Theros PreRelease Event

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Happy Wednesday MTG peeps,

This weekend, Magic: the Gathering players will converge upon local gaming stores around the world to participate in the Theros PreRelease event.  Similar to the Return to Ravnica block sets, gamers will have the opportunity to choose one of five Theros PreRelease packs which will contain just about everything you need for an amazing afternoon (or morning) of great gaming.  A few players we know will be attending more than one event to collect additional PreRelease Promos, cards, and a chance to win prizes.

Here at MTG Realm, we'll be going to our favourite Card Shop, OMG! Games here is Barrie, Ontario and will provide coverage of the Theros prerelease event so look for those posts after the weekend.  Anywhoos - here's the info you need to know if you find yourself in Central Ontario (just north of Toronto) this weekend -

OMG! Games
130 Bell Farm Rd., Barrie, Ontario
Close to highway 400 and Georgian College.
(705) 721-4263  www.omggames.ca
 

Date & Times
Saturday Sept 21st : 12:00am (Friday Midnight) / 10:00 am / 3:00 pm / 7:30 pm
Sunday Sept 22nd : 11:00am / 4:00pm (Two-Headed Giant)

Format - Sealed Deck — Each player receives a Prerelease Pack containing• 5 Theros booster packs• 1 seeded booster pack• 1 promo card• 1 Choose Your Path activity card• 1 Spindown™ life counter• 1 Hero’s Path Welcome Letter• 1 Hero Card

For these events, players may use the promo card included with the Prerelease Pack in their tournament deck.
Two-Headed Giant — Each team Two Pre-release packs for constructing two decks with.

Cost & Prizes
$35 For all regular sealed events
4-0 record receive 16 packs Theros
3-0-1 record receive 12 packs Theros
3-1 record receive 8 packs Theros

$60 Two Headed Giant ($30/player)

Prizes given out based on attendance.  Win against the Owners in swiss rounds and receive 2 additional prize packs.

5 Pre-Release Special – $150 enters you in any five events. 

 

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Dragons Maze FAQ

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Happy Monday MTG peeps,

A happy Monday indeed as Magic: the Gathering players now have the entire list of the latest card set, Dragon's Maze.  Today on the mothersite, the remaning cards were loaded up on the Dragon's Maze Visual Spoiler page.  All 156 Dragon's Maze cards have now also been posted on MTG Mint Card as well which means we can finalise our pre-orders.  We've already got our name on a list for the prerelease at OMG! Games here in Barrie, Ontario and we suggest you talk to your local games store for arrangements.  For today's post, we want to provide a summary of the Dragon's Maze (FAQ) Frequently Asked Questions document.  Drop by the mothersite for the full document.

Release Information
The Dragon's Maze set contains 156 cards (70 common, 40 uncommon, 35 rare, and 11 mythic rare). In lieu of a basic land card, each Dragon's Maze booster pack has a nonbasic land card, which can be one of the ten Dragon's Maze Guildgates, one of the ten Return to Ravnica or Gatecrash dual lands with basic land types, or the mythic rare Dragon's Maze card Maze's End.

Prerelease events: April 27–28, 2013
Launch Weekend: May 3–5, 2013
Game Day: May 25–26, 2013 

Reprinted cards - Guildgates, Feral Animist, Putrefy, Wind Drake.

Shocklands - All ten 'shocklands' from Return to Ravnica and Gatecrash are included within Dragon's Maze but are printed with thier original set symbol and are not considered reprints.

New Mechanic: Split Cards with Fuse
Split cards, featured prominently in the original Ravnica block, are back with a new twist: the fuse ability.  All split cards have two card faces on a single card. You can choose which half of the card you want to cast, pay that half's mana cost, and only that half will go on the stack. The characteristics of the half of the card you didn't cast are ignored while the spell is on the stack.  Fuse introduces a third option if you're casting a Dragon's Maze split card from your hand: cast the entire card as a single spell by paying both of its mana costs.

Returning Mechanics: Guild Keywords, Keyword Actions, and Ability Words
Return to Ravnica: detain (Azorius), overload (Izzet), unleash (Rakdos), scavenge (Golgari), and populate (Selesnya)
Gatecrash: extort (Orzhov), cipher (Dimir), bloodrush (Gruul), battalion (Boros), and evolve (Simic)

Cycle: Guildgates
The Dragon's Maze set includes a cycle of nonbasic lands with the subtype Gate. Each guild has a Gate card with Guildgate in its name that taps for mana of either of that guild's colors. These cards were previously printed in the Return to Ravnica and Gatecrash sets; they appear here with new art. 

Cycle: Gatekeepers
The Dragon's Maze set includes a cycle of Gatekeepers with enters-the-battlefield abilities that give you a bonus for controlling two or more Gates.

Cycle: Cluestones
There are one of these common artifacts for each Guild with a casting cost of 3.  They tap for either of that guild's mana or pay one of each guild mana and sacrifice to draw a card.

Cycle: Guild Champions
There are ten of these rare legendary creatures, one for each Guild.  They are Emmara Tandris (Selesnya), Exava, Rakdos Blood Witch (Rakdos), Lavinia of the Tenth (Azorious), Mirko Vosk, Mind Drinker (Dimir), Melek, Izzet Paragon (Izzet), Ruric-Thar, The Unbowed (Gruul), Tajic, Blade of the Legion(Boros), Teysa, Envy of Ghosts (Orzhov), Varolz, the Scar-Striped (Golgari), and Vorel of the Hull Clade (Simic).

Cycle: Uncommon Fuse Spells
There are ten of these split cards featuring the new fuse mechanic which feature a different monocolour spell on each side. These are Protect/Serve (Azorius), Far/Away (Dimir), Toil/Trouble (Rakdos), Armed/Dangerous (Gruul), Alive/Well (Selesnya), Profit/Loss (Orzhov), Down/Dirty (Golgari), Give/Take (Simic), Turn/Burn (Izzet) and Wear/Tear (Boros).

Cycle: Rare Fuse Spells
There are five of these split cards featuring the new fuse mechanic which feature a different multi-colour spell on each side.  These are  Beck/Call (Simic/Azorius), Breaking/Entering (Dimir/Rakdos), Flesh/Blood (Golgari/Gruul), Catch/Release (Izzet/Boros), and Ready/Willing (Selesnya/Orzhov).
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RTR Pre-Rel Guild Packs

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Happy Friday MTG peeps,

Tonight at midnight, many local gaming stores will be packed with rabbid Magic the Gathering players all wanting to get their paws on the new Return to Ravnica cards.  This particular PreRelease has many gamers excited as WotC has special Return to Ravnica PreRelease Guild packs instead of the traditional booster packs.  

There is also the possibility of scoring some sweet RTR swag in the form card boxes, card sleeves, lanyards, and playmats from the tournament organiser.  These very slick-looking prerelease boxes will contain;

• 5 Return to Ravnica booster packs• 1 Guild Booster Pack
• 1 Promo Card
• 1 Achievement Card
• 1 Spindown™ Life Counter
• 1 Letter from the Guildmaster
• 1 Guild Symbol Sticker

The Guild booster will have cards from that Guild or that colour;
• Foil Prerelease promo (you get to play in tourney)
• 1 Rare
• 3 Uncommons
• 11 Commons

If you want to get some practice / oreintation in ahead of the PreRelease event, check out the Mythic Spoiler site or Cam's sealed decktool.

Here's the eye-cand now from Forum user Coffee4am (aka Hobby-4am) who posted contents of all five Return to Ravnica PreRelease Guild pacts.  It appears that each guild pack may have a Guildgate, which replaces the basic land with the other remaining randomised cards sharing that guild's colour and / or with that guild's watermark.  Here's a closer look -
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Azorius 

Selesnya
 

Golgar
i

Izzet
 

Rakdos 

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Avacyn Restored Helvault Promo

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Happy Wednesday MTG peeps,

We know we've yattered about the Avacyn Restored prerelease 'Helvault' to no end (here and here), but wanted to remind you that if you were thinking about attending the Avacyn Restored prerelease event, check with your store to see if they will pre-register you as there is a limited number of those Helvaults available and lists may be filling up quickly.  Here's what these things look like in real life . . .

  . . . and here's some flavour and instruction for players and tournament organisersd -

The Helvault is a piece of Innistrad's moon that serves as a prision for the nefarious denizens of Innistrad.  Through the trickery of the demon Griselbrand, Avacyn is also trapped in the Helvault.  During the Avacyn Restored Prerelease event, players will work to open the Helvault, releaseing Avacyn and saving Innistrad.  Players break the seals that are holding the Helvault closed by completing the achievement cards provided by the tournament organiser.  When the last seal is broken, the Helvault is opened.

Avacyn Restored Prerelease Kit:

• 24 x Moonsilveer Spear Promo Cards
• 36 Avacyn Restored Booster Packs
• 18 Achievement Cards
• 5 DCI membership cards
• 1 small cardboard desk poster
• 1 large poster
• 1 instruction kit
• 1 Helvault

OMG! Games & Collectibles is hosting a number of Avacyn Restored Prerelease event.  Entry fee is $35 - you get SIX Avacyn Restored boosters in which to construct a 40-card deck, a foil prerelease promo card, and a shot at winning prizes.  Start times are as follows:

Saturday 28th April :
Midnight / 10:00 AM / 2:30 PM (Helvault release) / 7:00 PM

Sunday 29th April :
11:00 AM (Helvault release) / 4:00 PM (2-Headed Giant format)

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Tuesdays - MTG Drafts
Wednesdays - Boardgames / Heroclix
Thursdays - MTG Commander (EDH)
Fridays - MTG Canada's Largest FNM!
Saturdays - Competitive gaming
Sundays - MTG Legacy League
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Contact the store for more details -
Location:
OMG! Games and Collectibles
130 Bell Farm Rd
Barrie, Ontario
store@omggames.ca
(705) 721-GAME (4263)

Driving directions :
From the South:
Take Hightway 400 northbound to the Duckworth St exit, and turn right onto Duckworth St. Turn right onto Bell Farm Rd from Duckworth St. The store is just ahead in the plaza with the Pizza Hut on your right.
From the North:
Take Highway 400 southbound to the Duckworth St exit, and turn left onto Duckworth St. Turn right onto Bell Farm Rd from Duckworth St. The store is just ahead in the plaza with the Pizza Hut on your right.

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