First, an Announcement
This past Saturday at Alternate Universes, Blue Bell Mike Smith (MISTERTREK) announced that his December event was going to be the last event he would be running. For those of you who aren't familiar with Mike, he has run dozens of tournaments over the past three or four years and is DIRECTLY RESPONSIBLE for the great Vintage community we see in the Philadelphia area today. Because of this continued support of Vintage I extended my thanks. Mike decided that it would be best to hand the reins over to someone else, and I am very grateful that he chose me. I will do my best to put on the best events possible; the community deserves it. I will be continuing the tradition of monthly vintage tournaments at Alternate Universes, Blue Bell with a few exciting changes. Below you can find out what will be in store for my first event and the rest of 2010. I'm going to kick off the new year with a bang in terms of prizes, so I hope you all will come and enjoy what promises to be a great event!
Blue Bell Game Day #1
Saturday, January 2nd, 2010
Alternate Universes
1530 DeKalb Pike
Blue Bell, PA 19422
THE VINTAGE MAIN EVENTStart Time: 11:00 AM (Registration starts at 10)
Entry Fee: $25
Format: Vintage
K-Value: Unsanctioned, 10 proxies allowed for free. You can purchase up to five more proxies at $1 each
(by popular request!)REL: Competitive (like a PTQ) so you'll need decklists (can be filled out at the event)
Tournament Structure: Swiss rounds with a cut to a single elimination Top 8.
The Prizes:1st Place: UL Mox Emerald
2nd Place: UL Mox Pearl
3rd + 4th Place: Grim Tutor
5th-8th Place: $40 in table credit (I have a wide selection of cards to choose from)
Highest player with no proxies: $20 in table credit
2010 Player of the Year Race:Just like 2009, we will be having a player of the year race! At the end of the year, whoever earns the most points gets to play in the Main Event for free the following year! It will be free to participate, and all you have to do to participate is play in the Vintage main event! I will be honoring Mike's 2009 player of the year, who can play in the Main Event for free in 2010! I am telling you right now, the events that count towards Player of the Year will be the monthly events held at Alternate Universes and each of the Philly/NJ Opens that I run. Players will earn points throughout the year by playing vintage, each match win is worth 3 points, each draw is worth 1 point, and each loss is worth 0 points (just like the swiss points system used in tournaments). Players in the Top 8 will be awarded bonus points based on their finish, as follows:
1st place: 12 points
2nd place: 9 points
3rd + 4th place: 6 points
5th - 8th place: 3 points
2010 Team of the Year Race:Just like 2009, we will be having a Team of the Year race! There are some changes to be made, however. At the end of the year there will be some awesome prize for the winning team, as well as bragging rights for 2011 (which is the most important thing, of course) Here are the rules.
1) Teams must have a minimum of 3 players and a maximum of 9 players.
2) It costs $5 per person to sign up.
3) You can sign up whenever you want, but you only start earning points once you've signed up, so figure it out ASAP!
4) You can't add or remove players as the season progresses, the team is locked in when you sign up.
5) Points will be assigned in the exact same way as the Player of the Year race, then divided by the number of players from that team who participated in the event, giving me a “points per player” average for that event. Then the points will be added together as the season progresses. Mathematically, it's fair and doesn't give an advantage to smaller or bigger teams.
SIDE EVENTS:
“Practice for those PTQs”This is something new I'll be trying. At each Blue Bell Game Day I will be holding a side event whose format is whatever the next PTQ will be. Throughout the year what I offer will change, based on the season. Since the Sealed season has come to a close, I'm looking to the horizon which is EXTENDED!
Start Time: 1:00 PM (Registration starts at Noon)
Entry Fee: $15
Format: Extended
Prizes: At a bare minimum (8 players) 1 Booster Box of Zendikar will be given out as prize. The more players, the more prizes, so get those Extended decks ready!
Sanctioned Vintage: (yes, that means no proxies)
This is something I've wanted to try for some time, and to encourage people to play I'm offering this side event at a very cheap price. It's all about having fun (I expect a conspicuous absence of shop decks for some reason)
Start Time: After the last swiss round.
Entry Fee: $5
Format: Vintage
K-Value: 16k
Prizes:
1st Place: Underground Sea (guaranteed)
2nd-8th: Based on the number of players.
EDH League:This will be a year-long league, with people earning points working towards the title of 2010 Blue Bell EDH Champion. Prizes will be given out at each event AND at the end of the year! Instead of doing a “winner take all” structure like I have in the past, I will be modeling this league after the one run by Armada Games in Florida. Players can accomplish certain objectives in a game to earn points. The player who is the last one standing in their pod may not be the winner of the event because they may not have earned enough points. The winner will be determined by points earned during their games. Let that one simmer, take a look the points system below, and get building! This promises to be a lot of fun. By the way, I'm sure you can figure out what is and isn't wanted in this league.
Start Time: After the last swiss round.
Entry Fee: $10
Format: Elder Dragon Highlander
Prizes: $8 goes towards prizes for that event, $2 goes towards the year-end prizes.
1st: 50% of the Entry Fees in table credit
2nd: 25% of the Entry Fees in table credit
3rd + 4th: 12.5% of the Entry Fees in table credit
EDH League Points System
(shamelessly based off Armada Games)
-2 Points:Chasm: Destroy or Remove all lands in play through spells or abilities. (This penalty is in the spirit of the rule, and not the letter of the rule, effects that would reset the board for all or most of the players at the table will be awarded this penalty. This can be awarded to the same player more than once per pod.)
-1 Point:Greedy McGreederson: Take an extra Turn.
+1 Point:Blackjack: Control two creatures whose total power is exactly 21. This can only be awarded once per player per pod.
Block Party: Have a permanent in play or spell present on the stack from each set of any block. The blocks are Ice Age, Invasion, Kamigawa, Lorwyn-Shadowmoor, Masques, Mirage, Mirrodin, Odyssey, Onslaught, Ravnica, Shards of Alara, Tempest, Time Spiral, Urza's. (Basic Lands from those sets do not count.) This can only be awarded once per player per pod.
Copycat: First player to have a spell or permanent copied by an opponent.
Cramped Quarters: Control at least 40 different non-token permanents at the same time.
Déjà vu: Be the first player to have a card put on top your library from the battlefield, graveyard or the stack by an opponent.
Edge of Disaster: Be the first player to have fewer than five cards in his or her library.
Enhanced Interrogation Techniques: Cause a creature to be sent to the Graveyard by means of -1/-1 counters. This can only be awarded one time per player per pod.
Fifth Street: Cast the fifth spell on a single stack.
First Blood: First player to have a creature killed by an opponent. Kill includes destroy, exile, or cause a player to sacrifice the creature. Combat damage doesn’t count. (This can be awarded to multiple people if they all have creatures killed at the same time by the same effect – Wrath of God, Damnation, etc…)
Fourth Times the Charm: Resolve your General 4 times in a single game from the General Zone.
Generalissimo: Kill a player with General damage.
Going Back to the Basics: Control at least 7 Basic Lands. This can be earned once by each player in each pod.
Good Samaritan: Intentionally cause an opponent to gain 10+ life in one shot (getting your Beacon of Immortality redirected doesn’t count for you, but for the person who redirected it). This can only be earned by each player once per pod.
Guantanamo Bay: Pacify three of your opponents' creatures. (This can be done by using any means that makes your opponents creatures unable to attack or block.) This can only be earned once per player per pod.
Hey, That’s Mine: First player to have a permanent stolen (exchanges don’t count).
Hot Potato: Redirect any portion of non combat damage directed at you to another opponent. This can only be earned once per player per pod.
I’m Cool Too: Second player to kill a creature he or she doesn’t control. Kill includes destroy, exile, or cause a player to sacrifice the creature. Combat damage doesn’t count.
I’m Probably Next: Have the lowest life total, which must be lower than 10 when the first player is killed.
Just Enough: Deal exactly lethal non-General damage to a player who is at 7 or more life.
Let’s Talk About That Favor: Save an opponent from taking lethal damage. (This can be through prevention or redirection of damage, whether it be direct or from creatures, or through the use of life gaining spells or abilities. This award can only be earned once per opponent saved, multiple saves of the same opponent by the same person do not count.) This can only be awarded two times per player per pod.
Mine Mine Mine!: Control at least one permanent from each opponent currently in the game. There must be multiple opponents in the game for this to be awarded. This can only be awarded one time per player per pod.
Overkill: Deal 40+ more damage to a player than is required to kill them.
Start at the Top: Destroy or Exile a Sensei’s Divining Top you don’t control. This can only be awarded once per player per pod.
Straight: Control at least one creature of five consecutive powers (for example, Mogg Fanatic, Jackal Pup, Mogg Flunkies, Ravenous Baloth, Shivan Dragon). This will be awarded only when the stack is empty. This may only be awarded to an individual player once per pod, although it may be awarded to multiple players.
That Was Rude: First player to have a spell countered.
There Can Be Only One: Last person standing in a pod.
Three’s Not a Crowd: Resolve three different non-land permanents of three different types on the same turn. This may only be awarded to an individual player once per pod, although it may be awarded to multiple players. (Non-land permanent types are Artifact, Creature, Enchantment, and Planeswalker. Resolving a spell that is any combination of permanent types will count as one or the other, not both. Example: Enigma Sphinx is an Artifact Creature; you must choose whether it will count for your Artifact or your Creature for this award.)
What Goes Around Comes Around: Take control of a permanent that an opponent took control of from another opponent.
+2 Points123’s: Resolve the third spell that’s converted mana cost is the third number in a row. Player A plays Mogg Fanatic (CMC 1) then Vexing Shusher (CMC 2) then Player B resolves Firespout (CMC 3) Player B would be awarded this. If Player C then casts Chameleon Colossus Player C would get an extra point for follow this pattern and each successive spell resolving in an increasing fashion would awarded 1 point. This may be awarded once per player per pod, the continuing bonus may be earned more than once.
Bases Loaded: Control a Land, Creature, Enchantment, Artifact, and Planeswalker, while having both a Sorcery and an Instant present on the stack.
You’re Outta Here: Kill a player or being directly responsible for a player’s death. There is the obvious – controlling the source of the damage (whether it’s direct or creatures). This also includes, although is not limited to alternate methods, such as controlling the Howling Mine that makes the player deck himself, or redirecting lethal damage to someone. (Player A plays Fireball, Player B Swerves the Fireball to Player C.)
+3 PointsFlush: Control five non-token creatures of EXACTLY the same color (five green creatures, or green and red creatures, but not three green and 2 green and red). This will be awarded only when the stack is empty. This may only be awarded to an individual player once per pod, although it may be awarded to multiple players.
ABC’s: Resolve the third spell that starts with a third consecutive letter, one additional point to a player who continues the chain. For example Player A plays Storm Herd, Player B casts Terminate then Unsummon. Player B gets 3 points. Player C then plays Venser and gets 1 Point. Player B then plays Withered Wretch and gets 1 point. Player D casts Wrath of God, therefore breaking the chain.
+5 PointsStraight Flush: Control five creatures of exactly the same color(s) in five consecutive powers. This will be awarded only when the stack is empty. This may only be awarded to an individual player once per pod, although it may be awarded to multiple players.
I will be set up as a dealer at these events, and Alternate Universes carries a large selection of single cards at very reasonable prices. If you need to buy, sell, or trade cards you can do so at these events.
I CAN'T STRESS THIS ENOUGH PEOPLE! SUPPORT THE STORE THAT LETS US PLAY THERE!
