcZsrwqqDBw7plguvkcO1FFMhapEAYvDI5nbzW4F_m1zUz2-7KLfrkSacLyehk8Trav-SDFW9nuxvzNkUTx7uk5lD/s320/Wurms.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><div>The black plate of text was slightly misaligned down and to the right on the Beta Craw Wurm.<br /></div></td></tr></tbody></table><p></p><p>The Alpha 40 Worldwide group is amassing a small database to help their players to better spot the differences.</p><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEivD_1AEj5lyw6I69Ls6FxIYjl3ozkZulNbGTnAEI4dbrbZx0_zBXV9k30WdR667Hl5FRfQbf2XZsFgo7L3s2IiPXBB-TkC9bJVpUeXOXT1lg-TEYL0z0MyE2czrH7OyRcLJ7Vw57_XNaYfJBMZJFm3dCu0O-Op0_-WsF3yhKQrKc6lEm73rwF2S70c/s1280/icy.jpg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="916" data-original-width="1280" height="229" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEivD_1AEj5lyw6I69Ls6FxIYjl3ozkZulNbGTnAEI4dbrbZx0_zBXV9k30WdR667Hl5FRfQbf2XZsFgo7L3s2IiPXBB-TkC9bJVpUeXOXT1lg-TEYL0z0MyE2czrH7OyRcLJ7Vw57_XNaYfJBMZJFm3dCu0O-Op0_-WsF3yhKQrKc6lEm73rwF2S70c/s320/icy.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><div>Is there something shady about the Icy Manipulator on the right?</div></td></tr></tbody></table><p>Here in the U.S., they say baseball is a game of inches. Playing Alpha, is a game of micrometers.</p><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg9pW2dt8OldVdVFnxcSJyedML5DcGzOZHFQg93_5kB6Uzd8jyIadOyUFYocqcvsbyaIP9FZzSaYab11cXw08YGO2fn_2spo57D83Phq-1zO-EVANobm5YvN781vmIP8ZdVehurUiI_AXwiH3pYae_Wk5lT8BYarWfOGTPJno4N2pfEJUUk37SASta6/s1626/short.jpg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1160" data-original-width="1626" height="228" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg9pW2dt8OldVdVFnxcSJyedML5DcGzOZHFQg93_5kB6Uzd8jyIadOyUFYocqcvsbyaIP9FZzSaYab11cXw08YGO2fn_2spo57D83Phq-1zO-EVANobm5YvN781vmIP8ZdVehurUiI_AXwiH3pYae_Wk5lT8BYarWfOGTPJno4N2pfEJUUk37SASta6/s320/short.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">A rose by any other name still taps out all your lands, sucka!</td></tr></tbody></table>Mghttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00555613518338194305noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2299444734264560627.post-3296009886567765342022-06-04T22:47:00.038+02:002022-06-24T22:40:18.108+02:00n00bcon 13: Organizer's report<p>There was this Guinness commercial around the turn of the
millennium. I think I saw it before I ever tasted a Guinness, but for
some reason I still vividly recall it.</p><p></p><p>In the commercial a
fit but aging Italian man is swimming from a buoy in the ocean towards a
small harbor. The beach town is cheering him on as he desperately races
to a pub, trying to get to it before the bartender finishes
pouring a perfect Guinness. He gets to it just in time, and the pub erupts in cheers. The town's
annual tradition is a success. But the voice-over continuous. "I'm getting older, he says. One day I'll
lose, he says."</p><div style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjokIoG3KUey8rk3Xlw13CUW44E0gVEYtl-V0za5B1GHTY1p_dMTtAFBCr1h4KKlZh47Ig2VvUpVQSecmBQuqRSk3q30a1b3BPZwBfK_7IrCwADQLhvtMh9y5oQu3hzpy4HZyt9rtOXicAadrDQ_TVdM5dlhdiROL3cpDoMMIy1Xp6rFAOPLYYlWZor/s925/Story_Image_925x521_14_vz393Ko.png"><img border="0" data-original-height="521" data-original-width="925" height="180" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjokIoG3KUey8rk3Xlw13CUW44E0gVEYtl-V0za5B1GHTY1p_dMTtAFBCr1h4KKlZh47Ig2VvUpVQSecmBQuqRSk3q30a1b3BPZwBfK_7IrCwADQLhvtMh9y5oQu3hzpy4HZyt9rtOXicAadrDQ_TVdM5dlhdiROL3cpDoMMIy1Xp6rFAOPLYYlWZor/s320/Story_Image_925x521_14_vz393Ko.png" width="320" /></a></div><p>
I related a lot to that man in the weeks before n00bcon 13, more so than I've ever
done before. Apparently I had it in me to organize n00bcon three years
ago, but could I still do it? Even back in 2019 I was getting older,
eager to pass the the World Championship torch to Italy, and planning
for n00bcon 12 to be a scaled-down Scryings event with a more narrow
appeal. </p><p></p><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj68TR_JBlJFqFtOxWclkMpFuEqcFidqZLAxps1Ro2MLcBL-xnl2dSrDScEc3Gc8xhn8bDPPbx4Evj1LIqLMaiijUbIhaFTPK68ag2EEXTKeRCEnufSaFU5qc6Lr3d-BzakhSOekGsGvkuA6rLsYiIPtpZXOm4EGOsCWAq3btM3o3e2n9pziu35u6Rj/s960/n00bcon12.png" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="908" data-original-width="960" height="303" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj68TR_JBlJFqFtOxWclkMpFuEqcFidqZLAxps1Ro2MLcBL-xnl2dSrDScEc3Gc8xhn8bDPPbx4Evj1LIqLMaiijUbIhaFTPK68ag2EEXTKeRCEnufSaFU5qc6Lr3d-BzakhSOekGsGvkuA6rLsYiIPtpZXOm4EGOsCWAq3btM3o3e2n9pziu35u6Rj/s320/n00bcon12.png" width="320" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">A tournament that never was.<br /></td></tr></tbody></table><p></p><p>Since
then I've been socially distant, living out my days in my apartment,
avoiding most gatherings of any setting. My daughter is three now, so
for the last three years my main concern has been has been fatherhood.
That, and that whole pandemic. It barely felt like I knew what a large group of
people looked like anymore.</p><p></p><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhr3kHRnqDzvWojc4nZOc_-2-hdWwnXOwgoJJ1-IC4X3t6nbgINwV5NSFcw3u9F2_qaQGuVvb-c7Ybb-3kkC3r35uM8WhltCZg9QCnkn9eI4NNWgbgN_6gRFN6sb0ukWe6vZjUum6MgfsjIC4V3MIijgF-7lA0R1TNngLUw5TAkSjN1zoWMUrGL-h3A/s571/external-content.duckduckgo.com.jpeg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="460" data-original-width="571" height="258" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhr3kHRnqDzvWojc4nZOc_-2-hdWwnXOwgoJJ1-IC4X3t6nbgINwV5NSFcw3u9F2_qaQGuVvb-c7Ybb-3kkC3r35uM8WhltCZg9QCnkn9eI4NNWgbgN_6gRFN6sb0ukWe6vZjUum6MgfsjIC4V3MIijgF-7lA0R1TNngLUw5TAkSjN1zoWMUrGL-h3A/s320/external-content.duckduckgo.com.jpeg" width="320" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><i>Day after day, day after day // We stuck, nor breath nor motion: <br /></i><i>As idle as a painted ship // Upon a painted ocean.</i></td><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><i></i><br /></td><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><i><br /></i></td></tr></tbody></table><p></p><p>Then
there were those external factors. The Rotary Pub had
been closed since the start of the pandemic. When I tried to contact
them in January to look at the prospects for a potential n00bcon 13, I
was eventually informed that the pub had no beer and no one had worked a
shift there for two years. So that looked like a problem. Then, in
February, I was informed that GothCon - Sweden's largest gaming
convention which also takes place in Gothenburg during Easter - was to be "remote-only" due to the pandemic. So the other
physical convention in the city decided to close its gates as the
pandemic appeared too daunting, the Rotary Pub was flatlining, and I
personally was a socially phobic hermit that had forgotten the taste of
craft beer. It wasn't looking super.<br /></p><p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhp7DJt_WBgFYutVshp1ZJh5moEpmJodauvcDkIYxdL4R8kLMJJP5lJDI9KrrTxfuX08oWwpn707on1GsFcWm-II89j5Vp_UJAFoHdLkcBjQkCUhIy4UNmUguzNEPT4xaX8N9cW6g_wq-yAkEkOdAWcLJdyOU7aBv3N98iRfc9aPAU1ur9qUqucSpqT/s695/FQfg6IYXEAkUs6D.jpeg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="695" data-original-width="500" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhp7DJt_WBgFYutVshp1ZJh5moEpmJodauvcDkIYxdL4R8kLMJJP5lJDI9KrrTxfuX08oWwpn707on1GsFcWm-II89j5Vp_UJAFoHdLkcBjQkCUhIy4UNmUguzNEPT4xaX8N9cW6g_wq-yAkEkOdAWcLJdyOU7aBv3N98iRfc9aPAU1ur9qUqucSpqT/s320/FQfg6IYXEAkUs6D.jpeg" width="230" /></a></div><p></p><p>I don't know for sure where we should start, but it is likely that Erwin Demmer is the first guy to blame. On October 6 - more than half a year before the Easter 2022 mind you, and no less between a Delta and an Omikron variant that may hamper
planning for the less crafty - Erwin emails me with a list of eight
Dutch player that he'd like to bring, and asks how the allocation of
spots are going. At this point I'm uncertain if there even is a Rotary
Pub anymore, but I know I have eight Flying Dutchmen ready to rumble. So
I tell him that I don't know what things will look like, but I'll do <i>something</i>. If the mad Dutch come here during Easter to play Magic, I will provide <i>something</i> for them to do at least.</p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhTZUZ7SYmB0rnD2c9RpN_79PWB4iN-c84dS3xF8h_NxuuM66OSN41_ofL8ew6YIv4_PULBevkDZYpR_0AXqIiria4X3GbHPpgpLRDxA_wy_ml6a29vdWnydkRcmHk9CMQp-p3_wHeNHLZpeOfs3N7G8lUMLAXuNgww6yI8UmWIu71rHa3m_bhyJGZO/s680/desertnomads.hq.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="680" data-original-width="480" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhTZUZ7SYmB0rnD2c9RpN_79PWB4iN-c84dS3xF8h_NxuuM66OSN41_ofL8ew6YIv4_PULBevkDZYpR_0AXqIiria4X3GbHPpgpLRDxA_wy_ml6a29vdWnydkRcmHk9CMQp-p3_wHeNHLZpeOfs3N7G8lUMLAXuNgww6yI8UmWIu71rHa3m_bhyJGZO/s320/desertnomads.hq.jpg" width="226" /></a></div><p>A
month later BSK happens. We're not that many players, 20 or so, but
these are the oldschool OGs, and we haven't seen each other for two
years. Something is in the air for sure. A couple of them expresses how
they look forward to return to n00bcon in the spring; that this
gathering of old friends in Borås is but the appetizer in the
budding post-pandemic tournament scene. I answer something non-committing, what
with the pub being likely dead and all, and me being a bit of a husk.</p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh47xASV4ASiFM-WCUfNb8WUVxgwcXbW8MA9lIenMcURvfr8qD-BXVyYB6XRUChPuurn32095pCaZTt9hrI2sRi_kfTsIBLoxdg8u1QmIvlWnFon9fVh2JNP2d7H22VB8X5f6fId_YLNFQY6ZZKAwlvvU34RDltM-UqUd1cIXBHVAxS-rRAkM2c1dLy/s680/cavepeople.hq.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="680" data-original-width="480" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh47xASV4ASiFM-WCUfNb8WUVxgwcXbW8MA9lIenMcURvfr8qD-BXVyYB6XRUChPuurn32095pCaZTt9hrI2sRi_kfTsIBLoxdg8u1QmIvlWnFon9fVh2JNP2d7H22VB8X5f6fId_YLNFQY6ZZKAwlvvU34RDltM-UqUd1cIXBHVAxS-rRAkM2c1dLy/s320/cavepeople.hq.jpg" width="226" /></a></div><p>But
from there it escalates. Around Christmas The Reindeer emails me and
shares his plans for Siab00rg, a tournament for which he has rented out
Skansen Kronan. Skansen Kronan ("the Crown
Sconce") is an old redoubt in the Haga district of
Gothenburg. The fortress and its twin, Skansen Lejonet, were
built in the late 1600s to protect the city against the Danes. Danish attacks was a whole thing back then.<br /></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgQYnldhaRUlWlodLd5JrhZAinthV2zaPwQvsHZFdC0rNOUPSDfe4CObgQg1CZ9vGmkOLSsOOHoBCCSt7IKd6d-HkOVRMoM1yGwJxIMr53SUTwr9DczuG2zXUaw4gQrShts7EpeD-5GkQxvsRxPAoxIIr2shcgQ5D9zSqMgKHyIuqOO4wU71Xf72msB/s1024/skansen.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="512" data-original-width="1024" height="160" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgQYnldhaRUlWlodLd5JrhZAinthV2zaPwQvsHZFdC0rNOUPSDfe4CObgQg1CZ9vGmkOLSsOOHoBCCSt7IKd6d-HkOVRMoM1yGwJxIMr53SUTwr9DczuG2zXUaw4gQrShts7EpeD-5GkQxvsRxPAoxIIr2shcgQ5D9zSqMgKHyIuqOO4wU71Xf72msB/s320/skansen.jpg" width="320" /></a></div><p>The
redoubt is also a literal stone throw away from where I had my last
apartment in Sweden. The place I called my home when I finished my
studies, and then acted as a harbor for years while I was commuting to
Munich and later Oslo. I used to walk up to Skansen Kronan to watch the
fireworks each New Years. I have stories and memories of that place too
plentiful to share.</p><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhpt5hGTzIxG7ZxPcoQNKEmJD1E8cW15hEcwyiqgq8ATRy_Ep8a9hTtTAKfsJN5gvU9cbmXzbDjtmWeP66IhBhQjHCk7K2B3ut-6owSEISkL9PlkdBA4QtubCg5qwivEhGhbinNsSFh3iOE_s-69DUam9cFUB6spKTgFBcFpiglEYqw7QcWGoEQerGO/s960/18a093f5dcbb45bfe87b726d6ed17da1.png" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="408" data-original-width="960" height="136" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhpt5hGTzIxG7ZxPcoQNKEmJD1E8cW15hEcwyiqgq8ATRy_Ep8a9hTtTAKfsJN5gvU9cbmXzbDjtmWeP66IhBhQjHCk7K2B3ut-6owSEISkL9PlkdBA4QtubCg5qwivEhGhbinNsSFh3iOE_s-69DUam9cFUB6spKTgFBcFpiglEYqw7QcWGoEQerGO/s320/18a093f5dcbb45bfe87b726d6ed17da1.png" width="320" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">I used to live here, you know.</td></tr></tbody></table><div> </div><div>And
now some mad Wizards from outside the city have decided to rent it for a
tournament the day before a yet non-existing n00bcon. And
inviting Danes nonetheless! Didn't they get the text about what happened to <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Älvsborg_Ransom_(1613)">Old Älvsborg</a>?
Or, perhaps more recently and globally, a text about the new Omikron variant?
That we're not supposed to gather and travel?</div><div><br /></div><div>In the pit of my stomach there's this
fear that people will try to get to Gothenburg, expecting a good a time,
and that there will be nothing for them. Perhaps that I, personally, will disappoint by not being able to deliver what we yearn for, and that I
will accidentally fuck up the OS culture by virtue of sucking at
organizing a post-pandemic tournament.<br /></div><div> </div><div><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjRWyM3E0tf9y4xFgCzDRBDdjmk5KYWMBuOu8WbIKPaqBNGZqPr3I-7mXnEc6mix77ko6fS6nxP3N0I3TNiungF9N8CwAdcwls-vsrhqs1PZ6wagHFj9XlKvIJ4QLVMN8dZnj2u16Jk-adibF8dI5iNW1ehmZ0ExsvujYSBwgiUsuw0WsaCsYi_gtlr/s1273/239651-zvezdnye-voiny-epizod-6-vozvrashenie-dzhedaya-star-wars-episode-vi-return-of-the-jedi_0.jpg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="538" data-original-width="1273" height="135" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjRWyM3E0tf9y4xFgCzDRBDdjmk5KYWMBuOu8WbIKPaqBNGZqPr3I-7mXnEc6mix77ko6fS6nxP3N0I3TNiungF9N8CwAdcwls-vsrhqs1PZ6wagHFj9XlKvIJ4QLVMN8dZnj2u16Jk-adibF8dI5iNW1ehmZ0ExsvujYSBwgiUsuw0WsaCsYi_gtlr/s320/239651-zvezdnye-voiny-epizod-6-vozvrashenie-dzhedaya-star-wars-episode-vi-return-of-the-jedi_0.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">You're gonna die here, you know. Convenient.</td></tr></tbody></table><div> </div><div>Shortly
after, KungMarkus announces that he will run the Arvika Festival at the
start of March. That also appears to be a wildly close call (location-
and pandemic-wise), but he will jump through the hoops to make it
happen. 40 players, a tournament of proper pre-pandemic size. "So now
you'll have to organize n00bcon, you fool!" as he eloquently puts it. And then I suddenly
get a message from Kalle, where he shows the newly created art for
n00bcon 13 without me having nagged him - nor in fact even asked him - to do
it.</div><div><br /></div><div><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjvmGi-LDAvK1vd_4n-DIQQSsSp_0xSRmNf12YSyAlPlOuqAJEo43kJGNUrOdtLVXi92EE7od5XLA0FdGAcZMW3bG2zOc5riwHNPOQjeyil19mHJ7P6ZyrA2Z_TD02EZRJf5lvPBJV3zE6asntDBynAHUNC12acgxgXMU7OIeINJj7TdHTZswtWaOO-/s4240/noobmoon1.jpg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="4240" data-original-width="4240" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjvmGi-LDAvK1vd_4n-DIQQSsSp_0xSRmNf12YSyAlPlOuqAJEo43kJGNUrOdtLVXi92EE7od5XLA0FdGAcZMW3bG2zOc5riwHNPOQjeyil19mHJ7P6ZyrA2Z_TD02EZRJf5lvPBJV3zE6asntDBynAHUNC12acgxgXMU7OIeINJj7TdHTZswtWaOO-/s320/noobmoon1.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Wow.</td></tr></tbody></table>It
had become tradition for Kalle and I to enter some sort
of mutual panic over the pin design a few weeks before Easter each year,
but now he just opted to create a ridiculously sweet design in early
January. </div><div><br /></div><div><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhNNteBvgtTI1a2gZdoDzfq_AOfS6400WNonKYzeL3ausyZJ_BfQaFrdaMufJ8aMPcdymfJjMDAvNKqJSwSsS30piEn5iszqpVeRHy2CmyTJRddGeNbq3gVgKjGGWioAR3hHnWp-hvJFZFONxFL-8ST_BxOz04XTauETD7gKAQAvhdmfNtw1k5R-UiA/s3130/20220417_124311.jpg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="2347" data-original-width="3130" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhNNteBvgtTI1a2gZdoDzfq_AOfS6400WNonKYzeL3ausyZJ_BfQaFrdaMufJ8aMPcdymfJjMDAvNKqJSwSsS30piEn5iszqpVeRHy2CmyTJRddGeNbq3gVgKjGGWioAR3hHnWp-hvJFZFONxFL-8ST_BxOz04XTauETD7gKAQAvhdmfNtw1k5R-UiA/s320/20220417_124311.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Later got the chance to buy his original. Wall, meet art.<br /></td></tr></tbody></table></td></tr></tbody></table></div><div> </div>I
can't say which was the last straw to break the coffin, but around the end of
January it was clear to me. There will be a n00bcon this year, and I'll
just have to see if I still have it in me to coordinate something
enjoyable.<div><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgQfjipQ-w8tYlqkE6Afj7zf2Fkrr-02moMFw-rdd_vkmBjqtFPIi7v8ONeMUC5WSVaMrUNy3dieI2clkDwWS1f2iYItwT5AQU3jZTMlzAcqZRam6abWYgL2P6-cy2VmsGvmm8VPnmcZ4oXn2JtJHSMwe-1hmHzo68uCotF5zsqDvp7L6RTDRRSs-YK/s445/rust.hq.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="445" data-original-width="312" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgQfjipQ-w8tYlqkE6Afj7zf2Fkrr-02moMFw-rdd_vkmBjqtFPIi7v8ONeMUC5WSVaMrUNy3dieI2clkDwWS1f2iYItwT5AQU3jZTMlzAcqZRam6abWYgL2P6-cy2VmsGvmm8VPnmcZ4oXn2JtJHSMwe-1hmHzo68uCotF5zsqDvp7L6RTDRRSs-YK/s320/rust.hq.jpg" width="224" /></a></div><div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><br /></div>Now,
my core principle for organizing a tournament is to try to organize a
tournament that I would personally enjoy playing in. These days there are a
hundred voices with a hundred ideas on these InterNets, and catering to
everybody would be impossible. So I start by reflecting on my own
preferences and abilities. I will not have fancier prizes than Vintage
Champs, or more famous guests than Nebraska's War, or a nicer location than Fishliver Oil Cup. But my aim is not to compete with
these gatherings, as there's no goal is to be "better" on some arbitrary
scale (so that others may be "worse"). n00bcon can be good at doing one
thing, while ViennaGeddon is good at something slightly different, and
LepreCon is good in a third way. We can all win here; organizing
unsanctioned tournaments is not a zero sum game.</div><div><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEixhKWBhcbBLvpL1FeS6P7cAJllW4JdhIe5m9n2NAdhhSBc0kN9b7HLrSfmKVQ40z66xPsuYnVda0YmOpg7IiaqpuEy12cQx8f5sbEBab75hk5isxUILZlAmKH94JL-VtS3DVuWZqsrH-gz-ZET-ry0gGavxgxRLMVDX9sMoKYSqVwdOAK-0MvcInJy/s445/spiritualsanctuary.hq.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="445" data-original-width="312" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEixhKWBhcbBLvpL1FeS6P7cAJllW4JdhIe5m9n2NAdhhSBc0kN9b7HLrSfmKVQ40z66xPsuYnVda0YmOpg7IiaqpuEy12cQx8f5sbEBab75hk5isxUILZlAmKH94JL-VtS3DVuWZqsrH-gz-ZET-ry0gGavxgxRLMVDX9sMoKYSqVwdOAK-0MvcInJy/s320/spiritualsanctuary.hq.jpg" width="224" /></a></div><br /><div>So
the first thing I really wanted after the time in cold storage was a proper gathering. To hangout with
the people I've missed hanging out with in the last years. As such, n00bcon
13 started out as NepotismCon of sorts. There were no public forum
posts, Facebook events, nor even clarity on this blag. I wrote a <a href="http://n00bcon.com/n00bcon13/">web 1.0 homepage</a>, as is tradition, but that was about it. Invites were pretty
much solely resolved via people emailing me and asking if there was a n00bcon and they could
come, or me emailing people to ask if they'd like to come. That made
this the first n00bcon in many years where I had a personal
relationship with pretty much everybody in the pub. There was a couple
of new guys from the US that I hadn't met face-to-face before (but came
with excellent reputations, which I quickly realized were well deserved),
and a pair of Danes that joined on short notice after breaching Skansen Kronan the day before n00bcon. Other than that, it was all guys
I'd consider being on first-name basis with before the tournament. We
also cut down the participation a bit, to make the hangout a bit easier
and the event a bit less crowded. Moving from 120 to 90 players felt
great, and I seriously can't really grasp how we managed to fit 30
additional heads during previous events.</div><div><br /></div><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiR57d4RtKh0QyHBTWnFv6mQL-r5jU2Vw-PJ3A-yqyD6bOmYugzce2qbP9kDuPjOmaRmROX1EFJSc_wFZFjmi-EbOQRPqHxqRyKtaTkZqBbyQBfpG-MtB_y57paQYzzBlPHX_UEHWf3nLxwJay7k9RCQlAeO0bRzfAYw4RfNdmpFUEEIKYWLvEQq9x3/s2048/278611531_5171063736307593_9211019650649262831_n.jpg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1536" data-original-width="2048" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiR57d4RtKh0QyHBTWnFv6mQL-r5jU2Vw-PJ3A-yqyD6bOmYugzce2qbP9kDuPjOmaRmROX1EFJSc_wFZFjmi-EbOQRPqHxqRyKtaTkZqBbyQBfpG-MtB_y57paQYzzBlPHX_UEHWf3nLxwJay7k9RCQlAeO0bRzfAYw4RfNdmpFUEEIKYWLvEQq9x3/s320/278611531_5171063736307593_9211019650649262831_n.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">This year there was even a path to walk between the tables.</td></tr></tbody></table><div><br /></div><div>Step two was thinking out random stuff I wanted to do, now that I had the chance. And I had a few stupid ideas. </div><div><p>Many
years ago, during the earliest days of Oldschool, a friend named Arvid
Grahn used to joke that one of the least strategic things you could do
while playing 93/94 was eating soup with your bare hands. Soup in general
is a bit of an antithesis to Oldschool Magic; it is a cheap and kinda
sloppy food, standing in stark contrast to the expensive and immaculate
rectangles we use as game pieces. Also it is a liquid, which may or may
not be the most strategic choice of food while drunkenly battling $50k
decks. So I thought the concept of giving everyone at n00bcon unlimited
free soup would be kinda funny. #SoupCon. </p><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhLGTeTG7_u1WNcsNo8FfRDKusNxB8ZFrzH-WKbHiXj7_sj0yOu-nWtO8G_b_QxAv596m504Wtq7RypAk4dZAJ5Umemw59I0fG7JONLlxVSZIEZmRiz1kmHFAdyzIf4wvCXUXBdxKZpQMNqY96lam0CMgPhLM2k_MSxx24QlV90QIVP0DXn4U9KtUCi/s4032/20220415_173143.jpg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><img border="0" data-original-height="3024" data-original-width="4032" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhLGTeTG7_u1WNcsNo8FfRDKusNxB8ZFrzH-WKbHiXj7_sj0yOu-nWtO8G_b_QxAv596m504Wtq7RypAk4dZAJ5Umemw59I0fG7JONLlxVSZIEZmRiz1kmHFAdyzIf4wvCXUXBdxKZpQMNqY96lam0CMgPhLM2k_MSxx24QlV90QIVP0DXn4U9KtUCi/s320/20220415_173143.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Will Magrann, Soup Fan.</td></tr></tbody></table><p>The
next thing was to run a run an open side event for the truly crazy, and
have that tournament have far better EV than n00bcon itself. Wizards'
Tournament scratched that itch a few years ago, but these days
Alpha-only had evolved to something much different than five years ago. At present I think I'd argue that the best way to have wizards give
zero fucks about their cards as collectibles and fully embrace the game casually is to play for ante. You cannot play a format like Ante 40k and be
overly attached to card ownership, or care too much about playing the
best deck (playing something like The Deck in a format where Darkpact is
legal is scary). I've played casual ante for many years now, but 40k as
a format was properly formalized just four or five years ago, after
some good games with Markus Lundqvist in particular. Regardless, it was
high time for a World Championship, and I would provide the biggest of
trophies for the occasion.</p><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjXd_QPIMybEK8MUREB_8V6Cd9iKnQV5GvKU1XtGLZuO65tPjh1Dxz375CLazbbInCrP5AWsekCDW4EVohB5cprDoj3AFRjwkTT7te1A3ZkGkEapS8Vxd1vHY14W5jxxuRzUaCxj1hQ91IlpQSzrDLmVfZNH3iAlxWZJyRNOa7H-ncc7QEE8Vj-Qc66/s4032/20220413_181154.jpg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><img border="0" data-original-height="4032" data-original-width="3024" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjXd_QPIMybEK8MUREB_8V6Cd9iKnQV5GvKU1XtGLZuO65tPjh1Dxz375CLazbbInCrP5AWsekCDW4EVohB5cprDoj3AFRjwkTT7te1A3ZkGkEapS8Vxd1vHY14W5jxxuRzUaCxj1hQ91IlpQSzrDLmVfZNH3iAlxWZJyRNOa7H-ncc7QEE8Vj-Qc66/s320/20220413_181154.jpg" width="240" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Having a trophy that require that the winner purchases extra check-in luggage is funny. </td></tr></tbody></table><p>Speaking of side events for crazy people, <a href="http://oldschool-mtg.blogspot.com/2018/03/the-oldest-school-wizards-tournament.html">The Wizards' Tournament</a>
has become a bit of a thing since its inception four years ago. A joke
that landed a bit too well, perhaps. As Wizards' Tournament II in 2019
may have been a little too large for the "health" of the "format", the plan
for WT3 was to try and be a bit more somber. </p><p>After a quick chat in late February<b>,</b>
our hero FloVo mantled the responsibility to organize Wizards'
Tournament 3. We had schemed plans for him to take the lead on WT3
already back in 2020, but those ideas evidently had to be rain-checked for a couple of
years (during which FloVo valiantly organized e.g. n00bcoM 1 & 2 to keep the Easter magical).
So FloVo, backed up by Jason, did pretty much everything here.
KungMarkus made a 5 kg heavy trophy, and all I personally contributed with was
to write a new <a href="http://www.wizardstournament.com">webpage</a> (now with hyperlinks!).<br /></p><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgi8n62pYziVOMbZ14I6e62JvDqTsCH-WJADPBHBvWV8kyX2PqvAtuyfkTa6ufECzhy1U2GvOuKzFx27e79BzWgUihwRule3DGytEPsrOHf68hGZSubEt2MEC6k8e-8MeHa80fiCHx7M3SUlHnwip07srrnF4LW_vw9UZzFGPT3JbzJ4PzeqT83dSO_/s2894/20220412_103916.jpg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><img border="0" data-original-height="2863" data-original-width="2894" height="317" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgi8n62pYziVOMbZ14I6e62JvDqTsCH-WJADPBHBvWV8kyX2PqvAtuyfkTa6ufECzhy1U2GvOuKzFx27e79BzWgUihwRule3DGytEPsrOHf68hGZSubEt2MEC6k8e-8MeHa80fiCHx7M3SUlHnwip07srrnF4LW_vw9UZzFGPT3JbzJ4PzeqT83dSO_/s320/20220412_103916.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">My
planned deck for WT3. In the end some personal stuff made me skip the
tournament, but I'll be back with at least as rad a pile the next time
it's August 1993 again.<br /></td></tr></tbody></table><p></p><p>The last
planned side-event was the Wednesday ALICE tournament, traditionally
hosted by David Chambers. It looked like it was on for a long time, but
just a week before n00bcon it was clear that Chambers didn't get to
renew his visa, and hence couldn't travel to Sweden. We opted out
of running the tournament without him, and on the plus side he got to do
some sweet hiking in the forest with his girlfriend during Easter
instead.</p><div style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhZD3XeBX47UsrAw_SJ69yFh8IKROOmp6TyxeEpaE2CXWHDUjNTmWNrUcgWHPucNsJSqmXeQlM7ItK4esCe39RNIRKwTnAJVgGuMvUSz4WHVgfkC8Zp0svtIjIUOKCbL3F14kAC-oDtdAy3VbOrg7ucGwJUeNJAMYN8w53FL8lI-FHAXmcnH2L5_fF5/s445/thawingglaciers.hq.jpg"><img border="0" data-original-height="445" data-original-width="312" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhZD3XeBX47UsrAw_SJ69yFh8IKROOmp6TyxeEpaE2CXWHDUjNTmWNrUcgWHPucNsJSqmXeQlM7ItK4esCe39RNIRKwTnAJVgGuMvUSz4WHVgfkC8Zp0svtIjIUOKCbL3F14kAC-oDtdAy3VbOrg7ucGwJUeNJAMYN8w53FL8lI-FHAXmcnH2L5_fF5/s320/thawingglaciers.hq.jpg" width="224" /></a></div><p></p><p>Then
there was the streaming. Gordon had asked to play for once, so I needed someone else
to host the stream. I figured it was no harm in just starting at the
top, asking the most popular and handsome oldschool streamer out there
if he wanted to join, and then work myself down the list after he'd
presumably said no. So I started by sending a mail to Timmy Talks. And
to my great pleasure and surprise, he was all game! Life is kinda cool
sometimes.</p><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhkypdcFvxNB3ugjJz20ADuGjNrETWHWeADGqFsEf8xRZyIbLc5HvMj3ujjMUJl7ykH5cpuU7FIkH0WTypdjNf1bh2cypRP-cjaPUHNHWINVyk8YMTwRQj1FewyuAfi81YYUPZQZEgiUnQp0IWNfR01Lr3vhEhoflSXkE9lNzW4RWQTiv2uiR_V7s9v/s4032/20220415_130644.jpg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><img border="0" data-original-height="3024" data-original-width="4032" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhkypdcFvxNB3ugjJz20ADuGjNrETWHWeADGqFsEf8xRZyIbLc5HvMj3ujjMUJl7ykH5cpuU7FIkH0WTypdjNf1bh2cypRP-cjaPUHNHWINVyk8YMTwRQj1FewyuAfi81YYUPZQZEgiUnQp0IWNfR01Lr3vhEhoflSXkE9lNzW4RWQTiv2uiR_V7s9v/s320/20220415_130644.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Gordon and Timmy, legends of oldschool streaming. <br /></td></tr></tbody></table><p>And then I wanted some gear. Somewhat useful gear if possible. Last IRL-n00bcon
we had tokens, the one before that t-shirts, the one before that
playmats. Two early ideas for n00bcon 13 were dice bags and bandanas
(thanks for that great tip Brother Ben!). But then, an anonymous
wildcard in the community revisited a years-long plan to finally create
Juzam Gin, and I realized that there could be only one option for
n00bcon 13. Shot glasses. I always keep a foldable shot glass I got from
the first Viennageddon in my dice bag, and it is one of the trinkets
I’ve gotten the most positive comments about. Everybody needs a telescopic
metal shot glas when they play magic.</p><div style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgqZSX0TVlX_kawXgaTTRv9_f8vlj6KnEaxVmDbVAtYN7CZzrc9RhU3LZBNv5TjDZg2Dz-YGQUH4R-ZoSvDnCY6xcIq55Ruu_nRaCqQVOV105QZ4yB2Tk7HWLa_N4wOXsY8xOZgXydOM0TpEymswl1JoUECzvg1WcdO1SccAy2FyLZTV1STONWc6RGm/s924/H5b3c342fd20c4e589a614fcfae2e9245P.jpg"><img border="0" data-original-height="924" data-original-width="924" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgqZSX0TVlX_kawXgaTTRv9_f8vlj6KnEaxVmDbVAtYN7CZzrc9RhU3LZBNv5TjDZg2Dz-YGQUH4R-ZoSvDnCY6xcIq55Ruu_nRaCqQVOV105QZ4yB2Tk7HWLa_N4wOXsY8xOZgXydOM0TpEymswl1JoUECzvg1WcdO1SccAy2FyLZTV1STONWc6RGm/s320/H5b3c342fd20c4e589a614fcfae2e9245P.jpg" width="320" /></a></div><p>The
search for branded shot glasses turned out a bit trickier than I
initially expected. None of the Scandinavian branding sites I perused
offered metallic (nor foldable) ones that you could put in the dice bag.
Eventually I found a US site, but there the price tag was something like
$8 per glass, plus trans-Atlantic shipping and tolls. Not cool. But then, in a rare instance of
thinking, it dawned on me that these things almost certainly were made in
some factory in China, and those manufacturers almost surely had
profiles on Ali Baba. I’ve never used Ali Baba before, but this seemed
like a great time to sign up. Long story short, I quickly found a guy
that could do it, he only wanted like 83 cents per glass, but the
smallest order he could accept was 500 glasses. That’s like 15 kg of
metallic shot glasses traveling from China, so the postage would be an
extra $400 or so. Still, seemed legit.</p><p></p><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi2wQ7a6a--TFFwobvoLyVOqCpM3QpjWJWPhUJGE6Mh0VvvtGpMzcQmUYgicpfJBkoNrTXwhAL6pNO-9b2kQphLOgIMAMVldi3h4MIS4lehSqE8fZIDrFIQdJLY1L1l1Ma0it_in_OvyWgLoxRhSfm0n51vk075DWH1a3W1FkFrwpceBJ6ljhmhdYKH/s680/alibaba.hq.jpg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="680" data-original-width="480" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi2wQ7a6a--TFFwobvoLyVOqCpM3QpjWJWPhUJGE6Mh0VvvtGpMzcQmUYgicpfJBkoNrTXwhAL6pNO-9b2kQphLOgIMAMVldi3h4MIS4lehSqE8fZIDrFIQdJLY1L1l1Ma0it_in_OvyWgLoxRhSfm0n51vk075DWH1a3W1FkFrwpceBJ6ljhmhdYKH/s320/alibaba.hq.jpg" width="226" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Pro tip: If you're a private individual and don’t have a VAT number, order stuff via Ali Express instead.</td></tr></tbody></table><p></p><p>Some
stuff happened, and I didn’t manage to close the deal until about 40
days before Easter. That should still be plenty of time, as
manufacturing was expected around 15 days and shipping another 15. But
due to various armed conflicts, and me as an individual not having a VAT
number, shipping got slightly delayed. So a few days after n00bcon 500 metallic
shot glasses arrived at my parents’ home outside Gothenburg. Oh well.</p><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEinqedhm4tJAIV7oaiskU7MGKfDert-GF_Yi1XVZWSsODtp20Nx0XSfPuwJzPeH-CObacKiBu9SMuaNft8OTblHR22PcJzazhKSWxV98z8EEURhNEUAcH8NRZFFtcA_wHiJmCL5B8cMwf3PLqdLQTLm9RToxPqjICejzyCUaoJD_tBXwLXvylKReD2L/s3665/20220426_192811.jpg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><img border="0" data-original-height="3665" data-original-width="2749" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEinqedhm4tJAIV7oaiskU7MGKfDert-GF_Yi1XVZWSsODtp20Nx0XSfPuwJzPeH-CObacKiBu9SMuaNft8OTblHR22PcJzazhKSWxV98z8EEURhNEUAcH8NRZFFtcA_wHiJmCL5B8cMwf3PLqdLQTLm9RToxPqjICejzyCUaoJD_tBXwLXvylKReD2L/s320/20220426_192811.jpg" width="240" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">I'm currently the proud owner of a lot of shot glasses.<br /></td></tr></tbody></table><p></p><p>I
guess we’ll give everyone at n00bcon free shot glasses next year
instead or something. Luckily they don’t say “n00bcon 13” so they are a
bit flexible as gear goes. And hey, I don't think anyone at the
tournament got disappointed that they didn't get them, as it was
intended as a bit of a surprise.</p><div style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh_lYbOGXqfNDxHgYHxjtgNZGA2THuqDKbOyaTsfnAIOyicifOdRViBLuCag2zA_RuKbQ9ebXy6UrjAjJMydCFg35XY4bT3PUJScq747nIJjnET302RZ6AIrPAjXqiNNuc6q5PQvALbR9F2XibKVYCxSNbbeJJ5uXVesCwXN_KUZ5NhCxaG5SDaZRov/s2913/20220426_192929.jpg" style="text-align: center;"><img border="0" data-original-height="2913" data-original-width="2184" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh_lYbOGXqfNDxHgYHxjtgNZGA2THuqDKbOyaTsfnAIOyicifOdRViBLuCag2zA_RuKbQ9ebXy6UrjAjJMydCFg35XY4bT3PUJScq747nIJjnET302RZ6AIrPAjXqiNNuc6q5PQvALbR9F2XibKVYCxSNbbeJJ5uXVesCwXN_KUZ5NhCxaG5SDaZRov/s320/20220426_192929.jpg" width="240" /></a></div><div style="text-align: left;"> </div><div style="text-align: left;">Speaking
of drinking things, the Juzam Gin turned out insanely well. A few
people have asked about how to get hold of a bottle, but they are
unfortunately not available. The bottles were never really for sale in
the first place, and no more will be created. These are not really the
kinda things you make in a larger scale or sell for profit, both with regards to rules on fan art and laws regarding alcohol in Sweden.<br /></div><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgzROCsLMNi7VVKh1eN6H4gImye4HQ0MwhKbZ7zYfoSuQ8Sqj_s5Gd5tY_90vS5v5b-8RPDWKEEh29g66u_xxZJ2A-q2gkCWBlbpeFcP_TRtjp00M90j0pCftCRW-HL32IFA9IxSFp0BDAzgr1mqSqUwUHM91sSU6Qiikql-1Uh_8BC-BD0R68Ivqd1/s4032/20220417_124134.jpg" style="text-align: center;"><img border="0" data-original-height="3024" data-original-width="4032" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgzROCsLMNi7VVKh1eN6H4gImye4HQ0MwhKbZ7zYfoSuQ8Sqj_s5Gd5tY_90vS5v5b-8RPDWKEEh29g66u_xxZJ2A-q2gkCWBlbpeFcP_TRtjp00M90j0pCftCRW-HL32IFA9IxSFp0BDAzgr1mqSqUwUHM91sSU6Qiikql-1Uh_8BC-BD0R68Ivqd1/s320/20220417_124134.jpg" width="320" /></a></div><div style="text-align: left;"> </div><div style="text-align: left;">Ok. Almost done with the things that I can affect.</div><div style="text-align: left;"> </div><div style="text-align: left;"><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj7nTz_lfRCEujr9tS7Vdaw-ISYN9XLf77CFIPcyMwX8OIbtWvV8elTb5wSU85wRgJPhOXjV7uva9l7fiIVHVBYOzFBpLWbjFLprRoiSCIJTSyxmP7F7r2jTWzrFbWaQYBcGxEWHKUuCz1aVogZzcIhWiLH8MgI16bp6sjQmPvX69OwxEoGYHLeFaii/s1024/Spheres_of_Influence-2019.06.18-08.01.42-1024x683.png" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="683" data-original-width="1024" height="213" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj7nTz_lfRCEujr9tS7Vdaw-ISYN9XLf77CFIPcyMwX8OIbtWvV8elTb5wSU85wRgJPhOXjV7uva9l7fiIVHVBYOzFBpLWbjFLprRoiSCIJTSyxmP7F7r2jTWzrFbWaQYBcGxEWHKUuCz1aVogZzcIhWiLH8MgI16bp6sjQmPvX69OwxEoGYHLeFaii/s320/Spheres_of_Influence-2019.06.18-08.01.42-1024x683.png" width="320" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Things
outside my spheres of influence include things like the pandemic
and the restrictions that can follow. I should be able to
influence things like getting beer and bartenders to Rotary though, even
if I can't really control it.<br /></td></tr></tbody></table> <br /></div><div style="text-align: left;">So I finish the homepage and add a way too complex and unclear riddle. It was still solved, because some of you guys are mad.</div><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg3ebOlumk0fZWz_6rOLXZapO9MlhCHE8krpI0cL9N-_lDBPn6RqDjgMGkfqHlNRTED2aqF0HlduzkYCBraHr9_2VxbjouPEEdi3gZIbtwYQiol4XIEdAYDvjErXA9xlSGf5gIFbeCFQykK312v9FbEiql9pC-4bL7auDriwHGBqx7Bem6GTq91Vuzr/s1336/Screenshot%20from%202022-05-04%2020-27-30.png" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1300" data-original-width="1336" height="311" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg3ebOlumk0fZWz_6rOLXZapO9MlhCHE8krpI0cL9N-_lDBPn6RqDjgMGkfqHlNRTED2aqF0HlduzkYCBraHr9_2VxbjouPEEdi3gZIbtwYQiol4XIEdAYDvjErXA9xlSGf5gIFbeCFQykK312v9FbEiql9pC-4bL7auDriwHGBqx7Bem6GTq91Vuzr/s320/Screenshot%20from%202022-05-04%2020-27-30.png" width="320" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">This is a page a few people somehow found at <a href="http://n00bcon.com">n00bcon.com</a>.<br /></td></tr></tbody></table></div><div> </div><div></div><div><p>I
tinker with the invites, and manage to up the number of potential
spots from 80 to 100, so all the 90 we've talked to can come. Work on things I can influence but maybe not
control. Have a visit from the legendary Slanfan in my home in Oslo
where he gives a masterclass in Tolaria. Cross my fingers. Fill up
my stomach with nectar to give the butterflies a good home.</p>
<p>.....</p>
<p>Easter week. The wife and kid are going up north to hang out with
family in blood, while I travel south to meet family in sweat. Take
port in Gothenburg Tuesday evening and go directly to bed. There's
a lot of loose threads to tie on Wednesday.</p>
<p>Step one is to go to Aladar, my life-time tier1 hole-in-the-wall
barber. I had his Wednesday 10 am booked for almost a month for this occasion.
After 90 minutes or so of non-awkward silence my facial existence moves up a
notch. Follow it up with a kebab pizza for lunch, the by far most missed
food since I moved away from Sweden. Set.<br /></p>
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjsvbT-2drKPHCmo2yymTrpe1C6TpX2vmsFFgnIcz3wbV5Lw8Q_JkXXTbyPMtwWkVfinDJ6nuHPeiy8-ARoUN5ZJi_6kOxEbNGD4ubzC4qHTipy-1pjCILp_C6kcPCgfv943AiDbjJ5g9wUixQI1w0thprsVg2Vh3pg3WigZx4HMgAZ5G5kDjoB1fVe/s2944/20220413_124855.jpg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="2944" data-original-width="2208" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjsvbT-2drKPHCmo2yymTrpe1C6TpX2vmsFFgnIcz3wbV5Lw8Q_JkXXTbyPMtwWkVfinDJ6nuHPeiy8-ARoUN5ZJi_6kOxEbNGD4ubzC4qHTipy-1pjCILp_C6kcPCgfv943AiDbjJ5g9wUixQI1w0thprsVg2Vh3pg3WigZx4HMgAZ5G5kDjoB1fVe/s320/20220413_124855.jpg" width="240" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><p> Pez Unholy later gave me compliments with regards to the skill of my barber, which is a remarkably nice thing to say. Especially when coming from a man with such sublime charm as Pez.<br /></p></td></tr></tbody></table><p><a href="https://www.blogger.com/#">
</a>
</p><p>There appears to be some trouble with the printer for the nametag stickers I had ordered, but the guy in charge manages to solve it after
we’ve talked on the phone. However, a few minutes later he calls
back to inform that they’re somehow out of sticker-paper. I try to find
and alternative printing store open during Easter, but before any
stress sets in he calls me back and says his wife found nine sheets
behind a drawer. I only needed eight, so we’re back on.
</p>
<p>Swing by the print shop and then take the tram to Vasaboden to
pick up like 13 trophies. That worked without a hitch this year.
Check out some stuff for the Easter eggs, and buy a bunch of eggs and large newborn's weight in candy. Eventually I find myself walking around with a pretty heavy load, but most everything works out according to plan and I’m back at basecamp with all the stuff I need before 6 pm to have dinner
with the parents.</p>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEifK7GfE7NG0GY1b5O_Rsw-2o5TCvRL3AFVV6C85OsYsBe97cyLD6FgmwsL-ljYSGaLir3gJEQOVY0U8BhxuGSEoxcxtY3GLu5MvgWtAtxbd6MTG0FsJJWpkafW57dug9_owg072UE-kc1BJZ2hMZIRYYGNn322pQ_Zu4muAxxGQbe9o5dWOimWpgvD/s445/dingusegg.hq.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="445" data-original-width="312" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEifK7GfE7NG0GY1b5O_Rsw-2o5TCvRL3AFVV6C85OsYsBe97cyLD6FgmwsL-ljYSGaLir3gJEQOVY0U8BhxuGSEoxcxtY3GLu5MvgWtAtxbd6MTG0FsJJWpkafW57dug9_owg072UE-kc1BJZ2hMZIRYYGNn322pQ_Zu4muAxxGQbe9o5dWOimWpgvD/s320/dingusegg.hq.jpg" width="224" /></a></div><p></p>
<p>Jason Schwartz calls. He, FloVo and Åland has found a place called Silver Lining, a
pinball arcade in the city which I didn’t know existed. Suspect it opened in the last
few years when I was been unable to travel, as I’d like to think
that I would have been familiar with it otherwise. I do know the area
well enough though, so I figure I should be able to find the door
without some GPS-infused smartphone along for the ride. </p><p>I find myself in
a slightly awkward situation though, as there is in fact no clear name on the
door and the arcade is located at the heart of Gothenburg’s prostitute
district. Drifting around aimlessly in Rosenlund, looking like
I’m searching for a good time somewhere non-descript, is a great
way to get odd looks and discomforting waves.</p>
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiM4BWC6L4ulQyGDgAE-JbWGUYiVDx9JhOJryde6RLupu0qfKNL1izGcewxBgfNA9h4SydsLCCmfSt9bGN4o82JiKLPvcJlP1z4jcSJJjsY_3xln13rzhEFVnl5o_zNiXDMSbNk_KSMkrvOcJj6sxTFW7ZknJGDqUyhjSKx4Wcfh96MviAvevyYloTc/s2048/278690559_4868083109956679_4891343674191667934_n.jpg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1365" data-original-width="2048" height="213" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiM4BWC6L4ulQyGDgAE-JbWGUYiVDx9JhOJryde6RLupu0qfKNL1izGcewxBgfNA9h4SydsLCCmfSt9bGN4o82JiKLPvcJlP1z4jcSJJjsY_3xln13rzhEFVnl5o_zNiXDMSbNk_KSMkrvOcJj6sxTFW7ZknJGDqUyhjSKx4Wcfh96MviAvevyYloTc/s320/278690559_4868083109956679_4891343674191667934_n.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Jason. The Flying Bear.<br /></td></tr></tbody></table><p><a href="https://www.blogger.com/#">
</a>
</p>
<p>Eventually I find the entrance, and friends I haven’t seen in
years. You know its getting real whenever you bump into Jason
Schwartz. He's like that spinning top in Inception; whenever you see Jason topple around reality is confirmed.</p><p>Silver Lining has both Medival Madness and Mars
Attacks!, and life is good. We hang out for a few hours to play
pinball and swap stories. It's days ago, it's a lifetime ago. I share the busride home to Mölndal with Åland.
Tomorrow we feast.</p><p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgiy2AndiKlToMsvEF6kV7adBBSq_WmFgV49mTssM7OSqqLGdY3ffIMqxRaAe4ixEB-gfWNnNbjOAy2QmFphFvhJBI-6wkpniRyojMswWdesi0ZdGeDmKIY93a5CnGIdLxObVsrtpfUJ7JZQKwlkFqhIfxlIRaIzIcrd7kz6FHE1aMFtlii3DOyFQLX/s936/Skansen-Kronan-51417-1368416626.jpeg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="526" data-original-width="936" height="180" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgiy2AndiKlToMsvEF6kV7adBBSq_WmFgV49mTssM7OSqqLGdY3ffIMqxRaAe4ixEB-gfWNnNbjOAy2QmFphFvhJBI-6wkpniRyojMswWdesi0ZdGeDmKIY93a5CnGIdLxObVsrtpfUJ7JZQKwlkFqhIfxlIRaIzIcrd7kz6FHE1aMFtlii3DOyFQLX/s320/Skansen-Kronan-51417-1368416626.jpeg" width="320" /></a></div><p></p><p>Up until that bus ride, I had somehow anchored the starting time
of SiaB00rg at six pm. Then, as the day arrives I’m certain that I
should be on the site half past one to play. So I am, only to realize that
it in fact starts at three. A temporal mishap that perhaps does not
bode well for tomorrow.</p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjO1hDCSU0Glti0G_EuJR5O5J0A06R_8jb13_TUlCpS4Zqmqnae1E5EfwIAIDSbj-sJUnuYVR3mxyPtyzJli-AROTzWAvAYug8C39HGDuvOmqPxGNQ7okd-CZkaNnHYKoJyJqQ8wrvBde5B1VEHCoUidcR2TM0jRChaBHa805lGs02LYJ6ZxynfImiO/s445/timetwister.hq.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="445" data-original-width="312" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjO1hDCSU0Glti0G_EuJR5O5J0A06R_8jb13_TUlCpS4Zqmqnae1E5EfwIAIDSbj-sJUnuYVR3mxyPtyzJli-AROTzWAvAYug8C39HGDuvOmqPxGNQ7okd-CZkaNnHYKoJyJqQ8wrvBde5B1VEHCoUidcR2TM0jRChaBHa805lGs02LYJ6ZxynfImiO/s320/timetwister.hq.jpg" width="224" /></a></div>
<p></p>
<p>I talk a walk in the drizzle and spend the next hour or so in great company over at SvenskaMagic
a few blocks away. Hang out with the hero known as Flax and pick up
some cards for my new CounterPost deck. When it's actually time to start SiaB00rg I
feel like I’m in great vigor. Let’s play some Magic!</p><p></p><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgLfpj8JsZNk1myZ_rj-mAdYM0R8cfhO-Xv2T_4p7EM-TweyIJV16jCoSPP6bTNXLUpgO95JWo8duJSF8KlRG3D-UsbuUgB818xQFwSv_vcaN5ATYG0WjBzE_DQL23RRIFA49OuzYa1_QBu241P-txSlHGOXA-bailwyQICevvo2RfyiZbPeN0vbVe-/s3360/20220519_222606.jpg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="3360" data-original-width="3024" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgLfpj8JsZNk1myZ_rj-mAdYM0R8cfhO-Xv2T_4p7EM-TweyIJV16jCoSPP6bTNXLUpgO95JWo8duJSF8KlRG3D-UsbuUgB818xQFwSv_vcaN5ATYG0WjBzE_DQL23RRIFA49OuzYa1_QBu241P-txSlHGOXA-bailwyQICevvo2RfyiZbPeN0vbVe-/s320/20220519_222606.jpg" width="288" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Weapon of choice.<br /></td></tr></tbody></table><p></p>
<p>I
can’t really describe the feeling. Time during the last couple of years has really
been out of joint. There are just so many faces I've missed, and seeing
the people again is, in lack of a better word, revitalizing. No one
mentioned, no one forgotten.<br /></p><div style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgOvrwI6onQPmzPtxOlzFGsjIl668jyzp0sNA53Te3rqRDeZpLRIyWL2bZraLFALvQLqGGB1wb0mWMGcgqXjLAotduLnyySigULIWUDMNKYZhyyLsYUs_OIvfDeUlGRdaBNdvPR_jp6cdfjrqCM1nUM8hT-h5SXPra4Uw3s1VHaffiJViXXpJaTWBxQ/s4032/20220414_153207.jpg" style="text-align: center;"><img border="0" data-original-height="4032" data-original-width="3024" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgOvrwI6onQPmzPtxOlzFGsjIl668jyzp0sNA53Te3rqRDeZpLRIyWL2bZraLFALvQLqGGB1wb0mWMGcgqXjLAotduLnyySigULIWUDMNKYZhyyLsYUs_OIvfDeUlGRdaBNdvPR_jp6cdfjrqCM1nUM8hT-h5SXPra4Uw3s1VHaffiJViXXpJaTWBxQ/s320/20220414_153207.jpg" width="240" /></a></div><p> </p><p>My
first opponent is Lorenzo, a friend of seven years I hadn't met since
Fishliver Oil Cup 3 in 2019. He's one of the guys behind Winc0n, and he's moved from Italy to Brussels since last. There are so many stories we
want to share.</p><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiDAFuhZQX2nQaDH-8a9wJYZ3uYtdXqBfjeRJXo7mi-yg9_1Dw6OO6mcCcWllGuqLpwwP6Obg7XO0JjyZ2TgRTnSTMajQPRjc3N1Y_hdEPxjUL1vX8UknebTv8XaVCK5yvIxoKSo-W4DIfAokQ2WoXyvFi1uNv5YFJuUfnzbPFwj4U0EsTrsvFG1MYD/s3222/20220417_124218.jpg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><img border="0" data-original-height="3222" data-original-width="2416" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiDAFuhZQX2nQaDH-8a9wJYZ3uYtdXqBfjeRJXo7mi-yg9_1Dw6OO6mcCcWllGuqLpwwP6Obg7XO0JjyZ2TgRTnSTMajQPRjc3N1Y_hdEPxjUL1vX8UknebTv8XaVCK5yvIxoKSo-W4DIfAokQ2WoXyvFi1uNv5YFJuUfnzbPFwj4U0EsTrsvFG1MYD/s320/20220417_124218.jpg" width="240" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">I got a poster.<br /></td></tr></tbody></table>
<p style="text-align: left;">I
go from one legendary organizer to another, as I'm paired against FloVo
in the second round. We start by flexing our black bordered Contracts
from Below as the 61st card in our decks, before we remove them as we're
not playing for Ante right now. (Ante cards aren't technically <i>banned</i>
in oldschool; you just need to remove them from your deck before
playing, and then have at least 60 cards left in your starting deck).<br /></p><p style="text-align: left;"><a href="https://www.blogger.com/#">
</a>
</p><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg2bNxIGG_PEbRExtIiGGSu1lJpNYuiSH9zUrDEczUgVTwvwOP0QwiQufSXU7RXahz5af9Yx0Ax-jrfSsJ68NeJgddcTInW484jlOWs9X2KhdrqYeVRKCbOkur6LakbGf9ZW7EeZi5mKYZuYabPy17VYXrk7hOpvrmUNMRa4UOwv-rk_VnO7-j82YvC/s4032/20220414_163745.jpg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="4032" data-original-width="3024" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg2bNxIGG_PEbRExtIiGGSu1lJpNYuiSH9zUrDEczUgVTwvwOP0QwiQufSXU7RXahz5af9Yx0Ax-jrfSsJ68NeJgddcTInW484jlOWs9X2KhdrqYeVRKCbOkur6LakbGf9ZW7EeZi5mKYZuYabPy17VYXrk7hOpvrmUNMRa4UOwv-rk_VnO7-j82YvC/s320/20220414_163745.jpg" width="240" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Flex mirror.<br /></td></tr></tbody></table><p style="text-align: left;"><a href="https://www.blogger.com/#">
</a>
</p><p style="text-align: left;">Next up is a strong Dane who managed to breach the redoubt.<br /></p><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgIRGppXm_UHp2Fe2oXumFVVAug2qdfb47EVLrSnoA-d1rtZaeuRu8TMeXUiilrIwT3QTCWoeYBg5a-fsEEtnIsPc3An0Ab_gENlltzLAIevtYys9JWAjEGA7AO6uOCbtKB9t5LcH-k3FkyGXucPIsXv2IK64x95xZTr0oA6Z4t0PIwTeRb93auInOX/s4032/20220414_175712.jpg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="4032" data-original-width="3024" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgIRGppXm_UHp2Fe2oXumFVVAug2qdfb47EVLrSnoA-d1rtZaeuRu8TMeXUiilrIwT3QTCWoeYBg5a-fsEEtnIsPc3An0Ab_gENlltzLAIevtYys9JWAjEGA7AO6uOCbtKB9t5LcH-k3FkyGXucPIsXv2IK64x95xZTr0oA6Z4t0PIwTeRb93auInOX/s320/20220414_175712.jpg" width="240" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Unlocked Guardian Beast + Chaos Orb in a sweet match. </td></tr></tbody></table><p>And then a familiar face from Norway.</p><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiSKK10zbii1W8sMtzWRqKC65AMooJZof70ScK2776srt-yTNMe-0Ae0V7PP8DKM9IHGHBwZwCAyvQJyOxM91diKXNt9e1lwnVALyZtWKfvXeCSliS8d-_2fvSV6bvr4w3O8kgPctf3Kltpt7S2fLeUnRbVniv2zPSFqL9jjGb2rp-RpOo2O5w9rdmA/s4032/20220414_194606.jpg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="4032" data-original-width="3024" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiSKK10zbii1W8sMtzWRqKC65AMooJZof70ScK2776srt-yTNMe-0Ae0V7PP8DKM9IHGHBwZwCAyvQJyOxM91diKXNt9e1lwnVALyZtWKfvXeCSliS8d-_2fvSV6bvr4w3O8kgPctf3Kltpt7S2fLeUnRbVniv2zPSFqL9jjGb2rp-RpOo2O5w9rdmA/s320/20220414_194606.jpg" width="240" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Turn one Su-Chi, meet turn two Sol'Kanar. </td></tr></tbody></table><p>I
have a pretty good run with Project M, and I'm undefeated (albeit with
one draw) when I face Svante Landgraf in the penultimate round. I steal
an Atog from Svante using Control Magic, but realize I don't know how to
properly play with it. So that was a bit humbling, if not humiliating. I should probably build an
Atog deck at some point so I can practice that combat math from the
aggressor's side. I'm not sure if that is what costs me the win, but I'd
like to think that it was, and I pick up another draw. So technically
still undefeated, and either a draw or a win in the last round should
give me good odds of Top8.</p><p style="text-align: left;">
</p><p align="center"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhop8yA47EtV8lpM5VKDCLU2tODkR_r0mBMHf-Mww8n6jLgKGNJqg6PdLAkvmR8SlVCygEelSGC3c3SD-Ewxv4LafbhEvKyzIWa-FBHsotCX_pG6Ej1W0SkhJWvp4-cfexKffx95rBX7DKrcWDb6kkfF1p1a3AGCGNLnMQeV4HCGfAPDPD8siCyZY4M/s4032/20220414_213142.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="4032" data-original-width="3024" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhop8yA47EtV8lpM5VKDCLU2tODkR_r0mBMHf-Mww8n6jLgKGNJqg6PdLAkvmR8SlVCygEelSGC3c3SD-Ewxv4LafbhEvKyzIWa-FBHsotCX_pG6Ej1W0SkhJWvp4-cfexKffx95rBX7DKrcWDb6kkfF1p1a3AGCGNLnMQeV4HCGfAPDPD8siCyZY4M/s320/20220414_213142.jpg" width="240" /></a> </p><p style="text-align: left;">In
the final round I face fellow NOSMTG player Blazer. He's on a monored
Blood Moon deck without Power, which is obviously fire. I still feel I
have a pretty deece matchup. Project M sports a good combination of
basic lands and uses for red mana, along with shenanigans like Elemental Blasts and Mirror Universe. But Blazer pulls
the longest straw after three tight duels, and the Sword of Damocles
finally falls firmly upon Project M.<br /></p><div style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjr63786OeP7csKIaoWg3jwhUz2ZwQCP3MB5sE6wdBkF1-Pyrp2ebnX76DNY2VW9u_gJ-r3R-IUaShk42kV8I_Q3jnZzRKHlklH6tgx9MgX5u-err7J9_8cKywfBpsepeVATd2QM_Ix05H-4xtLvkeoVpit12hEOVO1v-EkFjpTaOVx2IMH__Ul4Q1b/s4032/20220414_221548.jpg"><img border="0" data-original-height="4032" data-original-width="3024" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjr63786OeP7csKIaoWg3jwhUz2ZwQCP3MB5sE6wdBkF1-Pyrp2ebnX76DNY2VW9u_gJ-r3R-IUaShk42kV8I_Q3jnZzRKHlklH6tgx9MgX5u-err7J9_8cKywfBpsepeVATd2QM_Ix05H-4xtLvkeoVpit12hEOVO1v-EkFjpTaOVx2IMH__Ul4Q1b/s320/20220414_221548.jpg" width="240" /></a></div><p align="center"> </p><p style="text-align: left;">While
Blazer preps for the top8 in the redoubt, I walk out in the brisk
Gothenburg night with some fellow losers. I may suck at combat math, but
at least I know where to find a good burger in the the middle of the
night in Gothenburg. This town is my habitat after all. We're a
respectable dozen of jacket-wearing players drifting, but I think this
is the point where I must tip my hat in particular to Simon Christie of the Texas Falling Stars and Pez Unholy of the Cincinnati Ebon Hand. Never met
those guys before this evening, but Jesus they were a pair of Top Men. Could probably write another 6,000 words in praise of each. I won't right now though, as I suppose it is high time to finally
write a bit about the event at n00bcon 13.</p><p>.....<br /><br />Friday the 15th. Game day. I’ve barely slept. Can I
do this? There are a few things I don’t have control over. I haven't counted that we have enough chairs. I haven't synced properly with the
supposed scorekeeper. I haven't really planned the stream, and I haven't
checked that the setup works. I haven't used Tolaria on something like
this before, nor confirmed all the players. But in general I feel ok.
Technically I've done this before, and should be able to
handle potential problems on the fly.<br /></p><p>The first
challenge when I get to the pub is that the beer trucks have failed to
deliver anything to drink. The second is that it appears that we lack
like half of the tables and chairs we need. In the grand scheme of
n00bcon alerts, I'd put these things at like "yellow" or something. We've surely seen
worse. One time we lost the score keeping computer and couldn't register players. Another time
everyone who were supposed to work had mixed up the days, and no one was
available to even unlock the pub just a couple of hours before
the tournament was to start. I expected that something would happen,
and these things are solvable.</p><p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj1GN_jKMYChJQofm9IqlusDNlX57qTGMWMfs2O3ZRFX6LAqhQ5fxXlENIFtHLmeOaKiZifR5A8mN99KVjtRffLuLpRpZBSZPKPn89hVOGfT3T0wCrevRAl06MxTmUel_epdZvNoRw9TgaD7Zp4t6n-CHf7BGKcRdLOd0sEVJjueUljEB8-SD8HzOZv/s445/adventurersguildhouse.hq.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="445" data-original-width="312" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj1GN_jKMYChJQofm9IqlusDNlX57qTGMWMfs2O3ZRFX6LAqhQ5fxXlENIFtHLmeOaKiZifR5A8mN99KVjtRffLuLpRpZBSZPKPn89hVOGfT3T0wCrevRAl06MxTmUel_epdZvNoRw9TgaD7Zp4t6n-CHf7BGKcRdLOd0sEVJjueUljEB8-SD8HzOZv/s320/adventurersguildhouse.hq.jpg" width="224" /></a></div><p></p><p></p><p>Now I must tip my hat to the relatively new crew working at n00bcon 13. As
the delivery company had failed, and no reasonable distributor would
deliver a truck of mixed craft beer during Good Friday on short notice,
the crew found the solution in driving down to a local brewery they knew
and then borrow a ludicrous amount of beer from their storage. At least
that was the story I heard. The tables were a bit easier to solve -
there's always tables somewhere - but the beer solution was crafty.</p><div style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjwhBJNEV6HR35sPYXu1sTx2aXEJ4gXv1LPH8pq8XVKwyB_Mccdc58pwBjXBXMY65B4JvCItzECsfAX4FkB7JzhbB7N60GswUNTWct8z3Tq-2_seZNc6_aqou_U0c-fv4TkoPtT5LCHCgrlV9N_pK5hxmu3bI9nmJa33mgRkZ8qsUQJwRcPZ-y0B4xP/s4032/20220415_130653.jpg"><img border="0" data-original-height="3024" data-original-width="4032" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjwhBJNEV6HR35sPYXu1sTx2aXEJ4gXv1LPH8pq8XVKwyB_Mccdc58pwBjXBXMY65B4JvCItzECsfAX4FkB7JzhbB7N60GswUNTWct8z3Tq-2_seZNc6_aqou_U0c-fv4TkoPtT5LCHCgrlV9N_pK5hxmu3bI9nmJa33mgRkZ8qsUQJwRcPZ-y0B4xP/s320/20220415_130653.jpg" width="320" /></a></div><p> </p><p>People
start to drop in around noon, or shortly before. They get to work at
setting up, and I try to coordinate as best I can. Honka and Kalle
organize the tables. Danny and Shane carry things. Mitja and Alban set
up the traditional store. Slanfan fixes the Tolaria setup. Joel Larsson
gets a tiny pair of scissors and is instructed to cut up and alphabetize
the almost 200 nametags. </p><p></p><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjkz11_UdS3UE8xA7_fdQdF9oecv7MmBjZm-K01B8dmkFnVAdtFGSv-gj32CFEcMgfM1i51RIw_WBrkjZqxLWXGB5ty_g2fRxqNsJNNdjDNk1Feu24xdd3aUZ2JvZwd-LAP6dX3NeV1yoJDY0AXq4lvJE1uGX0Tbj0RxpfVfUpjCdGhHMNv88qOvIkJ/s345/ensoulartifact.full.jpg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="345" data-original-width="240" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjkz11_UdS3UE8xA7_fdQdF9oecv7MmBjZm-K01B8dmkFnVAdtFGSv-gj32CFEcMgfM1i51RIw_WBrkjZqxLWXGB5ty_g2fRxqNsJNNdjDNk1Feu24xdd3aUZ2JvZwd-LAP6dX3NeV1yoJDY0AXq4lvJE1uGX0Tbj0RxpfVfUpjCdGhHMNv88qOvIkJ/s320/ensoulartifact.full.jpg" width="223" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Mike Sigrist told me Joel is good at handling scissors. (That's a Pro Tour Magic Origins joke, for all y'all new schoolers up in here)<br /></td></tr></tbody></table><p></p><p>The
most important unsung hero of n00bcon is a guy named Knutsson. He
doesn't play himself, but the tournament wouldn't even remotely
function without him. For the last five or so 'cons, he's been the
scorekeeper. The one lone guy to make sure that the tournament actually
runs, that the rounds end, and that people get opponents and results.
There are no judges at this tournament, and I'm usually busy with the
stream, so the floor is solely his.</p><p></p><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh_mwSpm8Kkrq2cH3ck-stW0i9izPKFnWA5awTVW_Q3V1E2j3Laxlpa_Pu0gs2y-1kdhBXrJ8Mzpr-Av679V0p_zESD8kgZ3hiuzq_bH6LU82R6lShHqC256QWzuwfM_Tg9T-VP5Ph878272xG_nEtjGp45vOl_nS1fHvPALcI0hG_aOv2fXfKsEL5b/s4032/20210912_004130.jpg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="4032" data-original-width="3024" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh_mwSpm8Kkrq2cH3ck-stW0i9izPKFnWA5awTVW_Q3V1E2j3Laxlpa_Pu0gs2y-1kdhBXrJ8Mzpr-Av679V0p_zESD8kgZ3hiuzq_bH6LU82R6lShHqC256QWzuwfM_Tg9T-VP5Ph878272xG_nEtjGp45vOl_nS1fHvPALcI0hG_aOv2fXfKsEL5b/s320/20210912_004130.jpg" width="240" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Knutsson sharing his "graceful loser" face.<br /></td></tr></tbody></table><p></p><p>He
asked for hamster meat and potatoes as tribute for his work this year.
Didn't find any hamster, but got him some whale instead. I consider
them to be interchangeable animals.<br /></p><p>With regards to the streaming, the
wi-fi didn't really work. Unstable at best, which is not ideal if you're
into live coverage. By chance we found a 30 meter long Ethernet cable,
which we scotch taped from the router across pub area floor to the
streaming computer. That somehow worked. And I can't tell you how much I
enjoyed doing the stream with Thomas Meddens. That guy is always
welcome back if he wants to.<br /></p><p>And so, n00bcon 13 started.</p><div style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjggjDCswiPI2f2R8VozMHgSSvOXHR6wZjoktvCgjMuUbq2X1AM67XvBqFLtyzMHqSbaRnG3kpRQd0IeBo3qI8pr8S1roeV4cdEHoGgr8Et0mqiid6Lu-lcq2N8Xp7OedcrGyzsPgqNie977EJ33DbX_mMtCsChcFzWjfxYhvfQATWcD0T2i3EO4khW/s4032/20220415_141658.jpg"><img border="0" data-original-height="3024" data-original-width="4032" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjggjDCswiPI2f2R8VozMHgSSvOXHR6wZjoktvCgjMuUbq2X1AM67XvBqFLtyzMHqSbaRnG3kpRQd0IeBo3qI8pr8S1roeV4cdEHoGgr8Et0mqiid6Lu-lcq2N8Xp7OedcrGyzsPgqNie977EJ33DbX_mMtCsChcFzWjfxYhvfQATWcD0T2i3EO4khW/s320/20220415_141658.jpg" width="320" /></a></div><p></p><p>I don't know if there's that much for me to say about the actual tournament. I didn't play myself after all, and if you're interested, there are like seven hours of podcasts <a href="https://www.wak-wak.se/monster/2022-5-1/episode-30-noobcon-13">here</a> and <a href="http://alltingsconsidered.com/2022/05/01/episode-196-n00bcon-13-flovo-will-simon-schwartz/">here</a>, and tournament reports e.g. <a href="https://blog.aginamist.net/2022/04/24-hour-party-people-aka-easter-week-in.html">here</a>, <a href="https://ragingbullseries.com/index.php/2022/04/20/n00bcon-13-my-little-fantasy/">here</a>, <a href="https://paul-desilva.medium.com/n00bcon-13-a-tournament-report-ca432da4be70">here</a>, and <a href="https://ragingbullseries.com/index.php/2022/04/29/you-never-forget-your-first/">here</a>. But I will share a few of my favorite pictures from the day.</p><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj1UwIGvcWtEvsiSnlArURN6u3Lj1SedG9nxjCwSMPlrZis9Las8afYr9l3fI2hJLER9OHi2KWtu1ZfqJV9C_vZgqMppg37kUEqVjj-p5CNOaaccL3p3nA6Lrj0sHelzGnD_u_Gh_we3k2eCG0AJJ1tlrHLqfCSXpPdbrJq7kCVHzIii_TcVZTuW05o/s2048/275611617_10219445885245835_2534122166954703853_n.jpg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="2048" data-original-width="1536" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj1UwIGvcWtEvsiSnlArURN6u3Lj1SedG9nxjCwSMPlrZis9Las8afYr9l3fI2hJLER9OHi2KWtu1ZfqJV9C_vZgqMppg37kUEqVjj-p5CNOaaccL3p3nA6Lrj0sHelzGnD_u_Gh_we3k2eCG0AJJ1tlrHLqfCSXpPdbrJq7kCVHzIii_TcVZTuW05o/s320/275611617_10219445885245835_2534122166954703853_n.jpg" width="240" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Seeing the scattered players hanging out outside the Rotary Pub brings a strange sense of familiarity and anticipation. The sun always shines at Good Friday. </td></tr></tbody></table><br /><p> </p><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi0Dthlk1dscn33fH-3GQsk3JhnJQVex4UIvcr58FR1pw2jz7Gzzr1jYK0Ii1RzCCTp223jyLVpAzlwpBjbv-OVwoVzkZkef3q9AXAvN6rEqWUEXlu738N9P1SPp2rPnEwIdWz43SpA8ssx-5B3tQNmEBcjvc9XCTkP-OCzVYicBRrQAdO-3ysRUa1m/s789/278586602_4868170306614626_6099309690079781680_n.jpg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="789" data-original-width="526" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi0Dthlk1dscn33fH-3GQsk3JhnJQVex4UIvcr58FR1pw2jz7Gzzr1jYK0Ii1RzCCTp223jyLVpAzlwpBjbv-OVwoVzkZkef3q9AXAvN6rEqWUEXlu738N9P1SPp2rPnEwIdWz43SpA8ssx-5B3tQNmEBcjvc9XCTkP-OCzVYicBRrQAdO-3ysRUa1m/s320/278586602_4868170306614626_6099309690079781680_n.jpg" width="213" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Gordon Anderson, shuffling cards at n00bcon for the first time since 201</td><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">6 or so.<br /></td></tr></tbody></table><br /><p> </p><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiObLanDLtQbuNcem3IyIMmQFTlVMx4tzUD1H6IxLJuk3qLEPTZsw9oO9ml01mrmEk2c7I8PzEch6xZi9WmZKoJzd8IP0Sw5egThqgtVn__1h8H1L6ph8-RUCs7-Qk0l3bb8M1FmVHNCwHYq64gKwkh4qjDHF6YpfYxm5pDeuIInW_0TuCtpXIn0gEj/s4032/20220415_173425.jpg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="3024" data-original-width="4032" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiObLanDLtQbuNcem3IyIMmQFTlVMx4tzUD1H6IxLJuk3qLEPTZsw9oO9ml01mrmEk2c7I8PzEch6xZi9WmZKoJzd8IP0Sw5egThqgtVn__1h8H1L6ph8-RUCs7-Qk0l3bb8M1FmVHNCwHYq64gKwkh4qjDHF6YpfYxm5pDeuIInW_0TuCtpXIn0gEj/s320/20220415_173425.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">International wizards enjoying soup between rounds. #SoupCon<br /></td></tr></tbody></table><p><br /></p><div><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgsMLzaqnsxme1M6-KMm51_NZjwzIQ9fmMHW1BIgEATDyssbOnxqh8uydjhwgcReBosD9Jv5hqehTSb8sIfKMyEqmnvOQxJYI4rW9u7vwRsaBr0n7sBDe-rNQuq87z-ENyOYSbdLCNk6vrYZRPIBtF4nISKvV2COvWKH5koS-cDYw003n9sHLY1wC4l/s4032/20220415_141708.jpg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="3024" data-original-width="4032" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgsMLzaqnsxme1M6-KMm51_NZjwzIQ9fmMHW1BIgEATDyssbOnxqh8uydjhwgcReBosD9Jv5hqehTSb8sIfKMyEqmnvOQxJYI4rW9u7vwRsaBr0n7sBDe-rNQuq87z-ENyOYSbdLCNk6vrYZRPIBtF4nISKvV2COvWKH5koS-cDYw003n9sHLY1wC4l/s320/20220415_141708.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Mari enjoying some of Kalle Nord's original art.<br /><br /></td></tr></tbody></table></div> </div><div><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhf7Tm4bkl4NOYztjMb2_Nzn3FBK8zAQ68fFMZdWgrSzCiZs0mlHJSqyfdclz2xBChaoRWnRV22_7ohk6XFNh81xkZqDGLXPrQIlcpU2FdBIJtfJUrp-f8r2SXylZZafU4oDb-LCCyc9CBKaR-TYyCsgIKiynBqr5ktOw42EIni4IvPGlNK-mqz7aDG/s2048/275792687_10219445885085831_594268969980649983_n.jpg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1536" data-original-width="2048" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhf7Tm4bkl4NOYztjMb2_Nzn3FBK8zAQ68fFMZdWgrSzCiZs0mlHJSqyfdclz2xBChaoRWnRV22_7ohk6XFNh81xkZqDGLXPrQIlcpU2FdBIJtfJUrp-f8r2SXylZZafU4oDb-LCCyc9CBKaR-TYyCsgIKiynBqr5ktOw42EIni4IvPGlNK-mqz7aDG/s320/275792687_10219445885085831_594268969980649983_n.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Strong wizards.</td></tr></tbody></table><br /><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhup-aQoy0pzJYuTZNovfeWJtb4A0FwXoq9FFgNv-bU63aCMArGIFJvYeRmYLQBj3WAH3LZvBnI0xpFtsdRv25ygwb3eQ48tyZiOR6gWHlDrR5uRNXnnlEMe5UVfnPqme3gnEY_nk8TvR59SYCeF1JZtSETCbgeT2bUDDkdU-2HLBnpKbl85_dnP7LL/s2048/278551152_4867985333299790_1007305957468234592_n.jpg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1365" data-original-width="2048" height="213" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhup-aQoy0pzJYuTZNovfeWJtb4A0FwXoq9FFgNv-bU63aCMArGIFJvYeRmYLQBj3WAH3LZvBnI0xpFtsdRv25ygwb3eQ48tyZiOR6gWHlDrR5uRNXnnlEMe5UVfnPqme3gnEY_nk8TvR59SYCeF1JZtSETCbgeT2bUDDkdU-2HLBnpKbl85_dnP7LL/s320/278551152_4867985333299790_1007305957468234592_n.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Richard Veenman. The people's champion.</td></tr></tbody></table><div><br /></div><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg2BwjkFoNaAWnHiI6waS0rHbKuYiqRmoh8WSMqmKIoKJrco-twIzc5QZyDDYeA9w-6K3qjyFydiwiJYyLj0FGxKpOOqmElshogoOpr2zPiIJR5-ur45Ss34JxksBZq6Iur6CWPAemfZE0ZSs5nAB0fiCib3_4PJAJLCJUXllNKEzIimNpPViU5w9V3/s4032/20220416_030035.jpg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><img border="0" data-original-height="3024" data-original-width="4032" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg2BwjkFoNaAWnHiI6waS0rHbKuYiqRmoh8WSMqmKIoKJrco-twIzc5QZyDDYeA9w-6K3qjyFydiwiJYyLj0FGxKpOOqmElshogoOpr2zPiIJR5-ur45Ss34JxksBZq6Iur6CWPAemfZE0ZSs5nAB0fiCib3_4PJAJLCJUXllNKEzIimNpPViU5w9V3/s320/20220416_030035.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">The Legendary Jonas Twitchen and his UK team finally bests Danny Friedman and the US team at the honorable Ryder Cup.</td></tr></tbody></table><br /><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjjmN3SGTjQ_7US7O3jv5GDX85xSQfR0qr0shhatdjEuFr4PUlFGnRabZEclJ87s9jKZFWuF5KpyDGD3WqpXEZ2PNFwetxlNfSFUb5ycKGG4K1LPBxBCQlG9COW_XyHdxlv6eMXseT8FlWZ_MsrxdsFSMtd42fgN2vxBdaRkC4vYIAaUiZ0ENEloxft/s2048/278573552_10219445882445765_180766586173646459_n.jpg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="2048" data-original-width="2022" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjjmN3SGTjQ_7US7O3jv5GDX85xSQfR0qr0shhatdjEuFr4PUlFGnRabZEclJ87s9jKZFWuF5KpyDGD3WqpXEZ2PNFwetxlNfSFUb5ycKGG4K1LPBxBCQlG9COW_XyHdxlv6eMXseT8FlWZ_MsrxdsFSMtd42fgN2vxBdaRkC4vYIAaUiZ0ENEloxft/s320/278573552_10219445882445765_180766586173646459_n.jpg" width="316" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">As there was no n00bcons in 2020 nor 2021, we had no less than three overdue Player of the Year trophies. From the right: Danny Friedman, PotY 2022; Mattias "Slanfan" Berggren, PotY 2021; and Will Magrann, who casually stole the trophy from the Reindeer (who technically won PotY in 2020, but had left the area when the trophies were handed out). I'll get an new trophy for you Reindeer. Will certainly also deserved this one, and one must bow to both his skill and his panache.</td></tr></tbody></table><br /><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjBvxjE87yH7h5LJa8Wo1eytsz2Dr_w4u_WtB6Gw1t2gObU5DprONttA79XywoqoFenQVFHjp-8mlPXTloGdA9CZ8moh38PhfPNt5JoyPIdHvFz5HaZkkwQR-8JNM-qo5Q4-GmiFB3F5ud3irPcPW8GXjf0XhXw3OgcaBaozUrDygEIG8utxbHRr4cK/s4032/20220416_035100.jpg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><img border="0" data-original-height="3024" data-original-width="4032" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjBvxjE87yH7h5LJa8Wo1eytsz2Dr_w4u_WtB6Gw1t2gObU5DprONttA79XywoqoFenQVFHjp-8mlPXTloGdA9CZ8moh38PhfPNt5JoyPIdHvFz5HaZkkwQR-8JNM-qo5Q4-GmiFB3F5ud3irPcPW8GXjf0XhXw3OgcaBaozUrDygEIG8utxbHRr4cK/s320/20220416_035100.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Wizards of six nationalities showed up for the real championship of the weekend: The Ante 40K Worlds.<br /></td></tr></tbody></table><br /> </div><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjhYrgXUL7-4oUDe4g3EF3SIKYFCOFzTxRHOAKCEg0VW2L9-mQPD8pFxLJhv075phxFNSiIdONKUx7zSVSQeLfrq1cpU3irjyG5t8DTIBqo2mUfhzqCRAO9w0drr0lg3R-wA_qLqKscxFhMuEtpq7wQtVqcg6q7Jrz_ywcJDWdMRZu9_vHDuntzGoPK/s1518/received_775051190549036.jpeg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1139" data-original-width="1518" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjhYrgXUL7-4oUDe4g3EF3SIKYFCOFzTxRHOAKCEg0VW2L9-mQPD8pFxLJhv075phxFNSiIdONKUx7zSVSQeLfrq1cpU3irjyG5t8DTIBqo2mUfhzqCRAO9w0drr0lg3R-wA_qLqKscxFhMuEtpq7wQtVqcg6q7Jrz_ywcJDWdMRZu9_vHDuntzGoPK/s320/received_775051190549036.jpeg" width="320" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">I am bested in the 40K finals by Shane Semmens from the US and gracefully accept defeat. </td></tr></tbody></table><div> </div><div><br /></div><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhou4lye3BwPWi3uV2jFtjH9cTKyLPsRjrcGl41_n1tcoyueB1Yoqfh-Sh-_GNL6LoYwc7wYalu6aD3CRiDbHl81s209OQY7ptzu7GUuL8HWZdXGut_eqtoqAMoFowsrTQ-qpwrSt1v1IiOXHZqKdncgZ56a53DsbC0MN2EmBduLAVBD8bj4suEn1NE/s4032/20220416_021323.jpg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><img border="0" data-original-height="3024" data-original-width="4032" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhou4lye3BwPWi3uV2jFtjH9cTKyLPsRjrcGl41_n1tcoyueB1Yoqfh-Sh-_GNL6LoYwc7wYalu6aD3CRiDbHl81s209OQY7ptzu7GUuL8HWZdXGut_eqtoqAMoFowsrTQ-qpwrSt1v1IiOXHZqKdncgZ56a53DsbC0MN2EmBduLAVBD8bj4suEn1NE/s320/20220416_021323.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">In a more intricate and less stupid final, Kaj Buch face down Joel Larsson for the n00bcon 13 Championship. This is a couple of <i>really</i> good Magic players btw.<br /></td></tr></tbody></table><div><br /></div><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhxKz34Pdhnk-e37MdtD7Qr9sqHN1And3Hdc3Rv76yEgM5GV3BOT-UPVRihsYEw_aFT50P1gS-CH-6Y5H4l5PxZdSH3EE3-Lx4gwc8rKkOdkMVilI7duGBTBf6ee7UH24vpJWQGRqReYV4trTo-gUxi7zWFMxb0YdGGKH-t0DcfPiBiPZkabG6dQju4/s4032/20220416_021705.jpg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><img border="0" data-original-height="3024" data-original-width="4032" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhxKz34Pdhnk-e37MdtD7Qr9sqHN1And3Hdc3Rv76yEgM5GV3BOT-UPVRihsYEw_aFT50P1gS-CH-6Y5H4l5PxZdSH3EE3-Lx4gwc8rKkOdkMVilI7duGBTBf6ee7UH24vpJWQGRqReYV4trTo-gUxi7zWFMxb0YdGGKH-t0DcfPiBiPZkabG6dQju4/s320/20220416_021705.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Congrats Joel! <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8cWjIh5vCOA&t=898s">You're the best, at Magic!</a></td></tr></tbody></table><div><br /></div><div> </div><div><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiCOxm-cROeHEUbl5Vo9Iqn2svs67UZTwTnCoGVFWQVXPUGGmWtoBOXcWjMw5c24UJ22Z45D1qm64dU19jC2Gt_XaoPb4Ij0AiSIQNVoIFrv2QmYhPatDvAlq8rm4E0vNcD0oFWCFDn6R7PEQaeS6flqtwj3O-fcX31HREgDqg4jPAHkGBe2_Q7NVOq/s4534/Joel%20Larson.png" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="2551" data-original-width="4534" height="180" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiCOxm-cROeHEUbl5Vo9Iqn2svs67UZTwTnCoGVFWQVXPUGGmWtoBOXcWjMw5c24UJ22Z45D1qm64dU19jC2Gt_XaoPb4Ij0AiSIQNVoIFrv2QmYhPatDvAlq8rm4E0vNcD0oFWCFDn6R7PEQaeS6flqtwj3O-fcX31HREgDqg4jPAHkGBe2_Q7NVOq/s320/Joel%20Larson.png" width="320" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Joel Larsson's The Deck. 1st place n00bcon 13.<br /></td></tr></tbody></table><br /> </div><div></div><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg4ReU4wicmITCHuQYVlAIhgmavJZBRhAwNX5onHwT07Xr12sZjWkoPdN_w2SrQWRPq2y8VMEnjMlZf0Z5nhXDcP_LZql6IWRkjAQNuRPkUhXShSPFYIMKKU84bEQhGlVevr24wdwn1HBsT__BKeCUbQWnnjm4ihlPYr30a-u4OzF-CMEMhasoAllNm/s3125/20220417_123916.jpg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><img border="0" data-original-height="3125" data-original-width="2344" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg4ReU4wicmITCHuQYVlAIhgmavJZBRhAwNX5onHwT07Xr12sZjWkoPdN_w2SrQWRPq2y8VMEnjMlZf0Z5nhXDcP_LZql6IWRkjAQNuRPkUhXShSPFYIMKKU84bEQhGlVevr24wdwn1HBsT__BKeCUbQWnnjm4ihlPYr30a-u4OzF-CMEMhasoAllNm/s320/20220417_123916.jpg" width="240" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Just all the merch and wonderful gifts. I believe these things represent like ten blog posts, so I won't go into detail yet. But thanks a million for all the cool things!<br /></td></tr></tbody></table><div><br /><p>I walk home around half past four. That's not too bad as n00bcon goes. I was supposed to join WT3 the day after, but didn't. Usually the Saturday tournament acts as a debrief of sorts, and missing it made the following days a bit strange. Took my bike up to the pub to pick up the table and other stuff. Located Jason's jacket. Spent some time with family.</p><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg2Xu6GcN05D8vPgouDNbrs5KdewxsXWphlmxNWAj2d1DR0V7f8Uch4ypICPQ_rCV7GPkHHM4i-xedx6yOsZuKuTeo3WU9ZC27Ojs-F6IjrG-jHmApc5W-LIshSN-ARbthbCp3dNLBLzAWuizBXIvFGSMf0K6iKO3Mul1bvGqzIuZ93vIKbOKGBaQ87/s4032/20220416_184504.jpg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><img border="0" data-original-height="4032" data-original-width="3024" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg2Xu6GcN05D8vPgouDNbrs5KdewxsXWphlmxNWAj2d1DR0V7f8Uch4ypICPQ_rCV7GPkHHM4i-xedx6yOsZuKuTeo3WU9ZC27Ojs-F6IjrG-jHmApc5W-LIshSN-ARbthbCp3dNLBLzAWuizBXIvFGSMf0K6iKO3Mul1bvGqzIuZ93vIKbOKGBaQ87/s320/20220416_184504.jpg" width="240" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Scribbled another year on the Shark behind the counter at Rotary Pub. The ritual is complete.<br /></td></tr></tbody></table><p>This post is almost laughably late. And long. I know that it took almost two months for the top8 decks and player profiles to be posted after n00bcon 11, but this is still some sort of record as radio silence on the blag goes. I don't really know why. Maybe I needed a break.<br /></p><p>Reflecting over the n00bcon that was, now with a month and a half of hindsight to back it up, it's easy to see a few things that could be improved. I should have planned the stream better; there were lots of things I wanted
to do but missed, and it got unclear in terms of responsibility
when I left for the ante showdown. I should have followed up on the top8 a bit more; a few people didn't even pick up their trophies. I should order gear from China with a few more weeks to spare.<br /></p><p>But one thing stands out, and it's this: Maybe I didn't have to do anything. </p><p>The feedback I've heard from players that participated is that this was a good n00bcon, perhaps even a great one. A few players who had been at the tournament for many years even expressed that this was their favorite one so far. "Everyone was so nice", they say. "All my opponents were great people". "It was fantastic to meet everyone again". </p><p>As a tournament organizer, that's where you should fondly realize that the tournament organizing wasn't that important. It was always about the gathering. We've built a community, a culture, where there never was a real option for n00bcon to fail. We could have played on the floor, the taps could have stayed dry, and the wi-fi could have been out of commission, and I'm now sure it still would have worked somehow. One day I'll lose, I said to myself. <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=u6eu7SD5gP0&t=40s">Don't worry, they say. You'll never lose</a>.
</p><p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi4qKnA_vI6-9Zi6Va6KgBVahoCljZnWP3uNTbw7NCTCdeiaC2xz0GHL5GdJVEwpHOCFDNLvsYLr1IsTbfuzAxC4UPxXn9IYXNnBqJP79Zg7ZicoZQpOksx7PyDbU2xpvAww0fW7tsEf9tW--Xd632Ev50FgDfQIBLr3B2Gf3RvIxw6xY4ij3FTrlZP/s900/guinness-pure-swimback-advert-with-swimmer-best-ever-guinness-adverts-seikk-magazine-900x500.webp" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="500" data-original-width="900" height="178" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi4qKnA_vI6-9Zi6Va6KgBVahoCljZnWP3uNTbw7NCTCdeiaC2xz0GHL5GdJVEwpHOCFDNLvsYLr1IsTbfuzAxC4UPxXn9IYXNnBqJP79Zg7ZicoZQpOksx7PyDbU2xpvAww0fW7tsEf9tW--Xd632Ev50FgDfQIBLr3B2Gf3RvIxw6xY4ij3FTrlZP/s320/guinness-pure-swimback-advert-with-swimmer-best-ever-guinness-adverts-seikk-magazine-900x500.webp" width="320" /></a></div><p></p><p>Next up is a guest post about Alpha printing patterns, and after that we'll finally get into this year's top8 profiles. And it won't take seven weeks 'til next time. Thanks for waiting.<br /></p></div></div>Mghttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00555613518338194305noreply@blogger.com10tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2299444734264560627.post-66476652461416974112022-04-12T14:13:00.017+02:002022-04-20T11:08:02.808+02:00Winc0n 2022: The Oldschool Magic World Championships<img src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgwVXWmFdJd7Lje53FN-LqKWr3T5sv2o1N5as3tz1PjFGyPO_V4prkUuvjCrxECX1-dcAVKd32C7EaHdcjlKZbYU4cnVkfA9bTInU5SVsEYLlYVR85guuSS6MMjo65S8eriZ57gX882T_B4VbbrhDSAc9cowkeQiY01AKw7HYW4YMn5THH78vzZVXNj/s1024/Winc0n_banner.png" style="display: none;" /><p>It's a bit weird to think of right now, but there hasn't been a World Championship in Oldschool Magic for three years. The last champion was crowned in 2019, almost a year before the pandemic hit.</p><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiUaTE4VWf3Eee7gziNNugAau6_X4xqDOwoxhv7OGQHWDbltgP2PvCcUmhgNgjmbS4XsrbXXG8dA2_o146-B8hYGqGSu7dMhj1DZDgnphSsfiropIHcD5khbhCnbsqGUllbm4AoA6M0xcsjliTJHyKgTGUAppSqnMyQjjDXUWD8s60XrbL3FzS76rSQ/s1600/DSC_0289.JPG" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1600" data-original-width="900" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiUaTE4VWf3Eee7gziNNugAau6_X4xqDOwoxhv7OGQHWDbltgP2PvCcUmhgNgjmbS4XsrbXXG8dA2_o146-B8hYGqGSu7dMhj1DZDgnphSsfiropIHcD5khbhCnbsqGUllbm4AoA6M0xcsjliTJHyKgTGUAppSqnMyQjjDXUWD8s60XrbL3FzS76rSQ/s320/DSC_0289.JPG" width="180" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Martin "Fluffy" Lindström, the 2019 World Champion.<br /></td></tr></tbody></table><p></p><p>When we first started noting n00bcon as "the Oldschool Magic World Championship" in 2010, it was a bit tongue in cheek. We didn't even have players from outside Sweden until n00bcon 6 in 2014, but as the Swedes were pretty much the only people that played Oldschool in the world before then, we figured that we mise well call the main yearly gathering in our home-brewed format The World Championship. Then things started to escalate, and eventually the later n00bcons had around 40 communities represented across twenty or so countries, with qualification tournaments and invites structures and all that Kafkaesque jazz.</p><p>As the format grew around the world, there were some discussions if we should be the "authority" to hand out the World Championship title. After all, there were American EC tournaments with well over a hundred players, why couldn't they be the World Championship? And basically, my answer to that would be sure, they can of course also call themselves a World Championship if they want. In boxing there are like five World Championships. That Tyson Fury is the World Champion according to The Ring and WBC doesn't really diminish the fact that Oleksandr Usyk is the boxing World Champion according to WBA, IBF, and WBO. So feel free to create you own circuits for your local variants as well if you feel the need, this is a community driven format, and we don't do much in terms of authority here.<br /></p><p>That said, for the original Swedish-born oldschool format - and for oldschool Magic in general to be frank - there has only been one traditional World Championship; the one that has taken place at n00bcon since 2010. And as you also might know, that is not the case anymore; n00bcon 13 is a slightly scaled down event with around 90 players, and the old qualification system for the tournament has been thrown out. Instead, the World Championship in Oldschool Magic will take place at Winc0n in Genoa, Italy.<br /></p><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgwVXWmFdJd7Lje53FN-LqKWr3T5sv2o1N5as3tz1PjFGyPO_V4prkUuvjCrxECX1-dcAVKd32C7EaHdcjlKZbYU4cnVkfA9bTInU5SVsEYLlYVR85guuSS6MMjo65S8eriZ57gX882T_B4VbbrhDSAc9cowkeQiY01AKw7HYW4YMn5THH78vzZVXNj/s1024/Winc0n_banner.png" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="274" data-original-width="1024" height="86" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgwVXWmFdJd7Lje53FN-LqKWr3T5sv2o1N5as3tz1PjFGyPO_V4prkUuvjCrxECX1-dcAVKd32C7EaHdcjlKZbYU4cnVkfA9bTInU5SVsEYLlYVR85guuSS6MMjo65S8eriZ57gX882T_B4VbbrhDSAc9cowkeQiY01AKw7HYW4YMn5THH78vzZVXNj/s320/Winc0n_banner.png" width="320" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://winc0n.com/">Winc0n</a></td></tr></tbody></table><p>The road to Winc0n hasn't been straight, to say the least. In a sense I guess it all started with Fishliver Oil Cup Ed. 0 in 2016; a tournament that boasted "Italian rules, Swedish style". "Italian rules" basically meant that it was a little more forgiving on the reprint policy (but no difference in the actual Restricted list), and "Swedish style" is what is now known more as simply "Oldschool style"; play to have fun, no large monetary prizes for winners, avoid being a douche, have a beer.<br /></p><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEigz-8S36V6XAanuzDom2tQQJ6enoDflurZhFbt7g_7v8LdK73GwqD2o0Jc1DVd-twYBFDQqKVOSCQGmixbnLxqe3xa4n5GqhO0KS6cp1eZcb6zFL9voBg5ZnfiALk_OlVdIvfpCYvyWkIHMTK9D1WrtcdXejlDO9qwsk93uOeArxfBJAR1tmasUDkX/s1600/fishliver0.jpg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1200" data-original-width="1600" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEigz-8S36V6XAanuzDom2tQQJ6enoDflurZhFbt7g_7v8LdK73GwqD2o0Jc1DVd-twYBFDQqKVOSCQGmixbnLxqe3xa4n5GqhO0KS6cp1eZcb6zFL9voBg5ZnfiALk_OlVdIvfpCYvyWkIHMTK9D1WrtcdXejlDO9qwsk93uOeArxfBJAR1tmasUDkX/s320/fishliver0.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://oldschool-mtg.blogspot.com/2016/10/pictures-from-fishliver-oil-cup.html">Fishliver Oil Ed. 0 players</a><br /></td></tr></tbody></table><p></p><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhPb86DuJdF9wEP42sClVjIDXAqGht4IzMtQ2WzBYrGdgzxBvdRxrgK1mAyuNVPQIluntANq2U5aEa54WV1m3qZifv-MziRjLCjxnPxigFoG_ybD_anYgY81NKVpZA4UOTgFVB3zYbD0ytsjTN5xZe0j4bq5rPY_7BGEUp8k5Gl0uCmNYLHNNG-c0qa/s960/14724485_10211070392946101_2040672891869646779_n.jpg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="720" data-original-width="960" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhPb86DuJdF9wEP42sClVjIDXAqGht4IzMtQ2WzBYrGdgzxBvdRxrgK1mAyuNVPQIluntANq2U5aEa54WV1m3qZifv-MziRjLCjxnPxigFoG_ybD_anYgY81NKVpZA4UOTgFVB3zYbD0ytsjTN5xZe0j4bq5rPY_7BGEUp8k5Gl0uCmNYLHNNG-c0qa/s320/14724485_10211070392946101_2040672891869646779_n.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">A bit more rural than <a href="http://fishliveroilcup.eu/ ">the later editions</a>.<br /></td></tr></tbody></table><p></p><p>Having joined a few Fishliver Oil Cups, it was soon clear to me that Megu, Lorenzo, and the other organizers were likely the most qualified people on Earth to organize the Oldschool World Championship. And after ten years in Gothenburg, I figured it was high time to pass the reigns. So the idea was to run the first Winc0n in 2020, ushering in the new World Championship.<br /></p><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgdIMBVGewrKZIA6yLoEXdKtRnmVw5DkvzdM_joZ4kkj_UifCYz29c2KZ3qINwvyS30Gs0IzX-7fpvNWjqng7GZNB96qmgENAX59Yve0I5iMbSyRrU9_68l3_M-_Xyo4MaTtzkLpvHtyX2JVJXwHK1kvk3cLTLHvS6k22pkK0ci-p0kFbWFnTUtFHyG/s1600/_20200110_165640.JPG" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1600" data-original-width="1185" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgdIMBVGewrKZIA6yLoEXdKtRnmVw5DkvzdM_joZ4kkj_UifCYz29c2KZ3qINwvyS30Gs0IzX-7fpvNWjqng7GZNB96qmgENAX59Yve0I5iMbSyRrU9_68l3_M-_Xyo4MaTtzkLpvHtyX2JVJXwHK1kvk3cLTLHvS6k22pkK0ci-p0kFbWFnTUtFHyG/s320/_20200110_165640.JPG" width="237" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">A tournament that never was.<br /></td></tr></tbody></table><p>But some six months after <a href="http://oldschool-mtg.blogspot.com/2019/10/blind-notes-from-fishliver-oil-cup-ed-3.html">Fishliver Oil Cup 3</a>, that whole pandemic happened. We held out hope for Winc0n 2020 for a while, but soon it became clear that it wouldn't work. So we set our sights on 2021 instead.</p><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgQ_4uIfLPP716kmZciiaTqHUCAsFOcBf_CVDGcAefIKc7fXj4am8WUBje0fj3sSGd_0C6kj4BxKy0ETsHPmAETJcAW083Inj1m9pSjc5R4LCLMahYwj9XjEoGHkzm7rES8I7rD5_S2GGd2l3SUkDwvMDmixS9PGxtZHahGcXLDCZ2VT0xmW6zfRtcj/s3658/20220412_133923.jpg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="3658" data-original-width="2947" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgQ_4uIfLPP716kmZciiaTqHUCAsFOcBf_CVDGcAefIKc7fXj4am8WUBje0fj3sSGd_0C6kj4BxKy0ETsHPmAETJcAW083Inj1m9pSjc5R4LCLMahYwj9XjEoGHkzm7rES8I7rD5_S2GGd2l3SUkDwvMDmixS9PGxtZHahGcXLDCZ2VT0xmW6zfRtcj/s320/20220412_133923.jpg" width="258" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Playtesting the new waters.<br /></td></tr></tbody></table><p></p><p></p><p>But, as you all know, things didn't slow down. The prospects for Winc0n 2021 grew bleak, and eventually the organizers decided on hosting a smaller, 50-player invite-only tournament called Waiting for Winc0n in the late summer instead. Showing their commitment to eventually running Winc0n, but respecting the situation at hand. <br /></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg-pl_CsUbK0xopk6YghsZnMP6MCb36tkkP_CeoA2TAMan9zOX3EutICjBHbDBb-3MMlHX3JubpsdFLRBhFrQ5MQfamj9h32Ged2PdR8ZJna8qIpIee01VZDcgTHZtj1AY_3mibgk56B_4wj083jIUD44UthlPnNWmHNyQRl4r3KLtO5jWijLLrRe7L/s1184/Screenshot%20from%202022-04-08%2023-10-36.png" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1184" data-original-width="994" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg-pl_CsUbK0xopk6YghsZnMP6MCb36tkkP_CeoA2TAMan9zOX3EutICjBHbDBb-3MMlHX3JubpsdFLRBhFrQ5MQfamj9h32Ged2PdR8ZJna8qIpIee01VZDcgTHZtj1AY_3mibgk56B_4wj083jIUD44UthlPnNWmHNyQRl4r3KLtO5jWijLLrRe7L/s320/Screenshot%20from%202022-04-08%2023-10-36.png" width="269" /></a></div><p></p><p>So 2020 and 2021 both passed without a World Championship. And if you're looking for it, n00bcon 13 in a few days is not the place to seek. So we figured it would be high time to post some info about Winc0n now, in the days before n00bcon 13, to avoid any confusion. So here (finally!) comes some info about Winc0n!<br /></p><h2>Winc0n 2022<br /></h2><p><b>Venue:</b> The events will take place in various locations including Columbus Sea Hotel in Genoa, Italy. We are working to let everyone play with comfort in a relaxed environment.<b> </b></p><p><b>Registration:</b> We will use Tolaria to manage all the events, including registrations and entrance fees. <br /></p><p style="text-align: left;"><b>Calendar</b><br /></p><ul style="text-align: left;"><li>2 September 2022: Special Event - Scryings World Championship.</li><li>3 September 2022: Main Event - 93/94 Old School World Championship.</li><li>4 September 2022: Side Event - Atlantic Cup.<br /></li></ul><p style="text-align: left;"></p><p style="text-align: left;"><b>Main Event B/R: </b>The B/R list used for the tournament is the one published on <a href="http://oldschool-mtg.blogspot.com/p/banrestriction.html">the 93/94 old-school blog</a> (i.e. "Swedish rules").<b> </b></p><p style="text-align: left;"><b>Reprint policy Main Event:</b> We will apply the so-called Ravenna updated rules: all reprints of cards originally printed in The Gathering (ABU) or one of the first four expansions (AN, AQ, LG, TD) are legal as long as they use the original art and layout, they are non-foil, and they are tournament legal. Additionally, Revised versions of Plateau and Serendib Efreet are legal. See the image below for easy reference:</p><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhkgiGppKud4_zolabJQwphFbXwrj7eVA4tXeypKiCxtV0IWS8zw60KyoDfUAXm51dFLT_OOW4poJ64hl74xhWyV9pG2n3_BqkLkIEeVtoJ6CAbLNQGFJqqZLLV7siXVk1zsWtluJ7q6Vm8nLYF_h62qm3nLkLPyRRBHGajgW8067yFcwmv7sNoP1zI/s1600/cob_reprints.jpg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="379" data-original-width="1600" height="76" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhkgiGppKud4_zolabJQwphFbXwrj7eVA4tXeypKiCxtV0IWS8zw60KyoDfUAXm51dFLT_OOW4poJ64hl74xhWyV9pG2n3_BqkLkIEeVtoJ6CAbLNQGFJqqZLLV7siXVk1zsWtluJ7q6Vm8nLYF_h62qm3nLkLPyRRBHGajgW8067yFcwmv7sNoP1zI/s320/cob_reprints.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">City of Brass has multiple personalities</td></tr></tbody></table><p><b>Atlantic Cup B/R</b>: The B/R list and the rules enforced for the tournament are those published by New England Old School.</p><p><b>Reprint policy Atlantic: </b>We will apply the reprint policy adopted by Eternal Central: all cards that are legal for Ravenna rules + gold-border printings from e.g. Collector's Edition and World Championship decks are also legal to be played in decks.<br /></p><p>...There is a bunch more info up at <a href="http://www.winc0n.com">www.winc0n.com</a>, check it out and save the dates!<br /></p>...<p>Oh, and if you're attending n00bcon 13 in a few days, please sign up at <a href="http://Tolaria.app">Tolaria.app</a>! We'll use Tolaria for score keeping purposes, and I'd love it if you register there before the tournament to make things a bit smoother before Friday. Also, please upload a deck pic so that Timmy and I can trash talk your decks on the stream. See you soon!<br /></p>Mghttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00555613518338194305noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2299444734264560627.post-55213718705220024482022-04-01T16:37:00.008+02:002022-04-02T00:34:13.631+02:00 ANNOUNCING THE ANTE 40K WORLD CHAMPIONSHIP<p>Yeah, I'm doing this announcement two weeks before the tournament. What of it? I presume that if you are the kinda reckless wizard to join, you are the kinda reckless wizard to spontaneously travel to Sweden on two weeks notice.</p><p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh-FJx96x4BJiJo3uYKZSfFTCjZ7kZVX9ka1REzkufAT3vyPNqCbFoNGDm8YuVCn8hmvYVSGimiQN7Sis41oYFn74-9S07mTf0mcXL952TthypN5qaWUDexYNPDypR4fL7yVuzMWSDhwztoaF9Jm78WGyQbUftroyXNvQTYUcItPPBxQiv5s8VTCIVQ/s563/contract.png" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="451" data-original-width="563" height="256" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh-FJx96x4BJiJo3uYKZSfFTCjZ7kZVX9ka1REzkufAT3vyPNqCbFoNGDm8YuVCn8hmvYVSGimiQN7Sis41oYFn74-9S07mTf0mcXL952TthypN5qaWUDexYNPDypR4fL7yVuzMWSDhwztoaF9Jm78WGyQbUftroyXNvQTYUcItPPBxQiv5s8VTCIVQ/s320/contract.png" width="320" /></a></div><p>I could bother you with the history of 40K Magic. There surely are stories from that road. But anecdotes and bluffs are not what this is about. Still, in the history of 40K, intense and reckless stories are intimately linked with n00bcon after dark. A time when wizards have been drinking for twelve hours plus, the top8 is afoot, and the players who lost out in the swiss are looking for a way to boil their blood. Real wizardry. Real stakes. As Garfield Nintendo.</p><p>This year, we're making it official. Sometime around midnight, at the n00bcon site, we will host the first World Championship of 40K Magic. Everyone who dares is invited.<br /><br /><b>Deck construction rules</b></p><ul style="text-align: left;"><li>We follow the "<a href="http://oldschool-mtg.blogspot.com/p/banrestriction.html">Swedish B&R</a>" as well as the original reprint policy (i.e. only English cards, no reprints after Unlimited, no CE/IE nor other proxies).</li><li>All cards referencing the ante mechanic are legal. In addition to the cards noted as restricted in the B&R, Bronze Tablet will also be restricted during this tournament.</li><li>In addition to offical cards, the following "ante-cards" are legal:</li><ul><li>Mox Crystal (1st and 2nd 5-color printing, 1st UK "Alpha" printing)</li><li>Franky (5-color printing) </li></ul><li>The deck must have a market price of at least 40,000 SEK (approx €4,000 or $4,300) according to either TCGPlayer or CardMarket.</li><li>As Franky and Mox Crystal have no official market price, they are counted as being worth 0 SEK for deck building purposes. (Yes, I know that they tend to sell for quite a bit more than zero when they do hit the market. But hey, this is 40K.)</li><li>You may bring up to 10 additional cards to add to your deck during the course of the tournament, to replace cards you lose in the ante. I shall henceforth refer to this pile as the Side-deck, to slightly annoy Mano.</li></ul><p></p><p><b>Tournament rules</b><br /></p><ul style="text-align: left;"><li>Matches in the Swiss are best-of-one. No sideboard is used.</li><li>All games are played for ante. </li><li>If you are about to lose ownership of a card, it is customary to sign and/or alter it before you let go of it. </li><li>Cards lost during a game can be replaced by cards from your Side-deck between matches, as long as it is before pairing is announced. So feel free to bring along some extra Jeweled Birds.</li><li>You are allowed to start a game with a deck with less than 60 cards, as long as the cards missing are cards you lost ownership of during the tournament.</li><li>You may add any cards you gain ownership of during the tournament to your deck. This may break restriction rules for the tournament. (e.g. if you win a Strip Mine, you may now play with 2 Strip Mines for the duration of the tournament)</li><li>After the swiss, the tournament will have a Top4 to determine the eventual winner.</li></ul><p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjWrK7SGw_6MSCa_UJZEZyqQSZN79c5RQo6L-Gi3ypVHfHJvLz33i95w2r1wh3K0V7SVc6Vif7XE6-oHRBL4D-5dYSz88kBsCdbNRaZmXNzEJuF-4CmrL-vzDqZIklzgzWIvoTB9wCJJwdOa5tUgv2FPlddHW-DCmTcbmzbrpR3ZEjPvFiC9bPPWHBF/s1024/20191113_132740-e1573664528303-768x1024.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1024" data-original-width="768" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjWrK7SGw_6MSCa_UJZEZyqQSZN79c5RQo6L-Gi3ypVHfHJvLz33i95w2r1wh3K0V7SVc6Vif7XE6-oHRBL4D-5dYSz88kBsCdbNRaZmXNzEJuF-4CmrL-vzDqZIklzgzWIvoTB9wCJJwdOa5tUgv2FPlddHW-DCmTcbmzbrpR3ZEjPvFiC9bPPWHBF/s320/20191113_132740-e1573664528303-768x1024.jpg" width="240" /></a></div><p></p><p></p><p>I bought a ridiculously large trophy for the winner, one that dwarfs the trophy for the n00bcon Champion. But the real sweet thing, apart from immortal glory, is that the winner gets to design their own card to be allowed in 40k.<br /></p><p>Following the 5-color tradition, the winner of the 40K World Championship gets to design their own card, which will then be legal in 40K (as long as the card has a resonable power level). Everybody who participated in the tournament will get five copies of the new card sent to them once they are printed.<br /></p><p><br /></p><p><b>FAQ</b></p><p><i><b>Q: </b>Why is the format called 40K?</i></p><p><i><b>A:</b> So that plebs will confuse it with Warhammer. Also to highlight the minimum price tag for a deck.<b><br /></b></i></p><p></p><p><i><b>Q: </b>What happens to cards i lose ownership of?</i></p><p><i><b>A: </b>I'm not sure I understand the question. You lose ownership of them?<b> </b></i> <br /></p><p></p><p><i><b>Q</b>: Is this a joke? I mean, it is April 1st today.<br /></i></p><p><i><b>A</b>: No. I mean, no on the "is this a joke?" part, but you are correct on the date.</i><br /></p>Mghttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00555613518338194305noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2299444734264560627.post-13944778493907813762022-03-30T12:34:00.000+02:002022-03-30T12:34:00.572+02:00MtgForLife Ukraine Conclusion, by Viktor Peterson<p><i>Again it is my pleasure to give the word to Viktor "Oldschool" Peterson. /Mg out</i><br /><b><br /></b></p><p><b>We reached the goal of €11,000!<br /></b>Today we close this successful fundraiser where we jointly collected €11 006 to the Ukrainian victims of the current war! Thank you all so much for your support, its heartwarming to see the kindness shown in this old school community for people in need. </p><p>Unfortunately, the war rages on so I urge you to follow the news and help where you can. I will try and run a small onsite charity auction at n00bcon for a few cards we did not get high enough bids on here on the Facebook auction, if you want to donate a card to this - bring it to n00bcon. <br /></p><p>But as MG wrote on his previous post on the Old School Blog, we didn’t solve the conflict but at least we did something, and something is better than nothing! I also want to mention some extraordinary initiatives during this fundraiser, enjoy the reading and kindness shown below.<br /><b><br /></b></p><p><b>Dutch Old School Guild<br /></b>First up we have the amazing initiative from the Dutch Old School Guild contributing €2800 from their own charity auction. You can read the whole story on a separate post earlier on this fundraiser or on the official Old School blog. Thank your Anne Joldersma with friends!</p><p></p><p><b><br /><b></b>Arvikafestivalen<br /></b>We have the Swedish Arvikafestivalen charity auction that brought in €2400 where one “Mystery box” went for €650. Thank you Björn Iversen for raising the bar and bringing this box home! Thanks, Johan Guldbrandsson, for donating the mystery box and to all you anonymous heroes donating cards like Beta Icy, Shivan Dragon, Copy Artifact, Balance, Fastbond and more. Thank you! <br /></p><p>Thanks Markus Kungen Guldbrandsson for helping with this on site and Mikael Mällroth for adding more valuable cards to the auction and helping me send out the cards to the winners. One other noteworthy thing about this auction is that we probably had the most expensive Unlimited Warp Artifact ever sold, a signed #MtgForLife from MG. Thank you Mitja Held for your epic winning bid of €135. And for all you ante players we have a new #MtgForLife trophy to collect if you challenge Christopher Mason for a duel next time you’re in the US.<br /><br /></p><p><b>Email@oldschoolmtg.com</b><br />For all of you out there who have always wanted a magical email, Mg set this one up. He owns several epic domains and for a short once in a lifetime offer, opened up for people to buy emails where everything went to charity. We have some 30 new really cool emails. I personally think I got the best one though, email me at shark@n00bcon.com if you want to play some Magic over a beer when you’re in Gothenburg next time. <br /><br /></p><p><b>Extraordinary contributions</b><br />We have several more contributors that needs to be recognized beside the ones above. I won’t list you all but I will mention a few.</p><p>For going above and beyond from the starting preparations, working tirelessly in the dark, we have Florian von Bredow who made a race for the top donation position, helped with the charity auction, spreading the word, and even involved his employer to donate to the fundraiser. As a personal thanks from me I will give you my very own unique homemade Island alteration.</p><div style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi5UIBnptE6t85j34ekBdtKRfdV1oohx6Dz5IFcOWNqFAaSK3IoKXG9PpsvJCNoSrUuKeYHMuw6bimJsLQcozUHpyINBtffbYnSR73VjMQxy6a7CEpScbYPJyUbmI2WoM0BXNUfFPzPSNx61Bdc-go_n70bAUw3YWWc9niu9ZgyXCVOU33_kzQIDQx1/s4032/20220302_152134.jpg"><img border="0" data-original-height="4032" data-original-width="3024" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi5UIBnptE6t85j34ekBdtKRfdV1oohx6Dz5IFcOWNqFAaSK3IoKXG9PpsvJCNoSrUuKeYHMuw6bimJsLQcozUHpyINBtffbYnSR73VjMQxy6a7CEpScbYPJyUbmI2WoM0BXNUfFPzPSNx61Bdc-go_n70bAUw3YWWc9niu9ZgyXCVOU33_kzQIDQx1/s320/20220302_152134.jpg" width="240" /></a></div><p>We also have some amazing donations where Björn Iversen almost went 4 figures and won the Disenchant for the most generous donation. </p><div style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjVK75mqfrCrglnWspOkHIlitmXpcccpYNmCODB1R580lHzXHVkpHBy9UfKMK3GxlCAWLdWj5KGyfq9mtP5oSWn-jHb5pglnLJXCWB3tVO6-Hnub_e6Tg6Vy9BUHXMwsy5lFDSdfN0z83OjldtogLamcIAlH5jxrUJv8Tq9CyUV4ucgouiQ7N5MJ5a0/s4032/Disenchant.jpg"><img border="0" data-original-height="4032" data-original-width="3024" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjVK75mqfrCrglnWspOkHIlitmXpcccpYNmCODB1R580lHzXHVkpHBy9UfKMK3GxlCAWLdWj5KGyfq9mtP5oSWn-jHb5pglnLJXCWB3tVO6-Hnub_e6Tg6Vy9BUHXMwsy5lFDSdfN0z83OjldtogLamcIAlH5jxrUJv8Tq9CyUV4ucgouiQ7N5MJ5a0/s320/Disenchant.jpg" width="240" /></a></div><p>We had more truly generous donations from Rikard Steiber, Jason Schwartz, Jeff de Nijs, Magnus de Laval, Mattias Berggren, Wilhelm Sahlberg, Aaron West, Jonas Twitchen, and Danny Friedman. Thank you for showing your support!<br /><b><br /></b></p><p></p><p></p><p><b>Thank YOU<br /></b>To conclude this fundraiser, I want to thank each and every one of you who have opened your heart and made a donation. It really is amazing to see the Old School community of the world aiding the people of Ukraine in dire need. </p><p>I have saved a few #MtgForLife signed unlimited lands to hand out to extraordinary contributions and if you are one mentioned here or feel I have left you out, just send me a PM or email and I’ll try accommodating you. <br /><br />Thanks for staying openminded, generous and ever helping of the people around you! I hope to see you in a Magic slinging duel sometime sooner or later! <br /></p><p>/Viktor “oldschool” Peterson<br />shark@n00bcon.com<br /></p>Mghttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00555613518338194305noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2299444734264560627.post-33213775130703414972022-03-24T22:05:00.023+01:002022-03-29T16:05:37.722+02:00Pictures from Arvika Festival 7<p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">First thing first. Eleven thousand Euros.</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhbgz2V39vDkt6xjgvjwJuWusoy1GF_jPEvlVLaLo8xX75pAeVnuiGZKCd4Wr7Wp1-FhcYE3hx0FQrJSOUC821AsEu1XpCbBxCo_PtlCCezCTSvqdg0NJi-LmKwCNBMaR6UD8wwEgL8cG8Y85D0JMRlBEpbj6KVXhAp8UE0lj3uN4vN3e3CxX-YyU1z/s1056/Screenshot%20from%202022-03-23%2021-30-00.png" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="821" data-original-width="1056" height="249" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhbgz2V39vDkt6xjgvjwJuWusoy1GF_jPEvlVLaLo8xX75pAeVnuiGZKCd4Wr7Wp1-FhcYE3hx0FQrJSOUC821AsEu1XpCbBxCo_PtlCCezCTSvqdg0NJi-LmKwCNBMaR6UD8wwEgL8cG8Y85D0JMRlBEpbj6KVXhAp8UE0lj3uN4vN3e3CxX-YyU1z/s320/Screenshot%20from%202022-03-23%2021-30-00.png" width="320" /></a></div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">There's still a few days left on <a href="https://www.facebook.com/donate/3073852432930003/3088749068107006/">the campaign</a> if you want to chip in. And god damn, this is the kind of thing that make me happy to be a part of the oldschool community. €11,000 is a lot of money, and it's money that could actually help people in need. These things are important, far more important than having "the best deck" or things like that, and the fact that we as a community are able to focus on tragedies in the world at large instead of on our card board rectangles every now and then fills me with a weird mix of humility and pride. So thank you so much. The terrible conflict is still raging, of course, and we clearly didn't solve it by raising some awareness among nerds and a small pile of cash, but at least we did <i>something</i>. And doing something is so much better than doing nothing.<br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"> </div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">...</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"> </div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">It's been a while since we had a picture report up here on the blag. And a couple of weeks back I had the opportunity to join Arvika Festival 7. <a href="http://oldschool-mtg.blogspot.com/2020/03/arvika-festival-6.html">Arvika Festival 6</a>, almost exactly two years before, was the last large tournament in Sweden before the pandemic hit. And now, in this mostly post-pandemic Scandinavia, it was up to KungMarkus and the Arvika crew to get the festivities started again. Two tournaments this time, a smaller Legacy tournament capped at 16 players followed by the main 93/94 course with 40 warriors. So I guess some restrictions still applied, keeping the showdown to around half of what Arvika has been known for in earlier years. But still a major gathering of oldschool fools not seen in Scandinavia since the pre-pandemic times.<br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"> </div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgAB2MiX5SmZoBk4iwH_Xkx8T_KeG5M6yoAMerPTVk5RFaNxI7AFdonTfTBb-B1su1xRx3l_jqFlpg3TPINYdsjQNV5H-a4LpXvoMiRt4lmcv7rHeZ3xK_ijJaB9ea_9EJjfojPC-358lH64zBHpnqjzPS7nOaAsZGowHZqujbYuIU1NnqGYovnCKo3/s205/Arvika7.png" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="205" data-original-width="205" height="205" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgAB2MiX5SmZoBk4iwH_Xkx8T_KeG5M6yoAMerPTVk5RFaNxI7AFdonTfTBb-B1su1xRx3l_jqFlpg3TPINYdsjQNV5H-a4LpXvoMiRt4lmcv7rHeZ3xK_ijJaB9ea_9EJjfojPC-358lH64zBHpnqjzPS7nOaAsZGowHZqujbYuIU1NnqGYovnCKo3/s1600/Arvika7.png" width="205" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Let the Samite healing begin.<br /></td></tr></tbody></table></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">Let's look at some pics from a splendid weekend on the other side of the border.</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEhhmyZ-81B3gDMT61-GnibfxYDshWfSiF7Qi1VsBCoWgf0jO9XuylUGHK0vO8PohIQXBly2NwcrJdecjX9_g8msma4UeaKIPqPTq3kuIfYwiPg6kEdwFHklEJwruVOoZGpQEpR-D28lIu6-sJOAhZ-tr4Cc8vVsrNv-8naeHIOlYDQTiWOZeqLDAddB=s5152" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="5152" data-original-width="3864" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEhhmyZ-81B3gDMT61-GnibfxYDshWfSiF7Qi1VsBCoWgf0jO9XuylUGHK0vO8PohIQXBly2NwcrJdecjX9_g8msma4UeaKIPqPTq3kuIfYwiPg6kEdwFHklEJwruVOoZGpQEpR-D28lIu6-sJOAhZ-tr4Cc8vVsrNv-8naeHIOlYDQTiWOZeqLDAddB=s320" width="240" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">For
the first time before a Festival, I am a lone warrior on the train. My
traditional brother-in-arms for this gathering, Hardy, was not to join
this year, and a majority of the other Norwegians was to travel a day
later. My companions on the train were instead reasonably priced beer and A
History of Western Philosophy.<br /></td></tr></tbody></table></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"> </div><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEje25S61IywhaCGaVzXgudEOfayE4gkoixUfovma0D7t6YR4YPRSHnLYOsfc00bD7O0xZBglHAO1pgJBEshMFbENzf2a4qIwq_PnHlxI0Vy2Jvu2PhGEle61ZYPPdZg2LOBs7NgCw1x2EMfVUCkt2JKbErq86LGj1_JMhRTgAHkUQXeBxZTho89-nY-=s5152" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="3864" data-original-width="5152" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEje25S61IywhaCGaVzXgudEOfayE4gkoixUfovma0D7t6YR4YPRSHnLYOsfc00bD7O0xZBglHAO1pgJBEshMFbENzf2a4qIwq_PnHlxI0Vy2Jvu2PhGEle61ZYPPdZg2LOBs7NgCw1x2EMfVUCkt2JKbErq86LGj1_JMhRTgAHkUQXeBxZTho89-nY-=s320" width="320" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Also another book on Domain Driven Design to keep me company. Fascinating stuff. On the train back I got to sit next to Bjørn Einar Bjartnes by lucky happenstance, and got to pick his expert brain on the subject for a few hours.<br /></td></tr></tbody></table><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"> </div><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEilwrRMoGpdfMlIrD24LCj6MAcLo8M9gPh542Jkf6krT6tX61A58O9iTo1p5NjVj3VReA-PyeonAowCHdxHhtX1wh-j-r-Slh3AABsjGKGZIEe2XPiJxgerRMXPJcm_Ix5uh-OE9L-jKuurr_3yB1f16bdzTbn19aq8CcMwIivw3FHm5ZYCZB24sGy_=s5152" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="3864" data-original-width="5152" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEilwrRMoGpdfMlIrD24LCj6MAcLo8M9gPh542Jkf6krT6tX61A58O9iTo1p5NjVj3VReA-PyeonAowCHdxHhtX1wh-j-r-Slh3AABsjGKGZIEe2XPiJxgerRMXPJcm_Ix5uh-OE9L-jKuurr_3yB1f16bdzTbn19aq8CcMwIivw3FHm5ZYCZB24sGy_=s320" width="320" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">But one of the most important tasks on any train is of course to tech. While my general approach in 93/94 is to optimize for good games, when I play Legacy or Vintage I like to optimize for wins. Tweaking the Lands deck was on the menu.<br /></td></tr></tbody></table><p></p><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEg1US7XtFjB3EDT78LhgxFBhJtxvRIC45SrvAH3dXFNYtYB3y8ryeHFMHXT6T6_O9k9_rsN04SFah3YDOZfIslBT8FKAdpbcxqDYyh35Q7jwt1-Wd2LsjZvX_4qAZTYao4-eisEZqW1VnfHamv4Efx_c5aNLXszwWaOhC-A961h49XpX3tSh-Hq1p9z=s5152" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="3864" data-original-width="5152" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEg1US7XtFjB3EDT78LhgxFBhJtxvRIC45SrvAH3dXFNYtYB3y8ryeHFMHXT6T6_O9k9_rsN04SFah3YDOZfIslBT8FKAdpbcxqDYyh35Q7jwt1-Wd2LsjZvX_4qAZTYao4-eisEZqW1VnfHamv4Efx_c5aNLXszwWaOhC-A961h49XpX3tSh-Hq1p9z=s320" width="320" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Arriving at my seasonal home in Arvika, I open the door to find a barking dog and the lady of the house getting a tattoo at her dining table. No Markus to be found at the moment, but the ambience was still spot on. <br /></td></tr></tbody></table><br /><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEglD8pttn3KFf1q90T8GNtDVLWwWp9Ty_1bj48sZSS4_QC3hUysjn2Lc9BzAIDEzbJNUe2GuQAU8eaP_bssjINgD3yXBuZLkdSq-bEaf9ZE_JVl_t05B1nsN4FQM8LcflD7WMwPW3mq-8EIfPRA2xI0SOjcwOjm_iUme1D_MNv3v6KUxncUd1_z_eZD=s5152" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="3864" data-original-width="5152" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEglD8pttn3KFf1q90T8GNtDVLWwWp9Ty_1bj48sZSS4_QC3hUysjn2Lc9BzAIDEzbJNUe2GuQAU8eaP_bssjINgD3yXBuZLkdSq-bEaf9ZE_JVl_t05B1nsN4FQM8LcflD7WMwPW3mq-8EIfPRA2xI0SOjcwOjm_iUme1D_MNv3v6KUxncUd1_z_eZD=s320" width="320" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Hanging out at casa Arvika with Kalle, Madde, and Berntsson is as Magic as any game of cards. Long time, no see.<br /></td></tr></tbody></table><br /><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEjXaWVNZmqT5ZfNetO7FAnJ5SG3cQePE8xsyaobYOcYsgixkNQP0vCZpSjbb161rQHZysxxHn7X_MGVTWcs-_54QnNg8t3en96o_UHXlYF1ypljnXrPy_Da0_yaOnFJeCWfE1bCoYZN9WY42ydOxS_4U-OdoxXbDqcuBxFC_e7CgZ6gnw008YO0zlqB=s5152" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="3864" data-original-width="5152" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEjXaWVNZmqT5ZfNetO7FAnJ5SG3cQePE8xsyaobYOcYsgixkNQP0vCZpSjbb161rQHZysxxHn7X_MGVTWcs-_54QnNg8t3en96o_UHXlYF1ypljnXrPy_Da0_yaOnFJeCWfE1bCoYZN9WY42ydOxS_4U-OdoxXbDqcuBxFC_e7CgZ6gnw008YO0zlqB=s320" width="320" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">KungMarkus eventually arrives after a long day in the trenches, and we go to the site to set up for tomorrow's tournaments. My help mainly consists of drifting around aimlessly and chatting while the proper organizers do all the work.<br /></td></tr></tbody></table><br /><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEhMO3gsEjBnp8o5nMnKQAkR-mtmnFR6iBZ5Q5X3Wftusmvctdr8-FJrNLJGJvDETbzMyMAG6Kd6uRJKtQQCCePZTFw7grKpSrUvcd220xibyynz_Ez8RjxgDuM8yiTEl6-UrRxkFtW8fGhz9XPpWONnvHzSdDoA12loakhp8JUDCGf6qsfQJ17RiMrg=s5152" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="5152" data-original-width="3864" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEhMO3gsEjBnp8o5nMnKQAkR-mtmnFR6iBZ5Q5X3Wftusmvctdr8-FJrNLJGJvDETbzMyMAG6Kd6uRJKtQQCCePZTFw7grKpSrUvcd220xibyynz_Ez8RjxgDuM8yiTEl6-UrRxkFtW8fGhz9XPpWONnvHzSdDoA12loakhp8JUDCGf6qsfQJ17RiMrg=s320" width="240" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Mio (age 2) taking care of the bar. Cool dude.<br /></td></tr></tbody></table><br /><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEiFL3SPOHTbgk9GK1arK_ahPSoJ6trVRQ7j_tIL3irXA0mkFPg4sPepX-IGYz8fFXnBuYGRx45sLbf_uGpntQJ6vJcGZXJnLe1GdJobA1cti_TkAG7n-CDAEFstN8idsmCmx6oiUo2RFfRW0nN3tGLqTPM6m4SE2J-xYuarPIqADlzsoS3PJHieArY4=s5152" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="3864" data-original-width="5152" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEiFL3SPOHTbgk9GK1arK_ahPSoJ6trVRQ7j_tIL3irXA0mkFPg4sPepX-IGYz8fFXnBuYGRx45sLbf_uGpntQJ6vJcGZXJnLe1GdJobA1cti_TkAG7n-CDAEFstN8idsmCmx6oiUo2RFfRW0nN3tGLqTPM6m4SE2J-xYuarPIqADlzsoS3PJHieArY4=s320" width="320" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">KungMarkus and Kalle. Lifer friends I've met playing Magic. Good game.<br /></td></tr></tbody></table><br /><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEgY4RO42tbYawiNB0k4Fl8ysFJE4ui_dmWwW0ChSnVqFSRG7vwc365zuDte5hiZAgQ_MkPNErvUpM2WNcc2P9AiHsOLfcqoHDsdrL1apqxvIaNemh6gwbm5q8dof4TtDMh0c5Kw7tmuOtJTpu1aSA1JzS1Vc2_AwQAPL5jyjTlamMsRIB53ldSZ7AJO=s5152" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="5152" data-original-width="3864" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEgY4RO42tbYawiNB0k4Fl8ysFJE4ui_dmWwW0ChSnVqFSRG7vwc365zuDte5hiZAgQ_MkPNErvUpM2WNcc2P9AiHsOLfcqoHDsdrL1apqxvIaNemh6gwbm5q8dof4TtDMh0c5Kw7tmuOtJTpu1aSA1JzS1Vc2_AwQAPL5jyjTlamMsRIB53ldSZ7AJO=s320" width="240" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Markus is testing out his monoblue Kobold deck for tomorrow. A surprisingly non-terrible pile, especially considering all the cards in it are horrible. The sum is greater than the parts somehow. Dude knows how to tech.<br /></td></tr></tbody></table><p></p><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEjjjAxJvhiNGmbmTNd9142Bo3ZOeWTd4HhPHGthzZ5UQvwLgmX1dsZbaWFyUibCbFlj8NnZCa8vPpcS4ytOLZpIf8FhW4x-5eXL1eHSukMksiuiUqD0j-4BTWSwvX5on88poS4_zZg2fSxS87WLkI-qiVOWjelFjWCdomuO9js4hTawXmoJF19mLRCP=s5152" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="3864" data-original-width="5152" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEjjjAxJvhiNGmbmTNd9142Bo3ZOeWTd4HhPHGthzZ5UQvwLgmX1dsZbaWFyUibCbFlj8NnZCa8vPpcS4ytOLZpIf8FhW4x-5eXL1eHSukMksiuiUqD0j-4BTWSwvX5on88poS4_zZg2fSxS87WLkI-qiVOWjelFjWCdomuO9js4hTawXmoJF19mLRCP=s320" width="320" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Gameday! It's like 8 in the morning, and Kalle is looking fresh like a pile of daisies.<br /></td></tr></tbody></table><p></p><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEjnlmKW21WNxkCmuKjbW7GdzZEO91gQlbENN-kP8yXXOvjfcd_HwkoU2L9UUZZ4mUC9dxwNgECMNwsTObZLo4-OAz2ryyAUaXC9vQzFu66r2t8C7ijpX-HgdPIGqKCpquGDrh2_vE6QAdYrkQhevz4qxz8Fcse8qukh1F7SxAQpGWcsuAamsShN-eKE=s5152" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="3864" data-original-width="5152" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEjnlmKW21WNxkCmuKjbW7GdzZEO91gQlbENN-kP8yXXOvjfcd_HwkoU2L9UUZZ4mUC9dxwNgECMNwsTObZLo4-OAz2ryyAUaXC9vQzFu66r2t8C7ijpX-HgdPIGqKCpquGDrh2_vE6QAdYrkQhevz4qxz8Fcse8qukh1F7SxAQpGWcsuAamsShN-eKE=s320" width="320" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Challengers appear. The Legacy tournament starts at 9 am, so this will be a day of endurance as much as wizardry.<br /></td></tr></tbody></table><p></p><br /><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEiGPdFez9Bg-lvLJBWvwADIzD4dJeaGDwGPwT8hQu8LiGHDvB0hNu4-a4sAH5hshZmFbP4oTgz7_T64WmY8NYfckjj2xxRy9qxZPNV4HpkbH6p69D47oRbnUP6x6mcoxkeQ3wy62laBKk76iKcwz6vkwLF-pSo_e-bQDx24TXOtAAWQDp7M8xBJdscf=s5152" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="3864" data-original-width="5152" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEiGPdFez9Bg-lvLJBWvwADIzD4dJeaGDwGPwT8hQu8LiGHDvB0hNu4-a4sAH5hshZmFbP4oTgz7_T64WmY8NYfckjj2xxRy9qxZPNV4HpkbH6p69D47oRbnUP6x6mcoxkeQ3wy62laBKk76iKcwz6vkwLF-pSo_e-bQDx24TXOtAAWQDp7M8xBJdscf=s320" width="320" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Hanging out, sipping morning brews.<br /></td></tr></tbody></table><br /><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEh_IwtGwzUynCzj03kjPySEw7YroxujmZyMQkcVsPQTSUvC0JIbyOac5muS_qnh2XhJVdPYDKPC6lCA6xsS3uZtm7-9trnpN48kziuW8OMYIFHFNrSkykrMhOv9xv3dU4d3xtQs76wjuLrgNLmHsTkM47igdE2e8J8bUlXbnAm2qvZAGUiY3SOQ1Vgt=s5152" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="5152" data-original-width="3864" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEh_IwtGwzUynCzj03kjPySEw7YroxujmZyMQkcVsPQTSUvC0JIbyOac5muS_qnh2XhJVdPYDKPC6lCA6xsS3uZtm7-9trnpN48kziuW8OMYIFHFNrSkykrMhOv9xv3dU4d3xtQs76wjuLrgNLmHsTkM47igdE2e8J8bUlXbnAm2qvZAGUiY3SOQ1Vgt=s320" width="240" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">The handsome Germans of Sky Guild (Mitja and Alban) have arrived with scores of fancy cards. They have become a pleasant fixture on the lager European OS tournaments these days.<br /></td></tr></tbody></table><p></p><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEiA-LWG0sakXPpA3Vde1lSH-kNu-AGgqKb5n542YjMQws__mf1xIwp_B_aiYhZ0p-bHC47M2VjeAZeQi47Q04-Asn0X6BjVBfl9ChoYoaU6Zn1uvFg2nHfwU5sIp2bOnrE2lN2TEqf6bRxM5JIhyJ5EoFWJWlLZzRrktBzklUrZdoBOPQ4ApwPOG4Gi=s5152" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="3864" data-original-width="5152" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEiA-LWG0sakXPpA3Vde1lSH-kNu-AGgqKb5n542YjMQws__mf1xIwp_B_aiYhZ0p-bHC47M2VjeAZeQi47Q04-Asn0X6BjVBfl9ChoYoaU6Zn1uvFg2nHfwU5sIp2bOnrE2lN2TEqf6bRxM5JIhyJ5EoFWJWlLZzRrktBzklUrZdoBOPQ4ApwPOG4Gi=s320" width="320" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">The game is afoot! I get to face none other than the host (on Glimpse Storm) round one. He wins the die roll and kills me turn one in the first game, and I mulligan to turn one Sphere of Resistance in the next two. Markus doesn't get a second first turn kill to beat the Sphere in game three, and the Lands are victorious.<br /></td></tr></tbody></table><p></p><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEiAGgpiNI--raUiLsfLqEcbSmImb6m8nNA_QOr1tdwvsw-RJwHfC-7GnuCd-cFmHllG9qxwdbCSPTjI0s2AL20sBMSZ5JkCOWVvsDJTmuN4O0BQcz44sdjKY772iImE9p-_zSsjve9wgq2yUU6O_PkJ972BTByYa0DKMNns2_bzMgrPtK8UywzszRS5=s5152" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="5152" data-original-width="3864" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEiAGgpiNI--raUiLsfLqEcbSmImb6m8nNA_QOr1tdwvsw-RJwHfC-7GnuCd-cFmHllG9qxwdbCSPTjI0s2AL20sBMSZ5JkCOWVvsDJTmuN4O0BQcz44sdjKY772iImE9p-_zSsjve9wgq2yUU6O_PkJ972BTByYa0DKMNns2_bzMgrPtK8UywzszRS5=s320" width="240" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Round two I get to beat Delver, and round three I somehow manage to defeat a scary MonoBlack deck. Round four I face UB Tempo Ninja, but by now my luck has ran out. Really missed having Glacial Chasm in the deck for this matchup, and despite my best efforts the Ninja deliver a fatal blow to the lands.<br /></td></tr></tbody></table><br /><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEjRyGC5BO0jkRRaU1tnx0nuJ9VpiyeaLqs14Cc4XfDZFlfpD6LaxiHOHjy6YCILFf7qT85YufV7cHTGOk-Z2M_HznBrXRM6prog49dFmNxXcokWKM3tnec280sqrGMnVsHZVJWH0HK86F9IE9lfh2suvNg41x20emptabZQSazICHTQYKQLCQAUYyUS=s5152" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="5152" data-original-width="3864" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEjRyGC5BO0jkRRaU1tnx0nuJ9VpiyeaLqs14Cc4XfDZFlfpD6LaxiHOHjy6YCILFf7qT85YufV7cHTGOk-Z2M_HznBrXRM6prog49dFmNxXcokWKM3tnec280sqrGMnVsHZVJWH0HK86F9IE9lfh2suvNg41x20emptabZQSazICHTQYKQLCQAUYyUS=s320" width="240" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Semi-finals. Paired against none other than the handsome luck-sack Kalle Nord on Tin-Fins (with a sideboard Doomsday plan). Somehow wins due to bad luck on Kalle side in one game, and good luck on mine in another.<br /></td></tr></tbody></table><br /><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEhms7MVtd96_J50dgZ8slwvH48shAfiSKwAJKqQdjMpjABIpsSOK5nkB1X3TJxGGz4knACIMfYC2TZYf1k2ZEu4F05JWKPGSDduY6WDXZs-mor4xXQoeufZqMAv7DhKr2dl_B-IvN4_ZnySNs49_wtyZ2r8D93fveUlixstLY4yDgFM4LESU7C4Q7jk=s5152" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="5152" data-original-width="3864" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEhms7MVtd96_J50dgZ8slwvH48shAfiSKwAJKqQdjMpjABIpsSOK5nkB1X3TJxGGz4knACIMfYC2TZYf1k2ZEu4F05JWKPGSDduY6WDXZs-mor4xXQoeufZqMAv7DhKr2dl_B-IvN4_ZnySNs49_wtyZ2r8D93fveUlixstLY4yDgFM4LESU7C4Q7jk=s320" width="240" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Finals against JohanGuld on Burn. This was his first ever Legacy tournament btw, so reaching the finals (with a budget deck none the less) is a proper achievement. And Burn with 4-of maindeck Price of Progress is a pretty intricate matchup for lands. His deck has zero maindeck answers to Marit Lage though (not even chump blockers), so my combo could race him. We had playtested the matchup the night before, and I managed to end those games with a winning record, but I'd still argue that the matchup is a coin flip.<br /></td></tr></tbody></table><br /><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEiKBnJp7QfpJqWhafp3tDNY3AUsEW5BQa4dX6FlTsoZIc1W6ooJ1D9Rftu9EuXpFQ0cizxnxmFHfymhrNMH88e3zBh6NP-mSjN-sbLCE8gdhP3jojI7SY2IV74cHY9eKAMoXQfxKol-bVt_lEgsurWWZtkyv2t4HYexsqj237cgcHwaRc81Ve5QVq2N=s5152" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="3864" data-original-width="5152" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEiKBnJp7QfpJqWhafp3tDNY3AUsEW5BQa4dX6FlTsoZIc1W6ooJ1D9Rftu9EuXpFQ0cizxnxmFHfymhrNMH88e3zBh6NP-mSjN-sbLCE8gdhP3jojI7SY2IV74cHY9eKAMoXQfxKol-bVt_lEgsurWWZtkyv2t4HYexsqj237cgcHwaRc81Ve5QVq2N=s320" width="320" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">God damn Magic is awesome and complicated. I think I got a tiny upper hand when Johan at one point it the very late game of round 3 possibly made a slightly sub-optimal land drop. Laughably close game.</td></tr></tbody></table><br /><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEhvt0uMG_uW2YgaOs2Kr7tXdz7mNCtdII98IZTAcCeNOJOW8sd22JOyf1XE-eI3XMACaPUCWye0b2ud6JZPwIKJOOFHjrVXURVDRxEClFLSAScD7X4QV-z3IMP8L6faQh3jRqfTrslDehuB9M449poKO_DWxJesMT-twJUzAj8tujnbp7KmGAxNs9uq=s5152" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="3864" data-original-width="5152" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEhvt0uMG_uW2YgaOs2Kr7tXdz7mNCtdII98IZTAcCeNOJOW8sd22JOyf1XE-eI3XMACaPUCWye0b2ud6JZPwIKJOOFHjrVXURVDRxEClFLSAScD7X4QV-z3IMP8L6faQh3jRqfTrslDehuB9M449poKO_DWxJesMT-twJUzAj8tujnbp7KmGAxNs9uq=s320" width="320" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Boom! A winner is me. Better lucky than good, in particular against Kalle. Gordon took the picture, and first question why my phone is a potato without a proper camera, and then why the camera I brought is terrible.<br /></td></tr></tbody></table><br /><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEhZ62Il-M2zwAmJpa12DCkb_1MhFQFFwiHCULm85NWPIJM1dTfuTN5BwIDEtu4t6rgu8mTOMLNsj7-mcCf5j9Jwh2yjIZkaUHPLKv-l83i3BqZ8aL3jZj_n6480aw1zF_I0rY8C6UD8ESJJfXLehgPe6ibewGYUFBXx6oUDFX37ahLbV1zuN0LoJgVj=s5152" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="3864" data-original-width="5152" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEhZ62Il-M2zwAmJpa12DCkb_1MhFQFFwiHCULm85NWPIJM1dTfuTN5BwIDEtu4t6rgu8mTOMLNsj7-mcCf5j9Jwh2yjIZkaUHPLKv-l83i3BqZ8aL3jZj_n6480aw1zF_I0rY8C6UD8ESJJfXLehgPe6ibewGYUFBXx6oUDFX37ahLbV1zuN0LoJgVj=s320" width="320" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Then he drinks some more and gets nostalgic. "Hey! I had a camera like this in like 2006! Good times! And I sometimes wish I didn't use a smartphone either. Oh, the days of not being constantly online! Simpler times." It is so good to see you again man :)<br /></td></tr></tbody></table><br /><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEhbbzpuEF4pSLPWcGxBouAEKjELQZ2uIlU05EU2vvBRpq_9trJQ4VlF3pzFnIXfQdZqu0IYV8301dtczrMsSKafCPTlvFNNkcsb7GH9YgVPHhswoCZRr8yjxlqmg8jFGydoYpTil4XW31N39YaMMk-Foma_I72xQQc8MDMmuAMYYP1ts-R8Lbg0EiiX=s5152" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="3864" data-original-width="5152" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEhbbzpuEF4pSLPWcGxBouAEKjELQZ2uIlU05EU2vvBRpq_9trJQ4VlF3pzFnIXfQdZqu0IYV8301dtczrMsSKafCPTlvFNNkcsb7GH9YgVPHhswoCZRr8yjxlqmg8jFGydoYpTil4XW31N39YaMMk-Foma_I72xQQc8MDMmuAMYYP1ts-R8Lbg0EiiX=s320" width="320" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Thanks to my master wizardry at the Legacy tournament, I get some store credit in the German Magic shop (I will not tell you what the gift card actually said, but it was a bit more obtuse than "German Magic shop".) And as I won the spoils playing modern Magic, I figured that I should spend them on non-oldschool cards for a change. Vintage, Highlander Gold, Legacy, and Premodern it is. <br /></td></tr></tbody></table><br /><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEi1-8qQN6nm7tFy16dmvOO0-Wv3qtlmgm9sKVxfP_IlfuXFWjvhxVh5xrOJ4GpB-DizodmoA6NXhwoQfER6yFX8NC1iyA9a3oVkHixH_dKLWipk4wnmwptK0-SqE0b7EvS2Sy9YAwm0dADYHZi2qO0P1Y0zV9D9JgRHvCl-cJZiI5xdX_pcxQqf3hEM=s5152" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="3864" data-original-width="5152" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEi1-8qQN6nm7tFy16dmvOO0-Wv3qtlmgm9sKVxfP_IlfuXFWjvhxVh5xrOJ4GpB-DizodmoA6NXhwoQfER6yFX8NC1iyA9a3oVkHixH_dKLWipk4wnmwptK0-SqE0b7EvS2Sy9YAwm0dADYHZi2qO0P1Y0zV9D9JgRHvCl-cJZiI5xdX_pcxQqf3hEM=s320" width="320" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">I then bough this card, using cash money. The journey to finally obtaining this one could probably be its own blog post. Long story short, it took around six months, and included trying to buy it but getting the wrong version twice.<br /></td></tr></tbody></table><br /><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEj8-5SfYkYz14XJTzalZJ-CbRAFO6gjLuyq2nNlOidAaliMRzfbPfoFneONA-rkUoGVGZvyW5QyVUAk1_6NFF0PeKQN_Ra2-jrR1uqxPwMO-vlgcPA2eA9keG8buE4HGUgsdFDebFm8EvkWCn6OMe9Pt3aluPhW803gXQy1Maevo80rcVpp8aovAlhY=s5152" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="3864" data-original-width="5152" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEj8-5SfYkYz14XJTzalZJ-CbRAFO6gjLuyq2nNlOidAaliMRzfbPfoFneONA-rkUoGVGZvyW5QyVUAk1_6NFF0PeKQN_Ra2-jrR1uqxPwMO-vlgcPA2eA9keG8buE4HGUgsdFDebFm8EvkWCn6OMe9Pt3aluPhW803gXQy1Maevo80rcVpp8aovAlhY=s320" width="320" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Real Magic about to start.<br /></td></tr></tbody></table><br /><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEjc5GX0HUX8iQ_dEOL-TtZU5RL1c-yRU3f3cMxYJUW20C4Er9CWGFsBS3TmGFDaSxDbWTv3dOpSAYSNV3a3p3au8-D5P7Q8mQxtqK9-ST-z-Yp3Wws_N20k6OV1NzYAcBCRG64wA4sxK_SLh9hnmtKr6W2GMBsPWTYVRY9NYAGzBPpfyz_3V4f7O95w=s5152" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="5152" data-original-width="3864" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEjc5GX0HUX8iQ_dEOL-TtZU5RL1c-yRU3f3cMxYJUW20C4Er9CWGFsBS3TmGFDaSxDbWTv3dOpSAYSNV3a3p3au8-D5P7Q8mQxtqK9-ST-z-Yp3Wws_N20k6OV1NzYAcBCRG64wA4sxK_SLh9hnmtKr6W2GMBsPWTYVRY9NYAGzBPpfyz_3V4f7O95w=s320" width="240" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">I face off against Bjørn-Einar Bjartnes on RGB Gauntlet round one. Fantastic game against a fantastic player.<br /></td></tr></tbody></table><br /><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEhYc4NgNZb81SVP9PKyQt0pF4y816yowpUuFs8z5n88PkMWR7Po-aijHaI9_imgHQ2t_DCgyykEgLtYQfb2sd5JeZXx2wQW18K2Pqf36QP6U8s4lv8_PAnnFTc36caBNA3kY6lQEjy0cJzF9DbcgT62mhEPuS_eKDTduk5vSshoU72WbuJEgf-Xq9AH=s5152" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="3864" data-original-width="5152" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEhYc4NgNZb81SVP9PKyQt0pF4y816yowpUuFs8z5n88PkMWR7Po-aijHaI9_imgHQ2t_DCgyykEgLtYQfb2sd5JeZXx2wQW18K2Pqf36QP6U8s4lv8_PAnnFTc36caBNA3kY6lQEjy0cJzF9DbcgT62mhEPuS_eKDTduk5vSshoU72WbuJEgf-Xq9AH=s320" width="320" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">This match I started with Land, Lotus, Icy; which is the second most satisfying way to use a turn one Black Lotus after Land, Lotus, Juzam. Proper Magic going on in the midgame here.<br /></td></tr></tbody></table><br /><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEhlG1SmmzvcnUr2jGkSPoyhcDyZZOdU3vbqogISuGtpM3tDsJUjpPHdNgXmYKauupNGYEPNcVQLey-Me_Aw50H4mTlt2Dtj3_jm-CXK3g5Tm2FpBrhrDsVIeExbgsXJ7CC_qrqjhrrFrX7qzo-rpfgtEM7daxrcvN380zYqE1rg8xjQQfUG5FIh6WVu=s5152" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="3864" data-original-width="5152" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEhlG1SmmzvcnUr2jGkSPoyhcDyZZOdU3vbqogISuGtpM3tDsJUjpPHdNgXmYKauupNGYEPNcVQLey-Me_Aw50H4mTlt2Dtj3_jm-CXK3g5Tm2FpBrhrDsVIeExbgsXJ7CC_qrqjhrrFrX7qzo-rpfgtEM7daxrcvN380zYqE1rg8xjQQfUG5FIh6WVu=s320" width="320" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Oh Gathering, how I've missed you!<br /></td></tr></tbody></table><br /><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEiZ0j9LrN2ZZDfd8dwDjxXJRz8v9dHmDzCYsEiac8C2SNeX491EUTPKs9tW0QOREK5stSZsontZyKTZ5LYmEyY3FsiD3mC5uTuY_Br3hIR8k2UJm9Bw1PSKuR8eKHsc8ZsUlAQVA0fl0KQOfWWI8HIU72JwSVgkDPgBapaqbdd573KOML9kjqcteJEg=s5152" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="5152" data-original-width="3864" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEiZ0j9LrN2ZZDfd8dwDjxXJRz8v9dHmDzCYsEiac8C2SNeX491EUTPKs9tW0QOREK5stSZsontZyKTZ5LYmEyY3FsiD3mC5uTuY_Br3hIR8k2UJm9Bw1PSKuR8eKHsc8ZsUlAQVA0fl0KQOfWWI8HIU72JwSVgkDPgBapaqbdd573KOML9kjqcteJEg=s320" width="240" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Battling Beyonce's Reanimator in round 3 or so. Cool stuff.<br /></td></tr></tbody></table><br /><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEhhACnMeH4nhJ8bJ255t24e6880xYKHzWxhC5mEdO7Lx5VYjb-YdDda6PcvqT7dEzyE7krJZ4595dKCNagZsFMAyBb1kpCRrgF0Zyt3cDn2N87NH5ZqpQJwqGw72n9YHWFEmzAqFDXRKpE7ILTOTarA1R27fItMoDAtt9stRzNQHcFfeeE7rOGrcLZH=s5152" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="3864" data-original-width="5152" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEhhACnMeH4nhJ8bJ255t24e6880xYKHzWxhC5mEdO7Lx5VYjb-YdDda6PcvqT7dEzyE7krJZ4595dKCNagZsFMAyBb1kpCRrgF0Zyt3cDn2N87NH5ZqpQJwqGw72n9YHWFEmzAqFDXRKpE7ILTOTarA1R27fItMoDAtt9stRzNQHcFfeeE7rOGrcLZH=s320" width="320" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">I am randomly bequeathed a booster of Judgment by Mällroth. Thanks man! I shall use this for Booster Tutor shenanigans. <br /></td></tr></tbody></table><br /><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEjpGTLFnCROajVBlkTYLhiFCe-VlI3k8tlejLiASlBf-98fXPpG3DFEoMn6GPDMYr4JHgkfdQmPytIc26noe8wBxXbuH2kgvoJldqEXwwonbiGGFIjbL2voaUy4g5fS_4s8D162gN6Tr_fnthoCGz1hHxHPtBjui3eLMByMQig1g310_UUSSUTdzclr=s5152" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="5152" data-original-width="3864" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEjpGTLFnCROajVBlkTYLhiFCe-VlI3k8tlejLiASlBf-98fXPpG3DFEoMn6GPDMYr4JHgkfdQmPytIc26noe8wBxXbuH2kgvoJldqEXwwonbiGGFIjbL2voaUy4g5fS_4s8D162gN6Tr_fnthoCGz1hHxHPtBjui3eLMByMQig1g310_UUSSUTdzclr=s320" width="240" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Daniel Yann Franzén. Such a cool guy.<br /></td></tr></tbody></table><br /><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEjoJUzBffaoz-r3PEPL1g5mh4VaMI0W8jfYbCnaK90ADJLEoCNi_V7hSe4fT__VZR7acWUJzAzp5x6FxjIHumZXwtY7DMMMoTkhC5ElR9PeN8fFWXqwsxjb4n-Ar8aDbmw5VAalODP-3cwsYl3zOaUA8zkJsIOaMoD8nhNCfiACg5XPxkvsEEDewGdk=s5152" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="3864" data-original-width="5152" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEjoJUzBffaoz-r3PEPL1g5mh4VaMI0W8jfYbCnaK90ADJLEoCNi_V7hSe4fT__VZR7acWUJzAzp5x6FxjIHumZXwtY7DMMMoTkhC5ElR9PeN8fFWXqwsxjb4n-Ar8aDbmw5VAalODP-3cwsYl3zOaUA8zkJsIOaMoD8nhNCfiACg5XPxkvsEEDewGdk=s320" width="320" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Happy people, and a very unflattering angle of Gordon's jacket. We're about to auction out a <i>mystery box</i> of random Magic bulk to donate the proceeds to the Red Cross Ukraine. A solid object to auction among drunken players if we want to raise some capital.<br /></td></tr></tbody></table><br /><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEjr5AkV4QV5tjp1XPJtdQF2Bohfg9rbDydUyHGWC9mQ6_UD8ToY88y4WgEdfH15j1zUDeH5oRPn0L2q3uMZPnHp2Rfndfnad7VA1oANZozQsaCa9i9IrLY04xb5nnRRfp5ZItrfpnpILgD9PyJ3CbkMTmG6gk-5sqjA7Z_tQclvAejMGl9neWEmKb8T=s5152" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="3864" data-original-width="5152" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEjr5AkV4QV5tjp1XPJtdQF2Bohfg9rbDydUyHGWC9mQ6_UD8ToY88y4WgEdfH15j1zUDeH5oRPn0L2q3uMZPnHp2Rfndfnad7VA1oANZozQsaCa9i9IrLY04xb5nnRRfp5ZItrfpnpILgD9PyJ3CbkMTmG6gk-5sqjA7Z_tQclvAejMGl9neWEmKb8T=s320" width="320" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">I've played for around 12 hours straight at this point, and I'm still in the middle of some swiss. So high time for some slightly intoxicated purchases for me as well. Picked up some sweetness from Beyonce...<br /></td></tr></tbody></table><br /><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEhRW9z8-b6bAym8MIWBoh8CPyfwxMx4lOUQqzQXZejOMH-fBY0sfHmZYKm7chwuMGdAPGnXvZ61R6UfNhRPqm5axX_EQoi8ebte6ORI6apI2_yjFmBRd6vxUxx_8JC4bm-fbAPhv_wlO4DryxUMgu2Fta_oTcl6Vrq_71TI9Afx4S58Or8n7FS1DC6J=s5152" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="5152" data-original-width="3864" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEhRW9z8-b6bAym8MIWBoh8CPyfwxMx4lOUQqzQXZejOMH-fBY0sfHmZYKm7chwuMGdAPGnXvZ61R6UfNhRPqm5axX_EQoi8ebte6ORI6apI2_yjFmBRd6vxUxx_8JC4bm-fbAPhv_wlO4DryxUMgu2Fta_oTcl6Vrq_71TI9Afx4S58Or8n7FS1DC6J=s320" width="240" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">...and some more sweetness from Mällroth. More duals for the Highlander Gold deck.<br /></td></tr></tbody></table><br /><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEhFEEUWY6pTrALvxs_ojDMxqTUJGeGX2JQIi9d85kzC6NHL9Va_JcEuGE-IeflFGRHmi-3dJ32MmSm9Qs9wUJ-JsjcYVwFwkiYWYCU3cyuYHdbs6ky7gWPW6tXA6AXPmMQfIv4sBNZGq-iNNTHjVF4tDFogZXYeWHF9E6pqD1bPdtLB3AH9uy7fJuA-=s5152" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="3864" data-original-width="5152" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEhFEEUWY6pTrALvxs_ojDMxqTUJGeGX2JQIi9d85kzC6NHL9Va_JcEuGE-IeflFGRHmi-3dJ32MmSm9Qs9wUJ-JsjcYVwFwkiYWYCU3cyuYHdbs6ky7gWPW6tXA6AXPmMQfIv4sBNZGq-iNNTHjVF4tDFogZXYeWHF9E6pqD1bPdtLB3AH9uy7fJuA-=s320" width="320" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">I played an earlier game on the stream getting crushed by Kalle, and now get a second chance to show off my skills online against Gordon. He's on a spicy yet powerful Living Plane deck, and if I recall correctly we had some really good games. We ended the match on a draw.<br /></td></tr></tbody></table><br /><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEhGiOFgibZz8jXLFZq3tNlKK9JH7uCWADtL_hqPzL9GTbwZoD0mqhVyU9tCOrqvP6Mbwfc3xpVCAx4Q0-WP3oXRnU1ef-HD4nI2TEz7g0i4PcXB708Xa7XbRqxidEo3Z_-Uutj54sufyjc7DDYINW-G9npUgQlC8AutCVWW92b5UFFizbcTMVbwyJK4=s5152" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="3864" data-original-width="5152" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEhGiOFgibZz8jXLFZq3tNlKK9JH7uCWADtL_hqPzL9GTbwZoD0mqhVyU9tCOrqvP6Mbwfc3xpVCAx4Q0-WP3oXRnU1ef-HD4nI2TEz7g0i4PcXB708Xa7XbRqxidEo3Z_-Uutj54sufyjc7DDYINW-G9npUgQlC8AutCVWW92b5UFFizbcTMVbwyJK4=s320" width="320" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Markus has checked out. I'm 3-1-1 going into the last round, and kinda dread winning (or drawing) the last round as I've now played Magic for 15 hours without a proper food break. I could also use some food and/or sleep at this point. Still, top8'ing the 93/94 would be kinda brag-worthy when I come home to the wife, so I'll certainly do my best.<br /></td></tr></tbody></table><br /><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEj0AtF6XQwEw4euDDknsxeyQcC1lAbTgGBla7AS8_NrnoLOsqGXapAKUnnYJumpuGJ6f2RqhuCqSXMuwoQkwmcs8ZlNGV9kW7chaTew6dCes_CFIB3SWJ522JKwnFreztTtwWry8KM4AnvDKSTKtAEb5D4GSULpMJrSkaX4YLYQs1Ve1e_lweWdammT=s5152" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="3864" data-original-width="5152" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEj0AtF6XQwEw4euDDknsxeyQcC1lAbTgGBla7AS8_NrnoLOsqGXapAKUnnYJumpuGJ6f2RqhuCqSXMuwoQkwmcs8ZlNGV9kW7chaTew6dCes_CFIB3SWJ522JKwnFreztTtwWry8KM4AnvDKSTKtAEb5D4GSULpMJrSkaX4YLYQs1Ve1e_lweWdammT=s320" width="320" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Last round is against a jovial Mitja on The Deck. This one was a bit rough, as I didn't get to use a single non-land card in game one. When pretty much the same thing occurs for the first ten rounds or so of game two, it was time to scoop up the cards. Even though I could technically still have fought back (using all the luck in the world), I was kinda out of the good game at that point and it seemed better to just call it a night. And that's not to trash talk The Deck (and of course not Mitja's deck choice for that matter; I think The Deck can lead to very exiting and intricate games!). But this was not really one of them, and hence I shall end the night with a scoop in disgust ;)<br /></td><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><br /></td></tr></tbody></table><br /><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEgOuOMMPq7wZkzFbR5wBFBOJvzfNd0LW3WzuEf_kJHNC09JCS6st9bvQmncngys6O3hQT9I4gj5VDMeUO_EWcDtD1X86Y3UpUodKtPjv8I8wGUnh58sjybYwgZF_J8c4lPH6DXYZFWOGOoZVmGnTNLL4-Wk4AcJSklgOCe0RLcFFqivJ2d-ur21eFax=s5152" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="3864" data-original-width="5152" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEgOuOMMPq7wZkzFbR5wBFBOJvzfNd0LW3WzuEf_kJHNC09JCS6st9bvQmncngys6O3hQT9I4gj5VDMeUO_EWcDtD1X86Y3UpUodKtPjv8I8wGUnh58sjybYwgZF_J8c4lPH6DXYZFWOGOoZVmGnTNLL4-Wk4AcJSklgOCe0RLcFFqivJ2d-ur21eFax=s320" width="320" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Kalle is in the top8 and Markus is down for the count, so I grab some keys from his large yet still frame and hike a ride with Berntsson towards suburbia. Alone I break in to the empty Casa KungMarkus in the middle of the night, and is of course promptly attacked by their yelling dog. So there's another potential health issue with this whole pandemic thing, I haven't been able to travel to Arvika much and the current dog still finds me to be a stranger.<br /></td></tr></tbody></table><br /><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEhhJY-j26IYsrGCRNWjmVmvANHtxK_kEfYmx0y-oxCXS4o3I7_lb4cILRDm2DzmifbevsSJnllX8U_gFZPVWH7hXWOn7wAnxCBitq8DclO3G8ReUM0draO-qvv3x96oLWQWdNMuQ7aC6qfL8uDb1fDaKnt7Zw_GL1byJioQYQKPkKj_wOZEGG1m3n9u=s5152" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="3864" data-original-width="5152" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEhhJY-j26IYsrGCRNWjmVmvANHtxK_kEfYmx0y-oxCXS4o3I7_lb4cILRDm2DzmifbevsSJnllX8U_gFZPVWH7hXWOn7wAnxCBitq8DclO3G8ReUM0draO-qvv3x96oLWQWdNMuQ7aC6qfL8uDb1fDaKnt7Zw_GL1byJioQYQKPkKj_wOZEGG1m3n9u=s320" width="320" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Luckily she's a lover and not a fighter. I hang out with her a bit before going to sleep to make sure that we're the best of friends, which we clearly are. Haha, I kinda wonder if the old dog Bandit would have treated me as friendly in the same situation ;)<br /></td><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><br /></td></tr></tbody></table><p></p><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEithW-vJ7QQB3MUIN1eq8Ke0SfGdlI_0csubyrDtltUfnRzX9bRyZIDz4A_ze7ODNnWShyZ_JCj5LvDmWbA3uU8CIVtPhk97Z1DwxEVxMk3YCWfekR0YqSUYBownAAyLDhEPb_A915Qxy5ycBOkq5Zjbo7CmqbWBW8GCzTRzPvygVmgX0gX5bnQMxQN/s796/top8-2.png" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="697" data-original-width="796" height="280" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEithW-vJ7QQB3MUIN1eq8Ke0SfGdlI_0csubyrDtltUfnRzX9bRyZIDz4A_ze7ODNnWShyZ_JCj5LvDmWbA3uU8CIVtPhk97Z1DwxEVxMk3YCWfekR0YqSUYBownAAyLDhEPb_A915Qxy5ycBOkq5Zjbo7CmqbWBW8GCzTRzPvygVmgX0gX5bnQMxQN/s320/top8-2.png" width="320" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">In
the middle of the night, handsome wildcard Morgan "Farsan" Karlsson
picks up the Glorious Festival win. Dude has been in soo many fancy
top8 in the last years, but I think this is the first larger 93/94
tournament that he actually won. As I was asleep / hanging out with a
dog at the time, I didn't grab a picture, so here's a stock picture of
him from the <a href="https://oldschool-mtg.blogspot.com/2016/04/the-n00bcon-top8-part-2.html">n00bcon 8 top8</a>.<br /></td></tr></tbody></table><p></p><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEiNCBG5jdkTkP45pD1d9xixhal0ZVmnHmR-KU1Ho-uMUmJFI6tDToMwlWYDqcwRfah-3bz2ENoM9PsTIZcVO4WdYespuTuMmTI8WdHkiJIRT4s33hc1fuFroX1EWmqUkp62wHWEUx3z9d6gpnY9H8huqOsQacjGQ7Eaxk5_v1QeG21C2iTQD5Xx_ZAt=s2048" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1536" data-original-width="2048" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEiNCBG5jdkTkP45pD1d9xixhal0ZVmnHmR-KU1Ho-uMUmJFI6tDToMwlWYDqcwRfah-3bz2ENoM9PsTIZcVO4WdYespuTuMmTI8WdHkiJIRT4s33hc1fuFroX1EWmqUkp62wHWEUx3z9d6gpnY9H8huqOsQacjGQ7Eaxk5_v1QeG21C2iTQD5Xx_ZAt=s320" width="320" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Farsan's Troll Disco that won Arvika Festival 7. A playset Volcanic Islands are missing from the picture.<br /></td></tr></tbody></table><br /><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEjoBAre8DzYr9MxRNyuOprYYPMBwQOb-nKvSG4QMaD77ZHDKFlauqXdWpl3rCafEgIeDD1C0C8JV0SFvYT4jTsPRsnXoGrf8nUX2A7lU97Jj_Y9iqAwgWBL1ta0-_qHJGBrrO1nDOb9aj1vWEqxXarcG7SToy6g5JqLx8dkXpScVYSmfvvPSpcKh5vU=s5152" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="3864" data-original-width="5152" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEjoBAre8DzYr9MxRNyuOprYYPMBwQOb-nKvSG4QMaD77ZHDKFlauqXdWpl3rCafEgIeDD1C0C8JV0SFvYT4jTsPRsnXoGrf8nUX2A7lU97Jj_Y9iqAwgWBL1ta0-_qHJGBrrO1nDOb9aj1vWEqxXarcG7SToy6g5JqLx8dkXpScVYSmfvvPSpcKh5vU=s320" width="320" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Once again I bid adieu to Arvika and ponder great memories of Festivals past. Thank you guys so much for yet another wonderful event, and I'm greatly looking forward to see a bunch of you at n00bcon 13 in a few weeks!<br /></td></tr></tbody></table><p></p><p></p><p></p>Speaking of n00bcon 13, that thing is a thing, and will be hosted according to tradition on Good Friday April 15th. <a href="http://n00bcon.com/n00bcon13">The website</a> is up and running, so feel free to check it out if you've missed it. I'll update with some more info for the players (and those of you interested in coverage or side events) in the coming weeks.<br /><p></p>Mghttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00555613518338194305noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2299444734264560627.post-45382505998409869722022-03-07T20:04:00.005+01:002022-03-07T20:09:17.582+01:00The Power of the Community, by Anne Joldersma<img src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEjuYsCBRkx8lFw4wZV0L_vswpOgrleE1hsEPmIGn2lVIf4jP5K1NTF6wQzhNnMKWYoN_8ppBzad8C518q4-7eG58Tn91uCqFBqHUG_E0Z2GTBOKhr0upBNFLDoq0d04nSHTx-i5ift26LgwRuDUsJ1hdNqukhxozTKRmQuN02mnxt9FAt2tVriLktV4=s2048" style="display: none;" /><i>We're one week into the Mtg4Life Ukraine fundraiser, and thanks to a myriad of players around the oldschool communities we have already passed 2/3rds of our initial goal. But where did these almost €7,000 come from? There are many stories of course. One of the best ones comes from the Dutch, and it is my pleasure to share Anne Joldersma's story here. /Mg out</i><p>Because of the Russian military actions in Ukraine, a lot of refugees are traveling to neighboring countries, such as Poland and Romania. The Red Cross is helping those who have fled their homes.</p><p>Viktor Peterson <a href="http://oldschool-mtg.blogspot.com/2022/03/mtg4life-ukraine.html">organized a fundraiser</a> for the Old School community to donate for the Red Cross. When I saw this fundraiser, I knew I wanted to help. So I flipped through my trade binder and picked some cards there; 2 Alpha Grizzly Bears, a Knowledge Vault, a Bottle of Suleiman and a Xira Arien.</p><p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEiViv9ISnJlbEJMKBLSrgIjBTSZHH83UkIbKBgIlJjXRxc0_Mr-DMNPw92-ANWfemnsmKMDiBtH6s71ytI9QtBbQ2lIRgqK8Z5Dt8EmZdqbTZzouSuh10oj8y9McurVg5jQzOUd2ef60UggzLayjYW4QyFsdxgMdpOV0gPamGh-ALCJzs4-ViZYvnV0=s2048" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="2048" data-original-width="1536" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEiViv9ISnJlbEJMKBLSrgIjBTSZHH83UkIbKBgIlJjXRxc0_Mr-DMNPw92-ANWfemnsmKMDiBtH6s71ytI9QtBbQ2lIRgqK8Z5Dt8EmZdqbTZzouSuh10oj8y9McurVg5jQzOUd2ef60UggzLayjYW4QyFsdxgMdpOV0gPamGh-ALCJzs4-ViZYvnV0=s320" width="240" /></a></div><p></p><p>In our Dutch Old School Guild Whatsapp group it’s quite common for people to sell and buy cards. So I decided to put the cards up for auction there. I told everybody that 100% of the amount would go to Viktor's fundraiser and that I would double the total amount.</p><p>This led to a great series of events. First, people started bidding like crazy on the cards. Some of them went a lot higher than they would go normally (one of the Grizzly’s went for €150), just because this was for charity.</p><div style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEg7lUpEXGvow-0YCBGtND-xAuMCwLIzmHK6dLEHfDAWzwf1WL-MkKfO8bi2VUi-YRrpXiP556LRbzUqBI2niggTHGyAZwofM0PeQlKBeOhIKL0llf4ql3_PAvqFVzxHD0pNrbxA-IGl711OrshTInhxlKwpkH5Tldy6yz6KS9bHKP7SSf9FTXtkJXUu=s2048"><img border="0" data-original-height="2048" data-original-width="1471" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEg7lUpEXGvow-0YCBGtND-xAuMCwLIzmHK6dLEHfDAWzwf1WL-MkKfO8bi2VUi-YRrpXiP556LRbzUqBI2niggTHGyAZwofM0PeQlKBeOhIKL0llf4ql3_PAvqFVzxHD0pNrbxA-IGl711OrshTInhxlKwpkH5Tldy6yz6KS9bHKP7SSf9FTXtkJXUu=s320" width="230" /></a></div><p> </p><p>Second, other people started auctioning cards as well. A Tetsuo Umezawa was added quickly, and a Tetravus joined the party as well. Both players who sold them said that 100% of the amount would go to me, to donate more to Viktor.</p><p>Six Raging Bulls were added. As you might know, the Raging Bull Series is an Amsterdam full Swedish event, where there’s a great raffle where 1 Raging Bull card is 1 raffle ticket. A guy in Austria is collecting as many Raging Bulls as he can, driving the price for the 3-mana 2/2 higher and higher. Needless to say, these lottery tickets were surely to sell quickly and they all went for €50 each.</p><div style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEjuYsCBRkx8lFw4wZV0L_vswpOgrleE1hsEPmIGn2lVIf4jP5K1NTF6wQzhNnMKWYoN_8ppBzad8C518q4-7eG58Tn91uCqFBqHUG_E0Z2GTBOKhr0upBNFLDoq0d04nSHTx-i5ift26LgwRuDUsJ1hdNqukhxozTKRmQuN02mnxt9FAt2tVriLktV4=s2048"><img border="0" data-original-height="2048" data-original-width="1536" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEjuYsCBRkx8lFw4wZV0L_vswpOgrleE1hsEPmIGn2lVIf4jP5K1NTF6wQzhNnMKWYoN_8ppBzad8C518q4-7eG58Tn91uCqFBqHUG_E0Z2GTBOKhr0upBNFLDoq0d04nSHTx-i5ift26LgwRuDUsJ1hdNqukhxozTKRmQuN02mnxt9FAt2tVriLktV4=s320" width="240" /></a></div><p> </p><p>More and more cards were added to the auction, including a BGS graded Alpha Earth Elemental, a The Rack, a Stone-Throwing Devils, an Unlimited Granite Gargoyle, and many more. A staggering 22 cards were auctioned, all for the Ukrainian people.</p><p>When all auctions ended and the dust settled, some players missed out on some cards, but wanted to donate as well, so they did.</p><p>In the end, the Dutch Old School Guild raised €2.799,- in total.</p><p>I’m so proud of our community and it’s an absolute honor to be part of it!</p><p>Big shout-out to Viktor for his fundraiser and I hope all that’s happening in Ukraine will be over soon. Until then, let’s do our best to help those in need.</p>Mghttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00555613518338194305noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2299444734264560627.post-78239726003645546852022-03-01T22:20:00.010+01:002022-03-07T20:08:45.387+01:00Mtg4Life Ukraine<p><i>This is important. It is time to raise our sights from the card tables and acknowledge the great tragedy taking place in Europe. And maybe, even if just slightly, we could help someone. I give the word to Viktor "Oldschool" Peterson. /Mg out</i> <br /></p><p>Spring is getting closer by the day here in Sweden, and the darkness of the winter is once again beaten by the sun. Corona is not the same guardian beast as before and the live Magic scene is once again blooming in every corner of the community. </p><p>But there is a new blood red humanitarian crisis rolling in over Ukraine because of Russia's invasion that cannot be ignored. You have probably all seen the horrible news with dead children, cities in ruins and hundreds of thousands of refugees on the move before the Russian tanks and bombs. </p><p>My personal hope here in lies, that you might wonder – "How may I help in all this?"</p><p>Let’s work with our joint passion for Old School Magic the Gathering to make a stand!</p><p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEj86fvlFz_76_i-636rckfezBkKGCQnJQ_XdcaXHKL_b19mxDyLBg8Y0w2svbGOeMHWwfVgE4wV0koQKjtZn-1tkEVtksm9c8xMaBwy_0Xe4updES1BeNm_o5rfFa6k3v6v_DdPhY6poYiqVk4g3UKAYbfcb4gbhtHdG008Ey1JjhksjHzUMQ1Ya6s2=s1200" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="628" data-original-width="1200" height="167" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEj86fvlFz_76_i-636rckfezBkKGCQnJQ_XdcaXHKL_b19mxDyLBg8Y0w2svbGOeMHWwfVgE4wV0koQKjtZn-1tkEVtksm9c8xMaBwy_0Xe4updES1BeNm_o5rfFa6k3v6v_DdPhY6poYiqVk4g3UKAYbfcb4gbhtHdG008Ey1JjhksjHzUMQ1Ya6s2=s320" width="320" /></a></div><p></p><p>I remembered the great initiative from 2015 when Magnus “MG” De Laval created the <a href="http://oldschool-mtg.blogspot.com/2016/09/mtgforlife-retrospective.html">#Mtg4Life campaign</a> on Indiegogo and together with a lot of you Magic nerds out there collected over $12 000 to Doctors Without Borders. </p><p>It’s time to again wake the #Mtg4Life community to help the people of Ukraine with food, shelter and vital medical support. Together we can make a difference saving real lives and show our support through the platform of the game we all love.</p><p></p><p></p><p></p><p></p><p>The ask is once again very simple. </p><ol style="text-align: left;"><li>Sell one of the cards you’re not using now, or</li><li>Downgrade a black border one to a white one, or </li><li>Just donate whatever sum you like <br /></li></ol><p> </p><p>If you would like a token of gratitude for your kind donation over €150 to your deck, I will at my own expense personally send you a #MtgForLife Ukraine signed card from my own collection of strange old combo cards and Lands. Just send me a message over Facebook or find me at n00bcon13 and we will sort something out.</p><div style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEi_KupLBCacPDp2tBGAMEIJ7Ew42qv7zIgmrT0EXmKPqPjac6CwgoUCmlk--2OMCsL-SckghcnaPScMTmZjNgzYoxZhwpXXxkfR92F0_VLiyLeyPdjqIVYPWzenkVLwk2NGPygc6XdL2VOIpsJf_L-j1SufWseAsW86R6iVWFuKmhDwEHG0ecELVm9T=s4032"><img border="0" data-original-height="3024" data-original-width="4032" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEi_KupLBCacPDp2tBGAMEIJ7Ew42qv7zIgmrT0EXmKPqPjac6CwgoUCmlk--2OMCsL-SckghcnaPScMTmZjNgzYoxZhwpXXxkfR92F0_VLiyLeyPdjqIVYPWzenkVLwk2NGPygc6XdL2VOIpsJf_L-j1SufWseAsW86R6iVWFuKmhDwEHG0ecELVm9T=s320" width="320" /></a></div><p> </p><p>As a bonus, we have two specially altered cards, a Beta Disenchant and an Island. One will go to the top donator and the other to one of you that helps in spreading the campaign.</p><p></p><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEixCTAjzZhCpRwwDlAMDnr8FDdFYIypmTtATXLz4F5t48HAjlnu0VU-iNYFipblBGMrn-3-w1cb99sFBvbxmineN9w4AycB55phkIrmIcOQhQ-ZM8NguF6lQ-rSKmuvnhgWtx9g9_vwl_4lxdmNGilLb6BgfKwMOAm7rN3ejSBELyOsBtVdiD8tBmgx=s4032" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="3024" data-original-width="4032" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEixCTAjzZhCpRwwDlAMDnr8FDdFYIypmTtATXLz4F5t48HAjlnu0VU-iNYFipblBGMrn-3-w1cb99sFBvbxmineN9w4AycB55phkIrmIcOQhQ-ZM8NguF6lQ-rSKmuvnhgWtx9g9_vwl_4lxdmNGilLb6BgfKwMOAm7rN3ejSBELyOsBtVdiD8tBmgx=s320" width="320" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><div dir="auto">Disenchant art by Felipe Garcia</div><div dir="auto">Island art by yours truly, Oldschool</div></td></tr></tbody></table><p></p><p>If you like to howl your contribution beyond your donation, please share it to your fellow gamers and take a compassionate stand for Ukraine and the citizens of the world.</p><p>Here is the link to the fundraiser:<br /><a href="https://www.facebook.com/donate/3073852432930003">https://www.facebook.com/donate/3073852432930003</a> </p><p>Thanks again for your kind support, and I hope to see you soon in a Magic duel near you.</p><p>/Viktor “Oldschool” Peterson</p>Mghttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00555613518338194305noreply@blogger.com7tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2299444734264560627.post-11736240725863368962022-02-18T23:23:00.020+01:002022-02-20T20:36:37.279+01:00Equilibrium<p>The other weekend I went down to Gothenburg, alone. I had some plans to hang out with friends in the city during my Christmas vacation, but a sprinkle of Covid put a firm stop to all that. So I took a weekend away from the family, mainly to water some social flowers that had been dry for too long. Watch a couple of rad movies (like <a href="https://www.imdb.com/title/tt15090124/">Mad God</a>), have some long walks in the motherland, and chomp down a fistful Swedish Kebab pizzas.<br /></p><p>While there, I also picked up six more rares for the Legends set. Two from Kalle Nord and four from Morgan "Farsan" Karlsson.<br /></p><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEjc11UO2T3wL4qld6Pgh3aXAxw6Jq9KSMXGWerTT7RcpTnqde4XpgTOB-bljyfzacQU4DH2f6Lcr8yJfWNvFfQznm5TNBOySUglj89QxshUiLzFL2DnSN3y6LQZaDufEaIpynPin-z7gSqfjQ17abid5Ic9Cq05vJoH-djbNytEh36GSoeHG93Dlli5=s4032" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="3024" data-original-width="4032" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEjc11UO2T3wL4qld6Pgh3aXAxw6Jq9KSMXGWerTT7RcpTnqde4XpgTOB-bljyfzacQU4DH2f6Lcr8yJfWNvFfQznm5TNBOySUglj89QxshUiLzFL2DnSN3y6LQZaDufEaIpynPin-z7gSqfjQ17abid5Ic9Cq05vJoH-djbNytEh36GSoeHG93Dlli5=s320" width="320" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">"Fun" fact: There are more rares in Legends than there are <i>total </i>cards (c+u+r) in any other of the "early expansions" (Arabian Nights, Antiquities, The Dark, Fallen Empires, or Homelands).<br /></td></tr></tbody></table><p></p><p>Divine Transformation, Land Equilibrium, Rasputin Dreamweaver, Concordant Crossroads, Hazezon Tamar, Adun Oakenshield. Any one of these could carry their own post. And after my recent highly restrained - borderline shallow - reflections on <a href="http://oldschool-mtg.blogspot.com/2022/01/the-dark-page-one.html">a page of The Dark cards</a>, I don't want to just write a paragraph on each card and call it a day. I want to go a bit deeper today. But which one to chose?<br /></p><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEgVJPmB_8mNYp79Rcs0U9WDC9GKV6E7m7zM3G0ynl8JQW_-3Muyv2vigXOvN4IGPxqlyOUgSjSNp8DnOM8iPH1J-8UOdj74AUzAo3SN898c9YwhFo8PmEB4mB0dPkfM5JyCJyxELju6btEo-2CyyeVs4uS4UTYTTyUvxrb7hhcSRBAqQEJInehNv_pb=s3431" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="2013" data-original-width="3431" height="188" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEgVJPmB_8mNYp79Rcs0U9WDC9GKV6E7m7zM3G0ynl8JQW_-3Muyv2vigXOvN4IGPxqlyOUgSjSNp8DnOM8iPH1J-8UOdj74AUzAo3SN898c9YwhFo8PmEB4mB0dPkfM5JyCJyxELju6btEo-2CyyeVs4uS4UTYTTyUvxrb7hhcSRBAqQEJInehNv_pb=s320" width="320" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Yes, Divine Transformation could carry 800 words. Trust me bro.<br /></td></tr></tbody></table><p></p><p>So, six cards, and I'm not really sure which to pick. Why, any tabletop gamer worth their salt should see the obvious solution to this conundrum.<br /></p><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEgAXOFhk2sOoFOJd7ne_8SCww3SsKsM8l7uutHthCnsmA3XGQagoFuxu0SPY2sNj7fjXcOvBuJmeCh6liEwc5qZCnKlUJe9CG2pmUI4IFUFp2dzMAuU_-r24Ldk9l-beKE04vWG9Me6UCxmIpc2ny8Yvt0tGAe8Iz_Z3K-zjoq_NXflQjKikozJSHZ-=s4032" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="4032" data-original-width="3024" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEgAXOFhk2sOoFOJd7ne_8SCww3SsKsM8l7uutHthCnsmA3XGQagoFuxu0SPY2sNj7fjXcOvBuJmeCh6liEwc5qZCnKlUJe9CG2pmUI4IFUFp2dzMAuU_-r24Ldk9l-beKE04vWG9Me6UCxmIpc2ny8Yvt0tGAe8Iz_Z3K-zjoq_NXflQjKikozJSHZ-=s320" width="240" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Let's roll.<br /></td></tr></tbody></table><p></p><p></p><p></p><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEgOAm-WFkEKMlGPMGD89xrGxFuDHFkW-5pCqHIvYY-NxdxMc8_3kX0PP5bmUAF74b1X6s44qOThOCZELZCEZHKDQRKw9dDp2Z_yZyu9Zd3309FT2YXdWaU5iDiharEORcM_xQhPvwA7q3lLISNIBzxyDnluhRIQILmRR1Ns81JgVrsGpNyiiWaJOMGj=s4032" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="4032" data-original-width="3024" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEgOAm-WFkEKMlGPMGD89xrGxFuDHFkW-5pCqHIvYY-NxdxMc8_3kX0PP5bmUAF74b1X6s44qOThOCZELZCEZHKDQRKw9dDp2Z_yZyu9Zd3309FT2YXdWaU5iDiharEORcM_xQhPvwA7q3lLISNIBzxyDnluhRIQILmRR1Ns81JgVrsGpNyiiWaJOMGj=s320" width="240" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Good roll.<br /></td></tr></tbody></table><p></p><p></p><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEiopevDIay7c1Hu3u9oH7GXf370Tip0g24MkzcnlFK-FJ8n_LeaiQc4vUnpKGsKRTIK7S16aOOBhTbndYcLoKwAazZalQti1Ox-x9byKkZ9AmkAsSoBeXpqj3iLdXEJuB2hGQMmxkK0H8O7Yb5rYRebOSOx0GWNH5BYitw09Nff3LP9obWBTZbogj-3=s4032" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="4032" data-original-width="3024" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEiopevDIay7c1Hu3u9oH7GXf370Tip0g24MkzcnlFK-FJ8n_LeaiQc4vUnpKGsKRTIK7S16aOOBhTbndYcLoKwAazZalQti1Ox-x9byKkZ9AmkAsSoBeXpqj3iLdXEJuB2hGQMmxkK0H8O7Yb5rYRebOSOx0GWNH5BYitw09Nff3LP9obWBTZbogj-3=s320" width="240" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Land Equilibrium it is.</td></tr></tbody></table><p></p><p>This was one of the cards I got from Kalle. A real build-around, this one. In fact, I'm sure there was an old Land Equilibrium list in one of <a href="http://oldschool-mtg.blogspot.com/2013/03/regensburg-part-ii.html">the mid-90s German Magic books</a> I got from the guys in Regensburg nine years ago. Lets try to find it in the lost section of the library and see what an early '95 Land Equilibrium deck looked like.</p><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEiizGvtxOTnpxVA6I0lmGpvQOJSuH9ZP8jVGR2k5oGBOmSgp6zRS-b5QmTravS93RgWUx-jzZ7M6WJls10jgteq_Wr-i9BAv8BYZv1j3OAudU4WIjRLDkcVIR3Y03615FH4v9z5iEDpvCNvh7xsYeorCPewKAHG9FN0UmM1jGBOoBEDtNUJrXcQHMvb=s4032" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="4032" data-original-width="3024" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEiizGvtxOTnpxVA6I0lmGpvQOJSuH9ZP8jVGR2k5oGBOmSgp6zRS-b5QmTravS93RgWUx-jzZ7M6WJls10jgteq_Wr-i9BAv8BYZv1j3OAudU4WIjRLDkcVIR3Y03615FH4v9z5iEDpvCNvh7xsYeorCPewKAHG9FN0UmM1jGBOoBEDtNUJrXcQHMvb=s320" width="240" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Or lets just accidentally spill out half a shelf on the floor while recklessly rummaging.</td></tr></tbody></table><div></div><p></p><div></div><p></p><p></p><div>Huh. Long since I saw these old photos. Thought they were down in the cellar storage. One in particular gives me pause. <br /></div><p></p><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEgeLNzJhiIS1qbEhyJuA-PCzaol7ii0N4uTl7LkHrcE4G244zmUcB7by9nqLCabkCZQmhPeJlGLkMoHmfBBPkBt4nKmsVP9AmUxH68G0HxvAPi9m0nBZQaU6p_y1GGmfyN0p5DgSMPbMKdXn9FpBREs7PyVxf7a0m7jWcM2aDmXhVpS79h0xA8uSR0R=s4032" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="3024" data-original-width="4032" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEgeLNzJhiIS1qbEhyJuA-PCzaol7ii0N4uTl7LkHrcE4G244zmUcB7by9nqLCabkCZQmhPeJlGLkMoHmfBBPkBt4nKmsVP9AmUxH68G0HxvAPi9m0nBZQaU6p_y1GGmfyN0p5DgSMPbMKdXn9FpBREs7PyVxf7a0m7jWcM2aDmXhVpS79h0xA8uSR0R=s320" width="320" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">That's a signed photo of me in front of a Bob Saget billboard.</td></tr></tbody></table><p></p><p>That photo was taken in late 2007 by Maestro Larry, an old family friend in New York. Larry worked on Broadway, mainly as a musician, and Bob Saget had recently signed on to his show.</p><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEizufKloYkbMix3CdFXTBuCp6k6hJSWJFE6MG9HqOX-hGyu42-J7axuliNg9F0ZGBpQlvEzvxjXVqOsLuNFySBcrLoLzfdRDMU034qT4BcnJu9lxUpQMvktwfdX8t62zAsczKIYeLGPKopgd3pr_gHxTheQ0WiGQtA6ziigmuel7Svkt4ckLZeOVQQB=s604" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="453" data-original-width="604" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEizufKloYkbMix3CdFXTBuCp6k6hJSWJFE6MG9HqOX-hGyu42-J7axuliNg9F0ZGBpQlvEzvxjXVqOsLuNFySBcrLoLzfdRDMU034qT4BcnJu9lxUpQMvktwfdX8t62zAsczKIYeLGPKopgd3pr_gHxTheQ0WiGQtA6ziigmuel7Svkt4ckLZeOVQQB=s320" width="320" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">That's me in late 2007, sporting 2008 glasses (as was the custom for out-of-towners around Times Square when New Year's Eve approached). Larry is the guy on the left, sporting no glasses (as was the custom for people that actually lived and worked around Times Square).<br /></td></tr></tbody></table><p>The US felt a bit different back then, at least as an outsider looking in. Georg W. Bush was still the president, but people seemed eager for a presumed showdown between Hillary Clinton and Rudy Giuliani in the upcoming 2008 election. People were ready to put a mostly unpopular president behind them, and Bush himself appeared ready to go. </p><p></p><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEiqw_8rTCheMxIQnKEbp3fM5wsw968UT8H3O09oRL9DuiGtSaM6IvsyoOZn5JvvEdltmJt2WIuCffXZVOkf3sAWcTPq9K2SJ9JVm882kRjMCFqYYrbBukYPZLkWGsBZVzzb3qHkoDjKR5ypUjdlQ2oSA0eHZXPqd0TzUgfTuO5_LgzA2qcI7zU6kil1=s604" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="453" data-original-width="604" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEiqw_8rTCheMxIQnKEbp3fM5wsw968UT8H3O09oRL9DuiGtSaM6IvsyoOZn5JvvEdltmJt2WIuCffXZVOkf3sAWcTPq9K2SJ9JVm882kRjMCFqYYrbBukYPZLkWGsBZVzzb3qHkoDjKR5ypUjdlQ2oSA0eHZXPqd0TzUgfTuO5_LgzA2qcI7zU6kil1=s320" width="320" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">It was also three years before the first Starbucks opened in Sweden. 15 years later, and I still don't really get how they manage to sell billions of dollars worth of Frappuccinos each year. <br /></td></tr></tbody></table><p></p><p>It was the first time I was in New York City, so I did a lot of the touristy stuff during the weekend. Went to see The Rocketts on Broadway; checked out the building site at ground zero; spent way too much time admiring Pollock, Magritte, and Dali at the MoMA; walked down Wall Street without a clue that The Great Recession would officially start a month later; ice skated around the Rockefeller Center Ice Rink; ate all the local pizza; and tasted as many micro brews I could find. But I didn't manage to actually meet Bob Saget, as he'd just left Broadway due to the ongoing <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/2007%E2%80%932008_Writers_Guild_of_America_strike">writers' strike</a>.</p><p></p><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEiBcay3cSfWRHkeThHtnFXdI-biP0pOO5bfIVsl--MeeK4WoqhGhRxd24zpVDZOW_nk7sKhyekybHMefMnlcgOBRGVlPvqq7hdtlhHLgfbUbwK5n4jsbJRtB4fG8_uCZrokq_k0of3lIB8nEhgi6V3WqS8Ehzo8ZOEMCi0TV-Qn8Ib5F_e15gf64uUi=s604" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="453" data-original-width="604" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEiBcay3cSfWRHkeThHtnFXdI-biP0pOO5bfIVsl--MeeK4WoqhGhRxd24zpVDZOW_nk7sKhyekybHMefMnlcgOBRGVlPvqq7hdtlhHLgfbUbwK5n4jsbJRtB4fG8_uCZrokq_k0of3lIB8nEhgi6V3WqS8Ehzo8ZOEMCi0TV-Qn8Ib5F_e15gf64uUi=s320" width="320" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Did get a face-to-face with my possibly all-time favorite painting though; <a href="https://www.moma.org/collection/works/79933">Magritte's The Lovers</a>.<br /></td></tr></tbody></table><p></p><p>Back then, Bob Saget had a solid reputation over at the Rotary Pub (the pub where we still run n00bcon every non-pandemic year). YouTube was a toddler at this point, but we had already found <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=H_cKCK6Blv0">Bob's retelling of the Aristocrats joke</a> way too hilarious to admit in public. And <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GfF6qACDUdQ">Rollin' with Saget</a> was a frequent banger during the after-hours in the pub as the night escalated. Late 2007 was pretty much peak Bob Saget time in my life. But that signed picture in front of a billboard was the closest I would get to tell him. Because, as I assume some of you heard, dude passed away last month.</p><p>Looking further through the small stack of signed photos, two more in succession stand out.</p><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEiVyAbhty6InLiB-971SseTidYLoc3yxU2CgDGcsdOiCD8kV2_zg71XbD8Ts6oSFQOC1w4Gdsm1uNKGIv49yYdmoHhK81ubIht6h8RlHR4rxykktZevN0QOumSYkiLPzbDvb2CRFPBQSVsSMjcuaxrfb6a7IZKPSe5D2pdmApplV59molcHAjzUotTA=s4032" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="3024" data-original-width="4032" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEiVyAbhty6InLiB-971SseTidYLoc3yxU2CgDGcsdOiCD8kV2_zg71XbD8Ts6oSFQOC1w4Gdsm1uNKGIv49yYdmoHhK81ubIht6h8RlHR4rxykktZevN0QOumSYkiLPzbDvb2CRFPBQSVsSMjcuaxrfb6a7IZKPSe5D2pdmApplV59molcHAjzUotTA=s320" width="320" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Darth Vader and Boba Fett.<br /></td></tr></tbody></table><p>A little over a year ago, these guys were also still around. Both of them were kicking when we last hosted a physical n00bcon. But today two of my most beloved childhood villains are no more. Hm. <br /></p><p>"Behold, I am making all things new", to quote Revelations 21:5. Maestro Larry - the guy who took the picture of me in front of the Bob Saget billboard - doesn't even work in showbiz anymore. At the respectable age of 57 he re-schooled himself to get an associate's degree in health information management, as the Covid pandemic made his old line of work improbable, borderline impossible.<br /></p><p>Old keeps getting replaced by new. I think there's a Waylon Jennings' song that says something to the tune of "<span>getting older means watching all of your childhood heroes die.</span>" But what happens with us when all the bearers of the culture we grew up in dies? When the zeitgeist itself passes away?</p><p>Heraclites - who was one thoughtful cookie - proposed that nothing endures but change. "No man ever steps in the same river twice, for it's not the same river and he's not the same man."</p><p>I had to ask my parents. Luckily, they are still around to ask, and most of their youth idols (and perhaps ideals) are now historical. They are some thirty years ahead of me in this experience. I don't know if we found an answer during our discussions, but I did get some sweet stories from the summer of 1969. My mom even traveled across the Atlantic in the early 70s to get a first hand account of hippie era San Fransisco. That seemed rad.<br /></p><p>Maybe we are bound to sacrifice the old to make room for the new. If the players around Haight-Ashbury in 1969 - the Janis Joplins, Jefferson Airplanes, and Grateful Deads of the era - would have kept a stranglehold on youth culture, MTV wouldn't have had time to show us Michael Jackson. Movie theaters eventually had to free up the screen they used for Terminator 2 to be able to show us Fury Road. There is arguably finite room for culture, both physical and cognitive, and old must be discarded for new to have a chance to prosper. </p><p></p><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEhDih1eAXBfQFsmrXAP9A4Z4GnIp9_D5tBm-vgG3Nk-jrHkYZJ3dqtQT2v0zMfi2NiZtM1sOZLiMXfkn4fplXEo5fLDkLHbJrun1zicEZmheG6piIqO8TZRL1h5uPBeeqr3lGcpdHl8ZhDnzOAoOhXji7NiqIW_mOZwLebU6za9iq-OFZSzL1OGJ1qd=s445" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="445" data-original-width="312" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEhDih1eAXBfQFsmrXAP9A4Z4GnIp9_D5tBm-vgG3Nk-jrHkYZJ3dqtQT2v0zMfi2NiZtM1sOZLiMXfkn4fplXEo5fLDkLHbJrun1zicEZmheG6piIqO8TZRL1h5uPBeeqr3lGcpdHl8ZhDnzOAoOhXji7NiqIW_mOZwLebU6za9iq-OFZSzL1OGJ1qd=s320" width="224" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Hm, maybe this post is about this card after all.<br /></td></tr></tbody></table><p></p><p>In late 2007 Oldschool Magic was new, but it certainly was a thing. And you could walk into most any Magic store in the world and find some then-Standard-legal Time Spiral boosters on their shelves. 15 years ago we already had a sense of nostalgia for these things, and now it's like we have nostalgia for that nostalgia. The more I think of it, the more I start to grasp just how long ago 2007 really was. More than a quarter of the world's current population <a href="https://data.worldbank.org/indicator/SP.POP.0014.TO.ZS">wasn't even born then</a> after all.</p><p>...</p><p>This was not what I had expected to write today. I blame the roll of a die and an overfull bookshelf. But here's a picture of a good opening hand with Land Equilibrium:</p><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEgUDGd7pIvNso_9In5YsxsBpKnXU2uJMzWcHayskDdVfoP3PRu4KEs12fZpNJgQNJ24_hq9wU4fMGkhgP_xP5NcTp5AA3UyRsmrRCBBqC0WUX9jIOlCudpMH8beFVXe8AeTe1a7nfNxpoCr2JMlp3n5RZZjY-XW9GpK6s_yKwzxw5LBvmUPBUWaSDB-=s1932" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1932" data-original-width="1920" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEgUDGd7pIvNso_9In5YsxsBpKnXU2uJMzWcHayskDdVfoP3PRu4KEs12fZpNJgQNJ24_hq9wU4fMGkhgP_xP5NcTp5AA3UyRsmrRCBBqC0WUX9jIOlCudpMH8beFVXe8AeTe1a7nfNxpoCr2JMlp3n5RZZjY-XW9GpK6s_yKwzxw5LBvmUPBUWaSDB-=s320" width="318" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Picture by Kalle (February 2015).</td></tr></tbody></table>Mghttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00555613518338194305noreply@blogger.com0