Thursday, May 15, 2014

MPDC 24 Special - Multicolor Mayhem


It has become somewhat of a tradition to hold a special event during the 'end of season' break between the MPDC Worlds event and the start of the next season. As I was considering the format for this event, I wanted to find something interesting and unique. Eventually, I came up with the following idea: wouldn't it be great to take two multicolor blocks and mix them together?

The obvious candidate for such a format would be a double-block of the Return to Ravnica block and the Shards of Alara block. This was particularly compelling to me since Shards of Alara is probably my favorite Standard Pauper block ever, perhaps because it was the last major block before the so-called New World Order dramatically altered the landscape of what was acceptable at Common.

So for the event this coming Monday, all Commos from these two blocks (Return to Ravnica, Gatecrash, Dragon's Maze, Shards of Alara, Conflux, Alara Reborn) will be legal. We will play 4 rounds with a cut to Top 8, unless attendance is over 31 players, in which case we will add a 5th round. Prizes will be our normal payout of certificates from MTGOTraders. However, we will also have a special deckbuilder's challenge.

At the end of Round 1, I will randomly select one special "Gold" deck from all those entered into the event. The player selected will be awarded a booster pack of Journey Into Nyx. Here's how to qualify:
  • Your decklist must contain only multicolored cards, not including any lands. This includes not only the obvious 'gold' cards, but any with a hybrid mana cost or with an activated ability that is a different color than the card itself (such as Deviant Glee, Darklit Gargoyle, or even Quenchable Fire) but not any card that only references another color (such as Parasitic Strix). Basically, if there are two or more different colored mana symbols on the card, it qualifies.
  • Your decklist must be entered in full by the end of Round 1.
  • Your decklist must include the words [Gold], including the brackets, in its name.
Of course, you are by no means required to follow these restrictions - this is just an extra challenge for those who enjoy that sort of thing!

Hope to see you on Monday, at 2pm EST / 6pm GMT, in the channel MPDC, for this great event!

13 comments:

  1. For clarification… is it just The Shards of Alara & Return To Ravinica SETS? Or both BLOCKS?

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  2. I can see how that was confusing in my post. I fixed it. It is both blocks (Return to Ravnica, Gatecrash, Dragon's Maze, Shards of Alara, Conflux, Alara Reborn).

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  3. Thanks :)
    Dunno if I'll make it (GF has started refering to herself as a 'magic widow' and told her I'd be taking a week off MPDC) but brewing just for fun anyway :D

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  4. This sounds real cool and the Gold deck building challenge like a lot of fun. Quick question regarding cards for this: do the five cards in the Resounding cycle from Shards of Alara qualify since they have multi-colored cycling costs? Could a Bant deck with all multicolored nonlands except Resounding Silence still qualify as [Gold]?

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    1. Yes the Resounding cycle from Shards of Alara qualifies as multicolor and can be used for a [Gold] deck.

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  5. Question: Does Druid of the Anima count as a "gold" card?

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    1. Yes Druid of the Anima counts too. The new rule I'm using is: if there are two or more different colored mana symbols on the card, it qualifies.

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    2. Also, for matching purposes, we're categorizing our decks as "Modern," rather than, say, "Legacy," right?

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    3. Using either Modern or Pauper should be fine.

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  6. I like this chalange, just to be certain, the SB has to follow this gidelines too?

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    1. Yes for the special challenge, both main deck and Sideboard must follow the guidelines.

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  7. I've built 4 decks but have no one to actually practice against! People need to get online this weekend at least for a little bit. I have no idea which one is best, but I do kinda like the fact that I'll have little to no idea what other people will bring. Unexplored metas are fun.

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