Doors at 4:30, tournament at 5:00. Please show up on time so we can get the tournament started.
$5 donation requested for the use of Babycastles’s space. Thanks BC!

Weird Magic: The Gathering is back, this time with a constructed format that will let you use cards even more forbidden than the Power 9. We’re talking ante!

This event will be strongly based on the rules laid out in this article on the Old School Magic blog: http://oldschool-mtg.blogspot.com/2017/05/ante-up.html
Thanks for writing, Greg!

The only difference is that this will be a proxy tournament (you can bring real cards if you want, but you are encouraged to print whatever you need), so instead of illustrating copies of the card you win, you will just take the card from your opponent. Some Tips on making and printing proxies can be found a little lower in the description.

NOTE: YOU MUST DESIGN, PRINT & SLEEVE YOUR DECK BEFORE THE EVENT AND BRING IT WITH YOU.

╬═ How It Works ═╬

This is a Magic: The Gathering constructed event. That means that all attendees must plan and build their deck before arriving. The deck must follow the rules of Old School 93-94 (including mana burn). This basically means the deck can only use cards from Fallen Empires and earlier. A 15 card sideboard is also allowed. The exact banned/restricted lists can be found here: http://www.eternalcentral.com/9394rules/

The only exception is that ante cards are legal and Contract from Below is restricted (it might be the single most powerful card ever printed).

Because of the nature of the event, you must sleeve your deck and you must have extra sleeves for cards you win via ante.

╬═ Ante ═╬

Every game played will be an ante game. Before each game, both players reveal the top card of their deck and put it in the ante zone. This card cannot be used during the game and the winner gets to keep all cards in the ante zone at the end of the game (the change of ownership is permanent).

There were only a handful of ante cards ever printed, and I've never played with any of them! They phased the mechanic out early on and the last ante card was printed in Homelands, the 7th expansion to the game. You can read about the 9 ante cards here: http://agentpalmer.com/12543/miscellany/old-school-magic-the-gathering-ante-and-the-ante-nine/

In this tournament, the winner of a game must add the anted cards to their deck immediately (A match will consist of 2 to 3 games). This is not optional, even if the card will negatively affect the deck. Embrace the randomness!

Decks can break standard deck building rules as a result of ante wins (for instance, you can only run 4 Birds of Paradise, but if you win a 5th one via ante, it’s legal). Players can also choose to replace a card they lose via ante with a basic land (to help prevent mana screw).

The article above has players illustrating the cards they win, but since this will be a proxied event, you will just give your opponent the card (but keep your sleeve). All players must bring extra sleeves so that they can add cards to their deck.

At the end of the tournament the winner will be the player whose deck contains the most cards they didn’t bring with them.

╬═ Making Proxies ═╬

I certainly don’t expect people to own Power 9 or be willing to risk losing them in an ante game! That’s why this is a completely proxy-friendly (and encouraged!) event! Proxies are typically printed images of the cards used in place of the real thing.

The easiest way to make and use proxies is to print the card image (preferably in color, but b/w is OK too) and then slip it into a card sleeve using a real card you don’t care about as a back. Without a back, the card will be too flimsy to shuffle.

You can find high-res images of most cards here: http://magiccards.info/
(this site also has older versions of cards which will fit the old school theme nicely)

I have a free tool for creating print-ready PDFs from card images that may be useful: https://andymakes.itch.io/tcg-proxy-generator

You can also show off your art skills and make your own proxies! If you do, please include casting cost and rules text on the cards since not everybody has every card memorized.

(If you want to proxy the old lands for the visuals, feel free, but using modern basic lands is fine)

If you want to participate but don’t have enough cards to use as backs, let me know and I can bring some extra cards with me. You’ll still need to provide sleeves which can be bought online or in nearly any game store. If price would be an issue feel free to contact me privately at andy@andymakes.com and I may be able to bring some supplies for you.

╬═ Deckbuilding Tips ═╬

Because your deck will be gaining and losing cards, you’ll want it to be robust. Fragile combo pieces are probably not the way to go (if you build a Stasis deck and lose Stasis, you might be in trouble). You’ll also want a strategy for playing off-color cards that you may win. A City of Brass or two may be a good call even if you are running mono-color.

Because the best ante cards are black, I assume that it will be the most played color. (Seriously, read Contract from Below again if you’re not familiar with it)

There is no reason to hold back on power level. Assume that everybody will be running a lotus and a full set of moxen. The purpose is not to have cutthroat games, but playing with the cards of this time period means happily embracing certain spikes in power level.

╬═ Who is this for? ═╬

Magic nerds and people interested in the histories (and dead ends) of this classic game. As always, this will be a fairly casual environment. There will be a small prize for the winner, but the primary goal at these events is to have fun exploring a new aspect of the game. You don’t need to be a pro, and asking questions about the rules or specific cards is more than encouraged. Brand new players are welcome too, but it would be good to play a round or two beforehand to get the basics.

╬═ What is Weird Magic? ═╬

Weird Magic is a series of Magic: The Gathering events/tournaments that focuses on unusual or overlooked parts of the game. In the past we’ve done booster drafts using only 25 cent rares as well as a RoboRosewater booster draft.

You can sign up for the mailing list at weirdmtg.com.