[Report] Myriad Games Vintage November 12th, 2005 w/T8 Decks

[Myriad Games]

The Myriad Games Vintage Tournament announcement for November 12th, 2005 can be found here.

Thank you to everyone who attended our latest Vintage tournament here at Myriad Games.

Scott Hatch won the Preregistration Bonus Dual Land: [card]Taiga[/card].

The Myriad Games T-Shirt Challenge was again quite popular. I played 14 games and gave away 8 Myriad Games T-Shirts. Thanks to everyone who participated. For those of you who did not win this time, thank you for playing. Those of you who haven't won a T-shirt can try again next time.

We also had an hilarious Unhinged Booster Draft after the Swiss rounds, and all the players had a great time. Prizes for the Unhinged Draft included FOIL Promo Ashnod's Coupons to be used during the event and complimentary beverages to go along with them.

There were door prizes all around including Sara's famous Myriad Games Magical Mana Cookies and everyone had a great time!

You can check out pictures from the event right here.

Myriad Games will be hosting our next Vintage Tournament in January. More details will be posted as the event gets closer.

As always, if you have any comments or suggestions about our events, please email us at vintage@myriadgames.com

Tournament Results

1st Place: Oliver Beaumont
2nd Place: Travis Laplante
3rd Place: Greg Hughes
4th Place: Nate Pease
5th Place: Jason Riendeau
6th Place: Seth Patterson
7th Place: Derek McAtavey
8th Place: Scott Hatch

Top 2
Oliver Beaumont vs Travis Laplante

Top 4

• Travis Laplante vs Nate Pease
• Oliver Beaumont vs Greg Hughes

Top 8

• Oliver Beaumont vs Jason Riendeau
• Travis Laplante vs Seth Patterson
• Nate Pease vs Scott Hatch
• Greg Hughes vs Derek McAtavey

Decklists

Oliver Beaumont (Oh My God! Not Another Bad Deck Name - Salvagers)

5x [card]Island[/card]
1x [card]Tolarian Academy[/card]
1x [card]Plains[/card]
4x [card]Tundra[/card]
4x [card]Flooded Strand[/card]
1x [card]Adarkar Wastes[/card]
3x [card]Trinket Mage[/card]
4x [card]Auriok Salvagers[/card]
1x [card]Darksteel Colossus[/card]
1x [card]Mox Emerald[/card]
1x [card]Mox Jet[/card]
1x [card]Mox Pearl[/card]
1x [card]Mox Ruby[/card]
1x [card]Mox Sapphire[/card]
1x [card]Black Lotus[/card]
1x [card]Sol Ring[/card]
1x [card]Mana Crypt[/card]
1x [card]Tinker[/card]
1x [card]Time Walk[/card]
1x [card]Ancestral Recall[/card]
1x [card]Gifts Ungiven[/card]
1x [card]Mystical Tutor[/card]
4x [card]Force of Will[/card]
1x [card]Pyrite Spellbomb[/card]
2x [card]AEther Spellbomb[/card]
4x [card]Mana Drain[/card]
1x [card]Rebuild[/card]
4x [card]Brainstorm[/card]
1x [card]Merchant Scroll[/card]
1x [card]Decree of Justice[/card]
1x [card]Engineered Explosives[/card]
3x [card]Thirst for Knowledge[/card]
1x [card]Telling Time[/card]

Sideboard
2x [card]Old Man of the Sea[/card]
2x [card]Echoing Truth[/card]
3x [card]Swords to Plowshares[/card]
1x [card]Jesters Cap[/card]
2x [card]Tormods Crypt[/card]
2x [card]Sacred Ground[/card]
3x [card]Orims Chant[/card]

Travis Laplante (TurboLand)

1x [card]Trade Routes[/card]
1x [card]Crop Rotation[/card]
1x [card]Mox Pearl[/card]
1x [card]Mox Emerald[/card]
1x [card]Mox Jet[/card]
1x [card]Gifts Ungiven[/card]
1x [card]Fastbond[/card]
1x [card]Gorilla Shaman[/card]
1x [card]Glacial Chasm[/card]
1x [card]Memory Jar[/card]
1x [card]Enlightened Tutor[/card]
1x [card]Strip Mine[/card]
1x [card]Mana Crypt[/card]
1x [card]Time Walk[/card]
1x [card]Regrowth[/card]
1x [card]Sol Ring[/card]
1x [card]Wheel of Fortune[/card]
1x [card]Timetwister[/card]
1x [card]Black Lotus[/card]
1x [card]Vampiric Tutor[/card]
1x [card]Tolarian Academy[/card]
1x [card]Mana Vault[/card]
1x [card]Mox Ruby[/card]
1x [card]Ancestral Recall[/card]
1x [card]Tinker[/card]
1x [card]Demonic Tutor[/card]
1x [card]Mox Sapphire[/card]
1x [card]Yawgmoths Will[/card]
4x [card]Mishras Workshop[/card]
4x [card]Crucible of Worlds[/card]
4x [card]Exploration[/card]
3x [card]Tropical Island[/card]
4x [card]Horn of Greed[/card]
4x [card]Gemstone Mine[/card]
3x [card]Wasteland[/card]
1x [card]Bazaar of Baghdad[/card]
4x [card]City of Brass[/card]
1x [card]Barbarian Ring[/card]

Sideboard
2x [card]Blue Elemental Blast[/card]
2x [card]Hydroblast[/card]
2x [card]Null Rod[/card]
4x [card]Red Elemental Blast[/card]
2x [card]Ray of Revelation[/card]
3x [card]Pyrostatic Pillar[/card]

Nate Pease (i_pwn_noobs.dec aka Memnarch.dec)

4x [card]Force of Will[/card]
4x [card]Mana Drain[/card]
4x [card]Brainstorm[/card]
4x [card]Thirst for Knowledge[/card]
2x [card]Gifts Ungiven[/card]
1x [card]Merchant Scroll[/card]
1x [card]Vampiric Tutor[/card]
1x [card]Personal Tutor[/card]
1x [card]Mystical Tutor[/card]
1x [card]Memnarch[/card]
1x [card]Darksteel Colossus[/card]
1x [card]Tinker[/card]
1x [card]Goblin Charbelcher[/card]
1x [card]Mana Severance[/card]
1x [card]Yawgmoths Will[/card]
1x [card]Recoup[/card]
1x [card]Echoing Truth[/card]
1x [card]Burning Wish[/card]
1x [card]Ancestral Recall[/card]
1x [card]Time Walk[/card]
1x [card]Pithing Needle[/card]
1x [card]Engineered Explosives[/card]
4x [card]Island[/card]
1x [card]Snow-Covered Island[/card]
2x [card]Polluted Delta[/card]
2x [card]Flooded Strand[/card]
2x [card]Volcanic Island[/card]
2x [card]Underground Sea[/card]
1x [card]Library of Alexandria[/card]
1x [card]Tolarian Academy[/card]
1x [card]Mox Pearl[/card]
1x [card]Mox Sapphire[/card]
1x [card]Mox Jet[/card]
1x [card]Mox Ruby[/card]
1x [card]Mox Emerald[/card]
1x [card]Black Lotus[/card]
1x [card]Lotus Petal[/card]
1x [card]Mana Vault[/card]
1x [card]Mana Crypt[/card]
1x [card]Sol Ring[/card]

Sideboard
3x [card]Annul[/card]
2x [card]Red Elemental Blast[/card]
2x [card]Engineered Plague[/card]
2x [card]Pyroclasm[/card]
2x [card]Pithing Needle[/card]
2x [card]Rack and Ruin[/card]
1x [card]Deep Analysis[/card]
1x [card]Echoing Ruin[/card]

Greg Hughes (Exodus Oath)

4x [card]Oath of Druids[/card]
4x [card]Force of Will[/card]
4x [card]Duress[/card]
4x [card]Brainstorm[/card]
3x [card]Mana Leak[/card]
1x [card]Crop Rotation[/card]
2x [card]Stifle[/card]
1x [card]Crucible of Worlds[/card]
1x [card]Rushing River[/card]
1x [card]Demonic Tutor[/card]
1x [card]Vampiric Tutor[/card]
1x [card]Intuition[/card]
1x [card]Gaeas Blessing[/card]
1x [card]Imperial Seal[/card]
1x [card]Time Walk[/card]
1x [card]Ancestral Recall[/card]
1x [card]Akroma Angel of Wrath[/card]
1x [card]Razia Boros Archangel[/card]
1x [card]Mystical Tutor[/card]
4x [card]Forbidden Orchard[/card]
3x [card]Wasteland[/card]
3x [card]Flooded Strand[/card]
2x [card]Polluted Delta[/card]
2x [card]Underground Sea[/card]
1x [card]Tropical Island[/card]
1x [card]Island[/card]
1x [card]Mox Emerald[/card]
1x [card]Mox Ruby[/card]
1x [card]Mox Sapphire[/card]
1x [card]Mox Jet[/card]
1x [card]Mox Pearl[/card]
1x [card]Black Lotus[/card]
1x [card]Strip Mine[/card]
1x [card]Seedtime[/card]
2x [card]Thirst for Knowledge[/card]

Sideboard
2x [card]Volcanic Island[/card]
4x [card]Red Elemental Blast[/card]
1x [card]Pristine Angel[/card]
2x [card]Pyroblast[/card]
2x [card]Echoing Truth[/card]
1x [card]Hurkyls Recall[/card]
3x [card]Blue Elemental Blast[/card]

Jason Riendeau (Control Slaver)

2x [card]Island[/card]
1x [card]Snow-Covered Island[/card]
3x [card]Flooded Strand[/card]
2x [card]Polluted Delta[/card]
4x [card]Volcanic Island[/card]
1x [card]Tolarian Academy[/card]
1x [card]Strip Mine[/card]
2x [card]Underground Sea[/card]
1x [card]Triskelion[/card]
1x [card]Darksteel Colossus[/card]
1x [card]Pentavus[/card]
4x [card]Goblin Welder[/card]
1x [card]Gorilla Shaman[/card]
4x [card]Force of Will[/card]
1x [card]Fact or Fiction[/card]
1x [card]Gifts Ungiven[/card]
4x [card]Mana Drain[/card]
1x [card]Mystical Tutor[/card]
4x [card]Brainstorm[/card]
2x [card]Mindslaver[/card]
1x [card]Ancestral Recall[/card]
1x [card]Demonic Tutor[/card]
1x [card]Black Lotus[/card]
1x [card]Mana Vault[/card]
1x [card]Mox Emerald[/card]
1x [card]Mox Ruby[/card]
1x [card]Mox Pearl[/card]
1x [card]Mox Sapphire[/card]
1x [card]Mox Jet[/card]
1x [card]Sol Ring[/card]
1x [card]Mana Crypt[/card]
1x [card]Time Walk[/card]
1x [card]Tinker[/card]
1x [card]Yawgmoths Will[/card]
4x [card]Thirst for Knowledge[/card]
1x [card]Mind Twist[/card]

Sideboard
2x [card]Tormods Crypt[/card]
3x [card]Blue Elemental Blast[/card]
2x [card]Echoing Truth[/card]
4x [card]Duress[/card]
2x [card]Red Elemental Blast[/card]
2x [card]Viashino Heretic[/card]

Seth Patterson (Monopoly - Stax)

4x [card]Smokestack[/card]
4x [card]Crucible of Worlds[/card]
4x [card]Goblin Welder[/card]
4x [card]Sphere of Resistance[/card]
4x [card]Chalice of the Void[/card]
2x [card]Gorilla Shaman[/card]
1x [card]Ancestral Recall[/card]
1x [card]Mystical Tutor[/card]
1x [card]Echoing Truth[/card]
1x [card]Tinker[/card]
1x [card]Crop Rotation[/card]
1x [card]Demonic Tutor[/card]
1x [card]Balance[/card]
1x [card]Trinisphere[/card]
1x [card]Duplicant[/card]
1x [card]Platinum Angel[/card]
1x [card]Sundering Titan[/card]
1x [card]Karn Silver Golem[/card]
1x [card]Black Lotus[/card]
1x [card]Mana Crypt[/card]
1x [card]Mana Vault[/card]
1x [card]Sol Ring[/card]
1x [card]Mox Jet[/card]
1x [card]Mox Sapphire[/card]
1x [card]Mox Pearl[/card]
1x [card]Mox Emerald[/card]
1x [card]Mox Ruby[/card]
1x [card]Tolarian Academy[/card]
1x [card]Strip Mine[/card]
1x [card]Wasteland[/card]
1x [card]Barbarian Ring[/card]
1x [card]Glimmervoid[/card]
4x [card]Gemstone Mine[/card]
4x [card]Wasteland[/card]
4x [card]Mishras Workshop[/card]

Sideboard
2x [card]Swords to Plowshares[/card]
2x [card]Echoing Truth[/card]
3x [card]Pyroclasm[/card]
3x [card]Tormods Crypt[/card]
1x [card]Reroute[/card]
4x [card]Null Rod[/card]

Derek McAtavey (The Kitchen Sink - Control Slaver / Gifts)

4x [card]Mana Drain[/card]
4x [card]Force of Will[/card]
4x [card]Brainstorm[/card]
4x [card]Thirst for Knowledge[/card]
4x [card]Goblin Welder[/card]
3x [card]Gifts Ungiven[/card]
1x [card]Time Walk[/card]
1x [card]Ancestral Recall[/card]
1x [card]Crucible of Worlds[/card]
1x [card]Demonic Tutor[/card]
1x [card]Recoup[/card]
1x [card]Tinker[/card]
1x [card]Mystical Tutor[/card]
1x [card]Yawgmoths Will[/card]
1x [card]Echoing Truth[/card]
1x [card]Mindslaver[/card]
1x [card]Burning Wish[/card]
1x [card]Triskelion[/card]
1x [card]Darksteel Colossus[/card]
2x [card]Polluted Delta[/card]
2x [card]Flooded Strand[/card]
1x [card]Island[/card]
1x [card]Snow-Covered Island[/card]
1x [card]Mana Crypt[/card]
1x [card]Black Lotus[/card]
1x [card]Mox Pearl[/card]
1x [card]Mox Sapphire[/card]
1x [card]Mox Ruby[/card]
1x [card]Mox Jet[/card]
1x [card]Mox Emerald[/card]
1x [card]Library of Alexandria[/card]
1x [card]Sol Ring[/card]
1x [card]Mana Vault[/card]
3x [card]Volcanic Island[/card]
2x [card]Underground Sea[/card]
1x [card]Darksteel Citadel[/card]
1x [card]Strip Mine[/card]
1x [card]Tolarian Academy[/card]

Sideboard
1x [card]Tendrils of Agony[/card]
1x [card]Red Elemental Blast[/card]
1x [card]Pyroblast[/card]
2x [card]Pithing Needle[/card]
3x [card]Stifle[/card]
3x [card]Fire Ice[/card]
4x [card]Rack and Ruin[/card]

Scott Hatch (Control Slaver)

2x [card]Polluted Delta[/card]
2x [card]Flooded Strand[/card]
2x [card]Island[/card]
1x [card]Seat of Synod[/card]
4x [card]Volcanic Island[/card]
2x [card]Underground Sea[/card]
1x [card]Tolarian Academy[/card]
1x [card]Library of Alexandria[/card]
1x [card]Sol Ring[/card]
1x [card]Mana Vault[/card]
1x [card]Mystical Tutor[/card]
4x [card]Brainstorm[/card]
2x [card]Merchant Scroll[/card]
1x [card]Demonic Tutor[/card]
4x [card]Thirst for Knowledge[/card]
1x [card]Tinker[/card]
1x [card]Fact or Fiction[/card]
2x [card]Mana Drain[/card]
4x [card]Force of Will[/card]
4x [card]Goblin Welder[/card]
1x [card]Gorilla Shaman[/card]
1x [card]Rack and Ruin[/card]
1x [card]Echoing Truth[/card]
1x [card]Yawgmoths Will[/card]
2x [card]Mindslaver[/card]
1x [card]Pentavus[/card]
1x [card]Darksteel Colossus[/card]
1x [card]Triskelion[/card]
2x [card]Mana Drain[/card]
1x [card]Ancestral Recall[/card]
1x [card]Time Walk[/card]
1x [card]Mox Sapphire[/card]
1x [card]Mox Jet[/card]
1x [card]Mox Pearl[/card]
1x [card]Mox Emerald[/card]
1x [card]Mox Ruby[/card]
1x [card]Black Lotus[/card]

Sideboard
1x [card]Blue Elemental Blast[/card]
2x [card]Pyroclasm[/card]
1x [card]Rack and Ruin[/card]
1x [card]Echoing Truth[/card]
2x [card]Diabolic Edict[/card]
3x [card]Tormods Crypt[/card]
2x [card]Pyroblast[/card]
1x [card]Hydroblast[/card]
2x [card]Red Elemental Blast[/card]

Thanks again to everyone for coming. We'll look forward to seeing everyone at the next Myriad Games Vintage Tournament in January.

[TopSecret]

     Thank you, Dan, for holding another awesome tournament. The main event was great, as was the Unhinged draft, the T-shirt challenge...
What can I say? Your tournaments are simply an excellent time.

     I plan to attend your next Vintage event as well... Perhaps Flying Men will make another appearance... Perhaps not...

[Zias]

Another great event, looking forward to the next one
On a side note, the top four listed above is incorrect, it was me (Greg Hughes) vs. Oliver Beaumont and Nate Pease vs. Travis Laplante

[Scoops666]

Yes, yes. Quite the jolly good time. My first time at the store and was thouroughly impressed (Top-8ing had nothing to do with it, i swear  )  Definately looknig forward to your next event.

[RandomFatKid85]

Go Mac!!! Now, we all know if I had showed up that me and Mac would've owned, with Cabby right behind us. Sadly, I couldn't make it, so the luck stayed at home.*lol*

[LouGodKingofDustBunnys]

Go Mac!!! Now, we all know if I had showed up that me and Mac would've owned, with Cabby right behind us. Sadly, I couldn't make it, so the luck stayed at home.*lol*

Behind you fats????? This is Vintage, not limited...ya know, were I own you?  :lol:

The tourney was great times, even though I got my head kicked in again...I knew we should have sacrificed someone before the tourney...well, ya knowthe old saying...ya live, you commit mass murder

[ReAnimator]

Wow thats a lot of Slaver

How many People was this?

I also have a question for the guy who was running salvagers;
why would you run Pyrite over Conjurer's Bauble?
If you don't have any red mana in your deck you can only ever cycle the pyrite (which costs 2) as opposed to 1 to cycle the Bauble.
both cards win you the game the turn you go off but one is just strictly better earlier and the bauble gives you recrusion for non artifact spells.

[Juggernaut GO]

27 people showed up, I was a little bit dissapointed with the alteration of the prize structure, and before you make the argument of "well the store has to make money too."   I didn't realize until after the tournament started that the prize structure was pro rated for attendance, It's my own fault for not reading it in the post.    But, the prizes are guaranteed at 32 players, taking in $640, and giving away 4 prizes :
1st: unlimited pearl, it was priced at 340
2nd: italian drain,  it was priced at 105
3rd: unlimited berserk, it was priced it at 55
4th: italian chains of mephistopoles, it was priced at 55

for a total of $555 in prize support by the stores prices.  I understand it is a retail store, but the prices for the prizes were about $45 too high .  The italian drain was about right, but you need to  get lucky to get 340 for an unlimited mox pearl now, and the italian chains goes for about 30-35, and unlimited berserk sells for about 40-45.

So, even with 27 players present, that is still $540 taken in for tournament entry so even by myriad's prices the store would have lost only $15 dollars for the tournament to stick with it's prize structure on tournament entries.

Instead of the prizes listed, everything was pro rated by the store due to not having 32 people enter the tournament.  I only remember what 1st and 2nd got.

first place got $230 in store credit
second place got $80 in store credit

I personally drove 2 hours to get to the tournament along with a friend that finished 4th place.  I had gone to myriad 2 other times before and there was never an issue with the prize structure and I enjoyed myself.  However, after this past tournament I didn't really leave too happy.  Sure it was fun to get 2nd but if I had finished first and had to pay an extra $110 out of my pocket to get the mox that was supposed to be guaranteed for the tournament, when the store had already broken even on the day, I would have been really dissapointed.  When all was said and done, I got 2 taiga's and 3 tangle wires with my 80 store credit instead of a mana drain which I would have had to pay an additional $25 for.

I can understand if the NH locals don't really have a problem with the way the prizes are set up, but for someone that travels from out of state, these tournaments just aren't feaseable to go to if it isn't going to be guaranteed.  While I do disagree with the altering of the prizes, the store is there to make money.  But I think repeat customers might be a little more important then $15 in prizes that would have been lost.

[Myriad Games]

Thanks for the feedback, everyone. Glad to hear you had a good time. I've updated the Top 4 to show the correct pairings.

Thank you again to everyone who came to play in this event. I know that there were lots of other events going on that weekend (GP Philly & a PTQ in Maine primarily) which impacted attendance.

Regarding prize support: We had 25 players for the tournament. There was 100% prize payout. As we had 25 players there were $500 in prizes including prizes for 5th-8th (modest deck boxes) and the rest split between top 4. We also added in small door prizes throughout the day so that everyone would get something (even if it's just something fun, silly, and/or tasty like an Aisling Leprechaun and a Cookie).

The point of contention here is that prizes should be guaranteed in order to make events worth coming to, and I can certainly understand that rationale, particularly for those who travel great distances. The problem with that assumption is that all it takes is one poorly attended tournament to make a venue decide not to host Vintage tournaments any more. In addition to the costs for the prizes there are costs for staff and facilities, which mean that a tournament organizer (store or not) cannot simply "break even" on the entry fees vs. prize support and support the cost of the tournament. For this reason we scale our prizes for each player attending; the more the merrier.

It's great when things work out fine and 40+ players show up for an event, more than covering the cost of the prizes, staff and venue and providing a profit for the tournament organizer. The issue arises when say 17 players show up to play for an Ancestral Recall and a Timetwister (Double Midnight tournament this summer), or ~140 players show up for Waterbury, causing a loss to the tournament organizer and decreasing the possibility of future events. Guaranteed events are essentially bets - if the TO gets more players than expected they make a profit, otherwise they lose money. As any TO that has run a poorly attended event (for whatever reason) can tell you, poor attendance doesn't exactly entice them to run another. Couple that with financial loss and the probability of them running future events decreases proportionally to the amount of time, money, and energy they invested in the event.

Scaling prize structure encourages contestants to bring more players to the event and ensures a stable venue for future tournaments. We did announce the apportioned prize structure prior to the event (both in announcements and at the event itself) and again when we got to the Top 4. I believe most of the players who attended had a great time and that is our primary goal - to make sure that players have fun at our events and want to come to the next one, regardless of whether they win or lose.

If anyone has specific requests for prizes for that event, please post here and we'll take them into consideration. Heck, we can go to a Lotus for 1st and a Mox for 2nd if that's what people want - it's just a matter of balancing the costs and entry fees and making sure that all the prizes don't go to the top 2 places with nothing for everyone else, without whom there wouldn't even be the prizes for the top players.

Thanks again to everyone for coming and thank you for your feedback. We look forward to making our future tournaments even better, and we'll look forward to seeing you all again in January. 

[Englishman_in_NH]

In regards to running pyrite over conjurer's bauble. Some of it is sentiment as it has performed well for me so far. Also it helps get rid of welders when I have lotus and pyrite but no salvagers. Also with the Stax match up, when Sphere of Resistance or Trinisphere is out, I can slowplay the win with pyrite. All in all, I feel it is a personal choice, bauble maybe better, but I have found uses for the pyrite outside of the combo.

When it comes down to it though it maybe that it is just an easy win to show people over recurring time walk for the win, and I find the slight lose of a cheaper cog for ease of explaing the win can save time in a control mirror, where it is likely that it may go to time with three games and a couple of minutes to go through the motions of time walk winning may lose you the win. However, I feel it is just a personal preference, conjurer's bauble is likely better in a large tournament where your opponents are more likely o scoop to the combo.

Thanks again to Dan for running a good fun event. Looking forward to the next event.

Oli

[Jank Golem]

First, I would like to thank Dan for hosting a great event.

About the winning decklist, I was wondering how the telling time and merchant scroll worked for you maindecked. I also questioned the use of pyrite as a kill, but I can understand that it is much easier to kill with it. You also ran no phrexyian furnaces, is this becasue you had trouble going off with them, or were they just inneffective in other ways. You ran a single gifts ungiven, how did that work and what did you usually gifts for?

Anyway great tournament, I am looking forward to seeing everyone at the upcoming Double Midnight Tournament.

[RandomFatKid85]

What's a matter, cabby? The big FK can't talk a little smack?....well, fine!*lol*

[Scoops666]

I personally had no problem with the prize structure. My thoughts are that the main goal in these tournaments is to play Magic. Granted winning some expensive cards is a wicked sweet deal, but it shouldn't be the driving force.

Case in point- I traveled over 4 hours in a horrid downpour, chipped in $35 to share a room with 6 people, and went 1-3 drop at Waterbury. I had a friggin blast. It didn't matter that I didn't win anything, it was just cool playing Magic and hangin out (and ask any of my friends, I never like "hanging out").

[Zias]

Perhaps, Dan, you could post a possible prize structure and put up a poll to see how many people you could get. If you posted a Lotus for first and a Mox for second (not necessarily that extreme), I'm sure you'd have no trouble getting a larger turn out- the poll would be a bit of insurance, just to make sure that you will get a good enough attendance, and if not, readjust the prizes. Just a thought

[Myriad Games]

Thanks for the suggestion, Zias. I'll start a poll before the next event to see what players would prefer. Since we have about 2 months, we should have enough time to garner feedback and schedule with at least a month's notice.

- Dan

[TJ-Whoopy]

Tournament Price Breakdown based on SCG prices

Taiga $30 (Slightly Played)
8 Myriad Games Shirts $10 each (being conservative) $80
Unlimited Mox Pearl (Heavily Played) $300
Italian Drains (Slightly Played) $100
Unlimited Berserk (Heavily Played) $55
Italian Chains $45

Total $610
Entry 27 people @ $20 per, $540
lets cut the shirts and multiply the remaining by 80% just to be even more conservative

we get $424 simple math here 540 - 424 = $116
Dan worked (YES I SAID WORKED, THIS IS HIS JOB) from 10:30am till 11:00pm,
thats 12.5 hours. more simple math 116/12.5 = $9.28 and hour. a reasonable rate if you work at Home Depot or Wal-Mart but trying to run a business and dealing with all the preparation and leg work required to run a tourney personally I don't even get out of bed on a saturday for less than $25 but thats me.

Travis, next time you think about running your mouth about Prize support at a tournament maybe you could think about what actually goes into running them. you should know as well as anyone you have run a few yourself.  Myriad Games runs the most organized and in my opinion the most enjoyable tournament in the area, bar none.

[Juggernaut GO]

I understand the way your looking at the prize numbers, I just do not agree with it.  I also understand the store is there to make money.  However, the amount you take in from tournament entries should go to the prize pool.  The object of a tournament is to get people into your store to buy product, and to make a profit on the excess $$$ generated after the prize support has been handed out.  The store still makes money day to day without having a type 1 tournament going on, so the fact that the tournament is being held that day should have little impact on your regular buisiness customers. 

You can't justify decresing the prize pool after you have already broken even with the tournament entries.  Well, you can, but some people will be dissapointed. 

I personally had no problem with the prize structure. My thoughts are that the main goal in these tournaments is to play Magic. Granted winning some expensive cards is a wicked sweet deal, but it shouldn't be the driving force.

I have to disagree with you in the most polite way possible, I think everyone that plays at myriad are great people but I just disagree with that point.  If I want to play magic just casual I can play with friends in my town, or I can find a game online any time of day.  I travel to tournaments to compete and try my best to win and make something extra for my time.  I just don't see how it makes me a bad person because I want to win a good prize.

I still intend to go to the next myriad tournament and double midnight the day after SCG rochester.  Magic is my fun hobby, and I enjoy competing at it.  Hopefully I won't get run out of the store if I show up because people think im  a jerk off.

[TJ-Whoopy]

I don't think you're a jerk off, I just think that Dan works hard to put on good Tourneys and I don't think he deserves to hear the flack that you gave him in your first post.

[nataz]

I'm not sure where I stand on the whole pro-rated prize thing, but if its what Dan and Bret have to do so that NH can keep running monthly events, then I guess that is how it will have to be. I understand that the store needs to make money, but I can certainly sympathize with someone who has driven a long way for what ended up being store credit.

The only thing I can say for sure is that I am planning on hitting up 2x midnight on 12/11 which is about a 3.5+ hour drive for me, and honestly if we don't make numbers I'll be disappointed.

I still intend to go to the next myriad tournament and double midnight the day after SCG rochester.  Magic is my fun hobby, and I enjoy competing at it.  Hopefully I won't get run out of the store if I show up because people think im  a jerk off.

@ travis
I thought you brought up some good points, and I'm sure dan and bret will both keep what you said in mind when doing future events. Whatever your opinon may be, better to let them know now, then just not come. You posting constructive feedback is harhardlymething that would get you kicked out.

[Myriad Games]

Thanks again for the feedback, everyone.

Travis, we appreciate your voicing your opinion (as we appreciate everyone's). You are always welcome at Myriad Games, and we will do everything we can to make sure our events are well attended in order to ensure excellent prizes.

Tyler, thank you for the kind words and fervent support.

There is a lot of work that goes into running a good tournament, and I think most people recognize and appreciate that effort. There is interference with regular business by having a ton of Magic players in the store, but that's balanced out as long as the people that come to the tournament actually make purchases.

Perhaps I'll start a poll here to measure these preferences, but I'd be interested in hear some general feedback from posts first. Would it be worth running $25 entry to ensure prize structure and allow for greater prize payback (since we're scaling up with more than the minimum)?  For example, at $20 entry we would need 30 players to support $600 worth of prizes while at $25 we'd only need 24. Taken even further for a bigger event (i.e. 1st = Lotus, 2nd = Mox, 3rd = Drain, 4th = Berserk, et al.), at $20 entry you'd need about 60 players to support the structure while at $25 you'd only need 50. Also keep in mind that as the prize structure and attendance increases so do the other costs of running the event (setup, cleanup, venue, and staff). We can fit up to 48 players at the store fairly comfortably with a few more as overflow, so for a larger event (Lotus, etc) $25 entry would be our best option. For smaller events as we've done in the past (1st = Mox, 2nd = Drain, 3rd = Berserk et al., 4th = Dual Land, et al.) a $25 entry would only require 24 players as opposed to 32 and would allow us to add proportionally more prizes with more players. So basically is the extra $5 worth making sure that the prize structure is more stable and larger overall, with more prizes to lower places as well instead of just Top 4?

Sound off and let me know your thoughts so that we can adequately setup a decent poll.

[Maltralak]

Dan worked (YES I SAID WORKED, THIS IS HIS JOB) from 10:30am till 11:00pm,

He was there way longer than that, I called at 2 a.m. to leave a message on his answering machine because I had some issues with sleeves I bought being 2 different sizes and I just wanted to let him know, and he picked up the phone.  he was there at 2 a.m. setting up for the tourney so there was definately a lot of work involved on his part.  I understand that having to pay extra for the prize sucks, it's actually happened to me twice there, one time for a mox pearl (3 tourneys ago i think) and another for a library (I think that was the 2nd or 3rd tourney he held), but I also understand he has to make money off the tourney in order to hold more.  I can see why juggernautgo is a bit pissed, having to drive for a while to get there and then not get what he expected (I only live 5 minutes away so it's not nearly as bad for me).  I would just suggest that next time Dan makes sure there are no tournaments that will really conflict with his.  GP Philly was a pritty big hinderence as well as the Maine PTQ.  PTQ's usually arent big problems, but the GP was major.  Either way I'm hoping I'll be able to make the next one and continue my streak at myriad of lucksacking my way to the top with fish (aka drawing 4 standstills in the finals).

--Jesse

[Englishman_in_NH]

@ Jank Golem

Merchant Scroll searches for rebuild against Stax, as well as gifts to get the win with salvager's on the board. Also just to get a draw spell or counter. This was the first tournament where I found merchant scroll for force of will was the strongest play.

Telling time was a trial slot, it could easily have been the fourth thirst for knowledge, but I wanted to try the telling time as a one of as I find myself often with land mox opening hands and another draw spell to be cast EOT is useful. All in all it did okay, although it could/should be the final thirst or a fact or fiction for better card draw.

Phyrexian Furnace is not so good for me, given that I was expecting a ton of oath after recent results elsewhere. Aether spellbomb is great against oath, and is also handy against Darksteel Colossus, so I did not feel that I lost too much in the Gifts match up to gain a great deal in the oath match up.

Gifts Ungiven is in there as utility card draw. With salvager's on the board it wins the game if it resolves, fetching black lotus and pyrite spellbomb. With no salvagers it fetches either mana or card draw depending on the situation. Occasionally I will fetch broken stuff (Auriok Salvagers, Ancestral Recall, Time Walk, Mystical Tutor) This is usually with lotus and or spellbomb already active.

Hopefully this answers some of you questions.

See everyone who is coming @ Double Midnight's on 12/11, let's see if we can break 50 people again and show NH some love.

[Jank Golem]

Englishman_in_NH, thanks for answering my questions.

On tournament prize structure, for Mox tournaments I have trouble shelling out $25, I think $20 is just right. You could however have 10 proxies with 1$ for each additional proxy, which could help budget players like me play with real moxen instead of chrome mox/mox daimond.

For a lotus tournament $25 sounds good, once again you could do $1 for each additional proxy. I think a bigger prize structure may be a good idea, to jump start NH magic. If you are not growing you are shrinking.

Just my 2 cents.

[nataz]

You could however have 10 proxies with 1$ for each induvidual proxy, which could help budget players like me play with real moxen instead of chrome mox/mox daimond.

that might be a good idea

[TopSecret]

You could however have 10 proxies with 1$ for each additional proxy

I also support this idea. It could help support the prize structure and the budget players. It seems like a win/win situation to me.

[TJ-Whoopy]

another votew here for allowing more proxy's at $1 a pop up to a limit of maybe 15-18 total proxy's

[Myriad Games]

We'll be allowing 15 proxies at our next tournament (in January): 10 included in the entry fee and $1 @ for the remaining 1-5 proxies. Deck lists will be checked during registration.

[nataz]

yay

[Zias]

Maybe instead of the Lotus you could have an overall up in prize for the entire top eight. If you were to take in the amount of money you were suggesting to support a lotus-mox tournament you could have something along the lines of:

1. Mox Jet (Or whatever Mox)
2. Library of Alexandria (Maybe Bazaar or Workshop?)
3. E. Mana Drain*
4. E. Mana Drain *
6. I. Mana Drain*
7. I. Mana Drain *
8. I. Mana Drain*

*Or something with equal value, to diversify the prizes

I am not exactly suggesting the above prize structure to be used as listed, just suggesting that the top 8 spread out a bit. I've top eighted at Myriad three times, and twice I've top eighted and have gotten little or no prize. (that last bit is not a complaint)

I believe that if you were to do a Lotus-Mox with weak or no prizes for the remainder of the top 4 or top 8 that it may draw fewer
people than if you were to make the prize profitable for any of the top 8 players: But we can find that out through the poll.

[Myriad Games]

I'm all for a prize structure that awards more players, which seems counter to what most players seem to expect from larger events. I'll take these thought into consideration when making the poll.

Thanks!