Three weeks away from The Winter Blast. Wow, time flies! Since this is our second year of hosting larger events, the creative juices really need to be flowing to make our events stand out a bit and keep things fresh. For quite some time, I’ve personally wanted to host a Sealed event, but with the Canadian exchange rate, and the increasing prices on sealed product, that’s become less and less likely. Then I listened to the episode of All Tings Considered Episode 95 with Brothers Jonas and Stebbo, in which they walk through their Jamboree Draft. Basically it’s a re-pack draft with Ante consisting of a lot of the tier 2+ cards from “less pimp” sets, such as Fourth and Chronicles. I was sold.

prize support by ftf toronto

I started talking with Kelly from Face to Face Toronto about something similar, and he basically said “hold my beer” and went to work. A few small exchanges here and there, when last night he emerged with the following details:

Welcome to the first ever Winter Blast Ante ReSealed tournament! What is Ante ReSealed? ReSealed is a fun, relaxed way to enjoy the spirit of Old School in a limited format! As much fun as it would be to crack revised packs, and draft, the price point for those products is just out of this world. ReSealed lets you enjoy the cards and play, while keeping the cost down. Each game will be played for Ante. Cards won through ante can be added to your deck, but are not required to be added to your deck.

What sets are in this resealed?

Alpha

Beta

Unlimited

Revised

4th

5th (Mostly just cards that are reprints of Old School legal cards)

Arabian Nights

Antiquities

Legends

The Dark

Fallen Empires

Ice Ages and Alliances (a few snuck in there, not many though)

What is the price? Entry fee will be $60 CAD. Of that, $10 goes toward the charity we are fundraising for and $50 goes to pay for the product and some prize support as well!

What do I get? Is it good value? Each ReSealed box comes with 70 cards. Of those the retail value (Face to Face Games.com pricing) should always be more than $80. There will always be 1 card worth at least $30-$15 or more and a number of others that are more than just “dime rares”. There will be a few decks out there that might get a special surprise as well! Keep your eyes peeled!

How do I build my deck? With your 70 card pool, you’ll have to narrow the deck down to a 40 card deck, after adding basic lands. So you’ll likely want between 22 and 24 cards from your pool and 16 to 18 lands. Basic lands are not included in your 70 card pool, but there will be a land box everyone will be welcome to use. If you want to sideboard after game 1 of a match, your whole pool counts as your sideboard.

Can I rebuild my deck between rounds? Yes! You are welcome to incorporate cards won by ante, achievement or Winter Blast booster to your deck between matches (not between games). Just try not to take forever rebuilding and be mindful that only cards in your starting pool or cards won through the event can be added. No trading and no adding cards from home.

How will Ante work? At the beginning of each game, players will Ante in a number of cards between 1 and 3. Players must agree on the number. If they cannot, the lower number is picked. Then, the winner of the game takes the Anted cards and adds them to their pool and cards they anted and didn’t lose are put back in their deck before the next game. At the end of matches players can work those cards into their pool. Additionally, players who lost cards should rebuild their decks and ensure they begin the next round with a full 40+ cards deck.

A sample deck from playtesting

Now, let’s make this interesting! At the end of round 3, players will have the option to buy an extra 15 card “Winter Blast” Booster pack to add to their pool and fix up their deck. This will help strengthen a weekend deck due to ante losses or improve an already awesome deck. However, if you add a pack to your pool, you must ante +1 for all games going forward. This will mean if you pay for extra value, you have to ante up – literally! Then after the swiss, before the top 8 begins, top 8 players will pause and Rochester draft 8 additional 16 card “Winter Blast” boosters. These boosters will be especially juicy and will help carry one battleworn hero to victory. These packs will also serve as the prizing for top 8, so choose wisely!

Now, that’s all fine and good, but what about the silliness? There must be more silliness! Oh don’t worry, there will be.

Achievement Wall. There will be an achievement wall, which will have 4 card bonus boosters specifically tailored to that particular achievement. For example, one achievement might be “Assemble UrzaTron in a game”. The first person to assemble tron, call a judge (or Kelly) for verification, and then get up to the wall to claim the prize and add it to your pool. That pack could have additional tron lands or maybe a new X spell to help make that tron more impactful! Full list of achievements will be released on Saturday of the main event and online when I get around to it. If you have suggestions for achievements, please leave them on the facebook page for the event!

What else do I need to know? Please bring dark backed sleeves, as there are some CE/IE cards in the pools and some of the cards are different levels of played. Although its an easy going event, if all you’re lands are pack fresh and your shivan dragon is HP that’s going to look a little fishy. If you don’t have sleeves, Face to Face Games will have lots at the booth for sale.

We look forward to getting feedback regarding this event before and after the event, so please feel free to let us know what you think! This whole project is still a work in progress, so be a part of it and let us know! Additionally, if you have extra revised or 4th ed basic land you don’t need, please bring them for folks to use during the event. Just know you probably won’t get them back!

another sample deck from playtesting

I don’t know about you folks, but this sounds very exciting to me as it scratches three itches that I’ve had for ages; going deep into the card pool, playing for ante, and “cracking packs”. Plus, Kelly has put his own spin on things.

So, if this is your jam, come on out for Sunday 9 February of The Winter Blast and be prepared to play some fun stuff!