by Dan Kramer
Going to a prerelease this weekend? Our resident Limited expert gives us a quick primer as we all look forward to opening our very first Scars of Mirrodin booster pack.
The thrill of busting open a brand new package of Magic: the Gathering cards is what hooks many on to this game when they are just starting it out. Heck, even the smell of freshly unsealed cards is enough to get players excited once they have been so conditioned. It is these factors that have earned it the nickname of cardboard crack. And it is also these factors that make Prerelease Tournaments some of those most fun events around.
Let me start by apologizing for the lack of content from yours truly the last couple of weeks. Between starting classes and the Jewish holidays, I was a little strapped for time. Plus, I’ll be honest: I had writer’s block. At one point, inspired by my Stats class, I started writing about Luck and Limited – how to maximize your odds statistically. But, as you would imagine, that got boring pretty quickly. Then I started writing about Brad Nelson’s drafts from Pro Tour Amsterdam. But what is there to really say that can’t be seen on the Wizards’ draft viewer? I could tell you how I disagree with his underrating of Crystal Ball, but he’s Brad Nelson and he went 6-0. So that article got boring quickly as well. Then I tried to record the Magic Online PTQ last Friday night, but my pool was so pitiful that it wouldn’t be worth anyone’s time
But now I’m back… in cyber space… you just signed in to find me here with a look ahead to this Saturday’s main event…
Ask those who frequent them, and you will receive near unanimous responses: the 3-4 prereleases a year are perhaps the most enjoyable full days of Magic. So what is it that makes them so great? Why should you be sure not to miss out heading to the one to be held in your city this weekend? Here are the main reasons:
1) Magic: the GATHERING
Prereleases aren’t just about the Magic… they really put the Gathering in the name of the game. This is because prereleases are for everyone. From basement and kitchen table casual Timmys, to your FNM regulars, perennial PTQ ringers and even your Pro Tour regulars, these are events attended by all walks of the Magic community. Thus, it is a great event to come out and see a whole bunch of Magic players… perhaps old friends who “quit” a while back (let’s be honest, no one can really ever quit…), perhaps someone who used to play at your local store but moved farther away, maybe the guys you played casually with before you were a PTQ stud… and certainly, a whole bunch of people you have not met before. This is a great opportunity to meet people who share a passion for the game, to talk about Magic and other things, and of course, if you like to trade… there is perhaps no better time or place! So be sure to bring along a binder of offerings.
2) Relax… It’s just a game!
Some players, myself included, enjoy Magic for the competitive side of things. And sure, a Prerelease is still a tournament. There are winners and losers, and prizes for those who do best. But there are no invitations on the line, no large cash prizes, and heck, not even a whole lot of rating points to play for (the event is 8k for those worried about their DCI ratings). This means you can just have fun and play Magic in a more casual, friendly atmosphere with little on the line. There is even a spirit of camaraderie prevalent, with experienced players more than willing to help out the newer ones with suggestions or advice, and certainly being more lenient with regards to taking back blatant errors. Not that you should go in expecting this leeway, but just understand everyone is there to game, and not to be crowned champion of the world (except for when I get my Gunslinging match in on you, Jay).
3) And of course… Get your Scars on!
Now that I’ve bored the tournament veterans, I’ll get to what you guys probably clicked on in here to read. Of course the other reason to go to a prerelease is to get your hands on, and play with, brand new Scars of Mirrodin cards before the set is even available for sale! For you younguns this may be exciting because you can show off at school on Monday. But this should be equally exciting for competitive players, as Scars Limited is the format for the just kicking off Paris PTQ season, as well as Grand Prix Toronto that is now only one month away! With limited time to prepare, the sooner you can get to building sealed pools and drafting, the more practice you’ll be able to get in.
So how about this freshly spoiled set… what does it look like for limited play? Well, it’s got a lot of artifacts, if you didn’t notice. What this generally means is that everyone will have LOTS of playable cards since a higher percentage are playable in a deck of any combination of colours. This means, in draft, you don’t have to be as concerned about keeping up your number of playables. You can afford to be a little riskier, knowing that late in pack there are still cards that could fit in your final 40.
While this should be obvious, for those that didn’t play the first time we were in/on Mirrodin, Shatter is a main deck card in this format. Every time. And thus, that Slice in Twain is an early pick. I’m not going to go through all the cards here because you will hear more about them in the weeks to come, but let’s take a first overall look at this format. Here are my personal Cliffnotes on sealed from reading the spoiler:
– There is a seemingly high percentage of bomby rares. This means, be ready for this… no matter how marginal your answers are, have some.
– There appears to be a good amount of card advantage in the uncommon slot. Between that and a good amount of playable equipment, the format may end up being somewhat of an attrition war. So be prepared for such an eventuality with card or virtual card advantage wherever possible. It seems key in the format.
– Proliferate seems really good. There are tons of effects you can do that add counters to your permanents, so don’t underestimate the ability. One particularly strong counter-based common is Tumble Magnet. A deck with a couple of those and some Proliferators seems like it should get there.
– Keep in mind the lack of synergy between creatures with Infect and those without it. Creatures with Infect DO NOT hit your opponent’s life total. This makes deck construction a little tricky; HOWEVER, don’t underestimate Infect as a variant on Wither. Even if you don’t have enough Infect power to realistically win games off Poison, a man who dishes out -1/-1 counters is still a formidable blocker. But if you open a flashy Putrefax as one of your rares, it shouldn’t be in your played pile unless you have a Poison theme going on.
– Bloodshot Trainee is better this time. I swear. He was no stud in Future Sight, but combine him with some equipment and he’s a pinging machine.
– The format may be deceptively fast. It may look like there are a lot of expensive cards, but with 5 common mana Myrs, it isn’t too tough to accel out some later game cards.
– Playing crappy Artifacts just to Metalcraft does not seem right. Certainly if you have a high concentration of Metalcraft cards, you want a lot of Artifacts, but in most cases, the Metalcraft bonuses don’t outweigh the risk of drawing subpar cards sometimes without a metal-loving man in sight. And even if you do have one, if the Artifact is something that is not helping you out at all, it’s like adding a bad drawback to your Metalcraft card(s). Keep that in mind and ask if it’s worth it.
– Can you believe they're actually printing a card called Tunnel Ingus???
– Lastly, read the spoiler. It is a big advantage to be familiar with what tricks there are in the format before playing a Limited game. Should you be playing around a Giant Growth effect? How about a bounce spell? How much mana do the relevant cards cost? These answers should affect the way you play your game.
As a final note before signing off, I’d like to applaud the recent performances of a few fellow Canadians. First, we have current reigning back-to-back Canadian National Champion Jay Elarar who put up a Top 32 at Pro Tour Amsterdam. Congrats Jay and hopefully that is the start to what will be a great next Pro Tour season for you. Then a couple of weeks ago at Grand Prix Portland, we saw B.C. native Josh Layne get knocked out by eventual champion Martin Juza in the semi-finals, but locking up an invite for Paris. Also qualifying for France that same weekend was Marcel Angelo Zafra of Alberta, my personal nemesis, who masterfully won the Grand Prix Sunday PTQ. Seems all around like a good start to the Canadian crew that will head out to France.
Next week, I will begin part 1 of 2 of my Scars of Mirrodin Limited set review by taking a look at the coloured cards. The week following, we’ll do those lacking in pigment.
Until then, Happy Prerelease Weekend! If anyone is attending the Regional Prerelease in Montreal, hope to see you there!
D.K.
Kar Yung Tom (KYT) is the Digital Content Manager for Face to Face Games. He oversees the F2FTour.com and Magic F2F websites. He is also the lead host of the First Strike podcast.