GP TORONTO SVU

2015 GP TORONTO SVU

So let me preface this by stating at 3am Friday morning, I did not know I was going to be able to make it to Toronto. I was in the midst of the 30hr on call and given its nature, you never know what will come through the door. By 8am that morning I knew this was perhaps my only realistic chance to meet a good number of the #HMSVU #EhTeam and other virtual twitter buddies I'd met along the way and said, life it short let's go for it!

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Given the nature of my degree, my down time largely consists of connecting with a tight circle of friends, with people virtually, or travelling to and from destinations to study. Simply put, I felt this was my one shot in the next few years (potentially) to put faces to names. I'll let the photos do most of the talking :)

HMmidget, the first guy I met at the event. I sat down unannounced, said his hoodie looked awesome
and proceeded to lose my mind with his friendliness and helpfulness at meeting all the
other SVU and MTG fans we both knew through twitter. Awesome guy and thank you
again for signing that proxy :)

The man with the marker, El Derf!! Here seen trying to rip my heart out.
Was so so cool to meet derf, I felt like a million bucks when he first did my
avatar for twitter which proxy since has put on my token. Such a talented dude,
I was grinning from ear to ear just getting to see him at work!

Ken - Designer of my current HM/BSB/Kraken playmat, I know of 3 people globally who have decided to get one based on seeing mine!
TSG - Honestly got the sense I could have spent hours shooting the shit with him, extremely approachable, very likeable guy, one day hopefully we'll get to play cube together!
TMoles - One of the most dedicated travellers to events I know, drove from hours away to be at this even and I'm so glad I got to meet him! Hopefully we get that rift in time!

The GeistFather himself MrScottyMac! - One of the warmest personalities I have met. Completely got caught up in the moment and forgot to ask you to sign the angel token I had in my Team Geist deck with me!

BATMAN! A busy man so didn't get to chat but great meeting you in person!

Had to get some shout outs to those who couldn't make it (Bruce)!! 

EvilKYT - Not as evil as you would think! He actually went on to crush this thing going X-3, attaboy!

Nick El Nutz - First grapple shirt I've spotted in the wild! First GP! Nice hanging out and talking PUCA!

BloodFrayGiant and BloodyMessJess! Didn't think I was going to get a chance to meet you two but Midget came through at the 11th hour and managed to say hi on the way out (2 hours was not nearly long enough). Until we meet again!

Finally, MattyStudios, caught in the act by KerryDan slinging the cardboard. I am so grateful that he is still leading the charge with Heavy Meta SVU or I'd never have been anywhere near the event today or to be honest probably MTG! Keep at it bud, must have missed you by minutes!

Until the next one! 

So despite having to study my ass off the rest of the weekend, I made it and met some awesome awesome people along the way. Not pictured were Trevor and Genevieve who were in the midst of games so I didn't want to disrupt their play but got a hand shake in at the least and Tony from F2F games, awesomeEVERYday :)

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One thing that struck me about this group was how approachable everyone was, there was a real sense of familiarity and energy that everyone was just really happy to be there and to meet people they had in some cases "known" for years but had never met. Crazy world we live in. Next time I meet you all I want to be playing in the event. That's my goal for sometime in the next 2 years. 

Rico :)

Pondering

Hi Everyone, I've been AWOL for the most-part over the last year or so, life and the grind towards my career aspirations have kept me pretty busy to say the least (if you follow me on twitter you've got just a taste). I finally got to an FNM after weeks of "too tired", "too much work", "I just don't have the energy to be the new kid on the block today" and really enjoyed the rounds I got in!

Inspired by the tournament reports of other #HMSVU in the field (particularly @tholness) I'm attempting to write my experience up. I'll set the scene first by explaining that my day started at 4am with almost 8hrs of surgery experience and being on my feet for the most of a nearly 13 hour work day. I'd decided that I was going to FNM regardless of how tired I felt, it was an experience I didn't want to miss (AGAIN!).

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The local store is a little brick and mortar, old school shop with a smaller focus on MTG and an owner who is nice but a little old school! I showed up about 20 mins before tournament time, exhausted, but holding the RW Midrange standard deck I'd thrown together over the past few months of trying to buy low and trade high over pucatrade. A deviation from my usual fast tempo/glass cannon decks. After registering and sitting around feeling awkward but too tired to care, and the shooting the shit with the locals, we got down to business.

G1: Black "dash" aggro.
Match up was vs a really nice local artist who was admiring my HM/BrainstormBrewery/Kraken playmat (thanks @Load3r, it was a hit all night) and refreshing me on some of the optimal orders of play (constructively). We played our matches and with the exception of the 2nd match where I stabilized thanks to Wingmate Roc, really showcased the speed and power of unanswered dash abilities! (0-1; 1-2)

G2: Big Green
My first buddy from the deep south, wearing a big green tee and towering over me, I should have known I would be up against some seriously huge green creatures. Long drawn out back and forth battle between his ability to get Hydras out on the battlefield and my attempt to chain them to the rocks or exile them while jabbing back with goblins! We ran out of time but it was one of those grappling matches where we both came away saying "that was awesome" (0-1-1;1-2, 1-1).

G3: Standard card mashup
At this point I was really starting to drag, I had been up for almost 20 hours at the end of a very long week and had to consider being on 30hr surgical call a day later. My opponent was a very pleasant player who had been out of the game for 15 years. Really had a good time finding out what was new to her over the course of the match and had fun filling the role of the tutoring player, teaching the intricacies of planeswalkers and the like. To be perfectly honest, while the thrill of playing cards was there, this was more about connecting with other players and sharing the game state. I think it's something that can be lost when we collectively take things too seriously, but this was a good one to go out on. She was playing a mashup of standard cards that a local player had put together (1-1-1; 1-2, 1-1, 2-0).

A decent record for a first outing in standard for ages (years?), wish I could have played the whole event but bed was calling.

My deck: http://sales.starcitygames.com//deckdatabase/displaydeck.php?DeckID=80233

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A lot of people are buzzing about Hearthstone being on iPhone today, I'm happy that more people get to try this great game out.

Give it a try! Add me to Battle.net: Ricostravels#1196 and DM me to let me know what you think :)

Just some parting thoughts:

1) We do not live in a MTG OR HS, pick one, kinda world. Enjoy either, both, or neither

2) WotC isn't doing itself any favours with the lack of progress on MODO, I for one am completely burnt out on their digital disaster-piece. I feel entirely justified in saying this based on the amount of already limited time I've had invested, only to have tournaments crash on me repeatedly.

3) Be active in your #HMSVU community. If you're not happy with CFB smothering TSG out of the HM picture, be vocal about it. Let people know you're taking your business elsewhere. Don't let bullying quietly fade into the background.

#JustPlay

@Ricostravels

If you want to win these:

Go here: http://http://goo.gl/forms/bn0Kl7bZOa Cross your fingers. #WinOneShippedToYourDoor!

Happy Holidays! :)

@Ricostravels

Thanks for checking out the site!

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I'm on temporary hiatus with impending exams, feel free to read any of the articles and let me know what you think :)

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Rico

Hearthstone has made me a MUCH better Magic player

There is something in all competitive hobbies that I like to call the "glass ceiling". It's not the societal barriers to the highest accolades or positions that exist outside the gaming world, but it is a very real psychological barrier that says "I'll never reach their level, there is something others see that I just don't get". This was my approach to Magic for years (actual game time probably only a few months -- I travel), others understood the game at a level that no amount of reading, watching videos, or theory crafting could help me with.

Enter Hearthstone; Blizzard's answer to CCGs, following the "free to play" model, Hearthstone has set out to create an engaging card game that their website totes as "Deceptively simple. Insanely fun.". I think it does this and a lot more.

I have said, much to the scepticism or complete surprise of a few players, that Hearthstone has made me a MUCH better MTG player. I want to walk you through why.

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If you talk to some of the best players in magic as I've been lucky to do, you get a real sense of the depth of their understanding of the game. There are unique deck archetypes, card dynamics, and a general synergy that new players try to understand, but at the core, they still don't "get it".

To back up a bit, let me walk you through a common approach I have to problems (in games and in life). I internally examine if the problem is important enough to me to get where I want to go. I look at the major vectors involved in the problem and how it's constructed. Finally, I boil the problem down to the core elements I need, break the pieces apart, and rebuild from the ground up. Magic the gathering, on the surface, seems like a deceptively easy problem to solve. There are game items (cards), rules of play, and there are always a series of objectives that you have to accomplish to achieve your desired goal; winning the game. Here lies the deception, and as a new player, you don't see it until you've been around the block to truly appreciate the depth of the card pool (I still can't see the bottom), and respect the raw value that you can only gain from worthwhile experience.

Let me run some numbers past you; The first iteration of MTG: Alpha, had a card pool of 295 cards, Beta had 302, currently there are over 13,000 unique cards in existence and 1,278 of those are legal in Standard. While so many of those cards are functional reprints of cards you veterans of the game have seen many times before, it's a new and daunting experience for us new kids on the block to see and appreciate each one.

Hearthstone has 465 playable cards. Based on MTG (there is no denying that), it has come to the forefront as a game that has greatly benefit from the balance issues, and many pitfalls that MTG has overcome over 20 years. In many ways Hearthstone has been given the evolutionary roadmap that MTG (As the only big kid on the block) has laid out over years of growth and experience.

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I will never get the opportunity to play as some of you guys/gals did in the early stages of magic, when there was a reasonable limit to the number of cards and options you had at your disposal. I will likely never get the chance to see a COMPLETELY new archetype shape the future of card games. But Hearthstone, to me, is the closest I will ever get to that opportunity and really is analogous to a polished version of the Alpha and Beta days. It has given me the chance to witness raw card value, lines of play that are worth setting up, an appreciation for long and short game strategies. Importantly it does so with a sense of tangible achievement as I go along, in a casual and non-intimidating manner, in a manner that respects my time and finances.

This simplification of the "problem", in an accessible and well fleshed out presentation, comprised of short, feel good experiences, is arguably the best opportunity for players who don't have a veteran players to guide them through card games and lack personal experience. This brings me back to my original seemingly baffling sentiment; Hearthstone has given me an exponentially richer opportunity to not only improve my understanding of MTG but gaming as a whole. While experienced players may be quick to dismiss it as simple magic, or just not for them, I think it provides the critical fundamentals for new and established players to grow.

Give it a try! Add me to Battle.net: Ricostravels#1196, let me know what you think :)

#FreeToPlayValue

#Lookatitwithfresheyes

#TWEETMEYOURTOKENSYOULUCKYFEW

@Ricostravels

KAPOW! They get it!

Hello again Burninites! As most of you know I'm studying hardcore for important exams for the next few weeks, but I thought I'd break my silence to get back to the roots of GBS to tell you about my newbie experience at a store along my travels!

I haven't played paper in over a year and very much consider myself a student of the game, studying interactions and always looking at ways to refine my routes of play (for the ultra-rare opportunity that I do get to a shop!). I managed to visit Lethbridge, Alberta, Canada this winter and got some MTG games in on the side!

Heavy Meta, the HMSVU Cast, and many others talk about community and player experiences, a lot. It's for good reason, they shape how and more importantly, why we play Magic.

Kapow Ltd, a medium sized shop in Alberta, to me, embodies all the qualities that I look for and keep me engaged in this obsession that is MTG and fostering a community.

<Note: I'm purely writing this to detail my experiences. This shop had no idea who I was, so in my option these guys got it without any prompting, and I think this bodes very well for new stores!>

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Coming into a new card/hobby store for the first time can be intimidating, I always feel a bit like the new kid in school. Stores that are dark, dank, and underground don't help! I've been to quite a few stores throughout my travels, and the ones that project a bright, well laid out, and CLEAN atmosphere really strike me as shops that are not only interested in catering to the old crowd, but expanding their customer base to easily introduce people walking off the street to fun new experiences!

The same could be said for the player bases that these stores cater to. I played my first tournament in years (Mono Red, you know it!!), flukishly won every match, and despite professing to be a beginner (which is entirely true) was met with friendly and encouraging players from all skill levels. You simply don't get that in an store that doesn't look after its player base by tending to the needs of veterans and newbies alike. Owners that get to know their customers and maintain the healthy and happy atmosphere in their stores share the benefits with their players!

Kapow Ltd. was great, not only in the shop chatting strategy and sussing out what I was interested in playing, but they also had a presence over email, on Twitter, and Facebook. The days of having a stagnant website were people only know where your store is located and your phone number are long behind us. Interacting, and engaging with players and potential customers is SO key for people passing through, and establishing the nature of your brand on the local scene. I connected with players in the shop, online, as well as with the store owners over email.

For me, Kapow Ltd. seemed genuinely interested in helping me connect with local players, and making it easy to access all formats of Magic (and really spurred my recent interest in EDH). This principle is so basic but I think can be so easily overlooked in established stores that don't look beyond their current player base.

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I'm away from Alberta right now, but I can't wait to go back and play at Kapow Ltd.! There have only been a few shops that really spurred my excitement to play in their specific environment. If I had to boil it down to 3 principles it would be these: Approachability (friendliness/atmosphere), Accessibility (all playing abilities/genders/social backgrounds), and Connectivity (In store/Social media).

Shout out to Heavy Meta for establishing a similar presence over twitter, and big shout out to the Eh Team for inviting me to hang out while I was in the area (Definitely next time I'm in Calgary!!). Big thanks to Wallie and Nick of Kapow too :)

#BurnOnBurninators

#MakeTimeToHelpNewPlayers

#RETWEETTOBEENTEREDFORFREEGBSTECH!!

@Ricostravels

GBS card price bulletin!

I know this issue has been talked to death at this point, but in case it was worth 2 cents or more, here is my take. 

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I believe that WotC needs to look at the spikes in prices for Modern staples and directly respond. Not because more people need to be sustained in playing modern but because if they don't people WILL financially fatigue from how expensive this hobby is growing as a whole. There is a big difference in my mind between the player that has been in the game for +15 plus years and the newer guy (<5 years) who loves everything magic and wants to soak it all up (aka acquire cards to play older formats). 

To give you a bit of a background, I played paintball for +15 years and that sport saw immense growth, in part driven by the cream of the crop winning with flashy and expensive paintball guns and newer players looking up to them. I was sponsored, all my paint was paid for, I shot a +2500 dollar paintball gun and this was all designed to drive sales of gear and paint that other players wanted to see. The sport grew immensely, but instead of companies expanding and lowering prices to feed the markets as more got in on the action (which is how normal increase in supply SHOULD work), the entering businesses fixed their prices, seeing what their competitors could get away with. In essence the companies saw what people could pay and each wanted more and more pieces of the same pie. 

The key point to realize here is that both paintball and MTG products are "luxury" goods (in the economic sense). That is, they will thrive when people have the will and an abundance of funds to support them. With the recession, paintball had its teeth kicked in. The sport was at a financial breaking point, and scores of players abandoned the game. At first it wasn't the pros who were left out, but the guys under us who were being told the companies couldn't sponsor them anymore and subsequently, the artificial driving down of costs no longer existed for these players. Tournaments became smaller, prize pay outs went down too, and gradually the vectors (And companies) driving sales and hype for the game evaporated. 

Paintball as a sport is still alive and well, but it's a shadow of the scene it was before. The flashy, expensive stuff is a fraction of what it was when I played, the bubble has already burst. Like so many others, I sold my gear and got out.

I'm writing this because I see STRONG parallels in the hobby we know and love. I'm not going to suggest that at 100 bucks a pop (Scalding Tarn), that I shouldn't just cash out my money cards and walk away from competitive non-standard decks (the extreme luxury items of MTG). There is a breaking point to the greed (Speculators and Retailers fixing prices or driving them up) of "suppliers", the difference in this case is that MTG (not looking at other card games for now) CAN correct some of this imbalance by printing enough of the in-demand cards to put more cards in people's hands and bring the costs down (there IS a limit to the cards that speculators can horde in a attempt to sell high).

I DO NOT understand why WotC is stuck in the mindset that if they feel they "tamper" too much in the market vectors, that they will break the system and strangle local stores. Magic is seeing enormous growth in terms of player popularity, but this WILL be a flash in the pan and not sustained growth if measures are not put in place to stabilize and retain these players. 

I don't want to see the game crash as people cash in their staples and get up and leave. 

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Take a minute to think about what $100 buys you outside the game and then check that against the power that a single piece of cardboard can weigh in a game of magic. 

I've been playing for less than 5 years and appreciating card prices to me don't have the feel good of "I've had these cards for ages and they're getting better with time", they have the "this paywall is growing and growing" feeling. 

I'm sorry if this comes off as whining, that was not my intent, I want to see a healthy shape for this game and not just watch as history repeats itself. I'm writing this to you directly to fuel discussion and shed what I think is the insightful and underrepresented voice of the junior player (who I would put to you has as much stake in the future of the game as those who have been here for years and years).

#CashMoney

@Ricostravels