The SCG Open Series makes its first stop in Detroit, MI this weekend, bringing Magic to Motor City. Having never been to Detroit, I’m looking forward to wandering the town prior to starting the weekend with live written and video coverage of the Standard Open!
Delver of Secrets proved himself to still be the biggest problem in Standard, winning the Indianapolis StarCityGames.com Invitational in the hands of Lauren Nolen and filling the Top 8 with Seachrome Coasts and Ponders galore. No bannings have come down from on high—the bug and his flashbacking cohort will remain the top contender within the metagame over the next few months to come.
There are definitely other decks performing in Standard—while Delver won both the Invitational and the Standard Open this past weekend, RUG Pod, Solar Flare, U/W Midrange, and B/U Zombies all made strong cases for Tier 1 consideration as well. What’s to come? We won’t really know until someone’s holding the trophy on Sunday morning.
As for Legacy, players were hit with a doozy yesterday: Land Tax is back! While it won’t be legal this weekend or until after Grand Prix Atlanta, there’s no question that it’s a strange contender to see rejoining the metagame. Criticized both for its power level—three additional cards to Scroll Rack or Brainstorm away seems very good—and for the unfun tension it creates when both players are incentivized to withhold land drops, the metagame response will be interesting. Is Land Tax even that powerful with Griselbrand around? Most people don’t seem to think so, but I’m sure a savvy deckbuilder will teach us a thing or two about how to Land Tax in Legacy.
Enough prattling on about formats—let’s talk about this weekend. The StarCityGames.com Open Series in Detroit will take place at the Cobo Center on One Washington Blvd. Our sponsored hotel for the event will be the Doubletree by Hilton in Downtown Detroit, on 525 West Lafayette Boulevard. Mention us to get the best rate!
If you need cards to complete your Legacy and Standard decks—or just want to grab a playset of Land Tax early—go ahead and place an order on our website for Event Pickup, and we’ll deliver it to your waiting hands at the tournament site free of charge! You’ll need to complete your order by noon on Thursday, June 21 to enjoy this benefit. We can’t guarantee our expansive sales booth will have everything you need on-site, and it’s better to be safe than sorry, so place your order today!
We’ve got a talented trio of alterists in attendance, beginning with Lindsay Burley. Lindsay’s continued to put out awesome 3-D cards, tokens, and has even begun to put together some sweet playmats. She’s got a gallery of her work at www.3dalters.weebly.com, a YouTube about her creative process, and an email setup for commissions—[email protected]—whether you’re attending the event or just want to arrange some pieces for shipping.
Amber Musick will also have a booth, offering custom full-art playmats, her own tokens, and plenty of other pieces. She specializes in playmats and will customize yours (or any you purchase on-site). The playmats she has already prepared can be seen on her deviantART page, while you can email her for options at [email protected] to make requests for commissions or to ask about her pricing structure.
You’ll also have VB 3-D Cards’ Joe Lechner crafting cards in three dimensions. He’s got a Facebook page containing the majority of his past work, and you can email [email protected] to discuss pricing, commission information, and event pickup.
Make sure to stop by and check out all the booths if you’re in attendance!
Naturally, I’ll be there preparing our written coverage and helping to set up everyone’s favorite coverage broadcast, @SCGLive! We’ve got a real treat for you this weekend, with commentators Adrian Sullivan and Patrick Chapin in the booth! These guys have been around the Magical block, if you will, so expect to hear plenty of stories about the "good ol’ days" alongside their excellent commentary. I’m particularly looking forward to hearing them chat about the unbanning of Land Tax!
If you’ve got questions for Adrian, Patrick, or me, just drop us a line on Twitter and use the hashtag #SCGDET. If you loved our #SCGINVI coverage this weekend, then I’m glad—Detroit’s going to be more of "the usual," but we’re already working to bring elements of that weekend to our regularly scheduled programming along with some additional features. Hopefully you’ll be able to see those in time for Seattle, but I can promise some interesting stuff by St. Louis at the latest.
See you in Detroit!
Event Coverage Coordinator