Commanders vs. Cancer - Swiss Rounds Recap

It looked like a usual scene: students scattered about the rows of gray tables of Crawford 403, waiting for the professor to start the day's lesson. But, today's lesson was one of Legendary and sometimes Mythic creatures, a lesson of dragons, beasts, elementals, and, of course, one very tall treefolk. 18 students were eager to engage in the day's lecture on Commander, with the dual purpose of raising money for the FITSSFF Relay for Life team.

After the first couple Swiss rounds went into the books, it looked like it might be a big day for big creatures. John and Bryant both started out strong at 2-0 courtesy of Naya Commanders - Mayael, the Anima and Uril, the Miststalker. Hunter was also going for big green creatures, and he had picked up two wins as well courtesy of Om-Nom-Nom-Nath, Locus of Mana.

Uril took down Omnath in the third round, and two other players joined Bryant at 3-0. Jordan Arnold, a long-time proponent of Savra, Queen of the Golgari, arrived at the event with a mono-red deck with Ashling, the Pilgrim at the helm. With his commander that some of his opponents had to read, Jordan moved to 3-0 after a win over John's Mayael deck. Joining them at 3-0 was Mike Mooty, whose commander was the infamous Zur the Enchanter, who easily puts the opponent into a nearly unstoppable lockdown after just a couple of attacks.

Zur took Mike to 4-0 in the fourth round, leaving him alone in first with an easy draw into the top 8. Another slew of players emerged from the pack at 3-1, primed for a shot at the top 8. Among these were Scott, who was also playing Uril, and Michael Smith's land-destruction deck primed around artifact-based mana sources and the land-ravaging ability of his commander, Numot, the Devastator. Also pulling into 3-1 after a narrow fourth round win was your friendly tournament organizer, playing everyone's favorite treefolk - Doran, the Siege Tower.

Most of the top 8 was decided, but one last spot was up for grabs in a match that pitted Skye, playing Intet, the Dreamer, against Liz, who was playing Karrthus, Tyrant of Jund. Liz's commander prevented Skye from using his, since Karrthus takes control of all dragons when he enters the battlefield. After some additional mana problems from Skye, Liz took the match and became the first person to advance to the top 8 of an event despite not arriving at the tournament until after the first round. The top 8 was set - Mooty, Scott, Bryant, Smith, me, Hunter, Liz, and Jordan - and we were off to Chili's and then the top 8.

FM - Quarterfinals: Scott Record vs. Liz DiGangi

Many thanks to Skye Kutner for doing all of the feature match reports.

This is “Master of Fools” Skye Kutner reporting in from FITSSFF Open Game Day. Here we are in the first round of Top 8 matches for today’s philanthropic Magic event, Commanders Against Cancer. Our first feature match is quarterfinal showdown between Liz “Dragonmaster” DiGangi and Scott Record, who, while having no real nickname, shall henceforth be referred to as Scotty-O’s. Liz’s deck is commanded by the fearsome Karrthus, Tyrant of Jund, while for Scott’s deck we see the Naya superhero Uril, the Miststalker fighting solo, being one of the only creatures in the deck. The match started off with a bit of friendly banter as the combatants prepared their decks with a few quick shuffles.

“Don’t go stealing my dragons,” says Scott.

“Eh, well… no guarantees.” Noncommittal to the extreme, Liz is clearly ready to rock out.

Scott wins the die roll and elects to play first. They cut each other’s decks and draw their starting seven. Liz doesn’t seem thrilled with her hand but offers, “It’s interesting. Considering the deck I’m facing, I need to keep this.” Similarly, Scott mentions that his hand was risky but he decides to keep as well. With a flash and a bang, the game was opened with a steaming bowl of Scotty-O’s and an Ancient Tomb powering out a turn one Gruul Signet (38-40). Liz draws her card, calmly plays a Blood Crypt tapped, unphased by the large amount of mana Scott will inevitably produce, and passes the turn.

Scott plays Skarrg, the Rage Pits, and uses it with the signet to cast a Sylvan Scrying. As he was looks through his library, he flicks past a bunch of color-producing lands until he finds Sunhome, Fortress of the Legion. While his only source of colored mana was his signet, I could tell by the way his brows were furrowed that only one thought was passing through his mind right then: Uril with double strike is freakin’ awesome. He takes the Sunhome, not realizing that would mean he has no white source to activate it or even to cast Uril next turn. “Oh wait…” he starts, as soon as he realizes. “Too late, I guess.”

Liz quietly untapps her Ravnica dual land, plays a Tainted Wood - chirping happily when it is verified that her Blood Crypt counts as the swamp she needs for the Wood to produce green mana - and casts a Gruul Signet of her own before passing the turn. Scott draws his card, shaking his head in disdain upon failing to see a white source. He plays an unintimidating mountain to his otherwise intimidating set of lands and passes the turn back.

Liz readies her best poker face. “I see your Skarrg, the Rage Pits and raise you a Skarrg, the Rage Pits.” Having played her land for the turn, she then tapps out for a Wickerbough Elder and ends her turn. Scott shows her one up by playing the Sunhome he searched for on turn two, but that is his only play.

On Liz’s turn, she plays a Sakura-Tribe Elder, instantly sacrificing it for a mountain. She passes the turn without swinging with the Wickerbough Elder or removing its -1/-1 counter to destroy Scott’s only source of green. This is wonderful news for Scott, as it allows him to cast a Birds of Paradise. While it is his only move this turn, it should allow him – assuming it lives – to start casting more threatening spells, such as his commander. That said, a turn three Uril would have been far more terrifying (and lethal).

On her turn, Liz casts a Rampant Growth to fetch another mountain, then swings for 3 with her Wickerbough Elder (35-40) and passes her turn. Scott plays a Fire-Lit Thicket, happy to be able to make some colored mana, and casts Uril off the tomb, using his birds to produce the white (33-40), then enchants it with a Shield of the Oversoul, which Liz promptly destroys with a Krosan Grip when Scott tries to end his turn. Had the shield stuck, Uril would have been a 9/9 flying monstrosity. Poor Scotty-O would have to settle for a 5/5… for now.

Liz immediately goes on the counteroffensive by playing an Ancient Ziggurat and tapping all but a forest to summon Karrthus and swinging for a very hasty 7 points of damage. (26-40) [7 Karrthus]

Scott untaps, sets down a Shinka, the Bloodsoaked Keep, and casts a Sterling Grove to protect his next batch of auras. He then tries to enchant Uril with a Snake Umbra. Liz uses her final point of mana and her Wickbough Elder’s -1/-1 counter to destroy the grove, but Scott just sacrifices it in response to fetch out another aura. He looks through his deck for a little while, eventually deciding on a Gaea’s Embrace. Satisfied with his first truly productive turn, he swings for 8. Liz tosses her treefolk in the way of the attack and, being the dutiful, wizened creature that it is, explodes into a thousand splinters, all for the greater good.

“Well, that’s nifty,” said Liz after drawing her card for the turn. Liz taps several of her lands, then untaps them, then taps them again until she has a certain six mana floating in her pool. In an instant that mana shapes itself and takes the form of a menacing Primeval Titan, which fetched a Raging Ravine and a Shizo, Death’s Storehouse. Karrthus then tears unopposed through a large swath of Scott’s life total. (19-40) [14 Karrthus]

With only one turn left on the clock, team Scotty-O’s untaps and bravely slams the Gaea’s Embrace down onto the table, making Uril a 13/13 trampling ophidian with super-shroud. The great beast charges forth, but Primeval Titan’s selfless act of sacrifice to preserve its master’s life shows us all one thing: 6/6's make for great meat shields. (19-33) [14 Karrthus, 7 Uril]

While Liz has several ways to get around Scott’s Birds of Paradise to deliver the killing blow, including activating either Skarrg for +1/+1 and trample or Shizo for fear, she instead chooses to end the game with a dramatic Diabolic Tutor, searching her library for a Terror, which scares the poor birds to death. Soon after, Karrthus swoops in for the kill, sending Liz to the semifinals. (12-33) [21 Karrthus, 7 Uril]

FM - Semifinals: Mike Mooty vs. Dominic Casali

On the way to the semifinals, we take a look at the other side of the bracket. The villainous Michael Mooty and the magnanimous Dominic Casali square off for a shot at the title. Whose cuisine will reign supreme? Our two planeswalkers prepare the kitchens as the sidekicks for their culinary Chef de Cuisine. In the first corner, we have Chef Zur, an enchanter with a twisted sense of taste; he fell long ago to the dark side of cooking, brandishing wicked, wicked things such as cilantro, mango salsa, and raspberry vinaigrette. In the other, cleaner and more brightly-lit corner, we have Doran Doran, the Siege Tower Man, whose unique style utilizes many earthy roots and herbs, combined with the natural too-good-to-be-true sweetness of honey, harvested from the hive settling beneath his own boughs.

Not wanting their commanders to get their hands dirty before preparing their meals, Sous-Chefs Mooty and Dom roll to see who would take the first pickings. Mooty wins the initial roll and set to gathering only the freshest of ingredients. Neither player is satisfied with their opening hands of musty lands and soggy creatures, so they both take their free mulligans. Not liking what he found in his next seven either, Mooty exasperatedly sighs, “Really?” and reveals his entire hand to Dom.

“You can just pretend to take a normal mulligan by exiling all seven of your cards,” Dom replies.

“Hmm. I guess I shouldn’t have shown you my whole hand.” Mooty pitches five of his cards and draws a fresher four. After shuffling and cutting Mooty’s deck, both players seem satisfied to begin.

On his first turn, Mooty plays a succulent island and passes the turn. Dom draws his card and sets a very sour Seijiri Steppe onto the grille. “I give Skye protection from White until end of turn.”

“You bastard!” I cry, having risen to my feet before I realize I’ve even moved.

Dom innocently counters with, “But don’t you want protection from white?”

Confused and slightly ashamed, I sit quietly again and let the two continue. Mooty sets down another island, this one a more tangy sort, and taps out for a smooth and creamy Marble Diamond. Dom, for his part, lays out a fairly bitter Verdant Catacombs and passes the turn.

Here, Mooty picks up the pace by playing a Terramorphic Expanse and a Coldsteel Heart naming blue. Dom responds by popping his catacombs for a Murmuring Bosk, while Mooty, without hesitation, pops his expanse for a swamp. Now we’re really cookin’ with fire! (40-39)

Dom lays down a savory swamp, and Doran makes his grand entrance. Despite the Wooden Chef boldly sauntering into the kitchen, Dom appears worried. “I don’t know what I’m going to do here,” he mutters. Hopefully Doran will have a better plan than buckwheat pancakes, because those things are nasty.

Mooty draw and thinks for a while. He sets down an Esper Panorama, as if wondering how it might cleanse the palette in preparation of the first course, and thinks some more. “Take your time,” Dom offers. “It’s an untimed round. Obviously there is some option to consider other than casting Zur.”

As if tempted, or double-dog-dared to do so, Mooty summons the reviled Zur, the Enchanter. In the words of my great uncle… Allez cuisine!

Dom plays a plains and swings for 5 and brings some pain. Be careful not to bite your tongue, silly Frenchman! (35-39) [5 Doran]

Dom then anxiously taps out for a Magus of the Disk, hoping to set Zur’s toque aflame. However, Mooty was ready with a fire extinguisher in the form of a Condescend for 1, which let him scry for 2 and place one the cards he saw on the bottom of his library. “I had to try,” Dom said, then dejectedly muttered under his breath, “I need another land…”

Unfazed by the attempt to sully Zur’s garments, the dastardly duo enchants the head chef with a Vanishing before playing an Orzhov Basilica and returning the panorama to hand. Zur then charges across the kitchen to slap Doran with a fish. What will it be? Salmon? Mahi-mahi? No! It is a Diplomatic Immunity to give himself shroud! Thanks to Doran’s ability, Zur’s 4 toughness makes him hit much harder than usual. (35-35) [5 Doran, 4 Zur]

Dom untaps, beats Zur back to his side of the kitchen stadium with a rolling pin, then casts the mighty meat tenderizer better known as a Behemoth Sledge. Unfortunately, he has no land for the turn and must pass his turn with no further action. (30-38) [10 Doran, 4 Zur]

Mooty casts a Phyrexian Arena and sends Zur across the room once again, this time finding a Solitary Confinement. Oh, what a delicious combo! (30-31) [10 Doran, 8 Zur]

Fortunately for the good guys, Dom topdecks an Eiganjo Castle, which he quickly plays, then casts Krosan Grip to destroy the confinement, making Mooty vulnerable once again. With a quick 1-2, Doran delivers another devastating blow. If this keeps up, Zur might be eating nothing but hospital food for a while. (25-31) [15 Doran, 8 Zur]

Mooty draws two cards and loses a life, thanks to the arena, then sends Zur to the other side of the kitchen, this time to fetch a Story Circle naming green. Is Zur a cook or an errand boy? Either way, Mooty is well-protected once again. (24-27) [15 Doran, 12 Zur]

Dom draws a much-needed land, but it was a Terramorphic Expanse, and the forest he immediately fetched with it entered the battlefield tapped, so, after taking a long, weary look at the white enchantment, Dom passed his turn with no action.

Mooty draws another two cards, then swings with Zur to find an Empyreal Armor, which threatens a lethal blow by granting the enchanter +5/+5 (one boost for each of the 5 cards in his hand). A Rootgrapple from Dom attempts to stem the bleeding, but Mooty is prepared with a Rune Snag. It looks like Doran will be needing a sap transplant soon. Quickly now! Someone fetch up a jar of sugary maple goodness! (23-19) [15 Doran, 20 Zur]

Dom casts a last-ditch Gideon Jura to buy him a turn, but that is all he can do. Mooty draws two more cards and swings at the white planeswalker, fetching a Steel of the Godhead. Gideon has a sudden change of heart as his loyalty drops into the negatives and POOF!! He’s outta here! The Godhead aura’s lifelink sends Mooty’s life total skyrocketing. (32-19)

Team Awesome is standing on its last legs as Dom slowly peels the top card off his library as if it were the Holy Grainana. Unfortunately, a Profane Command isn’t nearly enough to finish off his opponent or even to take down the obscenely beefy Zur. “It’s too late,” Dom says. “Would’ve helped a few turns ago.” He casts a Linvala, Keeper of Silence, and passes. It will do him no good, though, as Zur is currently unblockable.

Mooty draws another two cards, and Zur closes up shop for the night. Mooty has once again tasted sweet, sweet victory, advancing to the finals. But he’d best watch his back: Revenge is a dish best served cold.

FM - Finals: Mike Mooty vs. Hunter Garrett

And here we are, folks! The end of the end. The battle to decide all battles forevermore. (until the next tournament, of course.) Standing face-to-face in a pit of agony and death where so many have fallen before them, we see this night’s boogeyman, Michael Mooty’s seemingly undefeatable Zur the Enchanter set against Hunter Garrett’s mighty Omnath, Locus of Mana in a battle to the death. I was about to ask if Hunter was nervous coming into what would prove to be a vicious bloodbath when he began laughing and said, “I’ve gotten so lucky to make it this far. I don’t think this deck is half bad, but it shouldn’t be this good.” He looked over at Mooty and added, “You’re right where you should be, though.”

Mooty once again wins the die roll and decides to make the first move. I notice Mooty looking over at my screen on occasion in an attempt to find out what I’m writing about him. I tell him he shouldn’t look because I might be writing sensitive information about either side and don’t want to give him any clues as to what the right play might be. He responds by claiming that I might be talking smack about him or writing nonsense that has nothing to do with the truth of the matter. I relent, but decide to punish him get at him in a different sort of way…

The two shuffle their decks and make their cuts. Hunter fumbles with Mooty’s cards and spills them across the table, some face-up. “I guess you need to shuffle again,” Hunter jokes. As Mooty reshuffles his deck he looks over to my screen, only to find the words “MOOTY, IF YOU ARE READING THIS, GO [insert inappropriate action to be performed with an obscure animal]” Mooty bursts into hysterics.

“I’ll keep writing these throughout the match so that you stop reading my screen,” I say.

Bryant pops over and says, “No, he’ll keep reading them and laugh.”

“Then he’ll be distracted,” I reply, “and Hunter will have the edge!”

Mooty gives me a hurt look. “You’re on his side?!”

I give him a look that plainly matches my retort: “Duh. You’re the villain here!”

Once both players have drawn their cards, Mooty decides to keep while Hunter mutters, “I’m not really a fan of this hand, so I’m going to mulligan. I had a Kozilek, but…” before trailing off. Earlier in the tournament, Hunter took a very quick victory off the back of a turn 4 Kozilek. He would need a similar miracle to win here. So Hunter takes his free mulligan. Then, not happy enough with his new hand, he sets three cards aside and draws two more. At last, the battle commences.

Mooty plays first turn Marsh Flats and instantly sacrifices it for a plains. (39-40)

Hunter starts off by playing a forest and casting a Birds of Paradise. This could mean something exciting is waiting in the wings.

Mooty plays a Scaldimg Tarn and, before ending his turn, sacrifices it for an island and then casts a Sky Diamond. (38-40)

Hunter, for his turn, plays another forest and casts Omnath.

Mooty untaps, then casts a Prismatic Lens and a Sphere of the Suns. “We both missed our land drops,” Mooty comments.

Hunter gives him a level gaze and responds, “No, that was only my second turn.” Whoops.

Ready to take his turn, Hunter untaps, then plays another forest and taps all of his mana sources for 4 green mana. Omnath swings in for 5 before Hunter spends the mana to cast a Cultivate and suspend a Search for Tomorrow. Hunter ends his turn with Omnath once again an unassuming 1/1. (33-40) [5 Omnath]

Mooty stares at his landless hand for a while, then draws his card and, with a mix of disappointed surprise and matter-of-factness, says, “Really.” He casts an Everflowing Chalice, kicked twice, and ends his turn. Hunter untaps, plays another forest, then taps all his lands and his birds to swing for what would have been 6 damage… if not for Mooty’s interfering Path to Exile targeting the commander. Hunter’s mana dissipates harmlessly (Oh, mana burn, how we miss you so!) and he passes his turn.

Mooty decides to be boring and play a Drowned Catacombs. Then he decides to be a jerk and casts Zur, the Enchanter before ending his turn. Hunter untaps again, then during his upkeep casts Search for Tomorrow off of suspend. “Counter?” Hunter asks curiously.

Mooty just laughs. “No.” Hunter searches for a forest, then in his main phase casts Strata Scythe. Mooty laughs again and says, “Yeah, that’s okay.” Hunter promptly exiles a forest and equips the scythe to the birds. Mooty’s eye bugs out when the colorful mana-maker bashes in for 7. “I wasn’t expecting you to equip it to that thing.” (26-40)

Zur swings on Mooty’s turn and, after much deliberation, finds a Diplomatic Immunity. “I was thinking of trying something different, like Declaration of Naught naming Omnath.” (26-39) [5 Omnath, 1 Zur]

Hunter casts an Explore, plays his first forest of the turn, then casts Land Grant by revealing his hand so he can find another forest. In doing so, he revealed a Rampaging Baloths, a Green Sun’s Zenith, and a Baru, Fist of Krosa. He casts Baru, and then sends the birds charging in with its gigantic scythe in its beak. Unfortunately for Hunter, his birds decide to take the scythe to the farmland as Mooty shows him a Swords to Plowshares. (26-48)

Mooty untaps, then swings and finds a Solitary Confinement to invalidate any realistic form of offense Hunter might try to muster. (26-47) [5 Omnath, 2 Zur]

On his turn, Hunter attempts to recast Omnath, but is foiled by a Thoughtbind. He equips the scythe to Baru and passes. During his upkeep, Mooty discards an Eel Umbra to Solitary Confinement, then swings and fetches an Ophidian Eye so that he can have extra cards to pitch to the Confinement. (26-46) [5 Omnath, 3 Zur]

Hunter casts Omnath for the third time this game, and he resolves. Having nothing else to do, he passes the turn. Mooty discards a Skycloud Expanse to the Confinement, then swings. Hunter taps 4 mana, presumable to make Omnath bigger, as Zur fetches a Phyrexian Arena. “Hmm… you have no nonbasic lands,” Mooty mutters. (26-45) [5 Omnath, 4 Zur]

“Is that relevant?” Hunter asks. At this point, Mooty finally looks over at my screen again and sees, in giant letters, “MOOTY, YOU’RE GONNA LOSE,” and, “MOOTY YOU’RE GOING TO RECEIVE A PACKAGE IN THE MAIL… A BOX OF FAIL.”

Hunter casts a Green Sun’s Zenith for 4 and Mooty taps some lands. “Umm…” Mooty starts.

“That’s probably a counterspell,” Hunter says.

“That’s probably a Cloudthresher,” Mooty replies.

“For four?” We all have a good laugh at Mooty’s expense. He gets the last laugh, though, as he casts Cancel to counter it. Hunter then settles to “just” have a Rampaging Baloths, then plays a forest to make a 4/4 beast token. Unfortunately, he still has no way to punch through the Confinement and passes the turn.

Mooty draws a card off of the Arena, then discards an Arcane Sanctum. He swings with Zur once again, and while he’s searching for his enchantment, a comment from the peanut gallery convinces him to play more conservatively than he was otherwise planning to. He decides to take a Greater Auramancy. The only thing Hunter can do on his turn is equip the Strata Scythe to Omnath. (25-44) [5 Omnath, 5 Zur]

Mooty draws another card from the Arena, then discards a Power Sink –

“Because I’ll just be able to pay for it,” Hunter suggests.

“Erm… yeah, exactly.”

Mooty casts a land tax, then swings at Hunter yet again, this time fetching Steel of the Godhead. Hunter flashes in a Cloudthresher and jokes, “In response, block.” On Hunter’s turn, he casts a Mosstodon and a Whispersilk Cloak, but ultimately passes his turn without any relevant action. (25-40) [5 Omnath, 8 Zur]

On Mooty’s upkeep, he uses the Land Tax to search for two islands and a plains, then discards a plains for the Confinement. He swings and and searches out a Daybreak Coronet, then passes his turn. (30-33) [5 Omnath, 14 Zur]

On his final turn of the game, all Hunter could do was equip his Whispersilk Cloak to Omnath. Like most people throughout the day, there really wasn’t anything they could do to fight back. After dealing with all of his upkeep shenanigans, Mooty swung in and grabbed an Emypreal Armor to finish off his hapless opponent.

Congratulation, Michael Mooty! You are our champion, our shining star, our traveller of the multiverse who will bring joy and healing to all the sick peoples of our many worlds! Or so we’d say, but playing broken cards won't cure cancer. Oh well. Maybe next year…

Final Commander Results & Standings Update

After factoring in the Top 8 Playoff results, here are the final standings:

1. Zur the Enchanter by Mike Mooty

2. Omnath, Locus of Mana by Hunter Garrett

3. Doran, the Siege Tower by Dominic Casali

4. Karrthus, Tyrant of Jund by Liz DiGangi

5. Uril, the Miststalker by Scott Record

6. Uril, the Miststalker by Bryant Benson

7. Numot, the Devastator by Michael Smith

8. Ashling, the Pilgrim by Jordan Arnold

It's looking like we might have another two-horse race for the regular season points title this semester, but it's neither of the two who were in it last semester! Here are the updated League Standings:

1. 53 - Michael Carney (12)

2. 50 - Hunter Garrett (8)

3. 39 - Jason D'Mellow (6)

4. 36 - Michael Smith (10)

5. 34 - Liz DiGangi (9)

6. 33 - Chris Pear (10)

7. 33 - Bryant Benson (6)

8. 32 - Kevin Hoover (11)

9. 32 - Skye Kutner (8)

10. 30 - Noah Senzel (10)

11. 28 - Dane Newton (7)

12. 26 - Joe Hammond (9)

13. 26 - Jordan Arnold (6)

14. 25 - John Kreinbring (9)

15. 25 - Kevin Crowley (7)

16. 24 - Scott Record (6)

17. 19 - Mike Mooty (3)

18. 16 - Roy Mustang (9)

19. 12 - Hannah Sharp (4)

20. 11 - Max Kruger (5)

21. 11 - Will Sturges (4)

22. 10 - Anna Hallahan (4)

23. 10 - Helen Croce (1)

24. 9 - Haren Lalchand (3)

25. 8 - Alex Kerns (3)

26. 7 - Michael Cambata (3)

27. 7 - Alycia Johnson (1)

28. 6 - Steven Nelson (4)

29. 6 - Ethan Pepmiller (3)

30. 6 - Alex Siphom Chi (2)

31. 5 - Tyler Deforge (4)

31. 5 - Richie Harper (4)

33. 4 - Joe Kozlowski (3)

34. 4 - Emile Paul (2)

35. 4 - Jason Navarro (1)

36. 3 - David Jacobsen (2)

37. 3 - Andrew Capik (1)

38. 2 - Nick Catalfano (1)

38. 2 - Will Siu (1)

40. 1 - Gus Bora (1)

40. 1 - Joao Alberto de Faria (1)

40. 1 - Dan Gorelik (1)

40. 1 - Megan Moreno (1)

40. 1 - Glen Parker (1)

40. 1 - Ryan Ripper (1)

40. 1 - Greg Voskuhl (1)

Thanks to everyone who came out for the event. We raised $45 for the FITSSFF Relay for Life team, and also exposed many people to Open Game Day that hadn't been to one before. Now that many of you have gotten to try going to one, I'm going to try my best to avoid scheduling any more Magic events on OGD's so that people can go and enjoy everything else they have to offer (I didn't even want to do it this time, but there were no other alternatives). See you at Mirrodin Besieged Game Day next week (rides will be available; I'll explain it in an email)!

- Dom

Emperor Draft Results

To celebrate the work of our former U.S. presidents, 18 players met at the SUB to spend some dead presidents on colored pieces of cardboard. In defiance of our history as a democratic society, we decided to go back to the Middle Ages and bust out some generals and emperors. Teams of three dueled in a variety of complex situations that involved owners, controllers, lines of sight, and a proliferation of other rules quandaries.

I'm too busy and time-constrained to write anything else creative, so here's who won:

2/21/11 Top Finishers: MBS-MBS-SOM Emperor Draft

1. 3-0 Jordan Arnold, Bryant Benson, & Michael Carney

2. 2-1 Hunter Garrett, Mike Mooty, & Scott Record

3. 2-1 Kevin Hoover, Skye Kutner, & Dane Newton

I promise for a much, much better write up after Commanders vs. Cancer next weekend. Here are the updated league standings:

1. 51 - Michael Carney (11)

2. 41 - Hunter Garrett (7)
3. 39 - Jason D'Mellow (6)

4. 32 - Michael Smith (9)

4. 32 - Chris Pear (9)

6. 30 - Kevin Hoover (10)

7. 29 - Skye Kutner (7)

8. 28 - Dane Newton (7)

9. 28 - Bryant Benson (5)

10. 27 - Noah Senzel (9)

11. 27 - Liz DiGangi (8)

12. 25 - Joe Hammond (8)

13. 25 - Kevin Crowley (7)

14. 23 - Jordan Arnold (5)

15. 22 - John Kreinbring (8)

16. 18 - Scott Record (5)

17. 15 - Roy Mustang (8)

18. 12 - Hannah Sharp (4)

19. 11 - Max Kruger (5)

20. 11 - Will Sturges (4)

21. 10 - Anna Hallahan (4)

22. 10 - Helen Croce (1)

23. 9 - Haren Lalchand (3)

24. 9 - Mike Mooty (2)

25. 8 - Alex Kerns (3)

26. 7 - Michael Cambata (3)

27. 7 - Alycia Johnson (1)

28. 6 - Steven Nelson (4)

29. 6 - Ethan Pepmiller (3)

30. 6 - Alex Siphom Chi (2)

31. 5 - Tyler Deforge (4)

32. 4 - Emile Paul (2)

33. 4 - Jason Navarro (1)

34. 3 - Richie Harper (3)

35. 3 - Joe Kozlowski (2)

35. 3 - David Jacobsen (2)

37. 3 - Andrew Capik (1)

38. 2 - Nick Catalfano (1)

38. 2 - Will Siu (1)

40. 1 - Gus Bora (1)

40. 1 - Joao Alberto de Faria (1)

40. 1 - Dan Gorelik (1)

40. 1 - Megan Moreno (1)

40. 1 - Glen Parker (1)

40. 1 - Ryan Ripper (1)

40. 1 - Greg Voskuhl (1)

I hope to see lots of you at the Commander event Saturday! Note that it will be in Crawford 402 and not in the Hartley Room, as Open Game Day had to be moved due to extenuating circumstances. Have a great week!

- Dom

Pauper Results & League Standings Update

A total of 15 players put aside their rares and mythics and broke out the commons for the weekend's Pauper event. It was an event filled with mild synergies, gimped mana bases, and overcosted finishers, but despite the reduction in power it seemed like most of the players found it extremely fun:

2/13/11 Top Finishers: "Old-Extended" Pauper

1. 4-0 RG Ramp/LD by Liz DiGangi

2. 3-1 UW Ninja Turtle Control by Dominic Casali

3. 3-1 Pauper Jund by Michael Smith

4. 3-1 Esper Aggro by Chris Pear

A slightly lower turnout required only four rounds of Swiss, and halfway through the event there were four decks sitting at 2-0. Liz, who was playing red/green ramp and land destruction, was paired up against Noah, who was piloting green/white aggro, and Michael Smith, with a common variant of Jund, was paired up against yours truly, who was playing a blue white control deck Hunter produced the clever moniker of "Ninja Turtles" for, as the deck was sporting Calcite Snapper and Ninja of the Deep Hours.

After Liz and I advanced to the final round, we dueled in an extremely long first game filled with lands and 1/4's. Eventually, Citanul Woodreaders and Convertible Turtles were trumped by the appearance of Ulamog's Crusher from Liz's side of the table. Eventually, with some annihilator triggers and the help of an incorrectly tapped Plains, the Crusher was able to bring down the first game. Following my mulligan to four in the second game, the event was over shortly thereafter.

Here is the latest standings update, including both Pauper and the Beginner's Draft:

1. 42 - Michael Carney (10)

2. 39 - Jason D'Mellow (6)

3. 34 - Hunter Garrett (6)

4. 31 - Chris Pear (8)

5. 29 - Michael Smith (8)

6. 25 - Kevin Hoover (9)

7. 25 - Joe Hammond (8)

7. 25 - Noah Senzel (8)

9. 24 - Liz DiGangi (7)

10. 24 - Skye Kutner (6)

10. 23 - Dane Newton (6)

12. 22 - Kevin Crowley (6)

13. 20 - John Kreinbring (7)

14. 19 - Bryant Benson (4)

15. 14 - Jordan Arnold (4)

16. 13 - Roy Mustang (7)

17. 12 - Hannah Sharp (4)

18. 11 - Scott Record (4)

18. 11 - Will Sturges (4)

20. 10 - Max Kruger (4)

20. 10 - Anna Hallahan (4)

22. 10 - Helen Croce (1)

23. 9 - Haren Lalchand (3)

24. 8 - Alex Kerns (3)

25. 7 - Michael Cambata (3)

26. 7 - Alycia Johnson (1)

27. 6 - Steven Nelson (4)

28. 6 - Ethan Pepmiller (3)

29. 6 - Alex Siphom Chi (2)

30. 5 - Tyler Deforge (4)

31. 4 - Emile Paul (2)

32. 4 - Jason Navarro (1)

33. 3 - Richie Harper (3)

34. 3 - Joe Kozlowski (2)

34. 3 - David Jacobsen (2)

36. 3 - Andrew Capik (1)

37. 2 - Nick Catalfano (1)

37. 2 - Will Siu (1)

39. 1 - Gustavo Bora (1)

39. 1 - Joao Alberto de Faria (1)

39. 1 - Dan Gorelik (1)

39. 1 - Megan Moreno (1)

39. 1 - Glen Parker (1)

39. 1 - Ryan Ripper (1)

39. 1 - Greg Voskuhl (1)

Thanks for reading and check back in the coming days for information about Emperor draft, Commander, and the schedule of events for March!

- Dom

Updated Commander (EDH) Rules and Ban List

Here are the updated Commander (formerly called Elder Dragon Highlander or EDH) rules and banned cards:

1. To make your EDH deck, first choose a Legendary creature to be your commander.

2. You may only play cards in your deck that are contained in your commander's color(s) or are colorless. This means you may only play hybrid symboled or multicolored cards in your deck if your commander contains all of those colors. For example, if your commander is Wrexial, the Risen Deep (blue/black), you can play Memory Plunder and Agony Warp, but you cannot play Unmake or Terminate.

3. You may play cards that have activated abilities that are not in your commander's colors. For example, if your commander is Omnath, Locus of Mana (green), you can play Cavern Thoctar in your deck even though its ability costs red mana (this is a change from previous rules).

4. You cannot generate mana outside of your commander's colors. Any mana of disallowed colors that would be generated produces colorless mana instead. For example, if your commander is Kaervek, the Merciless (black/red) and you sacrifice a Composite Golem, you would add 3BR to your mana pool instead of WUBRG.

5. Your deck must contain exactly 100 cards, including your commander. You may use a different colored sleeve for your commander so that you can keep it separate from your deck, but keep a sleeve of the color of the rest of your deck handy in case your commander gets shuffled into your deck or bounced to your hand (see rule #7).

6. You may cast your commander at sorcery speed from your command zone, which is where it begins the game. However, your commander will cost two additional mana each time you cast it from the command zone. For example, if your commander is Brigid, Hero of Kinsbaile (mana cost 2WW), she will cost 4WW the second time you cast her, 6WW the third time you cast her, and so on.

7. If your commander would be exiled or put into a graveyard, you may choose to have it returned to the command zone instead (this is a replacement effect). Note that this does not apply to having your commander returned to your hand or put into your library.

8. This is a singleton format - i.e. you may only have one copy of each card in your deck except for basic lands.

9. Players start at 40 life. A player wins the game if his or her commander deals 21 or more combat damage, or by any of the other usual methods, such as reducing the opponent's life total to zero, using an alternate win the game clause such as Test of Endurance, or milling the opponent's library such that they cannot draw a card when required to do so.

10. Matches will only consist of one game, so conventional sideboarding will not occur. However, you may bring a 15 card sideboard if your deck plays cards that search for "card(s) you control outside the game," such as Glittering Wish and Spawnsire of Ulamog.

11. Players will receive one free mulligan per game, though they may choose to waive this and proceed directly to the Paris mulligans if desired. Afterward the free mulligan, they will be required to use the Paris mulligan style, which involves exiling X cards from the hand and then drawing (X-1) cards from the library any number of times, followed by shuffling the exiled cards back into the library.

12. Players may not proxy cards (this is a change from previous rules).

13. All cards are legal except for the ones in Unhinged and Unglued, plus the following cards, which are banned:

Banned Commanders (these can be played in decks, just not as commanders):

- Braids, Cabal Minion

- Erayo, Soratami Ascendant

- Memnarch

- Rofellos, Llanowar Emissary

- Vendilion Clique

Banned Cards:

- Ancestral Recall

- Balance

- Biorhythm

- Black Lotus

- Channel

- Chaos Orb

- Coalition Victory

- Crucible of Worlds

- Emrakul, the Aeons Torn

- Falling Star

- Fastbond

- Felidar Sovereign

- Gifts Ungiven

- Intuition

- Karakas

- Kokusho, the Evening Star

- Library of Alexandra

- Limited Resources

- Lion's Eye Diamond

- Mana Crypt

- Metalworker

- Mind Twist

- Mindslaver

- Mox Emerald

- Mox Jet

- Mox Pearl

- Mox Ruby

- Mox Sapphire

- Necropotence

- Painter's Servant

- Panoptic Mirror

- Protean Hulk

- Recurring Nightmare

- Sensei's Divining Top

- Serra Ascendant

- Shahrazad

- Sol Ring

- Staff of Domination

- Sundering Titan

- Sway of the Stars

- Test of Endurance

- Timetwister

- Time Walk

- Time Vault

- Tinker

- Tolarian Academy

- Upheaval

- Worldgorger Dragon

- Yawgmoth's Bargain

- Anything with the word "Ante" in it (such as Tempest Efreet)

I am using a fairly extensive ban list because this is supposed to be a fundraising event that is fairly casual should be a lot of fun for players, and I don't want people to build something obnoxious that is not fun to play against. Time is also a major concern with this list, as these games tend to go long, which is why cards that are not particularly overpowered, but make the game take significantly longer, like Shahrazad, Sensei's Divining Top, and Sway of the Stars are banned.

Commander is supposed to be a social format that exhibits relatively low-key competition when compared to other constructed formats like Standard and Legacy, so keep this in mind while building your deck. The Commander event will be Saturday, February 26. Let me know if you have any questions.

- Dom

Pauper Event Rules

These are the rules for our "Old-Extended" Pauper event this weekend. It's pretty simple, really. Decks must contain a minimum of 60 cards, all of which are of the common rarity, and all of which are legal in Old Extended. Old Extended includes the following sets and blocks:

- Core Sets: 9th Edition, 10th Edition, Magic 2010, Magic 2011

- Kamigawa Block: Champions, Betrayers, and Saviors of Kamigawa

- Ravnica Block: Ravnica, Guildpact, and Dissension

- Time Spiral Block: Time Spiral, Planar Chaos, and Future Sight

- Cold Snap

- Lorwyn Block: Lorwyn, Morningtide, Shadowmoor, and Eventide

- Alara Block: Shards of Alara, Conflux, and Alara Reborn

- Zendikar Block: Zendikar, Worldwake, and Rise of the Eldrazi

- Scars Block: Scars of Mirrodin and Mirrodin Besieged

For legality purposes, a card is considered common if it is printed as a common in at least one set that is legal in Old Extended. For example, Act of Treason was printed as an uncommon in M10 and as a common in M11. Since Act of Treason is common in a set that is legal for the event, Act of Treason may be played. Conversely, Tanglebloom was a common in Mirrodin but uncommon in 9th Edition. Since Tanglebloom was not printed as a common in a set that is legal for this event, Tanglebloom may not be played.

Finally, Timeshifted cards (from Time Spiral) are considered common if and only if they were common in their most recent printing prior to Time Spiral. For example, Disenchant was printed as a common in 7th Edition, which is the last time it was printed prior to Time Spiral. Therefore, Disenchant may be played in this event. On the other hand, Craw Giant cannot be played because it was uncommon in its most recent printing (5th Edition), event though it was a common when it was printed two years earlier in Chronicles.

That should be everything, if you're not sure if something is legal or not, just send me an email. I hope to see many of you this weekend!

- Dom

Two-Headed Giant Sealed Results

Back by popular demand, 26 players arrived at the SUB to commemorate the release of Mirrodin Besieged and to embark on a mythbusting quest to discover whether two heads really are better than one. After splitting into 13 teams of 2, we did battle over the course of four rounds of Swiss using combined 8-pack sealed pools of half Scars of Mirrodin and half Mirrodin Besieged.

An early contender emerged in the team of Kevin Hoover and newcomer Jason Navarro, who had just met a few minutes before opening their pool, pulled a slew of chase rares and mythics in their packs, earning the ire of some other teams. They started with a stunning defeat of the daunting pair of the fire extinguisher and snack rack. I asked Kevin how his team achieved this victory, and he explained, "it wasn't really as bad as it sounds - in fact, it felt strangely like a bye." A more conventional win in the second round put them into the third round undefeated.

However, the defending champions had something to say about that, and the winners of the last Two-Headed Giant event, Bryant and Helen, put a stop to Kevin and Jason's bid in a whirlwind of poison counters. But it was ultimately Hunter and Kevin Crowley, backed by the combined power of blue and black suns and a guest appearance by a fellow known as Koth of the Hammer, who were the lone team at the end of the day with a 4-0 record. The top finishers are shown below:

1. 4-0 Kevin Crowley & Hunter Garrett

2. 3-1 Bryant Benson & Helen Croce

3. 3-1 Skye Kutner & Dane Newton

4. 3-1 Joe Hammond & Alycia Johnson

5. 3-1 Anna Hallahan & Will Sturges

Sorry for not having their decks next to their names like I usually do, but it's sealed. You play your rares and removal spells and hope your opponents get mana screwed...I kid, but I was busy losing most of the day and didn't have time to track down what they were all playing. I'll try to remedy this at future limited events, but I must say that it's a lot easier to describe a constructed deck (as I can say something like "blue/white control" or "goblins" or "Valakut ramp" and you know exactly what I'm talking about - describing a limited deck is much harder since they're obviously going to be less streamlined and synergistic). Add in the fact that sealed events are the most challenging to run to begin with, and once you throw in the 2HG rules questions and such, it can easily get hard to manage.

Anyhow, this event has given us yet another League Points shakeup, and it looks like the battle for the top 8 is going to be much more intense than it was last semester! Here are the latest standings:

1. 39 - Michael Carney (8)

2. 39 - Jason D'Mellow (6)

3. 32 - Hunter Garrett (5)

4. 24 - Chris Pear (6)

5. 23 - Joe Hammond (6)

6. 22 - Kevin Hoover (7)

7. 22 - Kevin Crowley (6)

8. 22 - Dane Newton (5)

9. 21 - Michael Smith (6)

9. 21 - Noah Senzel (6)

11. 19 - John Kreinbring (6)

12. 19 - Bryant Benson (4)

12. 19 - Skye Kutner (4)

14. 14 - Liz DiGangi (5)

15. 13 - Jordan Arnold (3)

16. 11 - Roy Mustang (5)

17. 11 - Scott Record (4)

18. 10 - Max Kruger (4)

19. 10 - Will Sturges (3)

20. 10 - Hannah Sharp (2)

21. 10 - Helen Croce (1)

22. 9 - Anna Hallahan (3)

23. 8 - Alex Kerns (3)

24. 7 - Michael Cambata (3)

25. 7 - Alycia Johnson (1)

26. 6 - Steven Nelson (4)

27. 6 - Alex Siphom Chi (2)

28. 4 - Tyler Deforge (3)

29. 4 - Haren Lalchand (2)

29. 4 - Emile Paul (2)

29. 4 - Ethan Pepmiller (2)

32. 4 - Jason Navarro (1)

33. 3 - Joe Kozlowski (2)

34. 3 - Andrew Capik (1)

35. 2 - Richie Harper (2)

36. 2 - Nick Catalfano (1)

36. 2 - David Jacobsen (1)

36. 2 - Will Siu (1)

39. 1 - Gustavo Bora (1)

39. 1 - Joao Alberto de Faria (1)

39. 1 - Megan Moreno (1)

39. 1 - Glen Parker (1)

39. 1 - Ryan Ripper (1)

39. 1 - Greg Voskuhl (1)

With only 5 points separating 4th and 13th, I think this is going to be a pretty interesting race. I'll post some details about the Pauper format for next week as well as rules and the banlist for Commander (a.k.a. The Artist Formerly Known as EDH). We'll also have the Beginner's M11 Draft next week, so let me know if you're interested in either playing or helping the newer players. It should be a fun weekend coming up. Have a great week!

- Dom

Prerelease Standings Update

Below are the latest standings update that includes League Points earned for attending prerelease events. Note that the Two-Headed Giant parity rules are not based on this version of the standings, but the previous one that you can find here: http://fitssffmagic.blogspot.com/2011/01/final-standard-results-standings-update.html. For more details, see my email about the 2HG event. Here are the standings through 7 events:

1. 39 - Jason D'Mellow (6)

2. 36 - Michael Carney (7)

3. 22 - Chris Pear (5)

4. 20 - Hunter Garrett (4)

5. 19 - Noah Senzel (5)

6. 18 - Kevin Hoover (6)

7. 18 - Michael Smith (5)

8. 17 - John Kreinbring (5)

9. 16 - Joe Hammond (5)

10. 13 - Dane Newton (4)

11. 13 - Jordan Arnold (3)

12. 11 - Liz DiGangi (4)

12. 11 - Scott Record (4)

14. 10 - Kevin Crowley (5)

15. 10 - Max Kruger (4)

16. 10 - Skye Kutner (3)

17. 9 - Roy Mustang (4)

18. 9 - Bryant Benson (3)

19. 8 - Alex Kerns (3)

20. 7 - Hannah Sharp (1)

21. 6 - Alex Siphom Chi (2)

22. 5 - Michael Cambata (2)

23. 4 - Tyler Deforge (3)

23. 4 - Steven Nelson (3)

24. 4 - Haren Lalchand (2)

24. 4 - Emile Paul (2)

24. 4 - Will Sturges (2)

27. 3 - Anna Hallahan (2)

27. 3 - Joe Kozlowski (2)

29. 2 - Richie Harper (2)

30. 2 - Nick Catalfano (1)

30. 2 - Ethan Pepmiller (1)

30. 2 - Will Siu (1)

33. 1 - Gustavo Bora (1)

33. 1 - Joao Alberto de Fario (1)

33. 1 - Megan Moreno (1)

33. 1 - Glen Parker (1)

33. 1 - Ryan Ripper (1)

33. 1 - Greg Voskuhl (1)

If you don't feel you received the correct amount of points, please send me an email and tell me what you feel you should've gotten so that I can compare it to my records and make sure you receive the correct amount. See you Sunday!

- Dom

2-Headed Giant Sealed Scheduling Change

The 2-Headed Giant event for this weekend will now be on SUNDAY, Feb. 6, not Saturday 2/5 as stated in the previous schedule and email I sent out yesterday. Sorry for the late notice, but I just found out a couple hours ago that I will be out of town with my family on Saturday.

Also, the event will begin at 12:30 PM instead of 11:30 AM, though you can arrive and start opening your packs as early as noon. The entry fees, format, and other Magic-related details are still the same.

Dom

February Events

First off, let me mention that I have most of the Prerelease points update done, but I'm missing data from one of the stores and I'll have an updated standings posted later in the week.

I have posted the February events on the Upcoming Events section of the site, which you can see in the top right corner of the page. This weekend will be our first Mirrodin Besieged limited event - the return of the wildly popular phenomenon known as Two-Headed Giant Sealed. Note that the parity rule from last semester will still be in effect, so players with 10 League Points or more cannot team up with another player with 10 points or more. The standings used for this requirement can be found here: http://fitssffmagic.blogspot.com/2011/01/final-standard-results-standings-update.html.

Next weekend will be the beginner's draft and this semester's Pauper (all commons) event. The legal sets are going to be what I call "Old Extended." This refers to what would have been legal in Extended had Wizards not changed the format last summer. The legal sets include Kamigawa Block, 9th Edition, and everything printed since (including Cold Snap). I'll post more information about this next week.

The third weekend of the month we will have an event on President's Day (2/21), as I will be spending Saturday and Sunday in Columbia visiting the University of South Carolina. This will be an all-inclusive Limited day, where we will have groups for draft, sealed, and any other oddball limited format you might want to play.

The last weekend of the month will be this semester's Relay for Life fundraiser, which I'm going to market as "Commanders vs. Cancer." Commander is the new name for EDH, and I'll post lots of details on this fun format in the coming weeks. Let me know if you have any questions and I hope we have a great month of February!

- Dom