Hello, again,

Well, Zendikar has arrived and despite furious booster opening at both
Stafford and Birmingham the closest we got to hidden treasure was the
Anglo-Saxon gold on display at the Birmingham museum. We had great
player participation both days with 61 players at Birmingham and then
50 players at Stafford. We had first time trophy winners at both
events, with Manveer Samra winning at Birmingham and Garon Coles
winning at Stafford. Well done to both players! On the judging front,
Pete and Nigel head judged an event each day and Ed Miles joined the
judging team for the first time, helping Pete in Birmingham. My thanks
as usual to all the judges without whom these events would be
impossible.

Now on to the Zendikar Launch Party details:

STAFFORD ZENDIKAR LAUNCH PARTY SUNDAY 4th OF OCTOBER 2009

Event notes

[1] This event is open to 50 players. Special promo foil while stocks
last.

[2] Price for admission is £20.00 for two reasons. Firstly, it falls
in line with Wizards of the Coast pricing guidelines and secondly
because the product given to each player to use on the day is six
Zendikar boosters.

[3] As an incentive to those of you who attended the Zendikar Pre-
Release events at Stafford and Birmingham I am running the following
promotion. If you played in either of the Stafford or Birmingham
Zendikar Pre-Release events, I will offer a £1.00 deduction on the
entry fee into the Launch Party event. If you played in BOTH of the
Stafford and Birmingham Zendikar Pre-Release events, I will offer
either a £2.00 deduction in the cost of entry OR a free pack of 50
plain Ultra Pro sleeves of the colour of your choice [while stocks
last]. I realise that this isn't an enormous saving, but I think that
it rewards my most regular players for their loyalty.

[4] Those of you who pre-ordered a box of Zendikar boosters from me
can also claim your £2 discount per box from the entrance fee for the
Launch Party event on top of any other discounts explained in point
[3] above.

[5] I'll be filling the traditional Grab Bag with the contents of some
Zendikar boosters as additional prizes.

[6] As an additional prize, I have had a winner’s trophy engraved. The
trophies are a popular part of the Pre-Release events and have been
made part of the Launch Party event tradition too.


STAFFORD ZENDIKAR LAUNCH PARTY SUNDAY 4th OF OCTOBER 2009

VENUE: Oddfellows Hall, Greengate Street, Stafford, ST16 2HP.
Please contact me for more directions if you haven’t been to this
venue before.

START TIME: Enrolment from 9:30am till 10:30am. Deck construction will
start at about 11:00am.

FORMAT: The format for the Launch Party tournament is DCITM-sanctioned
Zendikar Sealed Deck.

Rules Enforcement Level: Regular

ENTRY FEE: £20.00 for main event

Cost of entry includes six (6) Zendikar boosters.

PRIZES: As per Wizards of the Coast premier event prize structure.

SIDE EVENTS: Booster Draft side events available all day long.

ENTRY FEE:  £10.00 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 events over the weekend,

Steve


Future Events 2009

October – Friday 16th – Sunday 18th – Manchester – Game ‘09

After a really enjoyable event in Manchester in 2008, I’ll be back in
Manchester for the Game ’09 Convention. With one PTQ slot for San
Diego and two Grand Prix events this is sure to be an enjoyable
weekend for Magic players. See the website for more details:
http://gamecon.game-host.org/apex/f?p=101:1:1176383412868801


November – Saturday 14th – Birmingham – Pro Tour Qualifier: San Diego

I have been awarded a PTQ slot for the San Diego qualifier season.
More details to follow.


November – Sunday  – Stafford – Big Bag Draft 2009

The Big Bag Draft is the usual way to end the year of events at
Stafford. Again this year in response to player feedback 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: Exiled to give away as part of
the prize fund for this event!


November – Saturday 28th – London – Dragonmeet 2009

Dragonmeet is a wonderful one day event that I had the pleasure of
attending last year. I’ll be back again in 2009 and I recommend this
event to anyone who loves any sort of card games, board games or RPG.
See the website for more details: http://www.dragonmeet.co.uk/

December – Saturday 5th – Birmingham – Event to be confirmed.


Future Events 2010

January – Saturday 30th – Birmingham – Worldwake Pre Release
January – Sunday 31st – Stafford – Worldwake Pre Release

The first events of 2010 are the Pre-Releases for the second set in
the Zendikar block, called Worldwake. It may seem a long way away but
try to get these events in your diaries now! More details as they
appear.

February – Sunday 7th – Stafford – Worldwake Launch Party

The Worldwake Launch Party event will happen the following weekend at
Stafford. This is the first chance to buy Worldwake singles, boosters,
boxes, intro packs and fat packs.