02/26/11 - 02/27/11 - Starcitygames.com Open Weekend: Washington DC

[Risky]

Welcome to the Starcitygames.com Washington DC Open weekend, where you will have the chance to win over $14,000 in prizes and qualify for the 2011 Starcitygames.com Invitational over the course of two fun-filled days of Magic.

For information on the StarCityGames.com Open Series, including the 2011 schedule and SCG Players' Club levels, click here (http://www.starcitygames.com/pages/open_series/2011_announcement)!

For a map of all the Star City Games Open locations in 2011, click here (http://maps.google.com/maps/ms?ie=UTF8&hl=en&msa=0&msid=107155064614031750376.000494cb2e1ef22b98704&z=19)!

Want to get a jump on Deck Registration? Try out our decklist form (http://www.starcitygames.com/PDFs/SCG%20Deck%20List%20Form%20v2.pdf) and come prepared!

Please note that all event registration is cash only.

EVENT SITE
Walter E. Washington Convention Center
Room 146ABC
801 Mount Vernon Place NW
Washington, D.C., 20001
Web Site (http://www.dcconvention.com/)
Tel. (202) 249-3000

HOTEL
Renaissance Washington, DC Downtown Hotel
999 9th Street
Washington, D.C. 20001
Tel. (202) 898-9000
Rate: $179/night plus tax.
Note: We do not have a block set up with this hotel at this time. This is merely a starting point for players interested in staying across the street from the venue.

Radisson Hotel Reagan International Airport
2020 Jefferson Davis Highway
Arlington, VA 22202
Tel. (703) 920-8600
Rate: $89/night plus tax
Distance from Venue: 4.5 miles (Approx. 13 minutes in traffic)
Note: We do not have a block set up with this hotel at this time. This hotel is listed as a less-expensive option for those interested in staying about fifteen minutes from the venue at a lower rate.

SCHEDULE OF EVENTS

Saturday, February 26th (Doors open at 8:00 AM)

StarCityGames.com Standard Open
Start Time: 10 AM (Registration begins at 8 AM)
Entry Fee: $30 (cash)
Format: Standard
Structure: Modified Swiss with a cut to the single-elimination Top 8. Quarterfinals (Top Eight) will be held on Saturday night after the Swiss. The semifinals and finals (Top Four) will be held on Sunday morning at 8 AM.
Head Judge: Kevin Desprez, L4 from France
REL: Competitive
Prizes:
1st: 25 Open Points, $2,000 & the StarCityGames.com Standard Open Trophy!
2nd: 20 Open Points, plus $800
3rd-4th: 15 Open Points, plus $500
5th-8th: 10 Open Points, plus $250
9th-16th: 5 Open Points, plus $100
17th-32nd: 3 Open Points, plus $50
Participation: 1 Open Point

Two-Headed Giant Sealed
Start Time: Registration at 2 PM., Deck Construction at 3 PM.
Entry Fee: $30 per team
Format: Current format 2HG Sealed (8 packs – build two 40-card minimum decks)
Structure: 4 rounds of Swiss
Prizes:
4-0: 16 Booster Packs per Team
3-0-1: 12 Booster Packs per Team
3-1: 8 Booster Packs per Team

StarCityGames.com Legacy Challenge
Start Time: Registration at 4 PM., Round 1 at 5 PM.
Entry Fee: $10.00 ($5.00 if you played in the StarCityGames.com Standard Open)
Format: Legacy
Structure: 4 rounds of Swiss
Prizes: 4-0: $50 Dealer Credit
3-0-1: $25 Dealer Credit and 3 Booster Packs
3-1: 6 Booster Packs
2 wins: 1 Booster Pack

Sunday, February 27th (Doors open at 8:00 AM)

StarCityGames.com Legacy Open
Start Time: 10 AM (Registration begins at 8 AM)
Entry Fee: $30 (cash)
Format: Legacy
Structure: Modified Swiss with a cut to the single-elimination Top 8.
Head Judge: Abe Corson
REL: Competitive
Prizes
1st: 20 Open Points, $2,000 & the StarCityGames.com Legacy Open Trophy!
2nd: 15 Open Points, plus $600
3rd-4th: 10 Open Points, plus $400
5th-8th: 5 Open Points, plus $200
9th-16th: 3 Open Points, plus $100
17th-32nd: 1 Open Point, plus $50
Participation: 1 Open Point

Starcitygames.com Draft Opens
Start Time: 9 AM and 2PM (Registration for both Draft Opens begins at 8AM)
Entry Fee: $30 (cash)
Structure: Draft followed by 3 rounds of Swiss, cut to a Top 8 single-elimination Draft
REL: Competitive
Prizes
1st: 10 Open Points, plus $500
2nd: 5 Open Points, plus $200
3rd-4th: 3 Open Points, plus $100
5th-8th: 1 Open Point, plus $50

Two-Headed Giant Sealed
Start Time: Registration at 1 PM., Deck Construction at 2:30 PM.
Entry Fee: $30.00 per team
Format: Current format 2HG Sealed (8 packs – build two 40-card minimum decks)
Structure: 4 rounds of Swiss
Prizes:
4-0: 16 Booster Packs per Team
3-0-1: 12 Booster Packs per Team
3-1: 8 Booster Packs per Team

SIDE EVENTS
All 8 player Side Events give out Gateway foils to the top 4 players in addition to any pack prizes. The first-place finisher will also receive a Planechase promo card!

Single elimination booster drafts
Entry: $10.00
Prizes: 3 Boosters to 1st Place (or entry into the next draft)

Single elimination competitive booster drafts
Entry: $15.00
Prizes: 1st Place - 8 Boosters
2nd Place - 4 Boosters

Single elimination constructed tournaments
Entry Fee: $15.00
Prizes: Box (36 Packs) to 1st Place

Four Player Commander Chaos Games
Entry Fee: $5.00
Prizes:
1st Place: $20 Dealer Credit

REGISTRATION
Registration begins at 8 AM, and ends ten (10) minutes before the event is scheduled to start. Any player who wants to enroll after registration has ended will be able to do so, but will receive a round one match loss. Players arriving after round two has been paired will not be able to enroll in the tournament.

JUDGING
Judges interested in working at this event should submit an application through dcifamily.org: http://www.dcifamily.org/events/171/staff/apply

Judge certification for level one (L1) and advancement to level two (L2) is available at this event; interested candidates should make arrangements with Riki Hayashi at riki.hayashi@starcitygames.com prior to the event.

JOIN THE CLUB
Each Starcitygames.com Open event (Standard, Legacy, and Draft) awards Open Points to all participating players. Earning 4 Open Points gets you to Level 1 in the Starcitygames.com Players' Club, which gets you a free pack of sleeves at every future Open Weekend that you attend. Appearance fees, free entry and byes in Constructed Opens, all the way up to a full playset (4x of each card, including mythics) of every new regular Magic set! For more information, see here. (http://www.starcitygames.com/pages/open_series/2011_announcement)

QUALIFY FOR THE INVITATIONAL!
Last year, qualification for the Invitational was based on Open Points. This year, we’ve simplified the system! Here’s how you can qualify for a StarCityGames.com Invitational tournament:
* Finish in the Top 8 of a Standard or Legacy Open
* Win a Draft Open
* Achieve Level 2 or 3 in the Players' Club

Live Coverage from SCGLive ALL DAY!
"Can't make it to the event? Follow complete written coverage by Glenn Jones and live broadcasting with Joe Panuska and Joey Pasco all weekend long courtesy of the professionals at SCGLive! Visit SCGLive (http://www.scglive.com) for more information!"

NEED CARDS?
Buy, sell and trade with America’s largest Magic the Gathering retailer! StarCityGames.com will have a massive dealer booth set up all weekend long! How may we help you?

TRADING
Although trading is both allowed and encouraged, please note that the following things are not permitted at this event:

-Buying/selling cards with anyone except for our authorized dealer(s)
-Soliciting to buy/sell cards elsewhere
-Advertising without receiving permission from StarCityGames.com’s on-site Event Manager
-Offering to “alter” cards in exchange for some form of compensation
-Utilizing an excessive amount of space when trading
-Using suitcases, handcarts, luggage carts, etc. for the purpose of transporting excessive amounts of trade stock.

Please note that failure to obey these rules may result in all involved parties being both removed from the event without refund, and banned from attending future events.

DIRECTIONS
For directions to the venue, use Google Maps (http://maps.google.com/maps/ms?ie=UTF8&hl=en&msa=0&msid=107155064614031750376.000494cb2e1ef22b98704&ll=38.903725,-77.021456&spn=0.035868,0.090551&z=14).

MORE INFORMATION
Players who want specific information can contact us at events@starcitygames.com or by calling (540) 767-GAME (4263). New players will want to read our player FAQ (http://forums.starcitygames.com/viewtopic.php?t=288770).

[Risky]

Head Judge information has been added. Level 4 Kevin Desprez from France will be the HJ of the Standard Open!

[Risky]

To allow people enough time to get their Legacy fill before needing to drop, the start time for the second Draft Open has been moved back to 2pm.

[Risky]

Getting closer to what should be a huge event. Who is coming?

[Risky]

Info for a few nearby hotels has been posted.

[Risky]

Expecting a huge turnout next weekend. Get there early for registration and avoid the long lines.

[Tammit67]

What a lonely announcement. I'll be there! Who else is going?

[Mark Sun]

What a lonely announcement. I'll be there! Who else is going?

/waves

[Michael Keller]

I'll be there playing Standard and Legacy.

[Tammit67]

I'll probably be there with a pillow. Surgery is a bitch

[Mark Sun]

Come by and say hi, you guys. I'll be looming the site on Saturday (probably playing in the Legacy challenge with something non-interactive/annoying), and of course playing on Sunday.

Asian guy, buttoned shirt, Jung Park Zendikar Plains playmat, Navy Blue sleeves, same-old, same-old.

Probably slinging around NLT since it's apparently "the stones" in this metagame, and I agree with that statement. :confused:

[Tammit67]

Come by and say hi, you guys. I'll be looming the site on Saturday (probably playing in the Legacy challenge with something non-interactive/annoying), and of course playing on Sunday.


I don't know a person that would consider a deck for a legacy 8 man that wasn't noninteractive. Sad day

[DampingEngine]

I'll be there playing Standard and Legacy.

See you there (and everyone else)!

[technogeek5000]

This tournament has 291-294 in attendance (they announced two different amounts on scglive).

[(nameless one)]

Where can I get updates from this?

[cdr]

http://www.starcitygames.com/magic/standard/21206_Live_Coverage_of_StarCityGamescom_Open_Series_Washington_DC.html

[Mark Sun]

Finished 6-3 and in 43rd place. Depressing and bad beats all around, I guess. Still met with Hollywood, mchainmail, Tammit, chinEsE girl, and a lot more.

[(nameless one)]

So I'm watching live coverage right now. I don't know about you guys but 2 minutes after the comentators were saying how everyone was Twitting how everyone hates Enchantress because the way it is, Michael Pozsgay just got a slow play warning for the lost.

I don't know... you guys decide but I find it hilarious, considering its an untimed match

[Clark Kant]

So the top 8 decks seem to be...

Goblins
Junk
Zenith Zoo
Zoo
Enchantress
Storm
BUG Control
Show & Tell/Doomsday

Not a bad top 8, very diverse, and a lot of old school decks made a comeback.

[FieryBalrog]

Believe the Junk was Junk & Taxes, with Vial & Mangara.

Also the BUG Control is a tempo deck, it's Team America; and the Storm deck ran doomsday/shelldrazi too.

[Mark Sun]

So, did anyone else catch this?

Show and Tell guy had an Emrakul in play (14 life), Team America had 3 Tombstalkers in play (17 life). Emrakul attacks, and the Annihilator trigger is Stifle'd. Then Team America guy triple blocks Emrakul. Why not just take 15, swing in for the win?

[(nameless one)]

So, did anyone else catch this?

Show and Tell guy had an Emrakul in play (14 life), Team America had 3 Tombstalkers in play (17 life). Emrakul attacks, and the Annihilator trigger is Stifle'd. Then Team America guy triple blocks Emrakul. Why not just take 15, swing in for the win?

I caught that. I was gonna say that but I guess hes just tired. I mean its like 12AM there right?

EDT: Despite the punt, he won 2-1 on the back of Stifle.

[BigStanDaddy]

I got 10th going 7-2 with green sun zoo. I'm quite happy Kemper got in with a similiar list.

[jazzykat]

Congratulations Mr. Signori!

[T-ORGANIZER]

Believe the Junk was Junk & Taxes, with Vial & Mangara.

Also the BUG Control is a tempo deck, it's Team America; and the Storm deck ran doomsday/shelldrazi too.

my junk list did not run vial. It was more similar to Junk & Taxes than just Junk however.

[Arsenal]

So I'm watching live coverage right now. I don't know about you guys but 2 minutes after the comentators were saying how everyone was Twitting how everyone hates Enchantress because the way it is, Michael Pozsgay just got a slow play warning for the lost.

I don't know... you guys decide but I find it hilarious, considering its an untimed match

From what I've seen on streams and heard from others, even when Pozsgay plays "faster" decks, he's still pretty slow. When he plays something like Enchantress, it's excrutiating. I'd be interested in hearing from judges in here if the slow play upgrade to game loss was warranted given the situation; 1-1 in games, untimed match, Poszgay had board position over Eric, and it looked like Poszgay was actually going to cast something when the judge intervened.

With that being said, Enchantress isn't an easy deck to play. There are typically a half dozen triggers to keep track at any given time, there are sequences that can only be played out in a specific way, etc. It isn't like Poszgay was holding onto 1 card in hand and staring at 2 lands on his side of the table; the board state was such that a single misplay could've spelled doom (missing a Solitary Confinement trigger, forgetting a Sigil trigger) all while holding a full grip of cards that all can impact the board.

[DrHealex]

So I'm watching live coverage right now. I don't know about you guys but 2 minutes after the comentators were saying how everyone was Twitting how everyone hates Enchantress because the way it is, Michael Pozsgay just got a slow play warning for the lost.

I don't know... you guys decide but I find it hilarious, considering its an untimed match

I don't know why eveyone seems to think these SCGs are untimed matches... they are still timed, they have to get out of the venue at some point. They are just generally REAL long times.. i don't recall the breakdown but i think the semis there is 120min.

That guy was playing slow in ALL the feature matches, which is kinda understandable since enchantress is a very draining deck and it seemed he hadn't been playing it too long, AND the list is sub-par.

[(nameless one)]

That guy was playing slow in ALL the feature matches, which is kinda understandable since enchantress is a very draining deck and it seemed he hadn't been playing it too long, AND the list is sub-par.

This,

I wonder how he made top 16. I mean with the plethora of duals that he was running and the Blood Moon on his main, I am surprised he didn't get mana screwed. And I was also watching the quarterfinals with Enchantress against Zoo. I find game 2 hilarious (although I missed gamed 1). A playset of Runed Halo, a Moat, a Solitary Confinement and Sterling Grove his side of the board. He literally bore the Zoo player for the win (She Grim Lavamancer'd herself)

Although that said, I am glad to see a non-blue control deck make Top8. I myself am a Quinn player.

[FieryBalrog]

If a deck has a lot of decisions to make, I don't see how that qualifies for slow play. Poszgay was excruciating to watch, but this isn't exactly a major spectator sport, the handful of people whining about it on twitter aren't exactly relevant.

I was watching, and it's not like he was sitting there in the tank with absolutely nothing going on, re-reading a Jace or whatever. He paused a lot because there was a lot of stuff to do, and the main problem was that it just added up to a lot of time spent. But the criteria for slow play as far as I know is not how much time it takes total, but what you're doing with that time.

[(nameless one)]

As boring as it is, I think Prozsgay won that match against Doomsday Eldrazi. He has board advantage when he was called for the loss. It's unfortunate but there's nothing you can do about it.

At least he didn't go berserk and still showed sportsmanship. Kudos to him for making top8 with a fringe deck.

EDIT: On the other hand, no Merfolk on top16? Not even Bertoncini? Huh...

[Tammit67]

Finished 6-3 and in 43rd place. Depressing and bad beats all around, I guess. Still met with Hollywood, mchainmail, Tammit, chinEsE girl, and a lot more.

Yeah, it was nice meeting you.

I got 36th with TES, punted a bit the last round and missed top 16. I'll learn.

Merfolk was heavily played, but everyone was expecting aggro. I mean everyone. I was surprised zoo did so well considering. The girl in the top 8 beat me with it (/facepalm)

Edit: I don't think there was a round I didn't see a misplay. Player A is recurring thopter sword, player B goblin welders sword for foundry with the return to play on the stack, thopters doesn't recombo with the seat of the synod in play... Just a messy day all around.

[SpikeyMikey]

So I'm watching live coverage right now. I don't know about you guys but 2 minutes after the comentators were saying how everyone was Twitting how everyone hates Enchantress because the way it is, Michael Pozsgay just got a slow play warning for the lost.

I don't know... you guys decide but I find it hilarious, considering its an untimed match

That's because you've never had to play against him. That guy spends so much time in the tank he ought to bring a toothbrush and a change of clothes to his matches. He's probably the slowest player on the circuit.

[Philipp2293]

I'm impressed by the number of GSZ in the top 16. Seems like a diverse field, only Merfolk absent.

[(nameless one)]

That's because you've never had to play against him. That guy spends so much time in the tank he ought to bring a toothbrush and a change of clothes to his matches. He's probably the slowest player on the circuit.

I guess this is true. I mean I've never had a slow play warning when I play Quinn, even if I had multiple draws with it. That deck needs a finisher with shroud that work under Humility. That deck can't win with a 3 card combo all the time.

[Michael Keller]

This is due in large part to inexperienced pilots running substandard variations and generally just doing poorly in such a large and diverse meta.

I would also like to add how much fun I had at this event. It was nice to be able to get out and see familiar faces along with new ones. I just wished I had performed better, as it is slightly starting to get a hair irritating going to these Opens and dropping what should be easy matches against would-be ringers that just completely bone you out of contention. Such is the life of competitive Magic. (But dammit, I would really like to start doing better at these events in the future.)

[FieryBalrog]

Yea, Merfolk and Junk were both very popular and both severely underperformed. As did Countertop.

Goblins did OK - there were 2 in the top 16, but there was a huge number in the field. I'm very glad to see Zoo back in action - it was not nearly as popular here as any of the above decks but put 3 into the top 16. Also nice to see combo in full swing and Team America gunning it down.

[Parcher]

Best moment of the tournament:

A falling asleep Eli Kassis, after losing game one to Dan in the Quarterfinal, sideboards in 15, and mistakenly leaves in a Reverent Silence while outboarding. Whcih no one, including Eli, notices.

Eli on the plays land, go, as does Dan. Eli's turn two draw is the single Reverent Silence. He sighs heavily, plays a land, and passes the turn.

Myself(aside): "What the fuck did he board that in for? I thought Eli was smarter than me."

Dan draws, fetches, lays land number two and plays his one-of Sylvan Library.

Myself(aside): "Omigod! Eli's a fucking genius!"

[Tammit67]

Hoping for a metagame breakdown