Pre-release Mayhem

It was the best of times, it was the worst of times...

Today I went to my first Magic: The Gathering pre-release tournament in easily six years. A new set is due this week, "Rise of the Edlrazi," and as MTG has once again become I a game I play often (thanks to a growing trend at work), I decided to go. There were 37 other players attending -- and that was just the morning shift. another tournament was scheduled for the afternoon.

Well, the good news -- I pulled a couple of pretty "sick" cards. Definitely future staples for my deck building. The bad news -- boy, did I get schooled! These players are almost like pro's. Before I could blink, I was 0-4 in my matches. Ouch!

Granted, a couple of the games were close. But, when the dust cleared, I had been humbled. Still, I liked the dueling deck I built. It was blue-white with the new "leveler" cards.

Now, for those of you who know nothing about Magic The Gathering, I'm sure if I were to go on and explain what occurred in my matches, I'd more than lose you. For those of you who know the game, let's just say the new "level up" cards are a lot of fun. For example, you can turn a one-mana 1/1 creature into a 3/3 First Strike beast by turn two. Little guys go grow up fast! The key to this new set is mana-acceleration, because you need mana to level up creatures, and you needs LOTS OF IT to bring out the humongous Eldrazi creatures.

Seldom have I had a good time while having my competitive head handed to me...

What is not making my competitive heart happy is the fact that my Texas Rangers have now lost four games in a row. A promising 5-3 start has turned suddenly into a 5-7 disappointment. Ugh... Of course, it didn't help that they played their last three games against the defending world champion New York Yankees at Yankee Stadium. Time for my boyz to regroup!

Speaking of regrouping, our work softball team, The Machinima Isotopes, have a game to play! We have a losing streak to halt! Time to go play softball. Until the next time...