Magic the Gathering

Magic M14 Events @D20 Games…

By Ben Calica / Leave a Comment / Events, Magic

July 19th is the release date for the next set of Magic Cards, the Core 2014 (otherwise known as M14).

Events for the Pre-release for M14…the return of the Slivers!!

Prerelease:

Prerelease’s are great fun…get 6 packs of the new stuff (and a bonus special promo card) a week before it ships. Make your best 40 card deck and play for fun and prizes. Each

time has both a Casual and Competitive group. Casual plays 3 rounds for prizes, win a round and win a pack. Competitive plays for at least 4 rounds, where it takes at least two winning rounds to get even a single pack, but where the top players can end up with 8 or more packs, depending on how many players are in the group. Even if you just end up playing for the fun, for the $25 entry fee, you end up with the 6 packs of cards that you get to start with to take home and its a good time.

Release Weekend

Friday Night Magic on July 19th will be the Release for M14 and we will Draft that night at 7.
Saturday, we will do a Sealed tournament at Noon, and a Two Headed Giant at 5:30 (Get packs at 4)
Sunday, we will be doing a Qualifier for the Oakland Grand Prix that will be a competitive level Sealed Event ($35 pp). Everyone is free to try their hand, but it will be much more strict rules enforcement then at our casual events.

Game Day

Game Day for M14 will be on Saturday and Sunday, August 11th and 12th. As usual, this will be a standard format event.

D20 Weekly Update-6-24-13

By Ben Calica / Leave a Comment / Events, Magic, Updates

This is the big week!!! Saturday the 29th we will close the store at 5:30 for the Mighty Draft!!! Limited to 12 players, and priced at $150, this is our ultimate “find an old box and draft it” event by drafting a factory sealed box of Revised (~$1800 a box). This is box with packs that haven’t seen fresh air in 19 years, and we are going to make an evening of it, with old-school rules and good cheer and fun competition. If the event does not fill up, we will take a list before-hand of people that want packs at $50 each.

Congratulations to Marcus for “Clocking” everyone else and winning the ultimate Guild wars Competition Saturday night. We had over 20 players (more than we expected) but got the message loud and clear that people REALLY wanted more two-headed Giants. The pitch has become reality (or the other way around) and we have couple, buddies and a bunch of parent/kid combos who all have a blast at these events. I give..we’ll do more of these. As a direct result, I’m going to add an extra one in two weeks, side by side with the kid magic. This will be for a limited number of teams and will be the first (and possibly only) Modern Masters Two headed Giant. To keep the price down a little bit, we’ll be offering two options, either $50 per player for 4 regular packs, or $25 with two regular modern masters packs, & 2 repacks.)

Also–The week right after 4th of July, we will be doing the Prerelease for Magic M14. We will have events on the 13th and 14th. Entry is 25 and will include 6 packs of Slivery fun…

What’s happening @ D20 6-11-13

By Ben Calica / Leave a Comment / Updates

Still looking for a few more good DM’s—Sat June 15th is Free RPG day at the store, in addition to giving out a bunch of free RPG goodies, we will be Running D& to a 3-8 table joint adventure…but we need some good DM’s to help us out—So far we can run 3 tables but we’re looking for a few more.
Modern Masters has been SO FUN!!! The drafts are expensive (Going to $38) but it has been a blast to draft, even for those of us who didn’t know the cards.
ANNOUNCEMENT-Introducing Modern Masters Peasant Cube!?!?! We were struggling with a way to let the kids and those of less means to get in on the fun and came up with a great idea. We’re going to start doing a “Peasant” Cube with prizes. This is a draft where you don’t keep the cards, but can win prize packs for $6! (win a round win a regular pack.)
Taking reservations for the first (and only) Revised Box Draft –Yep…we are doing the most over the top draft ever…a factory sealed box of Revised. Cost is $150 per person to open packs that haven’t seen fresh air in 19 years. 😉 (NOTE–New date for this…June 29th!!!)
Tuesdays starting June 11th… Modern Masters League. Register here… ($100 for 6 starter packs plus 5 weekly packs…more then half sold out so far..)These packs will be cool but in very limited supply. Packs look like they will be between $13-15 per and are FULL of amazing stuff for Magic Modern.
Wednesdays…we are doing D&D encounters from 6-9. NEED A SECOND DM!!!We’ve pretty much got the first table either filled or close each week, so we’re looking for a couple more people to DM for us. Check out my newly written Intro to D&D blog post for parents and other curious types.

This weekend we had a Massive number of Events at the store (I’m still exhausted)

In 3 days we ran something like 10 events, including two that went until 1:30 or later in the morning.

For the opening weekend of Modern Masters, we started the league (I pulled a Tarmogoyf–a $120, card that in it’s foil version is the most expensive card in a new set in our memory at $450!!) I still proceeded to get beat into dust by Don’s flyer deck…ah well, live and learn). On Friday, we ran 3 Friday Night Magic Drafts, two of which were the Modern Masters. The more I played, the more I realized how much the tribal stuff was great.

Saturday’s Pokemon Battle Roads was great, although I may have done a bit to good a job at warning off the little kids. Next time around, if they want to try their deck out in a tournament, let’s bring a few more of them by. Saturday night’s two-headed giant contained to be lovely fun, with some new players joining the building crew of regulars. Once again, the Better Days were a force to be reckoned with that were just so darned gracious that they were hard to get mad at, even as they continued to rack up the wins. One more Modern Masters draft that (this time) actually started at nine, and the evening was wrapped. (Ok…9 is too late to start a draft…we get that now..).

Sunday’s standard was a bit light with many of the regulars having trouble crawling out of bed after the previous night’s fun. But many were back for the last Modern Masters draft of the weekend. The truth is that many of us were a bit mad at Wizards about Modern Masters. Why would they short print a set and make it SOO much fun to play. I also am very frustrated that it is really too expensive for the kids to play. As a result, we decided to create a special redraftable set called a cube with just the common and uncommon (not money) cards that we can use to play for fun without the bucks. We’ll do these as $6 drafts where you don’t get the cards to keep, and all the $ goes into the prizes (1 regular pack per win).

Older news—

No more Adult Yugioh @ D20 for the whole story click here.

Thanks to everyone for the post break in support..we’re doing much better.. Click here for the story.

Two-Headed Giant Intro Deck Battle!

By Ben Calica / Leave a Comment / Magic

We’ve never done this before! 🙂 In the great D20 tradition of weird/cool events, we are doing a special two-headed Giant where instead of the 60 cards each player from 4 packs, we’ll have 30 cards from two packs PLUS the 60 cards from one of the either Gatecrash or Return to Ravnica Intro decks. Each player gets one of the intro decks with their two packs by pulling from a box at random and the two players make their best 40 card decks each from the combo.

This should be huge fun, and as always, limited by space, so sign up early.

When: Saturday April 2oth. Get packs starting at 4, start play at 5:3o.

What: Two-headed giant team event. Three rounds (one game each), win a round, win two packs for the team.

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Special Magic Revised Box Draft at D20 Games Alameda

By Ben Calica / Leave a Comment / Events, Magic

Ok…clearly we are out of our minds. ;-).

UPDATE: Date has been changed to June 29th (Sat). We will close the store for the evening…only open to the players. (each player can invite a limted number of guests.)

BONUS… Beta card draft based on who signs up first—-Beta Lands and Beta cards—We will put in 16 beta lands, and 12 beta commons into a drafting pool that will get table drafted based on the order that people sign up.

So when you find that incredibly rare bottle of wine…you want to get some people together who will appreciate as much and make a night of it…that is exactly what we are going to do with this.We’ve managed to get our hands on a factory sealed box of Revised, and in the grand tradition of D20 Games, and we’re drafting that sucker in what will be a unique trip back in time.

NOTE: For those of us who were around in the day, the fact that the packs were easy to peek, by sneaking up the back cards and holding the pack up to the light. So old packs are almost never a good bet (even the most honest person holding onto a pack for 20 years would have a hell of a time resisting taking a peek.) So when we got a chance to get our hands on a factory sealed box, after taking a deep breath, we decided to go for it. We are vouching for the box…if it ends up being a repacked job, everybody gets their money back, I get the cards and go off hunting the person who sold it to us.

It’s important that people who sign up for this are doing so for the fun of opening up the old packs, feeling those mint cards and the trip back in time. Don’t do it as an investment, or as a gamble counting on getting the high value cards to pay back the cost. Do it for the joy of it and if you can afford it.

We’re going to draft the box and play with old school rules. That means mana burn, the old pre-stack damage rules,and just for pure fun, we’re bringing back Ante (though the Dual Lands will be excepted).

When: 6 pm, June 29th, 2013 We’re going to close the store for this one…

Cost: $150 per person. Prize will be regular packs and some special promos.

LIMIT: 12 people..(Ok…11 since Ben, the store owner is clearly in on this one.)

Event Registration Online for Revised Box Tournament powered by Eventbrite

Magic Guild Wars…Sealed Magic Tournament

By Ben Calica / Leave a Comment / Events, Magic

We managed to squirrel away enough of the speical boxes from the Gatecrash prerelease (these are the ones with the special promo cards and guild colored promo live dice), to run a very cool battle royal between three of the guilds. Will it be the relentless attack of team Boros, the inevitable growth of Simic, or the sacrificial bursts of strength of Gruul? Whichever team wins will add some very special promos and goodies to the usual prize packs for the individual winners.

What: Single player Sealed competition (best 40 card minimum deck from the 6 packs that come in the prerelease packs)

When: Saturday 4/13/13. Get boxes at 4, make decks and play at 5:30.

How much: $30 per player

Play 3 rounds with an extra round if needed to determine winner. (Also…a possible final battle between the top players for each Guild for the honor of the clan-and an extra bonus promo)

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Dragon’s Maze Prerelease 4/27 & 4/28

By Ben Calica / Leave a Comment / Events, Magic

Pick a Guild…any guild! 😉 Dragon’s Maze is the last set in the Ravnica Block, bringing support for all 10 of the guilds of Ravnica , so players who register early will get to their favorite from all 10 guilds.

At D20 Games, we work hard to create a welcoming place for players of all levels to play, well, for the fun of it. 😉

A couple of new things for the Dragon’s Maze prerelease.

Pick from all ten guilds(20 total of each…reserve early to get your choice)…each pack will contain 4 packs of Dragon’s Maze cards, one special pack of just cards for the chosen guild, and one pack of a secret ally guild that shares a color with the guild selected.
The Implicit Maze…members of each guild can participate in the Implicit Maze Race. If team members win enough to get to complete the maze, they will get a chance to win special code cards good for virtual badges for their Planeswalker.com accounts
The special foil promo card will be for everyone and not for use in the decks. There will also be a bonus promo foil land for those who do the maze.
Promo card for Dragon’s Maze Prerelease

When: We will be having 3 times

Sat. 4/27 at 10 (Get packs starting at 10-build decks to start playing at 11 am)
Sat. 4/27 at 4 (Get packs starting at 4-build decks to start playing at 5:15)
Sun. 4/28 at 10 (Get packs starting at 10. Start playing at 11:30)
(we may add another on sunday @ 5 if we have enough demand.)

Cost: $30 per person –EXTRA BONUS–free pack of basic Ultra-pro sleeves or basic deck box

Format: Sealed (6 packs…make your best 40 card deck–Sealed means everyone starts out with the same number of packs and will take about 23 of those 80+ card to buidl a deck (we provide lands to borrow, though if you have them to bring, we’ll give you an extra smile)

Experienced Vs. Casual players: This is a great event for both experienced and casual players and we work hard to take care of both groups. For both…we always play for the fun of the game. 😉

Competitive: 4-6 rounds depending on number of players, with the top players getting most of the 2 pack per attendee prizes. (must win at least two rounds to get prize. Prize payout based on number of players)
Kids & Casual: is more of our standard draft style, with three rounds, with a prize pack given for each round won. Prizes are smaller but more spread out. (NOTE—Because of the Implicit maze event, we will give the Kids and casual players an option to play an extra round to try and win the virtual promo badges, but it is optional and there won’t be other prizes for the 4th round besides those promo badge code cards. )

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Time Walk Duels-Magic the Gathering Special Event

By Ben Calica / Leave a Comment / Events, Magic, Misc

Time Spiral vs. Darksteel, Shadowmoor vs. Kamigawa. Whether its going back to the set that you first played or a set you’ve never played before, the Time Walk Duels are a chance to take a stroll through the history of magic.

Somehow we managed to acquired a collection of 105…that’s right, one hundred and five theme decks that create a virtual history of Magic for about 17 years from 1996 on. At first, we were going to sell them off, and they someone came up with the brilliant idea to play with them. So here is the deal. From now on, every Thursday, starting at 5:30, players can come in and pick a deck to play with. The cost is 5 bucks, 4 of which will go into a pack for the prize pool and we’ll play 3 rounds of double elimination, to see what decks (and players) come out on top.

Deck selection is first come, first pick, but players can’t pick the same deck more then once a month. We know that some of the decks are going to turn out to be overpowered, so when we find them, those decks will earn handicaps. (Players will start each game with x less life.) Also, some of the decks have some very valuable cards, so those will require an id turned in to check them out. But most importantly, as always, have fun. This should be a blast. If you are running late, give us a call and we’ll take care of you.

Here is what we have so far (List curtesy of wikipedia)

Urza’s Saga

Theme Deck Name	Colors included					60 cards per deck
Theme Deck Name	White	Blue	Black	Red	Green	60 cards per deck
Sleeper						Card list
Special Delivery						Card list
The Plague						Card list
Tombstone						Card list

Mercadian Masques

Theme Deck Name	Colors included					60 cards per deck
Theme Deck Name	White	Blue	Black	Red	Green	60 cards per deck

Tidal Mastery						Card list

Nemesis

Theme Deck Name	Colors included					60 cards per deck
Theme Deck Name	White	Blue	Black	Red	Green	60 cards per deck
Breakdown						Card list

Mercenaries						Card list
Replicator						Card list

Invasion Block

Invasion

Theme Deck Name	Colors included					60 cards per deck
Theme Deck Name	White	Blue	Black	Red	Green	60 cards per deck
Blowout						Card list
Dismissal						Card list
Heavy Duty						Card list
Spectrum						Card list

Planeshift

Theme Deck Name	Colors included					60 cards per deck
Theme Deck Name	White	Blue	Black	Red	Green	60 cards per deck
Barrage						Card list
Comeback						Card list
Domain						Card list
Scout						Card list

Apocalypse

Theme Deck Name	Colors included					60 cards per deck
Theme Deck Name	White	Blue	Black	Red	Green	60 cards per deck

Swoop						Card list

Odyssey

Theme Deck Name	Colors included					60 cards per deck
Theme Deck Name	White	Blue	Black	Red	Green	60 cards per deck
Liftoff						Card list
One-Two Punch						Card list
Pressure Cooker						Card list
Trounce-O-Matic						Card list

Onslaught Block

Onslaught

Theme Deck Name	Colors included					60 cards per deck
Theme Deck Name	White	Blue	Black	Red	Green	60 cards per deck
Bait and Switch						Card list
Celestial Assault						Card list
Devastation						Card list
Ivory Doom						Card list

Legions

Theme Deck Name	Colors included					60 cards per deck
Theme Deck Name	White	Blue	Black	Red	Green	60 cards per deck
Elvish Rage						Card list
Morph Mayhem						Card list
Sliver Shivers						Card list
Zombies Unleashed						Card list

Scourge

Theme Deck Name	Colors included					60 cards per deck
Theme Deck Name	White	Blue	Black	Red	Green	60 cards per deck
Goblin Mob						Card list
Max Attack						Card list
Pulverize						Card list
Storm Surge						Card list

Mirrodin Block

Mirrodin

Theme Deck Name	Colors included					60 cards per deck
Theme Deck Name	White	Blue	Black	Red	Green	60 cards per deck
Bait & Bludgeon						Card list
Little Bashers						Card list
Sacrificial Bam						Card list
Wicked Big						Card list

Darksteel

Theme Deck Name	Colors included					60 cards per deck
Theme Deck Name	White	Blue	Black	Red	Green	60 cards per deck
Master Blaster						Card list
Mind Swarm						Card list
Swarm & Slam						Card list
Transference						Card list

Fifth Dawn

Theme Deck Name	Colors included					60 cards per deck
Theme Deck Name	White	Blue	Black	Red	Green	60 cards per deck
Nuts and Bolts						Card list
Special Forces						Card list
Stampede						Card list
Sunburst						Card list

Kamigawa Block

Champions of Kamigawa

Theme Deck Name	Colors included					60 cards per deck
Theme Deck Name	White	Blue	Black	Red	Green	60 cards per deck
Kami Reborn						Card list
Snake’s Path						Card list
Spiritbane						Card list
Way of the Warrior						Card list

Betrayers of Kamigawa

Theme Deck Name	Colors included					60 cards per deck
Theme Deck Name	White	Blue	Black	Red	Green	60 cards per deck
Dark Devotion						Card list
Ninjutsu						Card list
Rats’ Nest						Card list
Spiritcraft						Card list

Saviors of Kamigawa

Theme Deck Name	Colors included					60 cards per deck
Theme Deck Name	White	Blue	Black	Red	Green	60 cards per deck
Critical Mass						Card list
Soratami’s Wisdom						Card list
Spirit Flames						Card list
Truth Seekers						Card list

Ravnica Block

Ravnica: City of Guilds

Theme Deck Name	Colors included					60 cards per deck
Theme Deck Name	White	Blue	Black	Red	Green	60 cards per deck
Charge of the Boros						Card list
Dimir Intrigues						Card list
Golgari Deathcreep						Card list
Selesnya United						Card list

Guildpact

Theme Deck Name	Colors included					60 cards per deck
Theme Deck Name	White	Blue	Black	Red	Green	60 cards per deck
Code of the Orzhov						Card list
Gruul Wilding						Card list
Izzet Gizmometry						Card list

Dissension

Theme Deck Name	Colors included					60 cards per deck
Theme Deck Name	White	Blue	Black	Red	Green	60 cards per deck
Azorius Ascendant						Card list
Rakdos Bloodsport						Card list
Simic Mutology						Card list

Coldsnap

Intro Pack Name	Colors included					60 cards per deck
Intro Pack Name	White	Blue	Black	Red	Green	60 cards per deck
Aurochs Stampede						Card list
Beyond The Grave						Card list
Kjeldoran Cunning						Card list
Snowscape						Card list

Time Spiral Block

Time Spiral

Theme Deck Name	Colors included					60 cards per deck
Theme Deck Name	White	Blue	Black	Red	Green	60 cards per deck
Fun With Fungus						Card list
Hope’s Crusaders						Card list
Reality Fracture						Card list
Sliver Evolution						Card list

Planar Chaos

Theme Deck Name	Colors included					60 cards per deck
Theme Deck Name	White	Blue	Black	Red	Green	60 cards per deck
Endless March						Card list
Ixidor’s Legacy						Card list
Rituals of Rebirth						Card list
Unraveling Mind						Card list

Future Sight

Theme Deck Name	Colors included					60 cards per deck
Theme Deck Name	White	Blue	Black	Red	Green	60 cards per deck
Fate Blaster						Card list
Future Shock						Card list
Rebels Unite						Card list
Suspended Sentence						Card list

Lorwyn Block

Lorwyn

Theme Deck Name	Colors included					60 cards per deck
Theme Deck Name	White	Blue	Black	Red	Green	60 cards per deck
Boggart Feast						Card list
Elementals Path						Card list
Elvish Predation						Card list
Kithkin Militia						Card list
Merrow Riverways						Card list

Morningtide

Theme Deck Name	Colors included					60 cards per deck
Theme Deck Name	White	Blue	Black	Red	Green	60 cards per deck
Battalion						Card list
Going Rogue						Card list
Shamanism						Card list
Warrior’s Code						Card list

Shadowmoor Block

Shadowmoor

Theme Deck Name	Colors included					60 cards per deck
Theme Deck Name	White	Blue	Black	Red	Green	60 cards per deck
Army of Entropy						Card list
Aura Mastery						Card list
Mortal Coil						Card list
Overkill						Card list
Turnabout						Card list

[edit]Eventide

Theme Deck Name	Colors included					60 cards per deck
Theme Deck Name	White	Blue	Black	Red	Green	60 cards per deck
Battle Blitz						Card list
Death March						Card list
Life Drain						Card list
Sidestep						Card list
Superabundance						Card list

Source -Wikipedia- http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_Magic:_The_Gathering_theme_decks

Standard Sundays @ D20 Games

By Ben Calica / Leave a Comment / Events, Magic

What: Standard Format Magic Tournament

When: Sundays @ 12 pm (3-5 rounds depending on the number of players)

Cost: $5 with one pack per player added to the prize pool

Standard format is a 60 card deck comprised of cards from the last block, the current block and the current core set (Currently Innistrad, Dark Ascension Avacyn Restored, M13, Return to Ravnica and Gatecrash.) No more then 4 of the same cards per deck except basic lands. Sideboard must consist of 15 cards. Rounds are 50 minutes.

These are competitive events, but we are still D20, so we tend to approach any issues and all game play with a sense of humor and fun. (Remembering…it is, well, a game.)

Two-Headed Giant

By Ben Calica / Leave a Comment / Events, Magic

When: Sat 4:00 to get packs, 5:45 to play.

How much; $17.50 per player.

Two headed giant with 4 Ravnica and 4 Gatecrash! The last few of these have sold out, so to guarantee a spot, either come on in and register or sign up on line.

This is a ton of fun and best way EVER for bringing in people who haven’t felt comfortable playing before. It works great for significant others, buddies who want to check it out, or just friends who want to play.

(It is particularly great for Moms or Dads who want to have a really cool date night with their kids. This event is a GREAT way for parents to figure out what this thing the kids are doing is anyway, and for the kids to get a chance to be the ones who know what is going on for a change. 😉 Because you play as a team and can help each other out, the kid gets to be the smart one for a change, and the parent gets to play without needing to worry about “doing it wrong”. Also…very fun to play together against another team.)

Upcoming time: Sat. 3/30/13 at 4 pm (start getting packs to build decks)

Play games starting at 5:30 (ish)

Frequently asked Questions

What is it?: Two-Headed Giant Magic Tournament. (Two players on the same team, sharing life and playing in parallel against other teams of players)

Do I need to know what I’m doing?: Since both players play at the same time and can show each other their cards, as long as one of the two players knows what they are doing, nothing is required of the other player. It is the best, most fun way to learn the game.

Do we need to make and bring our own decks? Nope. This is what is called a sealed deck tournament, which basically means that each team gets a fixed number of packs (8) of Magic cards to build the two decks used to play in the tournament.

How much does it cost? $17.50 per person which includes 4 packs ($20 including sleeves)

When is is and how long does it go? It starts at 4 and the last match will end by 9:30. (No, you don’t have to stay for all the matches.)

Sell Tickets Online through Eventbritewww.alameda.com 510-522-2109.MTG, Magic the Gathering, Friday Night Magic, FNM