Hello Everyone,

As I am writing this it is the eve of Day One festivities for Canadian Nationals. Since we at Mana Deprived advertise ourselves as the source for Canadian Magic, it is only fitting that we do coverage for the event as well.

So the question we raised was what kind of coverage do we want and how will we get this done. None of us have ever set up to provide coverage on our own, though KYT and Alex did do commentary at CMT Ottawa, most of the commendations have to go to the organizers who did everything they could to set up the event. That was coupled with the fact that everyone making the trip was hoping to grind in. So what could we set out to do, while avoiding doing a half-a**ed job?

Stumped?

Don’t worry so were we. But we came to an idea and goal on what we wanted to achieve which I think can be best explained through a story.

Originally I had no intentions of going to Nationals. I was working an internship and had finished school so I would be needing to look for a full time job and Magic was not and should not be my top priority. It is something to remember for everyone with dreams of being the best there ever was on the Pro Tour; even Jon and Kai got real jobs. Now I still went to some National grinders so that if ever my plans changed and I queued for one I wouldn’t need to go through the rush of grinding. In total I went to three grinders; the big one, where I went 2-2 drop, and two smaller grinders, where I top 8ed losing to Nick Leblanc and another where I scooped in the finals to a buddy who was definitely going to be at Nationals.

So the grinders passed at the end of May and the summer began in earnest, I did not think about Nationals at all. At the same time, when grinders season passed I was not working with KYT on Mana Deprived. So I spent the summer playing local tournaments around Montreal, while enjoying my internship and the summer before I found myself feet first in the real world without school as a safety net. As a side note to all people who want to be done with school as quickly as possible, you’ll regret that notion when you no longer have school.

So what changed?

There were actually a couple things at work. The idea for coverage came up only at the beginning of August. Having taken on a larger role at Mana Deprived I thought there should be something done about Nationals as it is the tournament that reunites all of Canadian Magic and to be absent seemed like a bad idea. So I contacted Jason who was more than willing to help us out with providing coverage for the event and I would like to give a big shout out to him as that was really cool.

The second was that I was not queued for Nationals so doing coverage would fall to me as it was my brainchild. But even that wasn’t enough to really sway me. I was leaving on a business trip for my internship for two days to Boston on the Tuesday and Wednesday and would have barely anytime to get my things together when I got back and leave in the car.

So what swayed me finally?

A broken heart.

I won’t get into the story but I was in the office Thursday morning flipping through my phone when it happened. It is weird because as a kid you tell yourself that these things won’t bother you when you get older and yet it still sucks. So doing this allowed me to get away but more so, Niagara Falls is about an hour drive away, standing by the railing looking over at the Falls always seemed to put me at ease as a kid so I’m hoping it will still have the same effect.

So where does that all lead us?

To the coverage plan. As you are reading this I will be on site trying to grind in or if you are reading this later, hopefully I would have already done so, giving me more time to visit the Falls. Now whether I grind in or not, my goal is to provide coverage of Nationals for the website so that even if you are not in attendance you will be able to know what is going on at all times.

Starting with Day 0 or the Grinders. Tomorrow is all about finding out who was able to get some of those coveted last spots in Nationals. I’ll try my best to have results posted as they come in and since it is a more relaxed day with less activities I will be trying to find interesting decks or established decks for deck techs. Also there will be level 2 judges on hand and a judges station of sorts where you can take the judge entrance exam, which I’m interested in taking. So I’ll try and have a Q&A with one of the judges as to what a player should do to prepare and get ready for such a test as well as giving you my personal insight as to the test and what was harder or easier in terms of questions. Also hopefully I pass it.

Day 1 is when the action starts. I’ll have the undefeated standings posted at the end of standard as well as draft but also try and get in a feature match or two, pairing up good records or good players together. Something else that I would like to try is to have a camera film one of the players drafting, watching them open their pack, sort through the cards and then later on add in a discussion track for the process they were undertaking as you can’t speak during a draft but there is also a larger difference and more in play when looking at online and anonymous drafting versus in person where you are trying to figure out what each player is playing as well as whether you can pick up any additional information or feed a color to a player.

Next we hit Day 2, which will be much more focused on feature matches and players vying for top 8 but also for a coveted spot on the National Team, along with that trophy. Another feature that I enjoy from SCG written coverage is the questions that are asked to top players about Magic in general. So since I have a few I can come up with but I also know you yourselves have some, I set up a twitter account @Nodnolb so send in any questions you have and those I like best and are appropriate, I will ask and have those answers posted. Mention if there are particular players you want to hear from.

Now with all that said, I know I’m setting up lofty expectations and goals. Coupled with the fact that I’ve never done anything even remotely similar to this and it seems headed for disaster, right? You probably are but nonetheless I will try my best to provide every exciting bit of information I can and do the very best I can. I’m dead tired and would prefer spending the entire afternoon in bed sleeping straight through till Monday for the above mentioned reasons but heartache is there whether you are lying in bed doing nothing or doing just about anything, so I might as well try and enjoy it.

Hopefully everyone will tune in and read some part of the coverage and send ideas along the way to improve it, that would be cool and appreciated. Also if you were hoping for an Ancestral Memories column, you’ll have to wait till next week. If you happened to be at Nationals pass by the Face to Face games store for all of your needs as they will be selling the official Mana Deprived merchandise you want to get your hands on and KYT will be at Nationals to sign your stuff if you wish.

With that I believe I’ve covered everything and either I hope to see you there and if not I hope you enjoy the coverage we are able to provide.

And remember, even when there is a lot at stake, have Fun playing Magic.

William