STAFFORD BIG BAG DRAFT SUNDAY 22nd OF NOVEMBER 2009
Steve Avann
Here is a quick report from the PTQ and a quick reminder about the Big
Bag Draft.
PTQ San Diego at Birmingham report.
Considering the awful stormy weather and some traffic problems around
Birmingham we had a really well attended event with 92 players
participating. After 7 rounds of Swiss and the cut for the top eight,
the playoffs looked like this:
Quarters
James Corwood beat Mark Lowe
Neil Rigby beat Paul Bremner
James King beat Keef Baker
Basam Tabet beat Daniel Gardner
Semis
James Corwood beat Neil Rigby
James King beat Basam Tabet
Finals
James Corwood beat James King
Congratulations to James Corwood on winning his place at San Diego. We
finished the event at a very reasonable 10:00pm too which seemed in
part due to the fast flowing Zendikar format, and partly due to the
hard work by the judging team. Thanks very much to Pete, Nigel, Paul
and Ed for running such a great event.
Big Bag Draft
Well, it is that time of year again when the bravest of the brave come
along to Stafford for the Legendary event that is the Big Bag Draft.
While other players have hidden themselves away in Rome to play in the
World Championships we few, we happy few, we band of brothers and
sisters will be playing in the most demanding Magic event that the
world has ever known.
Big Bag Draft is as difficult as canoeing down a raging river of lava
containing lava-proof piranhas while trying to remember where you left
your paddle.
So, if you think that you can handle the excitement, I’ll see you at
Stafford on Sunday.
Steve
STAFFORD BIG BAG DRAFT SUNDAY 22nd OF NOVEMBER 2009
Do you have what it takes to be a BBD Champion?
Well, the Big Bag Draft for 2008 was great and everyone seemed to
really enjoy the event. The BBD seems to be one of the most
anticipated events of the calendar so it was great to see so many of
my regular players in attendance. We used boosters from over FOURTY
different Magic expansions to draft and when the dust had settled
after 6 rounds of Swiss, Baljeet Samra won the trophy. Please note
that the BBD is an unsanctioned event as it is an unusual format and
therefore does not affect DCI rankings.
Here is a brief explanation of the way the BBD format works:
The BBD works like this. All the players in the event sit in one huge
circle and they will all pass left/right/left as in a normal draft,
except that there may be 20 or more draft players in this circle so
you probably won’t see the same booster twice as it will run out of
cards after 15 players which is probably long before it has gone all
the way around the circle of players. Also, the boosters are chosen at
random out of the Big Bag by each player so you may end up drafting
from Ice Age or Mirrodin or 9th Edition or Invasion or Masques or
Torment or 7th Edition or Kamigawa or Shards of Alara or Time
Spiral.... well, you get the idea. This is a truly fun and interesting
format but is obviously unsanctioned so that it doesn’t affect your
rankings. Once everyone has finished drafting, we all deck construct
like a normal draft and then we play Swiss rounds like a normal large
tournament until we have a winner. There is a trophy for the Champion
as usual, so come along and earn some silverware for your
mantelpiece!!!! The bragging rights potential alone is enormous….
STAFFORD BIG BAG DRAFT SUNDAY 22nd OF NOVEMBER 2009
Event notes:
[1] This event is limited to 40 players so please make sure that you
pre-register to guarantee your place. BBD veterans are already e-
mailing to reserve their space.
[2] Standard or extended side events can be put on if enough players
wish to participate. Please bring standard decks with you if you want
to take part and ask about a sign-up sheet on the day of the event.
[3] I also have an exceedingly rare copy of From the Vault: Exiled to
give away to the winner of the event. If rare, shiny, exile-y goodness
isn’t your cup of tea you could always e-bay it!
[4] I will be doing a grab bag too.
[5] The Big Bag Draft trophy 2009 will be won. Bragging rights
throughout 2010 on offer.
[6] Bounties available on the heads of Peter Stephenson, Nigel Garrett
and Mr Bye.
VENUE: Oddfellows Hall, Greengate Street, Stafford, ST16 2HP
START TIME: Enrolment from 9:30am till 10:30am. The draft will start
at about 10:45am.
FORMAT: The format for the main event is Big Bag Draft
Rules Enforcement Level: Casual
ENTRY FEE: £12.00 for main event
PRIZES: The prize pool will be dependant on the number of players
participating.
I also have a Big Bag Draft Champion 2009 trophy for the winner to
take home.
Did I mention I’m giving away a copy of From the Vault: Exiled to the
winner too?
Many other prizes.
Hope to see you there,
Steve