BIRMINGHAM NATIONALS QUALIFIER SATURDAY 14th OF JUNE 2008
All,
It has been a while since I last e-mailed hasn’t it? Thanks to those people who nudged me and said “Steve, stop lounging about in the sunshine and send us an event announcement message.” Well, it hasn’t been all play and no work as I have confirmed the schedule for the rest of the events in 2008 in the event calendar below. First things first though:
Stafford Shadowmoor Release Event
Shadowmoor has hit the ground running with many positive reviews from players and consistent sales. The Stafford Shadowmoor Release event was won by James Noott, well done James!
The player perspective
In unrelated news, I went to the Stafford FNM and played in a draft. I know, I know, and since when did I play? I had a really enjoyable evening [despite the thrashing I got] and I did some valuable market research. I have to say that I found the whole experience of drafting very demanding. It has been a long time since I last drafted and I had forgotten how quickly a player is expected to analyse and pick. It gave me a new appreciation for the player perspective and I promise to allow as much time as possible for draft and deck construction in limited events in future. It may be that for future limited events I’ll end registration slightly earlier so that this time can be used for the card pool/deck construction stage. If you have any strong opinions on this topic, please feel free to drop me an e-mail.
What is the latest www.magicgeek.co.uk news?
Shadowmoor is proving to be extremely popular and Fat Packs are now back in stock. I have also have lots of older theme decks and Fat Packs at low low prices. If you didn’t get the Coldsnap theme decks with re-printed Ice Age and Alliances cards such as Swords to Plowshares then it might be worth picking one up while they are so cheap. Discounted prices hold until the end of the month. I have also added books to the inventory starting with the books from the Time Spiral block.
On to the next event:
BIRMINGHAM NATIONALS QUALIFIER SATURDAY 14th OF JUNE 2008
Event notes:
[1] The event is limited to 72 players so please make sure that you pre-register to guarantee your place. Pre-registration for the Birmingham event ends on FRIDAY THE 13th OF JUNE. Please help me to ensure that I have an accurate assessment of attendance figures by pre-registering. It helps me enormously.
[2] We will be continuing to use deck registration at all Nationals Qualifiers events. Please bring pens with you.
[3] Price for admission is £5.00 for the Qualifier event.
[4] A qualification slot is available to one player for every eight participants at the event. So for example if we have a 40 player event, the top 5 finishers will qualify for Nationals!
I look forward to seeing you at the event.
Steve
Here are the usual event details:
BIRMINGHAM NATIONALS QUALIFIER SATURDAY 14th OF JUNE 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. All you need to do when leaving is pick up a parking token from the hotel reception. 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 till 10:30am. Round One will start at about 10:45am.
FORMAT: The format for each Nationals Qualifier tournament is DCITM-sanctioned Standard Constructed.
Rules Enforcement Level: Competitive
ENTRY FEE: £5.00 for main event
PRIZES: As per Wizards of the Coast premier event prize structure.
A qualification slot for the GB Nationals is available to one player for every eight participants at the event.
SIDE EVENTS: Shadowmoor TM Booster Draft side events available all day long.
ENTRY FEE: £8.00 for Booster Drafts (12 Boosters as prizes split 5/3/2/2)
Future Events 2008.
I have been at work to try to book my events for the rest of 2008. Please note that additional Birmingham dates will be confirmed as forthcoming PTQ dates are announced. At the moment the calendar looks like this:
June – Sunday 22nd – Stafford – Standard Challenge Day
I haven’t run a standard challenge day for a while so this gap in the schedule allows me to do so. Full details of the day will appear in a forthcoming e-mail but basically you pay the entrance fee in the morning and then play in 8 player elimination events all day long. An ideal way to practice with your standard decks for Nationals qualification or the Nationals itself if you are already qualified.
July – Saturday 12th – Birmingham – Eventide Pre-Release
July – Sunday 13th – Stafford – Eventide Pre-Release
Eventide arrives in July and the usual Pre-Release Weekend has been booked. Please note, at the moment I haven’t planned on running an Eventide Release event [which would also take place in July] because I am on holiday then. I suspect that a lot of players will also be away on holiday too. This may change but if so I’ll make an announcement in a future e-mail.
August – No events are currently booked for August due to summer holidays. There is always M-Fest to go to though!
September – Saturday 20th – Birmingham – Shards of Alara Pre-Release
September – Sunday 21st – Stafford – Shards of Alara Pre-Release
Wow, another Pre-Release already? Yes, at the end of September the new block begins with a set entitled Shards of Alara.
October – Sunday 21st – Stafford – Shards of Alara Release
As usual the Release event will take place on Sunday at Stafford. This is the first chance to buy Shards of Alara singles, boosters, boxes, theme decks and fat packs.
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.
December – No events are currently booked for December.