MTG Standard Showdown

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Happy Monday MTG peeps,

We hope that all our American cousins south of the border had a wonderfully happy Thanksgiving long weekend.  Many in North America braved the crowds for Black Friday sales (more of a thing in the U.S., but seeing a rise here in Canada), and there looked to be some good deals for Magic: the Gathering fans as well, as we carry on in to 'Cyber Monday'. 

The MTG Realm group did not really foray far from our secret lair over the weekend, but we did drop by OMG! Games, here in Barrie, Ontario to take part in the first of four special Magic: the Gathering 'Standard Showdown' series.  This gaming event, takes place each Saturday for four weeks at participating gaming stores which are supplied with special three-card booster packs to assist local stores in promoting standard format organised play and attendance at the store's Friday Night Magic event.

We are attempting to try four different standard decklists out at each of these.  On the weekend, we brought along a Red Green Energy decklist, not too unlike the 'Deck of the Day' list posted by Eric Froehlich to Channel Fireball linked right over here.

With two wins and two losses (each loss going to game three), this decklist seems like a decent budget choice for standard.  There are some ridiculous plays involving Turn 3 kills, and during one game, that Electrostatic Pummeler swung in as a 76/76 turn five for the win.  The lost matches involved some misplays by us and we definitely need to know better when to mulligan and when to keep an opening hand.  

Our local gaming store gave out the Standard Showdown promo packs to the top winning decks (first and second place we think), with the rest given out randomly.  Here was our pull - 

Sort of disappointing, but we won't complain.  With about a one in thirty-three chance of pulling an 'invention', this really is just a card lottery.

We think the Standard Showdown promotion is needed - we've heard about a slow decline in Friday Night Magic attendance and although this may not solve the issue, it certainly is a good component to a suite of measures Wizards of the Coast should employ to address the issue.

Locally, our store had approximately the same number of players out to participate in the first Standard Showdown event as they typically see during a Friday Night Magic.  There were however a few new faces, or at the very least, some players who had not been playing FNM for a while.  

Whether they had come out as this was a 'free' event, or perhaps their personal schedule conflicted with their former Friday evening games, we could not tell.  The other reason may simply be for the chance of getting one of those Standard Showdown packs which paid out.  

What we do know for certain, is that if FNM attendance is in decline, more study is required.  Find out why some stores are packed on a Friday, and for those which are not, no number of FNM promo cards will likely get players back through the doors.  Here in Ontario, it is the Grey Cup finals for the Canadian Football League and you may have heard that they were giving away tickets to the game with a combo-pizza deal (for $29.99 !).  If fans will stay away even with the offer of (essentially) free pizza, something is broken.

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