Team Serious Birthday Invitational - 2/13/16

[GrandpaBelcher]

Today, starting around noon ET, Team Serious will be celebrating Matt Hazard with an invitational Vintage tournament! Brassman will be doing the commentary.

Watch live! http://www.twitch.tv/tmdbrassman

Decklists will go up following the event.

[Ten-Ten]

No matter how I tried to view this, mobile/pc/Xbox, I get: Invalid source
Never got that before... Help?

[GrandpaBelcher]

No matter how I tried to view this, mobile/pc/Xbox, I get: Invalid source
Never got that before... Help?

Sorry you had trouble. I'm not sure what to say. I know other people were watching 

[GrandpaBelcher]

On short notice and Valentine's Day weekend, we had 16 Team Serious regulars come out to celebrate Matt Hazard and his birthday with a Vintage tournament with playtest cards allowed. There was food and drink all day long, and I think everyone had a great time, most importantly Matt. With no entry fee and donated prizes, we managed to put up an estimated $1200 prize pool including a box of Modern Masters, an Italian Drain, a Taiga, and 28 Simian Spirit Guides. Prizes were distributed by "drafting" piles after things were completely decided, 1-16 then 1-8 again, so everyone got something!



"Brass Man" Andy Probasco provided commentary for the event. In addition to matches, there are deck discussions, and player interviews! http://www.twitch.tv/tmdbrassman/v/44618139

After four rounds of Swiss, the top 8 shook out as:

1. Nat Moes - Dragon
2. Mark "Snoop" Trogdon - Snoop Shop Aggro
3. Kevin Cron - Mentori En
4. Craig Kuchar - URW Mentor/Pyromancer
5. Duane Haddix - Tiny Robots
6. Kyle Lenox - Dark Petition Storm
7. Nam Q. Tran - Ravager Shops
8. CJ "Cliff Jangar" Moritz - URB Painter

CJ (Painter) beat Nat (Dragon)
Craig (Mentor) beat Duane (Tiny Robots)
Kyle (DPS) beat Kevin (Mentor)
Snoop (Shops) beat Nam (Shops)

Craig (Mentor) beat CJ (Painter)
Kyle (DPS) beat Snoop (Shops)

Craig (Mentor) beat Kyle (DPS) to win the whole thing!

Final T8 Standings

1. Craig Kuchar - URW Mentor/Pyromancer
4 Flooded Strand
3 Scalding Tarn
2 Snow-Covered Island
3 Tundra
3 Volcanic Island
3 Jace, Vryn's Prodigy
4 Monastery Mentor
1 Young Pyromancer
1 Ancestral Recall
1 Brainstorm
1 Dig Through Time
1 Fire & Ice
1 Flusterstorm
4 Force of Will
3 Gush
1 Lightning Bolt
4 Mental Misstep
1 Ponder
4 Preordain
1 Pyroblast
1 Repeal
1 Spell Pierce
2 Swords to Plowshares
1 Time Walk
1 Treasure Cruise
1 Black Lotus
2 Dack Fayden
1 Mox Emerald
1 Mox Jet
1 Mox Pearl
1 Mox Ruby
1 Mox Sapphire

Sideboard
1 Kataki, War's Wage
1 Slice and Dice
2 Energy Flux
2 Pyroblast
1 Red Elemental Blast
2 Rest in Peace
4 Serenity
1 Snow-Covered Plains
1 Stony Silence

2. Kyle Lenox - Dark Petition Storm
4 Dark Ritual
3 Cabal Ritual
1 Hurkyl's Recall
1 Ancestral Recall
1 Rebuild
1 Chain of Vapor
1 Brainstorm
1 Vampiric Tutor
4 Duress
4 Thoughtseize
4 Dark Petition
1 Demonic Tutor
1 Tendrils of Agony
1 Time Twister
1 Yawgmoth's Will
1 Mind's Desire
1 Ponder
1 Tinker
1 Time Walk
1 Mox Emerald
1 Mox Pearl
1 Mox Sapphire
1 Mox Ruby
1 Mox Jet
1 Lotus Petal
1 Mana Crypt
1 Lion's Eye Diamond
1 Black Lotus
1 Mana Vault
1 Sol Ring
1 Memory Jar
4 Polluted Delta
1 Bloodstained Mire
4 Underground Sea
2 Snow-Covered Swamp
1 Snow-Covered Island
1 Tolarian Academy

Sideboard
1 Blightsteel Colossus
2 Sadistic Sacrament
2 Extirpate
1 Echoing Truth
2 Rebuild
3 Defense Grid
4 Ancient Tomb

3. Mark Trogdon - Snoop Shops
2 Arcbound Ravager
4 Hangarback Walker
4 Lodestone Golem
4 Metalworker
3 Phyrexian Metamorph
4 Phyrexian Revoker
3 Triskelion
2 Relic of Progenitus
4 Sphere of Resistance
3 Staff Domination
1 Black Lotus
1 Mana Crypt
1 Mox Emerald
1 Mox Jet
1 Mox Pearl
1 Mox Ruby
1 Mox Sapphire
1 Sol Ring
3 Ancient Tomb
2 Ghost Quarter
4 Mishra's Factory
4 Mishra's Workshop
1 Strip Mine
1 Tolarian Academy
4 Wasteland

Sideboard
1 Crucible Worlds
2 Blasting Station
2 Spawning Pit
3 Thorn Amethyst
2 Relic Progenitus
4 Ravenous Trap
1 Triskelion

4. CJ Moritz - URB Painter
4 Polluted Delta
2 Flooded Strand
2 Island
1 Volcanic Island
2 Tropical Island
3 Underground Sea
1 Mox Jet
1 Mox Emerald
1 Mox Pearl
1 Mox Ruby
1 Mox Sapphire
1 Sol Ring
1 Black Lotus
1 Mana Crypt
1 Jace, the Mind Sculptor
1 Tezzeret, the Seeker
1 Demonic Tutor
1 Mystical tutor
1 Vampiric Tutor
1 Ancestral Recall
1 Time Walk
3 Red Elemental Blast
2 Pyroblast
4 Force of Will
4 Painter's Servant
2 Grindstone
1 Time Vault
1 Voltaic Key
4 Gush
1 Fastbond
4 Dark Confidant
1 Yawgmoth's Will
1 Tinker
1 Blightsteel Colossus
1 Brainstorm
1 Echoing Truth

Sideboard
2 Ancient Grudge
2 Nature's Claim
4 Leyline of the Void
2 Extirpate
2 Grim Lavamancer
1 Echoing Truth
2 Lightning Bolt

5. Nat Moes - Esper Dragon
4 Bazaar of Baghdad
3 Worldgorger Dragon
3 Animate Dead
1 Dance of the Dead
1 Necromancy
1 Tasigur, the Golden Fang
2 Intuition
2 Thoughtseize
1 Vampiric Tutor
1 Demonic Tutor
1 Timetwister
1 Deep Analysis
1 Dig Through Time
1 Mental Misstep
1 Time Walk
1 Ancestral Recall
1 Treasure Cruise
1 Hurkyl's Recall
4 Force of Will
3 Jace, Vryn's Prodigy
2 Gitaxian Probe
2 Flusterstorm
1 Black Lotus
1 Mox Emerald
1 Mox Jet
1 Mox Pearl
1 Mox Sapphire
1 Mox Ruby
1 Sol Ring
1 Mana Crypt
4 Flooded Strand
3 Polluted Delta
2 Island
1 Swamp
3 Underground Sea
1 Tundra

Sideboard
2 Cavern of Souls
1 Plains
1 Tasigur, the Golden Fang
2 Monastery Mentor
1 Auriok Salvagers
1 Nihil Spellbomb
2 Steel Sabotage
1 Hurkyl's Recall
1 Serenity
3 Containment Priest

6. Kevin Cron - Mentori En
2 Snapcaster Mage
2 Jori En, Ruin Diver
4 Monastery Mentor
1 Jace, Vryn's Prodigy
1 Jace, the Mind Sculptor
2 Dack Fayden
1 Treasure Cruise
1 Dig Through Time
1 Ancestral Recall
1 Time Walk
4 Gush
1 Brainstorm
1 Ponder
3 Swords to Plowshares
1 Sensei's Divining Top
1 Hurkyl's Recall
4 Force of Will
4 Mental Misstep
4 Flusterstorm
1 Sol Ring
1 Lotus Petal
1 Mox Sapphire
1 Mox Pearl
1 Mox Ruby
1 Black Lotus
1 Island
3 Volcanic Island
3 Tundra
3 Misty Rainforest
4 Scalding Tarn
1 Cavern of Souls

Sideboard
2 Hurkyl's Recall
3 Ingot Chewer
1 Sudden Shock
1 Mountain
1 Mindbreak Trap
4 Leyline of the Void
3 Containment Priest

7. Duane Haddix - Tiny Robots
4 Memnite
4 Signal Pest
4 Skullclamp
3 Arcbound Ravager
4 Genesis Chamber
4 Phyrexian Revoker
1 Cranial Plating
3 Thorn of Amethyst
3 Warping Wail
4 Tangle Wire
1 Trinisphere
4 Lodestone Golem
5 Moxes
1 Mana Crypt
1 Black Lotus
1 Sol Ring
4 Wasteland
4 Mishra's Workshop
4 Ancient Tomb
1 Tolarian Academy

Sideboard
2 Mindbreak Trap
3 Karakas
2 Dismember
3 Steel Overseer
1 Brass Man
3 Grafdigger's Cage

8. Nam Q. Tran - Ravager Shops
4 Metalworker
4 Phyrexian Revoker
4 Arcbound Ravager
4 Lodestone Golem
2 Triskelion
4 Sphere of Resistance
4 Tangle Wire
4 Staff of Domination
2 Crucible of Worlds
2 Batterskull
1 Mana Crypt
1 Sol Ring
1 Mox Sapphire
1 Mox Jet
1 Mox Ruby
1 Mox Emerald
1 Mox Pearl
4 Mishra's Workshop
4 Mishra's Factory
4 Ancient Tomb
4 Wasteland
1 Tolarian Academy
1 Strip Mine
1 Ghost Quarter

Sideboard
4 Leyline of Sanctity
4 Phyrexian Metamorph
2 Karakas
2 The Tabernacle At Pendrell Vale
3 Ghost Quarter

Thanks to everyone who participated in this awesome event. It was a blast!

[fendog]

"Mentori En" 

[Greg]

With no entry fee and donated prizes, we managed to put up an estimated $1200 prize pool including a box of Modern Masters, an Italian Drain, a Taiga, and 28 Simian Spirit Guides. Prizes were distributed by "drafting" piles after things were completely decided, 1-16 then 1-8 again, so everyone got something!

This looks like an incredibly cool idea, GrandpaBelcher. I've never heard of anything like this before and would love to see you elaborate on how this event was set up and what the parameters were. What sort of message was sent out to the potential entrants? What was expected of people in regards to their prize donation? I'm really shocked at the fantastic prize pool you've shared with us in that picture; what a great haul. The degree of variety is great. I'd love to see the order of draft selections! I'd be interested in trying to arrange something like this with some New York locals sometime.

I've said it before, but I've always liked the idea of more entrants receiving prizes instead of just the winningest few. I realize that not every tournament could or should be run that way, but it's definitely a nice treat every once in a while. It's nice to walk away with something after a modest but decent showing. An FBB Regrowth may only be around $5, but it's something fun to leave an event with after finishing with a record of 4-2 or something.

It looks like a fun concept. Thank you for sharing it with us.

[GrandpaBelcher]

We threw this together in two weeks. On Jan 30 we had a Team Serious Open that Matt Hazard couldn't attend because of work. While I was at that tournament his wife texted me to see if we could put together an impromptu, surprise, makeup event at their house. I said that would probably be possible but that we would probably lose some attendance to the short notice and it being Valentine's Day weekend. All I needed was an idea of how many people I could invite based on how much room they had. We decided on 20, so I broadcast it to everyone but Hazard on our team boards and through some individual messages on email, text and Twitter.

That was pretty much it. My message was basically, "Hey, we're having a tournament for Matt Hazard. It's going to be Feb 13 at noon, BYOB, no entry, prize donations welcome. Let me know if you can attend."

Hazard's wife let him in on the secret for planning and organization purposes, and they ended up doing most of the food coordination. She provided chips and several fancy crockpot dips, which were great. And we ordered pizza for lunch and Thurman's carryout for dinner. They were also responsible for playing Skyfall, Predator, and The Running Man in the background during the event.

The streaming was just because I have the rig and they had an extra office where we could set it up. (Details are here: http://www.gatheringmagic.com/natmoes-020416-vintage-party-time-streaming-and-the-team-serious-invitational/) It worked out fantastically well that Brassy was available to do commentary. If you haven't checked out the replays, I highly recommend them (and his other broadcasts) http://www.twitch.tv/tmdbrassman/v/44618139

All in all everything worked out great. Players were super, super generous with prizes, obviously. People had a great time. We played some fun MTG and ate delicious food and drank delicious drank. We could probably have done more with the goodwill behind the event, and it would have been neat to do a donation to the Hazard's favorite charity, but that's okay.

I think for the prize draft, the T8 was:
1. MM Box (-3 packs)
2. Italian Drain
3. Taiga
4. Dark Confidant
5. Knights vs. Dragons
6. 24 Simian Spirit Guides (easily one of the more valuable prizes, if someone wanted to take time to make it so)
7. Foil Mishra's Factory
8. Japanese Academy

[Moduloc]

How did Jori En, Ruin Diver work out?

[CHA1N5]

How did Jori En, Ruin Diver work out?

Poorly. She was bad in my deck and generally bad in the meta.  She might have a long-term place, but she's not well-positioned right now.

[Smmenen]

This thread is awesome sauce.  Love that Snoop Trogg is back in the saddle, and that Hazmat's wife organized an impromptu vintage tournament.