Free Candy For Everyone

Today I decided to do something a little different, and I went to the prerelease tournament for the new set of Magic: The Gathering that’s coming out. I used to be really into Magic in college, but then I didn’t really have anyone to play with and so my cards have been gathering dust on a shelf for a few years. Turns out some of my co-workers are pretty into the game, and were going to a tournament this weekend.

For those who don’t know, Magic: The Gathering is a collectible card game that involves building a deck (40 or 60 cards usually, depending on the format) and trying to kill you opponent by summoning creatures and casting spells. It’s really addictive and the way it’s structured so you always want to buy more cards is really ingenious. I get really into buying packs of cards and seeing what I can get. So it’s probably better for me not to play too much of the game.

I’d never played in any tournaments, and my co-worker John said this was the most mellow of them, so a good one to try. I went in fully prepared to have a 12 year old wipe the floor with my limp body. I was pleasantly surprised to find that my skills increase as the age disparity between myself and my opponent increases. In other words, I actually beat some of the youngun’s. Heehee.

The new set is called Guildpact, and the tournament was held at the University of Massachusetts - Boston campus student center. It was held on both Saturday and Sunday, but we went Sunday. I hear Sat is usually a much busier day, but this was busy enough for me. This game is no where near the peak of it’s popularity and there were still hundreds of people there, playing Magic. It was very very geeky, but also quite fun.

Your entrance fee signs you up for one “flight” - a 32 person group where you play four matches. Your first match is random, the rest are matched up based on your wins/losses, so you get a point value and they try to put you with other people as crappy as you are. Er. Well, that’s for me, since I am not so great at the Magic, not having played in 2 or 3 years. You get a set number of cards (which are random, you get some boosters, and you don’t know what will be in them) and are given 30 minutes to build your deck. If you are unlucky and don’t get great cards or the right combo of cards, you just cannot build a good deck. I think my lack of experience combined with some bad luck to give me a rather middling deck.

Then, to make it more amusing my first matchup was with John, the friend I came with. He crushed me in probably a record time, maybe 10 minutes for two games (it’s the best 2 out of 3). But he then kindly gave me some pointers on how to tweak my deck to make it better.

My next matchup was with a boy who was probably somewhere around 14. I had a bit more confidence here. Well, he beat me the first one, but then, haha, I defeated him in a close call in the 2nd battle. Then, the 3rd battle I really started picking up steam, I was totally crushing him. But we ran out of time! When that happens, the judges call time, and we take 5 more turns, and if no one wins by the end of that turn, it’s a draw. Well, I had 20 life (the starting amount) and he had 5 or 6 when we finished. I really only needed one or two more turns to win. *sigh* I guess I have to live with my draw. But in my heart I’ll call it a win. Yay, beating on young teenagers.

My third matchup was against someone John knew. He was again a bit older than I am, and once again I lost. Do you start to see the pattern? This one was at least a better game - there was some back and forth and I had him a bit scared for a few moments, but ultimately he won.

Last matchup, I’ve lost 2 and tied 1. You know I’m at the bottom of the heap, and anyone I play will be too. Poor kiddie, but I really wanted to win one! This guy was probably 12, but I showed him no mercy. He had no chance! Well, he did have a chance, but there’s a reason we were in the bottom rung - he made a bunch of mistakes in the game and I beat him in two straight battles.

There you go, 1-2-1 is the total result. If you came in 3-1 or better you won extra booster packs. Well, I didn’t win any, but I had a fun time. I got a gentle introduction to the world of game tourneys. And I didn’t feel too out of place - there were maybe 10 women that I saw out of several hundred people total. But I’m used to being one of few women (since we have less than 10 women in my workplace out of over 80 people, and that’s an improvement on how things used to be), and no one made me feel like I didn’t belong. It was fun, and I think I’ll have to do it again! I’ll stay away from any tournaments that actually “matter” - this one was really just to get the cards so no one was too crazed about calling in judges to question every rule, but I’m sure it’s much worse when there’s more at stake. This was about what I would want to handle.