[Tournament] - The Mana Drain Championship - 9/25-9/26/04

[kl0wn]

WHEN:
Saturday, September 25th through Sunday, September 26th, 2004.

WHERE:
Winnie's Dance Ranch/The Aztec Inn
1 Delaware Avenue, Endicott NY 13760
(607) 484-9000

DAY ONE: The Mana Drain Championship 2004

ENTRY FEE:
Entry fee is $25.
Five proxies are included with your entry fee.
You may proxy any number of cards for $1 each beyond the first five.
Deck registration begins at 9am, tournament begins at 11am.

GUARANTEED PRIZES:
The Top 8 will draft an entire set of Power 9.

The final power card not drafted will be given away to a random participant who did not make Top 8.

The first place winner will also receive a championship belt and be crowned 2004 The Mana Drain Champion.

Prizes for 9th-32nd place will be determined based on attendance.

There will also be prizes awarded to participants throughout each round for noteworthy plays, interesting card choices and other things.

DAY TWO:

Highlander Power Tournament
First place will receive a Mox and a commemorative sword. Be the first to defeat reigning Highlander Champion, Bryce "kl0wn" Reynolds and win a Beta Psionic Blast. Further prizes based on attendance.
Entry fee: $15
Tournament begins at 11:00am

Second Chance Power Tournaments
Beginning at 2:00pm, we will be holding flights of power tournaments throughout the day.

Free Magic Trivia
Hosted by Jacob "Jacob Orlove" Orlove
Compete against Ray "iamfishman" Robillard for fabulous prizes.

Free Card Augmentation
Your favorite TheManaDrain.com personalities will be on hand to sign and augment cards.

Side events including booster drafts and Type 4 will be held throughout both days. Just request an event and we'll run it.

P.S. If you're a dealer and want some space, PM me.

UPDATE: Lodging is going like hotcakes; there are already four or five booked of the twenty or so rooms and suites at the Aztec, and that's just four days after GenCon. I suggest scooping yours up before they're all gone.

[Kowal]

I just want to point out one thing...

WE'RE RAFFLING AWAY A PIECE OF POWER.

That's right.  No matter whether or not you place highly, as long as you're still around when the top eight picks their pieces, you're in the drawing for a FREE piece of power.

And don't forget to prepare for day two.  Second chances at power tournaments, the ONLY HIGHLANDER POWER TOURNAMENT (as far as I can tell, and believe me, I looked!) and if you can round up eight people for ANY format, we'll make a tournament and award a prize to the winner.

Also, this event is being held AT a hotel, with EXTREMELY competitive rates.  Come, stay, play, even if you don't leave with the belt, you can still leave with a lot more than you came with.

[kl0wn]

Okay, here's how the lodging is at the Ranch:

They have 10 single rooms and 10 suites.

The single rooms just have two beds in them and a bathroom. Nothing special. The rates for the "single" rooms are $65/night; not that good for single rooms in the area, but better than you'd get in a major city. The single rooms aren't the big draw though...

The suites are where things get interesting. In a suite, you get two rooms. One room has two king-size beds in it, while the other room has a couch with a pull-out bed. Both rooms have bathrooms and there are coffee pots, etc.. in them. How much do you think you'll pay for one of these suites? Get a number in your head real quick. Got it? Well, you're WRONG! These suites are $75/night.

Also, if you mention that you're there for the event, you get 10% off.

Now if you feel like slumming it or driving a little, there are plenty of places to stay at around $40/night in the Binghamton and Endicott area, but I'd recommend calling ahead and reserving a suite for $67.50 at the venue.

[Razvan]

From Toronto:

Mapquest Directions from Toronto

ONLY 5 hours drive! My Lord, this is closer than Montreal...! I can almost guarantee a drove of Canadians making it at this event.

Sweet, thanks dudes.

[CrazyCarl]

ONLY 5 hours drive! My Lord, this is closer than Montreal...! I can almost guarantee a drove of Canadians making it at this event.

Sweet, thanks dudes.

I TOLD YOU ALL WE WERE CLOSE TO CANADA.

This thing is gonna be mad sweet though guys.

A CHAMPIONSHIP BELT!

[Razvan]

I TOLD YOU ALL WE WERE CLOSE TO CANADA.

This thing is gonna be mad sweet though guys.

A CHAMPIONSHIP BELT!

Did I ever disbelieve you? Did I ever do that?

I am posting this on mtgontario as well, so more people know. Since it's so bloody close (relatively speaking), I am sure there's no excuse of the sort... "Virginia is so bloody far!"

ps: I apologize for posting the URL and causing the thread to be scrollbar-hijacked. I forgot it keeps doing that.

ps2: I divvied it up into lines, so if Carl can edit his post as well, we should be back to normal.

[wuaffiliate]

I'll be there!

[Kerz]

Damn this tourney for being 9 days before I get my licence.

I'll be there, regardless. This event its going to be NUTS.

[iamfishman]

Not to sound cliche, but, "I'm so there"...this will be so much fun.  I'm especially psyched about day two.

[Jacob Orlove]

I'll run a trivia contest day two, but I'll need some prizes from you guys. Bad foils + a few cool cards is enough, and I'll make plenty of questions so that I can give away as much loot as you guys give me (my plan is to have literally over 100 questions--I'll just give the extras to Ray and skip his trivia contests until he gets through them all).

[kl0wn]

Much love to Jacob and Ray. You can never go wrong with trivia. I'll be donating some stuff from my personal stash to that.

I made some flyers up to hand out at GenCon, which I will also be sending to the big Z soon for the front page. I included the trivia on the flyers too, I hope you guys don't mind.

[Kerz]

Poker seems like a great day 2 addition.

Or is that stuff already set in stone?

[KSesler]

Klown:
What Airport would you recommend for people flying in?

[kl0wn]

Klown:
What Airport would you recommend for people flying in?

I would recommend ending up at the Binghamton Regional Airport since it's like right there (well, about 15 miles away). I've never flown, so I'm not quite sure if that's enough of an answer, but I can tell you that taking a cab from there to Endicott costs $17.50.

Poker seems like a great day 2 addition.

Or is that stuff already set in stone?

That stuff is already set in stone, but it doesn't mean that there can't be more stuff. That's the reason for the bolded errata at the end of the announcement.

Edit: It's been brought to my attention that cash poker is most likely illegal around here, so I don't think we'll be organizing any official cash poker action. Unfortunately, my vigilance as a T.O. has limitations so I won't be able to fully police the tournament area in order to prevent the evil of gambling from rearing it's ugly head should anybody decide to put together some very low-key poker games.

[Jacob Orlove]

Edit: I'll be there.

[leviat]

I've talked to Bryce (kl0wn) and JoshO and it looks like this event is really coming together. The prizes are going to be great and for those who have been to a Binghamton tounry before (remember the two in Syracuse) we really like to make sure everyone gets there money's worth.

There's no way I'm going to miss this and I personally challenge everyone to some serious magic casting (except GI, because he always cheats or something).

Klown:
What Airport would you recommend for people flying in?

Flying into Binghamton Airport is typically not worth the cost. Instead, I would look into flying into Syracuse or Scranton and then renting a car for the weekend. You'll save money and have a lot more options available for getting to places.

[hulk3rules]

The Syracuse tournies were awesome, with the exception of one small detail.

Can we assume the bathroom situation is gonna be better here?  Because man, that sure was bad last time at Syracuse...

[kl0wn]

I actually personally inspected the bathrooms when we were checking out the space. In the men's room, there are 3 urinals and either 2 or 3 stalls (I forget exactly how many stalls, but there are at least 2).

Oh, and there's an exit right around the corner from the room (if we don't have the doors to the hall open) so there won't be any game losses incurred for being a smoker like at GenCon (five minute walk to get outside? WTF!?!?). Or maybe I'm alone on that one.

[leviat]

For those wondering about the Highlander tourny, there really IS a sword for first place. You know, the kind made of metal with sharp edges and stuff. I only mention it because Bryce was walking around with it strapped to his back today. This "con" is going to be nutty.

[kl0wn]

For those wondering about the Highlander tourny, there really IS a sword for first place. You know, the kind made of metal with sharp edges and stuff. I only mention it because Bryce was walking around with it strapped to his back today. This "con" is going to be nutty.

Yeah, and I almost wasn't allowed on the bus with it. Except for the fact that...you know...I was carrying a big-ass, scary sword.

I would also like to point out that even though you might see people throwing up last-minute tournaments on the same day, claiming that they're going to be more relaxed and casual and provide you with the opportunity to kick back and take a break from all of the hectic "big tournaments", we've already rented out space and set aside an ENTIRE DAY for that.

Personally, whenever I leave a big tournament, I always wish that there was something else to do in order to relax and unwind other than just head home and stew about what happened the day before. That's what Day 2 is all about. You don't need to horde tech or bring your A-game*. Hell, just plop down at a table and shoot the breeze with fellow TMDers. Play some Magic trivia and some Type 4. Draft some triple Scourge (the most balanced and fun limited format). Just have fun.

*unless you somehow hope to defeat me in the Highlander.

[CrazyCarl]

For those wondering about the Highlander tourny, there really IS a sword for first place. You know, the kind made of metal with sharp edges and stuff. I only mention it because Bryce was walking around with it strapped to his back today. This "con" is going to be nutty.

Yeah, and I almost wasn't allowed on the bus with it. Except for the fact that...you know...I was carrying a big-ass, scary sword.

I would also like to point out that even though you might see people throwing up last-minute tournaments on the same day, claiming that they're going to be more relaxed and casual and provide you with the opportunity to kick back and take a break from all of the hectic "big tournaments", we've already rented out space and set aside an ENTIRE DAY for that.

Personally, whenever I leave a big tournament, I always wish that there was something else to do in order to relax and unwind other than just head home and stew about what happened the day before. That's what Day 2 is all about. You don't need to horde tech or bring your A-game*. Hell, just plop down at a table and shoot the breeze with fellow TMDers. Play some Magic trivia and some Type 4. Draft some triple Scourge (the most balanced and fun limited format). Just have fun.

*unless you somehow hope to defeat me in the Highlander.

Honestly, now that I know there's a sword involved, I may try to play.

[kl0wn]

THIS JUST IN:

After consulting with the powers that be, there will be at least one poker tournament for power cards.

[Kerz]

<33333333333333333333333333333 333333

Phelon: I will get you heads up this time.

[The M.E.T.H.O.D]

Im from NJ and I need people to ride with me so i can afford the trip.
PM Me please because I really want to go.

[BigChuck]

I just wanted to vouch for the coolness of the sword. Kl0wn  brought it to Waterbury, and it really is an awesome prize.

[kl0wn]

I just wanted to vouch for the coolness of the sword. Kl0wn  brought it to Waterbury, and it really is an awesome prize.

Plus you get a Mox to go with the sword, but nobody cares about that.

[Kowal]

UPDATE ON THE HIGHLANDER TOURNAMENT:

Proxies will be allowed, but they will need to be purchased.  Think of the highlander proxy system like the main event's, minus the five free proxies.

The money collected from this will go to get something nice for the highest placing player with zero proxies.

[kl0wn]

The money collected from this will go to get something nice for the highest placing playerS with zero proxies.

Proxies in highlander are lame. You really don't need them. There are no "top" decks for you to have to duplicate. All you need is deckbuilding skill. But for those of you who feel you are unskilled and need proxies, consider this evening out the playing field for those of us who never had the opportunity to rent $300 cards for $1 per event.

[CrazyCarl]

We got a HUGE response this weekend at the pre-release in Syracuse: Tons of people are coming.  A ton of 1.5 players from Albany AND Syracuse are planning on coming.  Most of these guys have T1 staples such as Drains, Workshops, Bazaars, etc, so they are VERY competative.

This thing is going to be HOT.

We've even got 3 vendors showing up.  It's going to be like having a frickin card show in addition to the main event(and side events).

One more week!

[wuaffiliate]

I'm still trying to find a way to attend.