Hello again everyone,

The Stafford Shards of Alara Release Event went well with a good
turnout of 24 players. After five rounds of Swiss our champion was
Jonathan Randle, well done Jonathan! Everyone received Shards
boosters, promo cards and some lovely alternate art Jace prints. The
special shard rule in force prompted some player feedback and I hope
that these players will in turn send this on to Colin Smith as I’m
sure that Colin would appreciate the feedback. Our top eight was
dominated by Naya and Jund players with the other three shards far
less popular.

We ran one draft after the main event which was won by Baljeet Samra,
well done Baljeet!

In other news, Ticket to Ride the card game was enjoyed by the event
staff. Pete was 3-0 for the weekend. Ho hum.

Want is the latest www.magicgeek.co.uk news?

Well, Shards of Alara has hit and has so far proven to be extremely
popular. Single cards are now on the website but you already know that
if you have a customer account and signed up to receive the
newsletter. Mythic Rares do seem to be quite elusive, averaging about
4 to a box of boosters but all are currently in stock.

On to the next event:

BIRMINGHAM ALL DAY STANDARD EVENT SATURDAY 11th OF OCTOBER 2008

This date in the calendar was booked as one of two possible dates for
the upcoming PTQ Kyoto which is instead happening in November. As a
result I have a spare date and I wondered what to do with it. I
decided that in a flood of limited events, a standard challenge day
might be something that people might want to take part in. As usual,
Standard Challenge works like this: You pay an entrance fee of £5 for
the day and from there you enter as many 8 player single elimination
standard events as possible from 09:30 when I open until I close at
about 6 to 7pm. Booster prizes are awarded to the finalists in each
event. Booster drafts will also be available for those wishing to take
part.

As a special incentive to arrive early to get the day going as quickly
as possible, those players that arrive before 10:30am and pay to enter
the Standard Challenge Day will receive one free Shards of Alara
booster.

As a second incentive, players involved in the Standard Challenge Day
can get a special £2 discount from their first draft of the day.

Hope to see you there!

Here are the usual event details:

BIRMINGHAM ALL DAY STANDARD EVENT SATURDAY 11th OF OCTOBER 2008

VENUE: Quality Hotel Birmingham, 166 Hagley Road, Birmingham, West
Midlands, England B16 9NZ

The venue is probably only about 15 minutes from the city centre
easily accessible from New Street Station. Road links are very good
from the M6 and the M5 as you will see on the map.

If you are travelling by car, there is parking for over a hundred cars
but most of the spaces are at the back of the hotel. Drive towards the
red barrier at the right hand side of the venue and it will
automatically open. Parking is free if you have used the hotel
facilities, so there will be no parking charge for players attending
the event.

PUBLIC TRANSPORT: According to locals, as far as trains are concerned,
it's quicker to go to Five Ways station if possible, walk to the Five
Ways shopping centre and then just walk down Hagley Road. From New
Street Station the 128 and the 129 buses from Corporation Street (1
min walk from New Street) go down the Hagley Road (and I'm sure there
must be others too). If you are travelling by train and you are
running late I'd suggest just getting a taxi to the venue. I suspect
that it is less than a 10 minute drive from New Street Station.

Website: http://www.quality-hotels-birmingham.com/

Directions: These are available from the Hotel's website:

http://www.quality-hotels-birmingham.com/details/GB605%20large%20map.jpg

START TIME: Enrolment from 9:30am onwards.

FORMAT: The format for the event is Standard Constructed.

Rules Enforcement Level: 1

ENTRY FEE: £5.00 for main event

Cost of entry includes as many Standard events as you manage to enter!

PRIZES: Per 8 player event.


SIDE EVENTS: Triple Shards of Alara Booster Draft side events
available all day long.

ENTRY FEE: £8.00 for Booster Drafts (12 Boosters as prizes split
5/3/2/2)

TO PRE-REGISTER FOR AN EVENT:

Send an e-mail to this address: stephen DOT avann AT ntlworld DOT com
with your FULL NAME and DCI NUMBER (If you have one) BEFORE 5:30PM on
the FRIDAY NIGHT before the events, as this is the last time that I
will check my e-mail before the tournament. Alternatively I can be
contacted on my mobile from 6:30pm until 10pm on the following number:
07989201808. Please don’t try to phone me before 6:30pm as I will be
busy.

Hope to see you at the event,

Steve

PTQ Kyoto

As I will be limiting this event to 96 players I think that early pre-
registration to guarantee your place in the event is essential. Pre-
registration is now open so please feel free to contact me with your
name and DCI number to reserve your space.

Big Bag Draft

Similarly, as this event is limited to 40 players I think that early
pre-registration to guarantee your place in the event is essential.
Pre-registration is now open so please feel free to contact me with
your name and DCI number to reserve your space in what is usually one
of the most fun events of the year. As well as the usual boosters, a
trophy and bragging rights, this year’s winner will also receive a
sealed set of the extremely hard to track down From the Vault: Dragons
that I have squirreled away for this event. Mmmmmmm….. foil goodness.

The Big Bag Draft marks the end of my events for 2008 and is always a
great day as we look back over the past year’s campaign.

Thanks for reading,

Steve

FUTURE EVENTS 2008

November – Saturday 8th – Birmingham – PTQ Kyoto

The November Birmingham event has been confirmed as my PTQ slot for
Kyoto. Pre-registration is open now for those of you that want to get
in early and book your place.

November – Sunday 16th – Stafford – Big Bag Draft

The Big Bag Draft is the usual way to end the year. This year in
response to player demand I have moved this iconic event into November
so that players can manage to fit it in around the demands of the
festive season. This year the places will be limited to probably about
40 players so when registration opens for the event make sure you get
your name down as soon as possible.

NOTE: I have a set of From the Vault: Dragons to give away as part of
the prize fund for this event!

December – No events are currently booked for December.

FUTURE EVENTS 2009

January – Saturday 31st – Birmingham – Conflux Pre Release
February – Sunday 1st – Stafford – Conflux Pre Release

The first events of 2009 are the Pre-Releases for the second set in
the Shards block, Conflux. It may seem a long way away but try to get
these events in your diaries now! More details as they appear.

February – Sunday 8th – Stafford – Conflux Release

As usual the Release event will take place on Sunday at Stafford. This
is the first chance to buy Conflux singles, boosters, boxes, intro
packs and fat packs.