Grand Prix Manila

I was there! But not on the pic above. I could easily be a tiny speck in the photo especially when there are 640 other players in the same event.

I had to be there. It was supposed to be my last tournament as I can't anymore put significant time and effort into the game. Farewell competitions are expected to be grand (much like Pacquiao vs Dela Hoya), and this is no different. 641 Players in a Magic event is the second biggest Magic:The Gathering event in Asia, second only to Japan (Which registered 647 players, only 6 players more!).

I have not decided on what decklist to play for this tournament until the night before. Chris and I went to the mall to find the last pieces of cards that I would be needing. I just sold a box of really good cards the week before so my deck choices are limited to what cards I have left, and what cards I can easily find. You can just imagine card the card prices in the night before the tournament. Talk about the law of supply and demand! Figures of destinies are being sold at Php 1,200 a pieces (from Php 450 just a month ago).. The price for a Stillmoon Cavalier have doubled overnight!

I've eventually settled for a BW aggo-control (hate) deck. I was expecting the metagame to be littered with faerie and kithkin decks so a deck that's half-filled with removal should do well. I was really, really, confident that my deck is well-equipped vs faeries and kithkin decks.

Turns out I was right. I was paired against a Kithkin deck and I smashed my way to victory, 2-0. But that was to be my only moment of glory. Out of 8 rounds that I played, I only paired vs Kithkin only once, and Faeries none. My friend Chris was paired vs Kithkin 5 times! Where did all the metagame staple decks go!? Even the top 8 decks the following day was comprised of 6 Faerie decks and 2 Kithkins. Well, too bad for me. It just wasn't my day.

I ended the day with a 3 wins 5 loss record.. good enough for the 448th spot. (Incidentally, Charles' birthday is 2008/04/04 or 844.. ). The eventual champ is a Japanese, Sugaya Hironobu, who, surprisingly, ran a Kithkin deck.

It was a fun day overall..

Full event coverage here