Double pre-release

 Went to Titan, semi-local store, to jam some pre-release fun with my buddy Andy. We played some legacy waiting for the event to start. He plays whack-a-doodle decks that he can't stop tinkering with. Me, I am a stock player and let others figure out the builds. 

Pre-release time- I went a grand total of 1-2. Only match win was against a guy who had only started playing the game a week or two before. Felt slightly bad for him, but he said it best- "I got better each round!" Which is the hallmark that we all should strive for.

The highlights of this particular pre-release was the crazy value I pulled. Got a Giada, Font of Hope showcase foil. Couldn't get this card out of my hands fast enough, and already sold it. (currently in a mailer ready to go out tomorrow) I made money on a pre-release? Suuurrrreeee... why not.
Also pulled an Ob Nixilis, the Adversary. Which, I drew a grad total of 1 time. I don't ever see me needing this card for any decks I like to play, so I already traded it for 4 Elvish Reclaimers. Seems good right?

Pre-release #2 was at Gritty Goblin, on Sunday. Which honestly, should be my only pre-release location. They don't overcharge, and provide very solid prize support. The event almost didn't fire, needed at least 6 players and thankfully a couple others showed up. Three players barely play, or haven't in years. The other two are decent players.

I didn't pick up much value from the kit. However, I beat round one player by just having all the answers all the time. He hated it so much he was telling me how he should have beaten me as I was leaving the store 2 hours later. I guess I left a mark?
Lost round 2 to a very aggressive deck and I got a bit mana screwed. Oh well.
Felt bad for round 3. She was very nice, but really only understood the mechanics of the game only. Sigh.

Funny note- there was table talk about when players started playing. I really didn't join in, no need to say much. Heard Nemesis as the earliest... and someone asked me, and I simply said, "I started during Revised." Funny thing I realized later, the guy who was in the 'longest' was actually starting when I got out the first time. Damn I am old. Then I the girl I was playing against said she wasn't alive yet when that set came out. *head hanging old* Now I am REALLY old.

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I finalized a trade for a second set of Leyline of the Void. Kinda weird to start having second sets of cards for decks I usually play. I usually proxy or just substitute things for those. Now I have two sets of Wastelands, Leylines, and soon Reclaimers. Weird.

Finally got my 3rd Kappa done for the not so as hot blue artifact deck. Its a decent deck to have on tap and able to play if I want to. I also call it my "super proxy" deck as I have MANY proxies in there.

Started adding some new cards to my "Want List" on DeckBox and I am realizing- I am adding stuff to add it. Not that I really need any of it for a deck. Its a weird feeling.

Draft lands update

 Two years and one month ago, I posted about how I like pre-sleeved sets of basic lands for draft events. At that time I had five different sets of basic lands to choose from. Since then, I have expanded my holdings to a possible 8 different land styles. Here is my current stable of basic lands for drafting.

For the record, I consider a set of basic draft lands to be 10 of each type. And yes, I realize there are conditions that might need to get more than that, but I think that has been once in the past five years? So I am good with keeping it at 10 of each type.

From left to right, back row:
Revised, Unlimited, Double Masters- Avon, Zendikar, Kamigawa: Neon Dynasty, Theros, and Innistrad: Midnight Hunt.

Front row- Beta basics. 

    Tomorrow I am heading out to Titan Games & Hobbies with my buddy Andy... No clue how to approach this set- so your guess is as good as mine. Looking forward to jamming some Legacy before we get our kits, crack in, and discover like every set- we have no clue what we are doing. Great fun!

I am still not sure if I like the Streets of New Capenna full arts. (example) But knowing my problem with basics, I will likely wind up getting a set.

Legacy weekly and fake cards, a resolution!

 Finally got back to my regular weekly after two weeks of drafting. Spoiler, awful week 1 of drafting, went 2-1 week 2. Almost made 3-0 but if it wasn't a pesky black flying mythic. Dang. I was able to pick up two packs for my trouble, and cracked them for zero value. Darn you Double Feature!!!! Should have saved them for pack wars. Oh well, lesson learned.

At the weekly legacy- I brought out Titan Post. Wound up with a 1-2 record, going to 3 games each round... and nearly to time the first two. Thought for sure I would have time between rounds to do some minor shopping. (foreshadowing!)

Round 1 vs 4cc Uro control 

Game 1- I had no clue what he was on for about 4 turns, and promptly didn;t find answers for a while. I turned the corner with a a live Eye of Ugin, and fetched up my favorite Eldrazi. He couldn't stop it, and couldn't deal with it. Promtly scooped. 

Game 2- Ummmm- don't recall to be honest, but I kept a sketchy hand which promptly got riffle stomped by an Uro. 

Game 3- Crushed it with an early Carpet, getting Needle and Reclaimers removed, then turning the corner with double Titan, backed up with finding all the lands I could possibly want to deal with his threats. 

Round 2 vs Paul Lynch on Day's Undoing combo

Game 1- I had no clue what deck he was on. I had him pegged early with Day's Undoing, but never saw it so I was starting to doubt my spidey senses. Game 1 took at least 30 minutes, and felt fairly inevitable for me. There was a window that I had to COMPLETELY lock the game down with Emrakul and Karakas for replay... Paul had a known Dress Down, and I was playing around it. But for the most of the game he was spinning and search and spinning and search for Day;s Undoing and never found it. 

Game 2- I mulliganed a poor hand and somehow found a 'ok' hand which went sideways EXTREMELY quickly. He got off the Narset into Day's Undoing combo and I had NOTHING. 

Game 3- I kept a sketchy 7, and should have mulliganed. My early threats were answered, and I was in to complete top deck mode which provided no answers. Just lots of lands. He didn't need to produce the combo because he could have beat me with a flyswatter. sigh. 

Round 3 vs u/b delver

Game 1- I had no clue what he was playing. Turned out to be a Delver/Voidwalker/Murktide deck. It was nothing I had seen before... so kudos? Famous awful sketch keep and got removed from my early stuff and never turned the corner.

Game 2-  Wound up holding off the hordes with a Chasm and picked off the threats, went big with lots of Cloudpost despite the active Loam/Wasteland engine and successfully Ulamog'd his Murktide and another threat.  

Game 3- Got delvered with a Voidwalker for a friend. I drew into nothing that could block anything or help ramp into the true answers. 

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On to resolution of my fake cards auction win. 

Timeline- Won an auction on March 13th. Prices were SLIGHTLY different than I understood. However, if I could sell the foils for close to TCG, I could somewhat break even on the deal. Within the week I got the cards- 3 of 6 cards were fake. (buy a loop people.)

I called the auction company that day. Nothing

I emailed the next day. Nothing.

    I contact my credit card company to file a dispute- had to wait two weeks for them to contact me back. Nothing.

My credit card company wanted an independent expert to provide information about the "fakeness." So I got that from LevelUpMD store I go to. Got that, sent in. Waited another two weeks wait for the credit card company to get back to me.

YESTERDAY, the auction house calls me. Turns out- they had no clue how to tell. (as I suspected, it took the credit card company complaint to really get things rolling) I started explaining how easy it might be to tell. They also reveal that they never replied to my email. They offer to send a return mailer to me, and the dispute will not be contested.

So I get to send the mistake back. However, I had been selling some cards to help off set the prices in anticipation of being on the hook for fakes. I took the cash I made from those cards and spent it all at the game store last night as a bit of a thank you for helping. It isn't much in the grand scheme of things for them, but its what I can do at least. 

Too bad I can't make their legacy 1k in two weeks.