Hold My Beer

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Happy Tuesday MTG peeps,

We had just been browsing the Hold My Beer subreddit, when some related Magic: the Gathering news had popped up on our radar.  The news comes from yesterday's Updates to Alcohol and Age Restriction Policies, posted by the Wizards Play Network (WPN).  

Specifically, as of July 23, 2018, the WPN Terms and Conditions had been updated to removed any prohibition of serving or consumption of alcohol at sanctioned events (including in play spaces).  The policy had also been amended to allow organisers (excluding Premier Play events), to run events with age restrictions which supports the above Alcohol policy, but also promote Magic: the Gathering events to younger players who may not otherwise be engaged given an older, more competitive crowd.  WPN would still ensure that members do "maintain a family friendly environment or retail hobby focus."


This is great news, as this would provide a degree of flexibility to organisers to better cater to their local demographics.  Whether encouraging younger players to attend a less competitive environment or to other gamers (like us) who have been migrating away from gaming stores to the kitchen table and within reach of our favourite beverage.

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MTG - Puzzle and Dragons

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Happy Tuesday MTG peeps,

Puzzle & Dragons ( パズル&ドラゴンズ  ) is a puzzle video game with role-playing and strategy elements, developed by GungHo Online Entertainment for the iOS, Android, and Kindle Fire platforms.  This game is popular in Japan and is now making headway here in North America.  The game involves players moving / matching colored orgs in a grid which 'casts' a monster to do battle.  The popularity is that designers had developed numerous themes.  

Why are we talking about Puzzle & Dragons here on MTG Realm ? Glad you asked.  the publisher Gunhho had revealed a coming soon collaboration with Wizards of the Coast.  From the website, it appears that this game will feature evil Planeswalker Nicol Bolas, Chandra Nalaar, and the Weatherlight vehicle, all in a possible anime iterations of these characters.

Here are some screen shots now . .

Project 'M' MTG Mobile Game

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Happy Tuesday MTG peeps,

Some Magic: the Gathering news from Seoul, South Korea.  Yesterday at the Seoul Duke City Hotel, game publishing company Netmarble hosted the 4th Annual NTP (Netmarble Together with Press).  

A total of 18 new mobile games were announced as part of the Netmarble lineup for 2018 which included Seven Knights 2, Icarus M, First Born, Harry Potter 'Hogwarts Mystery' and Magic: the Gathering 'M' (a code name).

Netmarble Chairperson Bang Jun Hyuk, Kwon Young-Sik, and Baek Young-Hoon provided some Alpha gameplay media which showed 3D images of this multi-player real time game for the mobile game market.

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Rivals of Ixalan Tokens

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Happy Thursday MTG peeps,

In this post, we wanted to cover off what Magic: the Gathering players may expect in the way of new Rivals of Ixalan Tokens and Markers.  In today's article on the mothersite linked here, Blake posted a total of four Tokens and two Markers.  Here is the summary -

• Red 1/1 Elemental creature token, generated by Tilonalli's Summoner

• Red 0/1 Elemental creature token with "At the beginning of your upkeep, sacrifice this creature and return target card named Rekindling Phoenix from your graveyard to the battlefield. It gains haste until end of turn.", generated by Rekindling Phoenix

• Green 1/1 Saproling creature token, generated by Tendershoot Dryad

• Colourless 4/4 Golem artifact creature token, generated by Gold-Forge Garrison

• Emblem - Hautli - Whenever a creature enters the battlefield under your control, you may draw a card, generated by Huatli, Radiant Champion '-6' ability

• Marker - City's Blessing indicated on numerous cards.

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Returning Tokens and Markers carried over from the previous Ixalan set identified so far to date -

• Colourless Treasure artifact token with "t, Sacrifice this artifact: Add one mana of any color to your mana pool.", generated by a number of cards.  The Ixalan set contained four different treasure tokens, all based upon a tribal theme. 

• White 1/1 Vampire with Lifelink, generated by Elenda, the Dusk Rose

• Blue 1/1 Merfolk with Hexproof, generated by Aquatic Incursion


• Green 3/3 Dinosaur with Trample, generated by Baffling End

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Eldritch Moon PreRelease

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Happy Sunday MTG peeps,

On Friday, we took in a Friday Night Magic Event over at our local gaming store, OMG! Games, here in Barrie, Ontario.  Our mon-white Humans decklist did well to take 3rd spot and we were quite prepared to wait an hour to participate in the midnight prerelease of Eldritch Moon but needed our beauty sleep as we got up at a terribly early hour that morning.  So we came back on Saturday.

Grab some pop-korn - Here is a short 5-minute video of the Prerelease -

Here was our pulls -
•  PreRelease Promo - Distended Mindbender  
•  DOI PK 1 Fortified Village 
•  SOI PK 2 Invocation of Saint Traft 
•  EMN PK 1 Ulvenwald Observer 
•  EMN PK 2 Tree of Perdition 
•  EMN PK 3 Collective Brutality 
•  EMN PK 4 Bedlam Reveller (Foil) / Mausoleum Wanderer 
  

First round was a 'bye', which was OK but we would rather be playing with the new cardboard.  The next rounds were all lost tragically.  There was some nice flashy stuff in black, but just not quite enough support in that coulour, so in the end we went blue / white which had some flyers and control.

What was doing great at your local prerelease ?

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Plane Shift - Zendikar

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Happy Wednesday MTG peeps,

Today's post to MTG Realm is not only about our fav game, Magic: the Gathering but also Dungeons & Dragons and a rather interesting post today on the Wizards of the Coast mothersite. 

We last played D&D back in highschool (a very, very long time ago) and had not dipped back in since then.  This, however did not detract from our appreciation of what a wonderfully engaging game this is, painted against the backdrop of a richly-detailed fantasy world.  This sounds not too unlike a particular TCG we currently play, doesn't it?  So, it stands to reason that Wizards of the Coast, the company at the center of Magic: the Gathering, Dungeons & Dragons, and Avalon Hill may have some of its game environments share a small measure of similitude.

Posted today is a supplement which Dungeons & Dragons players may adapt to their tabletop adventrues.  Pop on over to this linky, even if you are striclty an MTG gamer to discover how a MTG Plane of Existence may bleed into another game format with Plane Shift - Zendikar.

Zendikar is a world rife with adventure opportunities. Bold heroes, covetous treasure hunters, and sages seeking long-forgotten lore can all fnd numerous ruins to explore, mysteries to uncover, and villains and monsters to slay.  Contents of this supplement are broken out into -

• The World of Zendikar
• Races of Zendikar
• A Zendikar Bestiary


From a storyline / vorthos point, we are most decidedly interested in going through ever page.  Dungeons & Dragons is a fantasy tabletop role-playing game originally designed by Gary Gygax and Dave Arneson, and first published in 1974 by Tactical Studies Rules, Inc.. The game has been published by Wizards of the Coast since 1997.

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Shadows Over Innistrad Spoilers 2-06

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Happy Saturday MTG peeps,

We do love ourselves a little Magic: the Gathering spoiler.

What we don't really care for is a big leak.

Earlier today, or late yesterday a fella in Holland put up for sale a Shadows Over Innistrad booster pack on the website 'marktplaats.nl', sort of like Kijiji here in Canada or an Ebay like online retailing store for individual transactions.  Anywhoos, it appears that the Dutch individual obtained this booster pack from a friend in Spain who works at / with a Wizards of the Coast facility.

The TL/DR on this is that it appears that a rather naughty individual acquired a booster pack, and a purchaser posted the contents, which means we have a number of new Shadows Over Innistrad spoilers.  Might as well talk about 'em as it has been all over the internet for several hours now.

Shadows Over Innistrad Headlines

• Flip Cards are returning.  Double faced cards were just dripping with sweet flavour, demonstrating the transformation of a werewolf, vampire, etc.

• The Madness mechanic returns.  Originally this allowed a player to cast that spell for an alternate cost if it is discarded but with Shadows Over Innistrad, the discarded card is always put temporarily into the exile zone. 

Delirium -  the new mechanic.  If you have 4 or more card types in your graveyard, this will give you a stated bonus.

Investigate - another new mechanic.  This will grant an artifact which you may sacrifice for 2 mana, which will then allow you to draw a card.

Dead Weight - B (Common)
Enchantment - Aura
Enchant creature
Enchanted creature gets -2/-2.

Stoic Builder - 2G (Common)
Creature - Human
When Stoic Builder enters the battlefield, you may return target land card from your graveyard to your hand.
Some have returned to Hollowhenge, the ruins of Avabruck, to restore the lost capital of Kessig.
2/3

Fiery Temper - 1RR (Common)
Instant
Fiery Temper deals 3 damage to target creature or player.
Madness R (If you discard this card, exile it. (?) When you do, cast it for its madness cost or put it into your graveyard.)
"Let the flames ignore the sinless."

Expose Evil - 1W (Common)
Instant
Tap up to two target creatures.
Investigate. (Put a colorless Clue artifact token onto the battlefield with "2, Sacrifice this artifact: Draw a card.")
"Only the pure stand tall in the light." -Sigarda

Watcher in the Web - 4G (Common)
Creature - Spider
Reach (This creature can block creatures with flying.)
Watcher in the Web can block an additional seven creatures during combat.
"Lost in the woods" =is an= optimistic way to describe a villager's disappearance. "Found in the woods" is frequently more appropriate.
2/5

Hound of the Farbogs - 4B (Common)
Creature - Zombie Hound
Delirium - Hound of the Farbogs has menace as long as there are four or more card types among cards in your graveyard. (A creature with menace can't be blocked except by two or more creatures.)
As you hear it howling(?) in the distance, you'll feel its breath =on your= neck.
5/3

Structural Distortion - 3R (Common)
Sorcery
Exile target artifact or land. Structural Distortion deals 2 damage to that permanent's controller.
"As Zendikar has bled, so will Innistrad. As I have =wept=, so will Sorin." -Nahir

Lamplighter of Selhoff - 4U (Common)
Creature - Zombie Horror
When Lamplighter of Selhoff enters the battlefield, if you control another Zombie, you may draw a card. If you do, discard a card.
For stitchers and necro-alchemists, it's important that work can continue at all hours.
3/5

Furtive Homonculus - 1U (Common)
Creature - Homonculus
Skulk (This creature can't be blocked by creatures with greater power.)
"In terms of intelligence, homunculi are somewhere between humans and skaabs - clever enough to =follow more= complex orders, but dim enough to not (?) question them." - Stitcher Geralf
2/1

Duskwatch Recruiter - 1G (Uncommon)
Creature - Human Warrior Werewolf
2G: Look at the top three cards of your library. You may reveal a creature card from amongst them and put it into your hand. Put the rest on the bottom of your library in any order.
At the beginning of each upkeep, if no spells were cast last turn, transform Duskwatch Recruiter.
2/2

TRANSFORMS INTO:

Krallenhorde Howler
Creature - Werewolf
Creature spells you cast cost 1 less to cast.
At the beginning of each upkeep, if a player cast two or more spells last turn, transform Krallenhorde Howler.
3/3

Pack Guardian - 2GG (Uncommon)
Creature - Wolf Spirit
Flash (You may cast this spell any time you could cast an instant.)
When Pack Guardian enters the battlefield, you may discard a land card. If you do, put a 2/2 green Wolf creature token onto the battlefield.
4/3

Invasive Surgery - U (Uncommon)
Instant
Counter target sorcery spell.
Delirium - If there are four or more card types among cards in your graveyard, search the graveyard, hand, and library of that spell's controller for any number of cards with the same name as that spell, exile those cards, then that player shuffles his or her library.

Dance with Devils - 3R (Uncommon)
Instant
Put two 1/1 red Devil creature tokens onto the battlefield. They have "When this creature dies, it deals 1 damage to target creature or player."
Devils sow chaos(?) and reap panic.

Devil's Playground - 4RR (Rare)
Sorcery
Put four 1/1 red Devil creature tokens onto the battlefield. They have "When this creature dies, it deals 1 damage to target creature or player."
"The city is overrun. I would say burn it to the ground, but that won't be necessary." - Inquisitor Delmund

Checklist card shows there are 24 flip cards 

(3 white, 3 blue, 3 black, 6 red, 6 green and 3 colourless):

Avacynian Missionaries 3W
Pious Evangel 2W
Town Gossipmonger W
Aberrant Research 3U
Daring Sleuth 1U
Uninvited Geist 2U
Accursed Witch 3B
Heir of Falkenrath 1B
Kindly Stranger 2B
Breakneck Rider 1RR
Convicted Killer 2R
Gatstaf Arsonists 4R
Kessig Forgemaster 1R
Skin Invasion R
Village Messenger R
Autumnal Gloom 2G
Duskwatch Recruiter 1G
Hermit of the Natterknolls 2G
Hinterland Logger 1G
Lambholt Pacifist 1G
Solitary Hunter (?)
Harvest Hand 3
Neglected Heirloom (?)
Thraben Gargoyle 1

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OGW PreRelease

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Happy Monday MTG peeps,

As of Friday, last week, the entire Oath of the Gatewatch set has now been previewed and may be viewed over on the mothersite's Card Image Gallery (linked here).   We spent any free time we had over the weekend going through the new cards to evaluate just what we wanted to pick up for Standard and Commander, as well as what to look to build with in our PreRelease pool. 

To get the when / when / what of PreRelease, ask at your local gaming store or pop on over to this page over on the mothersite.  Our only advice for you on the PreRelease for this post is to realise that there are a number of really solid cards which may be very suitable to build around / incorporate in your decklist.  As most of your pool will be commons and uncommons, look for creatures with evasion such as Makindi Aeronaut (a 1/3 flyer for 1W) or perhaps Goblin Freerunner (3/2 creature with manace that has an alternate casting cost with the 'surge' mechanic).  Modal spells which give you a choice such as Warping Wall, or spot removal such as Spatial Contortion are solid choices as well.  Also make certain you do not trade away high value cards such as Thought-Knot Seet, Oath of Nissa, Nissa, Voice of Zendikar or Kozilek, the Great Distortion unless you are getting a fair deal out of it.

For today, here is a brief look at what to expect at next weekend's Oath of the Gatewatch PreRelease - 

Prerelease: January 16–January 17, 2016 
Prerelease  Pack Contents: 
• 4x Oath of the Gatewatch booster packs
• 2x Battle for Zendikar booster packs
• 1x randomized, date-stamped, premium promo card (this may from any rare or mythic rare in the set).
• 1s Spindown Life Counter
• 1x deckbuilding advice insert

Oath of the Gatewatch also features 20 more very rare Zendikar Expeditions cards.  Should you crack one of these open, we suggest you go crazy and act like you've just won the lottery.

Two-Headed Giant is central to the prerelease experience and has been pushed by Wizards of the Coast for this event.  Out very own local gaming store, OMG! Games here in Barrie, Ontario, Canada has a Two-Headed Giant event on both Saturday and Sunday.  Here's the Schedule -
Saturday
– 12:00 am(Friday Midnight)
– 10:00 am
– 3:00 pm – Two-Headed Giant
– 7:30 pm
Sunday
– 11:00 am
– 4:00 pm – Two-Headed Giant

For just $35, there is also really great support for the prize pool -
4-0 record receive 16 packs OGW
3-0-1 record receive 12 packs OGW
3-1 record receive 8 packs OGW

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Saturday Miscellaneous

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Happy Saturday MTG peeeps,

Today we want to catch up with a bunch of Magic: the Gathering miscellaneous goodness and we're getting straight to it now.

First up - Our Local Gaming Store
OMG! Games, here is Barrie, Ontario is presenting another fun-filled weekend for MTG fans.  Today (Saturday) at about noon-thirty, they are holding a Two-Headed Commander tournament.  You and a friend can enter your team for just 10 bucks ($5 per person) and enjoy hours of this awesome Commander variant format.  Tomorrow (Sunday), OMG! Games is holding the Grand Prix Trial Toronto at noon.  Format is modern with a $20 entry.  First prize is $300 cash ($400 store credit) with additional prizes paid out to 8th place.

OMG! Games and Collectibles
130 Bell Farm Rd
Barrie, Ontario
store@omggames.ca
(705) 721-GAME (4263)

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We now want to turn our attention to what's been happening on MTG Realm on Tumblr which is enjoying ever-increasing popularity with over 9,200 followers now. 

Photoset

February 20, 2015

569 notes

 

 

Magic: the Gathering - Board Game
Hasbro had on display at the recent Toy Fair 2015 (New York City 14th - 17th February), the Wizards of the Coast 'Arena of the Planeswalkers' board game.  Good images posted by Board Game Geek showing Gideon, Jace, Liliana, Chandra and Nissa with their ‘squads’.
http://mtg-realm.blogspot.ca/2015/02/arena-of-planeswalkers.html
The game is expected to see a limited release in June at select retailers and widely available in August for approximately $30.  In the box, you will find the following:
• six modular board pieces,
• four plastic terrain pieces,
• three plastic glyphs,
• two temple ruins,
• five painted Planeswalker mini figures,
• 30 squad mini figures,
• one 20-sided die,
• eight combat dice,
• 30 damage counters,
• 60 spell cards,
• 10 Squad stat cards, and
• five Planeswalker cards.

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Photoset

February 19, 2015

204 notes

 

 

Magic: the Gathering - Mini
Some very impressive miniature work by Amon Chakai (Massimiliano Amon Richiero) who had used the MTG card Life // Death, Apocalypse Uncommon - illustrated by Anthony S. Waters and Edward P. Beard, Jr. to bring to illustrate the card’s conflict.  Posted to Cool or Not Mini.

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Photoset

February 17, 2015

218 notes

Gaming Accessory - BCW Gaming DECK LOCKER

• Holds over 80 sleeved standard gaming cards
• Durable textured exterior
• Microfiber faux-suede interior
• Flip-open panels with strong magnetic closure
• Removable dice tray with independent access

The BCW Deck Locker is built to last and will not let you down. The durable construction will keep your cards safe from damage and make sure your deck is ready for the next round. Any card game works great in the BCW Deck Locker including Magic: The Gathering, Pokemon, YuGiOh, and Star Wars just to name a few. The BCW Deck Locker is a hearty option for storing and transporting your collectible gaming cards with dice and tokens. It is sure to impress and intimidate your weaker opponents.

http://www.bcwsupplies.com/cat/deck-case-locker-black

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Photoset

February 16, 2015

67 notes

Magic: the Gathering - Elspeth vs. Kiora
Ultra • PRO deckboxes and Playmat to pimp yo game.

 

http://magic.wizards.com/en/game-info/products/card-set-archive/duel-decks-elspeth-vs-kiora
http://www.ultrapro.com/division.php?d=g
The knight Planeswalker Elspeth Tirel sees herself as the protector of the Multiverse. She has pledged her sword and shield to all who suffer, and she summons forth impressive armies to assist her. The merfolk Planeswalker Kiora calls upon the creatures of the deepest oceans to fight at her side. She is the master of the world beneath the waves, her true power only now beginning to surface.
How will these Planeswalkers measure up when they meet in battle?
Set Name: Duel Decks: Elspeth vs. Kiora
Number of Cards: Two 60-card decks
Includes: Two deck boxes
Two creature tokens
Strategy insert
Magic ™ rules reference card
Languages: English, Japanese
Official Three-Letter Code: EVK
Twitter Hashtag: #MTGEVK
Deck Design and Development: Chris Millar and Sam Stoddard
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Matthew Leasure

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Happy Wednesday MTG peeps,

For today's post here on MTG Realm, we want to bring to your attention to an important Magic: the Gathering Memorial Tournament at the end of the month that is being held for Matthew Leasure, a former US vetran who had passed last year in Savannah, Georgia after a battle with PTSD.  Matthew was very much an avid gamer and from what I've seen of his footprints online, a rather decent fellow who is certainly deeply missed.  Although I served in the Canadian Armed Forces (think grizzlies with grenades), I never had a tour overseas and can only guess at what an impact upon one's state of mental health this may have.  

Matthew is survived by his wife Lauren, who is organising a fundraising event for Active Heroes as well as a Magic: the Gathering Tournament.  If you can support through the website of by attending the tournament, please do.  Our love and sympathies to Lauren.  Here are the details :

MATT'S MAGIC MAYHEM: A MEMORIAL MARATHON
The Matthew Leasure Memorial Magic: The Gathering EDH/Commander Tournament with side events to include drafts, standard PODs, and so much more.

SATURDAY, FEBRUARY 28th, 2015 at 12:00 PM
MORNINGSTAR GAMES - (912) 927-2770
30 West Montgomery Cross Road, Savannah, GA 31406

PRIZES for winners will include items such as rare cards from Matt’s personal collection, altered cards, inked playmats, and more. If you would like to donate to the prize pool, please contact me, Lauren Leasure at LaurenLeasure@gmail.com

THE GUILD HALL will donate
$5 for each selfie taken at the event
$10 if you are a serviceman/woman in uniform at the event
They will donate UP TO $500! They need at least $50 to donate, so get those cameraphones ready and email heroes@theguildhall.com for your photo to count!

ALL PROCEEDS will go to charity, specifically Active Heroes. (www.ActiveHeroes.org) Active Heroes’ mission is to strengthen active duty military, veterans and their families in order to provide the coping skills to manage the stress and the triggering points that lead to suicide.
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Also of note - Artist Extraordinaire, and all-around decent human being Noah Bradley has created a wonderful piece of art featuring Matthews likeness.  Noah is offering this playmat for a limited time only and will donate his profits to the Active Heroes campaign.

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