The cursed Monday morning alarm urged me to wake up… cried at me to make lunches, drive kids to school, to get to work! My bloodshot eyes struggled to open as the 3 hours of sleep after arriving home from GP Vegas 2019 rattled around in my head telling me they needed about 7 more before they would allow me to function properly… but I struggled onward. I had successfully navigated the 4 days of GP Vegas and lived to tell the tale.
This is not a champions tournament report – you wont get high level top 8 draft strategies from this mage today… Nor is this a drunken debauchery report – I have many a tale from my younger years, but this trip was focused on gaming … But I did have some thoughts I wanted to share with all of you on our Magical adventures in Sin City.
I have always enjoyed reading (and later watching) magic coverage and I remember reading the coverage of the first Vegas GP. It was an Extended event back in 2001, won by Michael Pustilnik with one of my favorite decks “The Rock and his Millions”. Many a Pernicious Deed and Spiritmonger have I cast in my day.
Vegas was Silenced for 12 years until a record breaking horde of over 4,492 people converged in 2013 and Neal Oliver came out on top. That throng was topped only by Vegas again in May of 2015 when 7,551 players came out to do battle with the spells and creatures of Modern Masters. There were two full tournaments with two champions.
I had never been able to get away from work/kids/life to make one of these newer, bigger Vegas GPs and so when I got the chance this year I jumped at it and I was not disappointed.
Was Vegas Big?
Of course. This tournament, while smaller than some previous Vegas bashes had a respectable 1800+ players in the Constructed Modern event and 1400+ playing Modern Horizons Limited.
How do you prepare for a MagicFest in Vegas?
1. Plan your Expenses
Flights, hotels, and food are very costly and can triple the cost of your event if you plan them poorly. I recommend bringing some healthy food with you, a refillable water bottle, make sure you know where you’re staying, and plan how you are getting to and from the tournament site. Vegas is a damn desert and you don’t want to walk anywhere that isn’t air conditioned for very long.
2. Plan your tournaments
I knew I wanted to play the limited Modern Horizons format so I practiced as much online and in person as I was able. I went in knowing I wasn’t as prepared as a serious tester, but I knew the format, it’s synergies and where I wanted to be in each color pair.
I would have loved to practice more but there were two limiting factors: (1) life responsibilities were such that I spent a lot of time doing dad things and ‘work guy’ things instead of gaming and (2) Modern Horizons is freakin EXPENSIVE!
Once you get to the site – hopefully you can go a day early – plan to play in some of the other tournaments at the event. If you are like me – not a hardcore tournament grinder – but someone who goes to an occasional FNM or pre-release and plays lots of kitchen table Magic – I have the following suggestions:
- Do not play single elimination events the first day. Dash the enticing dreams of going 4-0 and having 2 precious byes in the main event. You will get so much more value out of playing a normal 3 or 5 round event because you need your reps! Those rounds of high level competitive play will get your brain locked back into its rhythm and you can hopefully get a few mistakes/jitters out of your system before the main event. I was very unsatisfied with going 1-1 and 0-1 in my two single elim events. I ‘wasted’ those entry fees and did not get in enough useful practice games for my liking.
- Play to win. You are at a competitive tournament with cash prizes on the line and you should play to win. I’m not suggesting you act like an asshole or cheat – that’s not it at all – but admit to yourself that this is a high stakes event and you will treat it as such. I have a hard time keeping my ‘helping dad’ gear disengaged. When an opponent asks “you have three blockers?” I immediately knee-jerk and say “no, Changeling Outcast cant block” instead of just saying nothing or “these three are untapped.” You can feel bad for other folks who are making obvious mistakes but you should not coach your opponent into beating you.
3. plan your fun
Think about what you’ll be doing each day and make sure to prepare to have fun regardless of your tournament success. Bring cards to get signed by the artists. Bring commander decks to play casually. Make some new friends – don’t be afraid to talk to other people who love the same game you do! Play some Pai Gow magic with your packs that you get with your prize tickets. Just make sure you are getting enjoyment out of your time – its the most precious commodity.
At every GP we attend I bring my cube because inevitably it brings out some of the best memories of each trip. I may talk more in depth about it in another article, but our tradition for a while has been to sign a significant cube card after each big event. This trip Jay Trojan did some very busted things with Booster Tutor so it got the treatment this year.
How did the Main Event go?
Great. Modern did it’s Mondern-y stuff and Hogaak wiped up the competition and had its last hurrah in the Modern format before narrowing its eyes and blowing some kisses to Legacy.
Two of our Mana Tutors crew cashed the Modern Horizons tournament and there were some great matches to enjoy. Congrats to Simon Nielsen and Allan Wu on their respective victories.
Oh, how did MY tournament go you ask?… Well, I opened a very reasonable B/W pool and built a deck that I think should have made day 2 – possibly needed a more stable pilot. The removal was good, the creatures were small but worked together well, and there was a Rotwidow Pack waiting to help end long board stalls.
I had some fantastic matches of Magic and wonderful opponents. I ended up losing out in Round 7. Many of my game losses came from not utilizing that sweet sweet London Mulligan enough. Just Mulligan, ok? Make sure your hand is doing something and has a plan. If that plan is play four lands and a creature that doesn’t block, that’s a bad plan! The other losses came from green and red decks making big dudes and rolling over me in short order. All in all, I love Modern Horizons and doff my hat to the Wizards team on what may very well be my favorite design ever for a limited set.
4. make good memories
We celebrated Tony and Brandon making day 2 by doing some late night feasting and Cube Drafting. Vegas is very good at providing you food, alcohol, and tables for gaming at all hours and we took full advantage.
Each GP I attend I always try to make time for the artists. Because I have a soft spot for a lot of the early cards I grew up with, I was thrilled to see Anson Maddox, Dan Frazier, and a lot of the early generations of MTG artists along with some amazing new talent.
I handed my Juggernaut to Dan Frazier and waited. After a few minutes of quick inking and hunching over the card, he hands it back to me, gives me a slightly wild eyed look and mutters, “You better bloody well like it”. Which I did.
Thanks for reading my ramblings. If this sparked any great tournament memories or plans to make some, please let me know. I’d love to hear what you have to say.
As always, happy gaming!