SDCC MTG Panel

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Happy Monday MTG peeps,

We hope all had a great weekend, whether you were at a Magic Origins PreRelease or attending San Diego Comic Con (SDCC), or even both.  As you may have guessed from us gushing over on our MTG Realm Tumblr stream, we took in a midnight Magic Origins PreRelese event over at Koros Games in Orangeville, Ontario and had a blast.  Here's a bit of the PreRelease before we get into some of the big Magic: the Gathering news out of SDCC.

The first PreRelease Pack colours to go were white, red, and black, pretty much in that order.  We saddled up with a green pack and when popped, we could not be more happier - a foil Nissa promo - shown on our lucky BCW Supplies Playmat.  Our most valuable players were Rhox Maulers, especially when paired with with pump spells such as Titanic Growth and Might Leap.  Since we got up really, really early for work Friday morning, we simply ran out of steam by the end of the second match and retired for the evening.
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The Wizards of the Coast Panel at SDCC 2015 was not streamed unfortunately but there were a number of 'live tweet' from the Wizards MTG Twitter account.  There was also a promise that there would be a recording available soon.  First up, the Panel had two previews for the upcoming From the Vault : Angels during the panel at SDCC - say hello to the Akroma sisters !

There was also a good measure of discussion on how WotC now presents storylines with references to the recent installments of the Magic Origins stories provided on the Uncharted Realms column.  There were also some very exciting images previewed for the next set, Battle for Zendikar, to be released early October 2015.  From the Q & A portion of the panel (and MaRo's Blogatog followup), we also learn that we may expect 'Allies' to return to the revisitation to Zendikar.  Pop back to MTG Realm tomorrow as we further discuss Battle for Zendikar. 

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Magic Origins Intro Packs

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Happy Friday MTG peeps,

In less than twelve hours, we will be at the midnight PreRelease event for Magic Origins at Koros Games in Orangeville, Ontario which is about an hour and change north of Toronto.  You may recall an article we had posted last year about this very cool store and great gaming community.  If you are in the neighbourhood, drop by Koros Games and say hi.  A throng of Magic: the Gathering fans will be the first to get their paws on new cards and game until the early light.  MTG Realm will have a full report on the prerelease tournament with video, pics and a write-up as to how this set plays in sealed format.

Anywhoos, we have to get on to today's articles - Magic Origins Intro Packs.

The full decklists went up on the mothersite yesterday.  If you are new to the game, Intro Packs are designed with new players in mind.  Even more seasoned players will pick these up and have them battle against eachother.  Each Intro Pack comes along with two rares, one of which is an alternative-art foil card.  Here is the full list 'o' goodies -

• 60-card ready-to-play deck
• 2 Magic Origins booster packs
• Learn to play insert

 . . . And here are the lists !    

Brave the Battle (green / white)
Creature (22) : 1 Hixus, Prison Warden (R), 2 Anointer of Champions, 3 Cleric of the Forward Order, 2 Knight of the Pilgrim's Road, 2 Topan Freeblade, 2 Stalwart Aven, 2 Valeron Wardens, 1 Heavy Infantry, 2 Citadel Castellan, 1 Patron of the Valiant, 1 Outland Colossus (R), 2 Sentinel of the Eternal Watch, 1 Vastwood Gorger
Sorcery (2) : 2 Wild Instincts
Instant (6) : 2 Enshrouding Mist, 2 Mighty Leap, 1 Titanic Growth, 1 Vine Snare
Enchantment (5) : 2 Grasp of the Hieromancer, 1 Valor in Akros, 2 Knightly Valor
Land (25) : 1 Evolving Wilds, 14 Plains, 10 Forest

Take to the Sky (white / blue)
Creature (22) : 1 Alhammarret, High Arbiter (R), 3 Faerie Miscreant, 2 Sigiled Starfish, 2 Yoked Ox, 2 Nivix Barrier, 2 Watercourser, 2 Tower Geist, 2 Charging Griffin, 2 Thunderclap Wyvern, 2 Totem-Guide Hartebeest , 1 Soulblade Djinn (R), 1 Aven Battle Priest
Sorcery (2) : 2 Healing Hands
Instant (5) : 1 Negate, 1 Turn to Frog, 1 Celestial Flare, 2 Hydrolash
Enchantment (6) : 1 Stratus Walk, 1 Murder Investigation, 2 Claustrophobia, 2 Suppression Bonds
Land (25) : 1 Evolving Wilds, 14 Island, 10 Plains

Demonic Deals (black / red)
Creature (20) : 1 Kothophed, Soul Hoarder (R), 2 Malakir Cullblade, 2 Shambling Ghoul, 1 Fleshbag Marauder, 3 Nantuko Husk, 3 Undead Servant, 2 Returned Centaur, 1 Cobblebrute, 2 Enthralling Victor, 2 Blazing Hellhound, 1 Revenant
Sorcery (7) : 1 Reave Soul, 3 Act of Treason, 1 Nightsnare, 1 Necromantic Summons, 1 Chandra's Ignition (R)
Instant (7) : 2 Fiery Impulse, 2 Cruel Revival, 1 Chandra's Fury, 1 Unholy Hunger, 1 Ravaging Blaze
Enchantment (1) : 1 Weight of the Underworld
Land (25) : 1 Evolving Wilds, 14 Swamp, 10 Mountain

Assemble Victory (red / blue)
Creature (24) : 1 Pia and Kiran Nalaar (R), 2 Bonded Construct, 1 Runed Servitor, 1 Subterranean Scout, 1 Bellows Lizard, 1 Maritime Guard, 2 Chief of the Foundry, 2 Ghirapur Gearcrafter, 1 Ramroller, 1 Thopter Engineer, 2 Guardian Automaton, 2 Aspiring Aeronaut, 1 Separatist Voidmage, 1 Whirler Rogue, 2 Reclusive Artificer, 2 Volcanic Rambler, 1 Mage-Ring Responder (R)
Instant (3) : 1 Disperse, 2 Artificer's Epiphany
Artifact (4) : 1 Prism Ring, 2 Alchemist's Vial, 1 Meteorite
Enchantment (5) : 3 Infectious Bloodlust, 2 Ghirapur Æther Grid
Land (24) : 1 Evolving Wilds, 13 Mountain 10 Island 

Hunting Pack (black / green)
Creature (25) : 1 Dwynen, Gilt-Leaf Daen (R), 2 Dwynen's Elite, 2 Elvish Visionary, 2 Thornbow Archer, 3 Timberpack Wolf, 2 Leaf Gilder, 1 Hitchclaw Recluse, 1 Managorger Hydra (R), 2 Yeva's Forcemage, 2 Deadbridge Shaman, 2 Eyeblight Assassin, 2 Shaman of the Pack, 2 Sylvan Messenger, 1 Skysnare Spider
Sorcery (6) : 1 Macabre Waltz, 1 Nightsnare, 2 Eyeblight Massacre, 2 Joraga Invocation
Instant (2) : 2 Might of the Masses
Enchantment (3) : 2 Weight of the Underworld, 1 Consecrated by Blood
Land (24) : 1 Evolving Wilds, 11 Forest, 12 Swamp

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Koros Games

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Happy Wednesday MTG peeps,

If you've been reading our regular daily posts to the MTG Realm since 2008 or have just recently started to follow us, then you will likely know that we will take every opportunity to support local gaming stores.  After all, this is the heart of the gaming community which continually drives the growth of Magic: the Gathering.  In this post, we will yatter about our visit to Koros Games in Orangeville, Ontario last Friday when we got to sit down and chat with Owner Shawn Koroscil.  Barb Stuhlemmer of BLITZ Business Success also wrote a great article from a business view.
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We find ourselves in picturesque and historical downtown Orangeville a small town of about 30,000 folks just an hour north of Toronto.  We walk into Koros Games located at 113 Broadway Avenue and find the owner of this local gaming store, Shawn Koroscil.  The store has Magic: the Gathering, HeroClix, Figures, comic books, Miniatures, pop collectibles, huge assortment of Board Games, Video Games and much more.

 

The store has been designated by Wizards of the Coast as a 'WPN Advanced Plus' (see our post about this here), and typically gets 30 players out regularly to Friday Night Magic events and more than 60 out to pre-release / release events.  There is a smaller more intimate gaming space on the main level with a very large hall upstairs which could host gaming events up to 200 people if need be.   

Shawn is interesting - after striking up a conversation with him about the business, you get a sense that he could have been a warrior-poet in another long-ago time.  Shawn is many things; a business owner, a gamer, an arts advocate but above all, we think a right proper community leader.  Koros Games we think is much more than just a local gaming store but a venue for the youth (or any age) of the Town to congregate and enjoy a fun, friendly and healthy atmosphere at a table which is always free to use.  Shawn and his staff are always soliciting the store patrons as to what gaming activities they would like to see and it appears that with this continual improvement and continual growth, the store may be owned by Shawn but managed by the community of patrons, popularly known as 'Korosians'.  The Korosians often volunteer to organise events and there is a determined focus to get younger / newer players engaged.

When we dropped in for this interview we also yattered with Shawns staff, of which two were on at the time.  We have to say that we were impressed that they just did not run the cash register but were also gamers at heart and had very good knowledge of just about every game they carried in store.

We will most definitely suggest that if you find yourself in Orangeville, you will have to drop by Koros Games on 113 Broadway Avenue.  For up to date information, give them a call at (519) 341-7080 or drop by their FaceBook page here.  Here is a run-down of the typical weekly schedule for now - 

EVENT SCHEDULE
Mondays
*No Events, closed at 6:00PM

Tuesdays
5:30PM – 8:00PM :
*HeroClix (tabletop miniatures game with super heroes)
*World of Warcraft trading card game

Wednesdays
5:00PM – 10:00PM :
*Magic: the Gathering casual play
(trading card game; all types of players and formats welcome!)

Thursdays
5:30PM – 8:00PM :
*Pathfinder (tabletop role-playing game)
*Kaijudo (trading card game)
*Demo board games (Over 25 games to check out, try something new!)

Fridays
7:00PM – Midnight :
*M:TG standard tournament, $5.00 entry with “everybody gets one” prize pool
8:00PM – Midnight :
$5.00 M:TG modern, two-headed giant,
“competitive standard” OR $20.00 booster draft,
(depending on the week and player choice)

Saturdays
1:00PM – 4:00PM :
*Magic: the Gathering Booster Draft, $20.00 entry with prize pool
3:30PM – 6:30PM :
*Demo board games (Over 25 games to check out, try something new!)
6:00PM – 9:00PM :
*Magic: the Gathering standard tournament, $2.00 entry with prize pool

Sundays
11:00AM – CLOSE :
*Warhammer (tabletop miniatures game)
*Dungeons & Dragons "Next / 5th Edition" (tabletop roleplaying game, bi-monthly)
*World of Warcraft trading card game
*Kaijudo (trading card game)
5:00PM – 8:00PM :
M:TG standard tournament, $15.00 entry with booster-pack prize pool

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