Day 1 Blog Archive

TABLE OF CONTENTS

Thursday, 5:51 p.m. - Podcast: Fasten Your Seatbelts

Four days of M-Fest are upon us and moxradio is your between-the-ears guide to every game, every format, and every great event at this fabulous celebration of MTG. Join regular host Rich Hagon and a veritable cornucopia of guest stars as we head into Day One with Last Chance Qualifier action.

 

Download now (14.3 MB mp3)

Here at UK nationals there is a fun Thursday game that all those qualified for the main event get to play. As a reporter, I tend to play it a little too, because I'm a devil like that.

The game is "Grrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrinderrrrrrr!"

All you need to do to play is sneak up on a player trying to qualify at one of the Last Chance Qualifiers, and loudly proclaim their status as one who grinds. Trust me, it's a lot of fun.

 

This year, with just two LCQs (one draft and one Standard), the pressure is really on, and there were some very good players who found themselves without an invite mere hours before Nationals would begin. Richard Moore proved in 2005 that qualifying in this way does not make you dead money, as he rattled off win after win to go from Grinder to English National Champion. This year, among those hoping to repeat his performance are such names as Neil Rigby, a formidable drafter and deckbuilder who is no stranger to Nationals top eights. He started out at 4-0 and looked confident about getting there again.

In the Constructed, for those brave souls willing to stay up for some midnight madness Standard with Tenth Edition beckoned. 68 players would be playing into the wee hours, relishing the absence of Dragonstorm, and revelling in the additions of Troll Ascetic and Seismic Assault amongst others. Stay tuned for the top decklists from there early Friday morning for a first look at the British approach to Standard.