"Money for Nothing and Checks for Free!"

Hello all, welcome to my insanity ... err I mean article. First I believe an introduction is in order, my name is Gabriel Zachariah Willmon. Yes I know that is a mouthful, you can call me Zach, my mother does so it will work for you. I started playing magic during the time when Revised (now 3rd edition) and Fallen Empires was present, just missing out on The Dark and Legends. I always had fun playing the game at high school (boy that dates me, high school in the mid-90's, ouch) but I craved more.

I was never a big sport guy, however I loved video games and discovered my competitive spark because of Street Fighter II. So when I was just about to put away the cards my friend told me of a tournament at a local gaming store. He handed me a list for a Kird Ape deck designed to work in the Rev-FE-IA constructed format. Yes I did face some Necro decks, no they weren't as fine-tuned, but Necro + Ivory Tower is still hella good. I made it to the finals losing to my friend who gave me the list, he was also playing Necro. From there I was hooked. Since then, I have competed in four Pro Tours in Magic, multiple Pro Circuits for VS, and the World Championships for World of Warcraft. I have had some success and made a decent amount of cash. I have sold my Magic collection multiple of times over, only to get back into it again and again. It is an addiction, oh well.

On to the subject at hand. This article isn't much about strategy, moreso of keeping you informed. Hopefully if all goes well I can give some strategy/reports at a later date. We are all aware that there are only three Pro Tours plus Worlds this season. So aside from those big events, what can you do to keep the competitive juices flowing and get the riches this game has to offer? We all know there have been a multitude of stores creating more and more events for the Magic populous. The Magic Cruise, StarCityGames $5k tournies, Grand Prix, and of course our very own Front Range Magic series. But is there more...

WoTC decided to add even more to the tourney playing crowd, however there is a slight caveat. It involves Magic Online. Yes that is right, the one thing most people theorized was going to happen with Magic Online has finally come to light: Playing Magic Online for big cash prizes. So what events and details did WoTC drop on us? Well let us start with the big one:

The 2009 Magic Online Championship

This tournament is for 8 players online to be played at Worlds this year in Rome. So let us go over what these 8 players get:

They all get an invite to Worlds in Rome.
They all get one complete set of any previously released Magic Online set or expansion (their choice).
The top 2 finishers will also get one complete FOIL set of any previously released Magic Online set or expansion (their choice).
And now the big one — the payout:

	1st Place	$13,000
	2nd Place	$9,000
	3rd, 4th	$6,000
	5th – 8th	$4,000

That's right — just by getting qualified you get $4,000. Coupled with the fact you get a complete set on Magic Online plus an invite to Worlds, this is really going to be a coveted prize.

So how do you get qualified for the Magic Online Championship?

Enter the Season Championships.

There will be 7 seasons championship tournaments and each one awards the winner with an invite to the Magic Online Championship. What you need to qualify for the Season Championships is play Magic Online. For each 8 man event you win you get 1 Qualifying Point, and for each Daily Event or Premier Event you top 8 you get 3 Qualifying Points. And any one with 15 or more QP's in a season qualify for the season championship. Each season runs for about a month and at the end of the season your points reset so make sure to hit the mark before the reset date.

Now each championship will be a different format and some of them are relevant. Like standard for example, sure they aren't winning a Pro Tour, but the money is better than a Grand Prix. Keep an eye on these tournaments as they can and will have the potential of affecting the metagame.

You can find more information about this here.

Now for those who read clearly and have been able to do math, I said 8 people get qualified for this tournament and there are only 7 qualifying tournaments. Where does the 8th spot come from? I think this one might be as difficult as the tournament itself but you don't have to worry about a bad run in one tournament to prevent you from qualifying. The last slot goes to the Magic Online Player of the Year. To become the MOPotY all you need to do is end all 7 seasons with the most QP's. That is all, the most, you don't have to win anything other than 8 mans over and over. Simple, elegant, yet still something that you have to fight for. Oh also, not only do you get the qualifying spot, you also get qualified for all the 2010 Magic Online Season Championships. Not that big considering what you previously get, but hey perks is perks.

More info can be found here.

But wait, there's more!

Pro Tours have always been a good place for great tournaments. Gold, cars, cash, power, all these and more have been previously been giving out at Pro Tours, Worlds, and Grand Prix. So why stop now.

Introducing the 2009 Magic Online Live Series.

The only details we have are what's going on at PT Honolulu. There are 4 events, all limited to 8 players, all single elimination. The top 2 qualify for the Magic Online Live Championship. Here is the breakdown of prizes for those 8 players in the MOLC:

	1st Place	$2,000 and 1 complete foil set (MTGO sets)
	2nd Place	$1,000 and 1 complete non-foil set (MTGO sets)
	3rd, 4th	$500 and 36 boosters
	5th – 8th	$250 and 18 boosters

There will be other locations for this event, but details beyond that is slim. There will also be a little Meet and Greet with the MTGO team. You can find more details on this here. I know there is all info that can be found on the Wizards site I just wanted to get the word out there for those you may not know.

Now for something else.

My first QP came courtesy of this little draft number, which I call "May I axe you a question?"

	1	Savage Lands
	1	Rupture Spire
	1	Plains
	1	Island
	4	Swamp
	4	Mountain
	5	Forest
	1	Tukatongue Thallid
	1	Cylian Elf
	1	Dragon Fodder
	1	Sprouting Thrinax
	2	Matca Rioters
	1	Dragonsoul Knight
	1	Sacellum Archers
	1	Skeletal Kathari
	1	Beacon Behemoth
	1	Carrion Thrash
	1	Cavern Thoctar
	1	Jungle Weaver
	1	Necrogenesis
	1	Resounding Thunder
	3	Blightning
	1	Infest
	1	Jund Charm
	2	Exploding Borders
	1	Spore Burst

I wasn't sure where this deck was going together until my second pack. My first pick first pack was Jund Charm, so I had a lot of options 5c, Jund aggro, splash it. Well I didn't have much mana fixing and second pack I got an Infest and I remembered some cards that worked off of domain from Conflux, most notably Exploding Borders and Matca Riders. I figure I would create a more control-ish deck with the object of just going 20 to the dome. I picked cards that would help my deck survive long enough until I hit my burn with some big guys to dish up some damage. I had some choices, like in my second pack I could have picked up a Hissing Iguanar or my third Blightning. I chose the Blightning because I was afraid of the reliability of the amazing 3/1 guy with my deck. Also I had a Resounding Roar in my board, it came in every matchup but I took out different cards for it each time. Other than that I am not sure this deck is strong enough, I got lucky in a few games where my opponent was mana-screwed and my deck just punished them before they could get control back.

My round 1 opponent was playing Bant Exalted. His deck was very solid and synergistic with double waveskimmers which I have no removal for other than bigger guys. I got him 2-1. This matchup seemed bad for me because he had a lot of flyers and I can only control the ground game.

Round 2 my opponent was black red aggressive. He had a Hissing Iguanar, Kedrekt Parasite, plus a lot more aggressive little dudes. Solid deck with some nice synergies, it just didn't handle two board sweeping effects very well. My card advantage plus Blightning made him back peddle. And when I drop a 5/5 and all you have is a 1/1 I think I win those battles.

In the last round my opponent was playing a Naya deck. He was hurt the worst by mana screw. Both games I won he was sitting on two of his three colors. When he had five cards in hand, it's easy to figure out how screwed he was when he had 7 lands in play. Magic, eh.

So 26 points in rating gained, 4 boosters and 1 QP and I am on my way. Hopefully I can get some more events in to talk about, plus maybe even some QP's.

Well there you go an incentive to play MTGO and get some cash prizes. Enjoy and sound off in the Forums.

Zach

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