Ben Calica, Owner D20 Games

Board Games at D20 Alameda

By Ben Calica / Leave a Comment / Events, Games

Welcome to the Board Game Report at D20 Alameda. We’ve been working hard to cherry pick the best and most interesting board games we can find, games that are goods for lots of different mixes of players, from families trying to balance ages and temperaments, to serious table top gamers looking for some major engaging fun. :

Thursday…Board Game Night Starts!!!

So we’re working on finding the most fun board and card games we can sniff out. 🙂 On Thursday Nights we are cracking them open and bringing them out for people to give them a test play. Check out Will Weaton’s Tabletop web series to see some of these games in action.

New (for Us) Forbidden Island. Team game to get all the idols and safely off before the island sinks from under you.
Munchkin Apocalypse!! Just released post apocalyptic version of the favorite help/mess with your friends game with jsut the right amount of wrong for the 9-13 set (and those who still feel like that when they looking the mirror)
Marvel Legendary: A great superhero deck building game that not only plays well from 2-5 players, but can be played with 1 (very rare)
Star Fluxx-The rules are …well, don’t worry…they’re going to change anyway. 😉
Set Jr.-A simplified version of the wonderful pattern matching game.
Timeline-Inventions, Discoveries and Events…what came before what? Can you get them in the right order? (Great for 8 and up)
Bang!-Spaghetti Western game of who (will or wants to) shoot the Sheriff. Any game where a card called Bang! can be countered by a card called Missed! has got to be (and is) a ton of fun.
Ascension–We have all the versions of this staple of deck building games (what are deck building games? Head over to the board game section to find out.)
Ticket to Ride-Wonderful game for 7 and up..get tickets and claim the tracks to get there…good family fun.
Castle Panic!-back in Stock after selling out…Let the conflict be with the game, not the kids in this tower defense style board game where the players team up to beat the game. (6 and up)
And of course…our favorite: Cover Your Assets.

Magic M13 League at D20 Games

By Ben Calica / Leave a Comment / Events, Magic

Welcome to the M13 League at D20 Games.

What is it: The M13 league is an ongoing opportunity for casual competitive play starting the first week of M13 (and going until the release of Return To Ravnica in the Fall.

When: Formal League days are Weds, but matches may be played any time during the week. Match results for each week must be received by the following Weds.

Cost: League costs $25 to enter (includes 6 packs) and $5 each week, including a pack for that week. (People buying fat-packs or boxes may opt to use 6 packs as long as permission is granted from staff.)

Format: Sealed+ event

Start with 6 packs to build decks from, and get to add one pack per week
Packs must be opened in the store and the contents added to a deck list that is kept in the store.

Matches:

Each player can play up to 5 matches with other different members of the league each week. (Matches beyond 5 will not count in that week)
Each player in a match will get 1 point just for playing, and the winner will get 2 bonus points in addition for a total of 3.
It is good sportsmanship to accept a match challenge from anyone in the league provided both players have enough time.
Matches may be continued over more then one day if there is not enough time to complete all the games at once, though an incomplete game is considered a draw game (it can be played over if both players choose.)
As long as one game is completed, both players will get the minimum 1 point.
Slips MUST be turned in with both players names clearly printed and the date written.

Standings and Prizes:

Since we are not charging much more then the cost of the packs, prizes will be more in the fun and pride side then high value.
Standings will be posted each week on the website as soon as I can figure out how. 😉
At the end of the time the point totals will be added up and there will be a playoff with the top 8 players with prizes for those players. And more importantly, they will get the chance to win one of our major titles. (Look for announcements for special events for these major players.)

As with most of our events, the goal is to play and have fun. Everyone has a better time when we help each other out, pointing out missed triggers and plays so that we win by being the better players rather then by catching an opponent doing a dumb mistake or by not knowing how some part of the game works.

M13-The Glory, the Set, the M13 Prerelease…

By Ben Calica / Leave a Comment / Events, Magic

D20 Games M13 Prerelease event

When: Saturday, March 7th at 10 am, and 4:30 p.m.
(Times are sign-in and get yer pack times. There will be an hour for deck building, so matches will start at 11am and 5:30 p.m. Each event will go 5-6 hours.)

What and How Much: $25, 6 decks for a sealed deck event (Pick the best 23 or so from the 60 and add 17 lands to make a minimum 60 card deck.) There will be a minimum of 4 rounds of play with prizes split based on how many players we have. Everyone will get the special foil promo card, and we will throw in a bunch of extra prizes (playmats, deck boxes, rare promo cards) as random giveaways to make it more fun.

About Events at D20: As usual, we like to play for the joy, not just the winning. We’d rather win by helping our opponent play their best game too, then to make them feel bad because they didn’t understand a rule or made unwitting mistakes. We love new or returning players and like to create a comfortable and easygoing place for experienced and learning players to have a good time side by side.

About M13: Traditionally,core sets have been a collection of reprinted staples picked from the last 20 years of magic, with a few cool goodies (Planeswalkers and other big bombs) tossed in. As of M13, they changed that and decided that the core sets should be able to be as much fun as the cycle sets that follow. M13 features a huge number of great new cards, as well as the return of an old favorite mechanic, Exalted.

10am and 5:30 We’ll be doing sealed deck (6 packs and make your best 40 card minimum deck and play.)
$25 entry fee includes the pack, a special bonus card for the first 45 people signed up in each time.
Registration for the first event will start at 10:00 and we will start deck building between 10:15-10:30. First rounds will be played around 11. The early event should go around 4 (a bit later for the top players) The second event will go from 5:30 to about 10 for most players, potentially later for the best players. We will provide packs starting at 4:30 to give people a longer time to build. (This is not a high level event, so we would rather people enjoy themselves then have us need to get as picky about things.)
FOR KIDS>>>there will be two events running side by side at both times although the evening event will be more adult focused, so the kids can play the kids and the adults play the adults. 😉 Kids prizes will be more spread out and the adults will have the prizes more loaded to the top. As such, advanced kids will be able to play with the adults if they so choose. Just as we expect good role modeling from the adults, we expect the kids to be respectful keep their voices to table level.

Kids Summer Magic League

By Ben Calica / Leave a Comment / Events, Magic

Welcome to the Summer Magic League at D20 Games

What is it: The league is an ongoing opportunity for casual ongoing Magic play starting the first week of summer vacation (June 16th) and going until the end of summer.

When: Formal League days are Weds and 3-5 on Fridays, but matches may be played any time during the week. Match results for each week must be received by the following Weds.

Cost: League costs $25 to enter (includes 6 packs) and $5 each week, including a pack for that week. We will start with a mix of Innistrad, Dark Ascension and Avacyn and then add M13 core set when it comes out in the middle of July.

For kids…this is a way fun way to play every week with other kids, either in the store or wherever you find other league players. You get 6 packs to start with to build the best deck you can. Each week, you get to add another pack and make your deck better (or make a completely different deck.). We’ve been doing this with the adults and it is totally fun.
For parents…this is a great way for the kids to play on an ongoing basis, for them to use the cards, not just open lots of packs that end up in a box (or on the floor). They get the fun of opening a pack each week, (actually more fun since all those cards can be used to help them make their decks better. ) The prizes are small intentionally so the play is more fun then the winning, and we give random rewards for those we see helping other players and in general being great sports.

Format: Sealed+ event

Start with 6 packs to build decks from, and get to add one pack per week
Packs must be opened in the store and the contents added to a deck list that is kept in the store.

Matches:

Each player can play up to 5 matches with other different members of the league each week. (Matches beyond 5 will not count in that week)
Each player in a match will get 1 point just for playing, and the winner will get 2 bonus points in addition for a total of 3.
It is good sportsmanship to accept a match challenge from anyone in the league provided both players have enough time.
Matches may be continued over more then one day if there is not enough time to complete all the games at once, though an incomplete game is considered a draw game (it can be played over if both players choose.)
As long as one game is completed, both players will get the minimum 1 point.

Standings and Prizes:

Since we are not charging much more then the cost of the packs, prizes will be more in the fun and pride side then high value.
Each player who has competed at least 3 matches in a week will be entered in a drawing on Weds for a bonus pack.
At the end of the time the point totals will be added up and there will be a playoff with the top 8 players.

Magic League FAQ

Do I have to play in the store and on League days? No, league games can be played anytime during the week and anywhere you find another player.
Why is this more fun than just playing with the decks I have already? The League is one of the best ways to really learn how to play and how to REALLY build your own decks and combos, not just buying premade decks or building a deck that someone else came up with on the internet. You make the best deck(s) you can with whatever the packs bring you, and by the end, that will be a lot. Whatever surprising and cool combos you come up with will be because of the thinking you do and the help you get from other league members.
How many packs do we get and what packs can we choose from? To start, each player gets 6 packs and then at the beginning of each new week, they can add one more into their card pool.
How big does my deck need to be and do I only get to make one deck? Because this is a sealed type event, minimum deck size is 40 cards, not 60, so you want to shoot for ~your 23 best cards and about 17 lands. As you get more cards added, it is very common to be able to build 2 or 3 possible decks. Your sideboard in this type of event is all of your cards from the league, so you can not only switch cards, you can switch whole decks in-between each play.
Can I use my own cards? No, each player starts with 6 packs that they record on the card sheet that gets left with the league administrator. The only cards you add will be the new packs for each new week, and whatever lands you need.
Why can’t I use my own cards? Part of the idea of the league is to make sure everyone starts out with equal chances. It turns out to actually a lot more fun that way. Over time, as more and more packs get added, the randomness of the luck will get evened out and it will be all about what you can do with what you have.
Why do we mark the cards on the league sheet? To keep it fair and make sure people don’t get tempted to sneak in cards that they got from other sources. That would be a crumby thing to do and would spoil a lot of the fun (and challenge of the league.)
How many times do I play each week? You can play up to 6 matches that are official each week and nothing stops you from playing more for fun. League result slips signed by both players, with names and date clearly printed must be turned in each week to the tournament organizer.
Do I have to join at the very beginning? And what if I’m not going to be around a bunch of the time? The league goes the whole summer and you can join in at any time. Since it is primarily for fun, it’s fine if you are gone away for a week or two (or more). When you get back, you can get your missing packs and come on back in and play.

Avacyn Restored Game Day @ D20 Games

By Ben Calica / Leave a Comment / Events, Magic

Join us on Saturday, May 26th at 12 for the Avacyn Restored Game Day.

Time: 12 noon to start (Should end around 5-6)
Format: Standard (60 card deck with 15 card sideboard. Cards can be M12, Scars of Mirradon Block, and Avacyn Restored Block.)
Cost: $5

Everyone who attends will get a special full art version of the Latch Keepers. Top players will get a special foil full-art version of Killing wave.

D20 Games in Alameda, is a comfortable, safe place to play. We are located at 2311 Santa Clara Ave. in Alameda.

Yugioh Epic Dawn Battle Pack Sealed Deck Play @ D20 Games

By Ben Calica / Leave a Comment / Events

Starting with the release of Epic Dawn, D20 will start doing regular Yugioh Sealed Deck play. Epic Dawn is Yugioh’s first release that is dedicated to sealed deck play (decks that are made from small fixed number of packs)

We will run Battle Pack events starting at 2 p.m. on Saturday and at 12:30 on Sundays for the older crowds. We will also start doing it on Tuesdays starting at the end of June We will do so for as long as we have battle packs in stock, but please check the website calendar for the latest information.

There will be 2 formats:

5 packs-Cost,$10-15 depending on prizes. Make 20 card decks from the 25 cards that come in the sealed packs.
10 pack. Cost $20-$25 depending on prize pool.Make 40 card decks out of the 50 cards from the packs.

The rules of sealed are that only the cards that come with the packs you open that day can be used to make your decks. No cards can be added from different sets or from any other source but the packs that were opened. The cool part of this is that a) You aren’t playing the same deck over and over again, b) Every player basically starts on an even playing field, and c) rather then buying packs just for the one or two good cards that may be found, you get to have fun with them, no matter what.

These events are similar to the sneak peeks with one major exception. The sneak peeks are for sets that weren’t designed for sealed deck play, so the decks made with them tend to either be wonderful or terrible. The new Battle packs were built for doing this, so they have many more cards that can work together well in the sets.

Prizes will vary by event, but for the kids, they will play 3 rounds with selections from the Duelist league as special prize cards for all kids involved. Bonus packs will be awarded for best sportsmanship, most interesting deck ideas, and best helping another player to learn the game. For the adults, prize packs will be either one pack per match winner for 3 rounds, or from a prize pool.

From Konomi, here are their suggested rules for the 10 pack events.
Event Rules:

1. 8 Duelists are seated in a random order.

2. Each Duelist is then given 10 sealed Battle Packs.

3. The Duelists record each card out of the packs they open on the Battle Pack: Epic Dawnchecklist.

4. The Judge for the event gathers each Duelist’s set of cards and checklist and randomly distributes them among the Duelists.

5. The Duelists verify what cards they receive with the checklist they receive.

6. The Duelists will then be given 20 minutes to look over their cards, build and sleeve their 40 card Main Deck., Should they choose to sleeve their Deck, they must do so with tournament-legal sleeves.

Once steps 1 thru 6 are completed, the Duelists then will play against their first round opponent in a best 2-out of-3 match. Play will continue in single elimination format until a winner is determined.

Deck Construction Rules
Main Deck Size (Minimum)	40 non-Xyz Monster Cards in Main Deck
Side Deck Size	All non-Xyz Monster Cards not in the Main Deck
Extra Deck Size	All Xyz Monster Cards
Forbidden/Limited List	No Forbidden & Limited Card List is used

Avacyn Restored League @ D20 Games

By Ben Calica / Leave a Comment / Magic

Welcome to the Avacyn Restored League at D20 Games.

What is it: The league is an ongoing opportunity for casual competitive play starting the first week of Avacyn and going until the release of M13 this summer.

When: Formal League days are Weds, but matches may be played any time during the week. Match results for each week must be received by the following Weds.

Format: Sealed+ event

Start with 6 packs to build decks from, and get to add one pack per week
Packs must be opened in the store and the contents added to a deck list that is kept in the store.

Matches:

Each player can play up to 5 matches with other different members of the league each week. (Matches beyond 5 will not count in that week)
Each player in a match will get 1 point just for playing, and the winner will get 2 bonus points in addition for a total of 3.
It is good sportsmanship to accept a match challenge from anyone in the league provided both players have enough time.
Matches may be continued over more then one day if there is not enough time to complete all the games at once, though an incomplete game is considered a draw game (it can be played over if both players choose.)
As long as one game is completed, both players will get the minimum 1 point.

Standings and Prizes:

Since we are not charging much more then the cost of the packs, prizes will be more in the fun and pride side then high value. Having said that, there are some very cool posters that will be the top prizes at the end as well as a full set of the over-sized Avacyn Legends that were in the Helvault
Standings will be posted each week on the website.
Each player who has competed at least 3 matches in a week will be entered in a drawing on Weds for a bonus pack.
At the end of the time the point totals will be added up and there will be a playoff with the top 8 players. The top 4 players will also get bonus entry’s into the drawing for the rights to buy one of our From the Vault sets this summer.

About Avacyn Restored…

By Ben Calica / Leave a Comment / Magic

From the Wizards website…

The Innistrad and Dark Ascension sets showed us a world where humanity is beset on all sides by monsters, including vampires, zombies, and werewolves. Avacyn, a living covenant whose angelic powers protected humans, was imprisoned within the Helvault and feared lost forever. But just as humanity’s darkest hour beckons, Avacyn is freed, inspiring hosts of angels to usher in a new dawn. But even though they no longer have the upper hand, the creatures of the night are still a dangerous threat. The eternal struggle on Innistrad continues in this thrilling conclusion.

Don’t confuse this new dawn with a complete victory for humanity. Innistrad’s horrors have suffered a blow, but they still command unspeakable evil and power. If your decks favor the more unsavory denizens of Innistrad, you’ll find plenty of ways to torment the opposition. Will you follow Avacyn’s lead, Planeswalker, and marshal your powers for good? Or will you use the still potent weapons of the night in your quest for supremacy?

Avacyn Restored prerelease events at D20 Games Alameda

By Ben Calica / Leave a Comment / Events, Magic

NEWS: Avacyn will be Stand-alone set! Prerelease will be ALL Avacyn. (preregister here)

We will be having 3 events for Avacyn Restored: Friday at midnight, two-headed giant and Saturday Sealed deck events at 10 and at 5:30

Avacyn Restored Promo Card, Moonsilver Spear — Special Foil Promo for first 40 people in each Saturday Event

Buy Tickets for Avacyn Restored Prerelease

Friday:

After Friday Night Magic: (6:30. $15) we will be doing the very first chance to get ahold of the new set..a midnight Avacyn two headed giant
This will be a sealed event, $18 per player, 8 packs for the team…if you don’t have a buddy to play with, don’t worry, come on down and we’ll match you up with a new buddy to play with. We’ll do fairly fast deck building and play no more then 3 rounds so we can get done by 3 at the latest…we’re doing this for fun, so we’ll spread out the prize rather then having the winning be all that important.

Open the Helvault for the Prerelease — Both Saturday's Events will be Helvault opening events

Saturday: The main pre release Events. These will be fun events, with everyone getting their own packs to build decks and play each other. There will be 4 rounds, with the players continually matching up by win/loss records, so the really competitve players will end up playing with their peers, and the casual players will end up playing with other casual players. Regardless of win and loss, everyone gets their packs, the bonus cards they are entitled to and whatever is hidden as extra bonus in the Helvault. This is a great event not just for the experienced players, but for anybody who just likes to play, and particularly for those who are looking to get back into the game, since everyone is starting from scratch again with the new set.

10am and 5:30 We’ll be doing sealed deck (6 packs and make your best 40 card minimum deck and play.)
$25 entry fee includes the pack, a special bonus card for the first 45 people signed up in each time.
Registration for the first event will start at 9:30 and we will start deck building between 10:15-10:30. First rounds will be played around 11. The early event should go around 4 (a bit later for the top players) The second event will go from 5:30 to about 10 for most players, potentially later for the best players. We will provide packs starting at 5:00 to give people a longer time to build. (This is not a high level event, so we would rather people enjoy themselves then have us need to get as picky about things.)
FOR KIDS>>>there will be two events running side by side at both times, so the kids can play the kids and the adults play the adults. 😉 Both of these will be Helvalut events, so there will be extra prizes for all registered players. We will work to open the Helvault around 8:30-9pm so the kids who might need to leave early will get the Helvault bonus prizes. We will spread out the prizes more for the kids, with more people getting prizes, but the top people not getting as big a top prize. Kids prizes will be more spread out and the adults will have the prizes more loaded to the top. As such, advanced kids will be able to play with the adults if they so choose.
Pizza and a drink for $5 will be offered at 2 and 6

D20 Games is located at 2311 Santa Clara Ave, Alameda email for info at info at d20alameda.com or go to the website at www.d20alameda.com

Magic Grand Prix Trial for Anaheim

By Ben Calica / Leave a Comment / Events, Magic

Where: D20 Games, 2311 Santa Clara Ave.

Pay and register in the store or here.

Sunday April 22nd is our Trial for the Anaheim Grand Prix which will take place May 26-27th at the Anaheim Convention Center. Winner of our event will automatically pass the first 3 rounds of the big event. This is a competitive level event. Bring in your decks during the week to get a chance to practice and tune.

Start time is 10
Format: Standard
Cost is $25 per player.
Winner will receive 3 byes in the Anaheim Grand Prix. Everyone will get 3x planeswalker points for participating, and additional prizes will be awarded based on the attendance pool.

We will do signups, online, before the event at the store, and on the day of the event. Signups will start at 10. Players who are not seated and ready to build by 10:30, will need to wait for additional players to join so they can cross check deck lists, and will have the first round counted as a loss.

Format

The format for this Grand Prix Trial will be Standard, (60 card decks consisting of cards from M12, Scars block and Innistrad Block.) The Anaheim event will be block-constructed(Innistrad, Dark Ascension, and Avaycn).
Deck lists are required

Tournament Length

If over 8 players, Swiss rounds – 50 minutes per round
Playoff matches will have no time limit
Number of Swiss rounds based on attendance according to the following chart:

Attendance	Swiss rounds	Playoff
8	3 Single-Elimination Rounds (No Swiss)	None (run Single Elimination)
~~9 – 16 (If Sealed Deck)~~	~~4 Rounds~~	~~Top 8~~
9 16 (If Constructed)	5 Rounds	Top 4
17 – 32	5 Rounds	Top 8
33 – 64	6 Rounds	Top 8

Advancement

All players may participate in all Swiss rounds.
The top players after the final Swiss round will advance to the single-elimination playoff. The number of players that advanced to the playoff is based on the number of players in the event (see chart above).

Notes

Planeswalker Points Multiplier – 3x