The Open Series returns this Saturday and Sunday in Somerset, New Jersey! After a weekend off to open booster packs at the Dragon’s Maze Prerelease, players are raring and ready to get back to tournament Magic! We are proud to be presenting the very first major Standard tournament with Dragon’s Maze as a legal set in the format on Saturday, as players descend on the Garden State to battle for the right to be called the first champion of post-Dragon’s Maze Standard! Then on Sunday, Team Sealed makes its Open Series debut, as teams of three will be taking part in StarCityGames.com Organized Play’s very first team event!
First things first: the location of these events will be the Garden State Exhibition Center:
Located on the scenic Raritan River in Somerset, the Garden State Exhibition Center isn’t just a pretty face. It’s also not too shabby when it comes to ammenities, with a huge amount of space for events and a long list of neat items for conventions. Unfortunately, that list isn’t as long when it comes to nearby restaurants. There’s a Ruby Tuesday and a Subway, but beyond that everything’s at least a mile away. Plan accordingly (read: pack a lunch!).
Most of you are used to our Standard Opens by now since they’re, you know, fairly standard. But seeing as this Sunday is the very first Team Sealed Open, I think it would be prudent to go over some of the details of that event.
First and most importantly, you need to be registered for the team event by >9 AM! Please don’t be late, as you and your teammates will be super sad if you are. Each team will register three people. There will be a player A, B and C for each team, with player B always sitting in between players A and C. In the Swiss, each team will face another team and play three one-on-one matches (which are themselves, of course, best of three games). The team with the most individual match wins will win the entire team match.
As this event will be Return to Ravnica Block Sealed, each team will receive twelve booster packs: four Return to Ravnica, four Gatecrash, and four Dragon’s Maze. This will add up to 168 cards total not including lands. With these cards, they will assemble three minimum 40-card decks—one for each team member. Each player will use the same deck the whole day.
The Swiss will have one more round than the number recommended in the Magic Tournament Rules. After the Swiss, there will be a cut to the Top 4 teams. The semifinals will be the same format as the Swiss, while the finals will be preceded by a Return to Ravnica Block Draft (first pack Dragon’s Maze, second pack Gatecrash, and third pack Return to Ravnica). Then the two finalist teams will compete in a round robin, where all players will play against each of the opposing team members until one team wins five matches. The first team to five match wins is the Team Sealed Open Champion!
For more information on Team Sealed, prize payouts, and any other information about SCG Open Series: Somerset, visit the event fact sheet.
Sunday’s teams will not be the only trios looking to win big in New Jersey. We have three talented alterists joining us as well!
Based out of Baltimore, Maryland, Ashley Jordan, the artist behind Alternate Dimensions Card Alters and Designs, features hand-painted Magic: The Gathering partial and full art card alters. Visit her website or her Facebook page to check out some of her custom work.
A recent Fine Arts graduate from William Paterson University, Jennifer Romanek enjoys all genres of art but is a painter at heart. Magic: The Gathering cards piqued her interest, especially the challenge of creating different worlds on a single playing card. For the past three years, Jen has been creating custom pieces, and now she brings her talent to the StarCityGames.com Open Series. For examples of her work and to contact her for commissions, check out her website.
Lindsay Burley will be selling and creating her unique brand of 3-D cards and tokens as well as custom playmats! Check out her work here, then stop by and check out these awesome cards! For special commissions before the event, you can contact Lindsay at [email protected].
If you can’t attend, well…sorry. That’s unfortunate. You’re going to be missing out on a great weekend of Magic. Happily, @SCGLive is going to be there covering the tournament! Newly minted Online Content Coordinator of StarCityGames.com Cedric Phillips will be joined by Grand Prix Charlotte finalist Gerard Fabiano and Above the Curve host Glenn Jones to you all of the action. The hashtag for this event is #SCGNJ, and you can get up-to-the-round pairings by following @SCGOpenPairings.
Good luck, have fun, and win the Maze!
Video and Coverage Content Associate and Social Media Admiral for StarCityGames.com
Listen to the @InContention podcast! It’s the official podcast of the StarCityGames.com Open Series with @kstube, @affinityforblue, and myself. Our most recent episode, The Ral World, guest starring Cedric Phillips, can be found here.
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I am Simic. Basically, Simic is the Ravenclaw equivalent of the guilds…and I’m a Ravenclaw as well! Wit beyond measure is man’s greatest pleasure, and no guild lives up to that credo of cleverness and intelligence more than the Simic. |