Monday, 2 April 2018

F2FGTS Trial Event Recap - March 31st, 2018

North Of Exile Games hosted another Trial Event for an upcoming Face To Face Open

A Trial For North Bay

On Saturday March 31st, North Of Exile Games in Penetanguishene was pleased to once again host a Trial Event for an upcoming facetofacegames.com Tournament Series Open.   Players from Midland, Penetanguishene, Wasaga Beach and Barrie all gathered to compete for the top prize; free entry into North Bay's Open along with an exclusive 'Trial Winner' playmat and a competitive edge against some of the region's best Modern players in the form of a 1 Round bye.

'Value' was the Word Of The Day

These Trial Events are a great value, offering players a chance to play test their deck in a competitive REL event with enticing prizes up for grabs.  In addition to the exclusive prizes that were awarded to the event's big winner, all of the Top 4 players were awarded store credit at North Of Exile Games, based on their final standings.   

 Several random prizes would also be awarded throughout the day, including a Planeswalker deck from 'Rivals Of Ixalan' and a special Fallout Vault-Boy Edition: Yahtzee.  With entry fees as low as only $10, Trial Events are a great experience and a value.

Fun bonus prizes for lucky random winners!

The Stage Is Set

Based on attendance, it was announced that the event would consist of five rounds of swiss play, followed by a cut to Top 4.  Players had brought a variety of Modern archetypes to play with, including: Burn, Contol, Eldrazi,  8-Whack and Boggles, which would ensure some interesting match-ups.   After some brief announcements by our Head Judge, deck lists were collected and the action began.


Let Them Eat Cake!

One of our local Magic players, Ed Dowling was celebrating his birthday on the day of our Trial Event, and so there was a brief pause prior to commencing Round 3 while everyone enjoyed some delicious birthday cake, courtesy of North Of Exile Games.

 Putting out fires, and then cake for everyone!

The Top 4

After five rounds of swiss we were down to our Top 4 competitors.  Cal Bernard and Spencer Belanger would each see their respective events come to an end in the semi-finals, but both players had played well throughout the day and would leave with some extra store credit to show for their efforts.

Prizing for the Top 4

Let's take a look at their decklists:




The Finals

Our resident birthday boy Ed Dowling would take his Burn deck all the way into the finals against Steve Nutbean, who was playing Red/Green Eldrazi.  

Game 1 of the finals would not go well for Ed, with a mulligan to 5 cards.   Reality Smashers and Thought-Knot Seers would make for a lot of damage, and a hasty end to game 1.

Game 2 would once again lead to a mulligan to 5 for Ed, although a Turn 1 Goblin Guide followed by a Turn 2 Monastery Swiftspear coupled with a Lightning Bolt got Ed off to a fast start.   A Turn 3 Lightning Helix to keep the board clear was all Ed would need to get a dominating lead over Steve, who was stumbling due to some poor draws.

With the potential for a birthday win in the air, both competitors began sideboarding in preparation for Game 3, as a hush came over the store.  There was a palpable tension in the air, with no sounds to be heard other than the quiet rhythmic breathing of the crowd of people gathered to silently watch the day's final game of  Magic being played.

Game 3 would be the only game in the match that Ed would get to keep all seven cards from his initial draw, but the birthday miracle was not to be.   A turn 3 Bloodbraid Elf cast by Steve cascaded into a free Ancient Stirrings would lead to a turn 4 Reality Smasher coming into play and beginning to turn the tide in Steve's favor.   Ed put up a good fight, but in the end his Burn deck decided to not cooperate for him and Steve Nutbean would emerge our victor.

(L-R) Runner up Ed Dowling, Head Judge Jason Malott, and winner Steve Nutbean.

Ed Dowling, 2nd place
Burn

4x Goblin Guide
4x Monastery Swiftspear
4x Eidolon Of The Great Revel
4x Bump In The Night
4x Lava Spike
4x Lightning Bolt
4x Boros Charm
4x Lightning Helix
2x Searing Blaze
4x Skull Crack
4x Rift Bolt
4x Arid Mesa
3x Bloodstained Mire
4x Blood Crypt
4x Sacred Foundry
2x Mountain
1x Plains
1x Swamp

Sideboard
2x Kataki, War's Wage
2x Path To Exile
2x Shattering Spree
2x Deflecting Palm
2x Wear // Tear
1x Searing Blaze
2x Rakdos Charm
2x Anger Of The Gods
Steve Nutbean, 1st Place
Red/Green Eldrazi

 4x Noble Hierarch
1x Birds Of Paradise
4x Eldrazi Obligator
4x Matter Reshaper
4x Thought-Knot Seer
4x Bloodbraid Elf
4x Reality Smasher
2x Chameleon Colossus
4x Lightning Bolt
4x Ancient Stirrings
2x Dismember
1x Mind Stone
4x Eldrazi Temple
3x Cavern Of Souls
2x Wooded Foothills
4x Karplusan Forest
3x Grove Of The Burnwillows
1x Kessig Wolf Run
2x Forest
1x Mountain
1x Wastes
1x Stomping Ground

 Sideboard
2x Kitchen Finks
2x Scavenging Ooze
2x Ancient Grudge
2x Relic Of Progenitus
1x Grafdigger's Cage
2x Crumble To Dust
2x Natural State
2x Engineered Explosives


More Events To Come

North Of Exile Games has another Face To Face Games Tournament Series Trial Event already scheduled for April 14th, with that event being a Team Trios Constructed format event that will earn the entire winning team free entry into a Team Trios Open happening in Toronto on May 5th.  With Toronto having a Team Trios format Grand Prix happening May 18th- May 20th, the Trial in Penetanguishene  and Face To Face Games Open on May 5th are your best opportunities to prepare for the Grand Prix!   In addition to the Trial event, be sure to visit North Of Exile Games for some of Magic's most exciting events with multiple Preliminary Pro Tour qualifiers scheduled in Penetanguishene for 2018.  



See you soon in the North!

 -JVM


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