First Look: Kamigawa: Neon Dynasty Buy-a-Box Promo

The science fiction future of Kamigawa has action around every corner. In a world where no side is your bad side, how could Wizards of the Coast make it cooler?

Enter Satoru Umezawa, the Buy-a-Box Promo for Kamigawa: Neon Dynasty.

You can find Satoru Umezawa in any Kamigawa: Neon Dynasty product, if your lucky enough, but this art is only found on the Buy-a-Box card! You can get your hands on this Promo for purchasing the following:

• Set Booster Display
• Draft Booster Display
• Collector Booster Display
• 6 Prerelease Packs

Funko Charity Advent Calendar

We have been selling some Funko Advent Calendars this year and I have decided to count the days til Christmas by opening one of them and selling the individual figures to raise money for Prostate Cancer UK which is a charity very close to my heart. If we manage to sell of the figures we should be able to raise nearly £100. 

You can of course donate as much money as you like for the figures but we will be asking for a minimum of £4. I am also hoping to raise money selling some Pokemon Card Bundles and more details on these will be announced over the weekend.

Best Fusion Strike Cards

Fusion Strike is the biggest Pokemon TCG set of the Sword And Shield series and so I've picked out the best cards to pull from this humongous set! With a total of 284 cards, Fusion Strike is also the last set to come out in 2021 for the Pokemon TCG and marks the end of a very exciting 12 months for collectors.

Fusion Strike is based on the Japanese set Fusion Arts, but also includes several cards that were cut from other sets like Evolving Skies and several other promotional sets that never got translated into English cards, which is probably one of the reasons why this set is so big.

Mew is the central character of this set, coming in with 6 different card versions, including an alternative-art and Rainbow Rare. There are also 20 Secret Rare cards, with Flaaffy getting the Gold Card treatment for this set.

Fusion Strike can be purchased in Booster Boxes containing 36 Booster Packs. You'll also get the pink Elite Trainer Box that has 8 Booster packs and everything else you need to start playing the Pokemon TCG game. These Booster Packs also contain new Pokemon TCG Live Code Cards to use with the new online version of the game (which has been delayed until 2022).

Best Cards from Fusion Strike

No 1 #251. Mew V. Rare Ultra.
No 2 #268. Mew VMAX.  Rare Rainbow.
No 3 #271. Gengar VMAX.  Rare Ultra.
No 4 #275. Elesa's Sparkle.  Rare Rainbow.
No 5 #280. Flaaffy. Secret Rare Holo.
No 6 #270. Espeon VMAX. Rare Ultra.
No 7 #245. Celebi V. Rare Ultra.
No 8 #157. Gengar VMAX. Rare Holo VMAX.

What boosters should I buy?

Tomorrow we see the release of the latest MTG set Crimson Vow and that will mean choosing what boosters to buy. There are several options, so lets have a look in a bit more detail...

Four Types of MTG Booster Packs

We now have four main types of booster packs: Draft, Set, Theme and Collector Booster.

Each one has their pros and cons, and I’ll compare them and give general ideas on what types of players would prefer each one. This way, you’ll be able to find the perfect booster pack for you.

So here they are ordered by price, from least to most expensive
Draft Booster £3.50
Set Booster £4.70
Theme Booster £7.00
Collector Booster £21.00

Draft Booster

Number of cards: 15
Contents: 1 rare / mythic, 3 uncommons, 10 commons,1 basic land, 1 token / ad card
Boosters per box: 36 Draft Boosters

Draft Booster packs are regular boosters, the normal ones that we’ve been buying for decades. They have 15 cards with usually 1 rare or mythic and a slim chance of a second one in the foil slot.

Draft Booster are, as the name implies, the best packs for draft games. They tend to be cheaper and since they usually contain exactly one rare or mythic it makes a more balanced draft with friends.

If you want multiple rares, they aren’t the best packs to get. With less chance of rares compared to other pack types, these are worth buying if you want to draft, or if you just want the cheapest option.

Pros

• Usually the cheapest boosters.
• Best for drafts.
• Old school players will know what to expect.

Cons

• Least rares per pack.
• Not that many exciting cards.

Set Booster

Number of cards: 12
Contents: 1 rare / mythic, 6 commons / uncommons, 1 foil, 1 art card, 1 token / ad / The List card.
Boosters per box: 30 Set Boosters

Set Boosters were introduced with Zendikar Rising, which makes them the newest type of booster. They have a total of 12 cards with a chance at 1-4 rares/mythics.

The math behind how many rares and mythics in each pack is insane, with different probabilities. There’s far more math than any other pack type. They also started titling each slot in the pack, which is very confusing unless you read about it. You’ll find that on average, each Set Booster contains 1.34 rares.

Wizards also introduced The List, several reprints of cards from older sets that will randomly appear in some Set Booster packs.  These boosters also sometimes have cards that are new to Commander format, and don’t appear in the main set. 

If you want to just try your hand at pulling rares, these are the boosters for you. With 1-4 boosters per pack each pack has a good probability of getting a good amount of rares and mythics. They’re priced in the middle compared to other Booster types, and are a good middle ground between Draft and Collector Boosters.

If you’re buying boosters just to open them for fun, these are certainly more exciting than Draft Boosters.

Pros

• Higher chance of multiple rares and mythics.
• Still relatively cheap.
• Multiple excitement points make for exciting openings.
• Reprints from The List.
• Sometimes contain new-to-Commander cards.

Cons

• Highest variety makes them less predictable.
• Least cards per pack.

Theme Booster

Number of cards: 35
Contents: 1-2 rares / mythics, 33-34 commons / uncommons all cards of a single color
Boosters per box: 12 Theme Boosters, 2 per theme

Theme Boosters first appeared in Dominaria.  Each pack focuses on a theme. Usually the themes are one of the five colours and maybe a sixth theme of all colours.

With some sets, like Theros Beyond Death, Wizards introduced special rares, which only appear in Theme Boosters. They can be strong cards, however the probability of getting them isn’t that high, so don’t buy these pack just for that chance.

These packs are great for players that are seeking a specific colour. 

These packs contain 35 cards with 1-2 rares, so if you care only about rares these are usually the worst packs to pick. You’ll also end up with tons of extra commons and uncommons, which isn’t too bad but can get annoying depending on storage and how many packs you get.

Pros

• Good for beginners who prefer a certain colour.
• Sometimes contain specific cards that only appear in these packs.
• Most cards per pack.

Cons

• Higher price.
• Majority of the cards are too weak for enfranchised players.
• Low number of rares and mythics per cost.

Collector Booster

Number of cards: 15
Contents: varies from set to set, usually 4 rares and mythics, 11 commons / uncommons, 1 foil token – all cards are either in foil or have alternate art
Boosters per box: 12 Collector Boosters

Collector Booster is the most expensive one. However, it also has the greatest number of exciting cards. Very high risk, high reward. 

In general each pack has 15 cards with 1 double-sided token. They usually have 4 rares or mythics and the rest are commons and uncommons. All cards are either in foil or have alternate art (borderless, extended or completely special artwork). 

With all that being said, the cost difference tends to be significantly higher than any of the other booster types. As the name implies, these tend to fit better for collectors instead of your average player.

Collector Boosters also have the most foils of all pack types, which is great for anyone that loves to foil their decks. The fact that each pack has a double-sided foil token is also a plus for me since I love token decks.

Pros

• Special art cards, some of which only appear in these packs.
• Highest number of rares, mythics and foils per pack.
• Great for collectors.

 Cons

• Highest price booster

Gambit Sunday - 31st October Halloween!!!

Today I have been at Gambit Games in East Worthing. It has been a busy day with lots of different games being played.

Highlight for me was the Magic the Gathering Innistrad Cube which Michael brought along. It was great to see all my favourite cards from the sets again and managed to play a decent red/green agro deck which included both parts of the Hanwier Garrison and Kessig Wolf Run. I couldn't manage to beat Mikes blue/white spirits/control though, but it was pretty close.

This was followed up by more MTG in the form of a constructed tournament also using cards from the seven Innistrad sets that have been released. Despite me thinking that the newer cards would be dominant, it was the old favourites that really ruled the event.

Other games being played today were Saga, Bolt Action, Dead Mans Hand, Oak and Iron, Crisis Protocal and a few different card games and board games. 

What is a Cube in MTG?

Cube Draft is a casual Magic: The Gathering format where players create a cube, a large pool of cards selected for the purposes of playing a limited game.

Cube Draft encompasses many of the most enjoyable aspects of Magic, combining elements of both Constructed and Limited play, trading, and playing the game with friends. To prepare for this format, a player (or, if you prefer, your entire playgroup) prepares a "cube" — a specifically selected set of at least 360 different cards. Many cubes contain upwards of 720 cards to provide more variety among drafts.

For this Sunday's event which will be at Gambit Games in Worthing we will be using a cube designed and constructed by Michael Pike which uses cards from the 6 Innistrad sets released.

Once the cube has been built, you can use it for any draft format. The most popular option is to build makeshift "booster packs" out of 15 randomly selected cards from the cube and then run a regular Booster Draft. But you can also use your cube for Winston Draft, Solomon Draft, or any other kind of draft format.

Building a cube is a great way to get some extra play value out of your favorite cards, or even out of cards that haven't found a home in your Constructed decks. The best aspect of it is how personalized it is. Every cube is different, and you can build the pool of cards you'll draft with however you choose. Some players even create intricate lists of the most powerful Magic cards ever created and try to include each one in their cube.

WHAT IS PIONEER?

Tonight at KD Games we are playing the MTG format - Pioneer, but for though's new to the format here is a brief overview...

Pioneer is a non-rotating format featuring cards from Return to Ravnica and forward

Pioneer is a constructed format and therefore adheres to the following constructed rules:

• Minimum of sixty cards
• No maximum deck size, as long as you can shuffle your deck unassisted
• Up to fifteen cards in your sideboard, if used

With the exception of basic lands (Plains, Island, Swamp, Mountain, Forest, and Wastes), your combined deck and sideboard may not contain more than four of any individual card, counted by its English card title equivalent.

All Standard releases from Return to Ravnica forward are legal

The following card sets are permitted in Pioneer....

• Innistrad: Midnight Hunt
• Adventures in the Forgotten Realms
• Strixhaven
• Kaldheim
• Zendikar Rising
• Core 2021
• Ikoria Lair of Behemoths
• Theros Beyond Death
• Throne of Eldraine
• Core Set 2020
• War of the Spark
• Ravnica Allegiance
• Guilds of Ravnica
• Core Set 2019
• Dominaria
• Rivals of Ixalan
• Ixalan
• Hour of Devastation
• Amonkhet
• 
  
• Aether Revolt
• Kaladesh
• Eldritch Moon
• Shadows over Innistrad
• Oath of the Gatewatch
• Battle for Zendikar
• Magic Origins
• Dragons of Tarkir
• Fate Reforged
• Khans of Tarkir
• Magic 2015
• Journey into Nyx
• Born of the Gods
• Theros
• Magic 2014
• Dragon's Maze
• Gatecrash
• Return to Ravnica

PIONEER BANNED CARDS

The following cards are banned:
Balustrade Spy
Bloodstained Mire
Felidar Guardian
Field of the Dead
Flooded Strand
Inverter of Truth
Kethis, the Hidden Hand
Leyline of Abundance
Nexus of Fate
Oko, Thief of Crowns
Once Upon a Time
Polluted Delta
Smuggler’s Copter
Teferi, Time Raveler
Undercity Informer
Underworld Breach
Uro, Titan of Nature's Wrath
Veil of Summer
Walking Ballista
Wilderness Reclamation
Windswept Heath
Wooded Foothills

Halloween Innistrad Event

This Halloween as part of the last Sunday of the month Gambit Games event, we will be hosting a special constructed deck tournament. 

Players will need to bring a 60 card (minimum) deck with sideboard (no more that 15 cards) which can contain cards from the following sets ...

• INNISTRAD
• DARK ASCENSION
• AVACYN RESTORED
• SHADOWS OVER INNISTRAD
• ELDRITCH MOON 
• INNISTRAD MIDNIGHT HUNT

Other than basic land only cards from these sets can be used. These are all six of the MTG sets which are based on the plane of Innistrad and are ideally suited for a halloween event.

The tournament will be open to up to 16 players and will cost £5 (which covers the entrance into the Gambit event).   Everyone that enters will receive a special Lotus Bloom promo card just for playing and there will be other promo cards given to the first and second place.

 

The event will start at 1pm and should finish around 5pm. Tickets can be booked on either the Gambit Games UK website or our KD Games site.

There will also be a special MTG Innistrad cube in the morning, which will start at 9am. This cube contains cards from the original 5 Innistrad sets and is purely for fun. The cube event will be open for 12 players. This event will also cost £5 but if players want to play both events it will cost £8.

More details on the cube will be posted next week.

MTG Companion

The Innistrad: Crimson Vow season is nearly upon us, and there’s a lot to look forward to.

We encourage our players to download the Magic Companion App and create a Wizards Account. Why? Well because Wizards of the Coast are running a get little promotion for the next set. If you sign up for an Innistrad: Crimson Vow event using the app, you can get bonus promos that you won’t want to miss out on.

We will receive three different promo cards starting November 8. Promo cards will be handed out why stocks last.

These play promos will be revealed on October 28—mark your calendars!

Pokemon League

 We are very pleased to announce that next week will see the long awaited return of ...

It was one of our most popular events before the Covid pandemic and although some of our other events have already returned it was important to wait until now for this one as we really needed to see the impact of the schools returning before we felt confident enough to operate this club safely.

The league will very similar to how it has always been, the main differences are as follows...

• The league will be slightly shorter, it will last for just 1.5 hours rather than 2 hours, this is mainly to allow proper cleaning of the tables, etc before and after the event.
• There will now be an additional league event on Saturdays, which will be in the morning. This will hopefully allow more people to participate.
• Attendance will now need to be booked in advance. This can be done either online or in person at the shop. (You do not need to pay in advance, although you can if you wish) Occasionally you may be able to simply come along to the store and join in but as space is limited booking will allow you to get a confirmed place.
• Attendance will be limited. For the first couple of events we will be restricting it to just 8 players. This will be held in the back room at the shop allowing the main shop floor to be kept clear. Once we are happy with how things are operating we will increase this attendance to 12 by using one of the tables in the shop area.  
• There will be very limited space so the club will be a drop off, although there are several coffee shops close by if parents wish to remain in close proximity.
• The first time that you come to one of the league events we will be asking you to complete a player record sheet, which we will need for covid monitoring purposes and contact details. (These forms will kept secured and confidential at all times.)

If you have any questions about the league, please feel free to message us or pop in and have a chat with us.

If you want to book then head to our website ...

https://www.kdgames.co.uk/trading-cards---pokemon

MTG Innistrad Midnight Hunt Prerelease

It's time to go back to one of Magic players' favorite planes: Innistrad.

A spooky plane based on gothic horror—filled with Vampires, Werewolves, Zombies, Spirits, and, of course, Humans just trying to get by—loaded with fun and full of flavor. 

But what is a Prerelease? 

During Prerelease weekend, you have your first chance to get your hands on the new set.

The Prerelease of a set is great because the set is totally new, the footing is equal as everybody plays with the set for the very first time, and you just get to relax and have fun exploring the new cards. There's a lot of laughs, learning, and great games: it's a lot of fun for old and new players alike!

What does a Prerelease Pack for Innistrad: Midnight Hunt have in it?

You don't even have to brave the werewolf-laden forests of Kessig to get one of these beauties. And there is indeed a lot of good stuff inside—here's everything you'll get:

6 Innistrad: Midnight Hunt Draft Boosters
1 Traditional foil rare or mythic rare from Innistrad: Midnight Hunt with a foil year stamp
3 Double-faced helper cards (with a Magic card back so it can take the place of a double-faced card in a deck, if needed)

1 Twenty-sided spindown life counter with the Innistrad: Midnight Hunt expansion symbol imprint
1 MTG Arena code card to redeem for Store Packs of Innistrad: Midnight Hunt
1 Reusable deck box with divider

How do I build a deck?

You'll find six Draft Boosters, which is exactly what you need to get started building your sealed deck. First thing's first: crack them open! Then, you'll have a stack of cards.

So . . . what now?

It's time to build your deck, of course!

Sealed Deck is a little different from normal deck building. You get to build a deck using only the cards in front of you, plus as many basic lands as you'd like. Also, unlike a normal Constructed deck where the minimum deck size is 60, you only need to play 40 cards.

The first thing you're going to want to do is figure out a method to pick which colours you'll be playing. I recommend playing two colours and about 23 nonlands. You can sometimes "splash" for a third colour, but in general, you'll want to pick two to be your core.

Some things that may draw you into specific colours are:
A strong rare you're excited about
Plenty of "removal" cards that can deal with your opponent's creatures
A lot of playable cards in that colour
A good "mana curve" in that colour—meaning lots of creatures of different costs

Ideally, the colorus you pick will have all four, but if two or three of those are true, that's plenty good.

Now you have your colorus down. From there, how do you take everything you have and figure out which 22–23 cards to put in your deck?

Here's one process that may help!

First, lay your creatures out in mana-cost order. This helps you see what creatures you're going to potentially be able to cast at each part of the game. (Don't lay your noncreatures out at this point unless they're cards you are planning to play as soon as you have that much mana—for example, you will generally cast a Ritual Guardian on turn three, whereas Sungold Barrage isn't usually a turn-three play.)

A good "mana curve" of creatures is crucial to a successful sealed deck. You don't want to have a ton of cards at any single spot in the curve. It's important for you to have a good mix so you can play your cheap spells in the early game and your expensive spells in the late game. As a very general rule for Limited, I would look to play something like this:
1 mana: 0–2
2 mana: 4–6
3 mana: 3–5
4 mana: 2–4
5 mana 1–3
6+ mana: 0–2

That's far from hard and fast, but it's a good place to start. Cull your creatures down to these numbers by choosing your favorites.

Now that you have your core creature base figured out, it's time to add in spells! Pick your favorites among your colors to bring your deck to 22 or 23 nonlands, and then you're good to go from the spell side.

The spells you're going to want most are what are called "removal spells"—these are the spells that permanently neutralize your opponent's creatures by either dealing damage, keeping them tapped, or just straight-up destroying them. Sealed Deck Magic is all about creatures, so you'll want to play most of the cards in your colors that can get rid of your opponent's creatures.

You can play more than 40 cards, but you really should stick to 40 if possible. Every card you play past 40 just means it's that much less likely you're going to draw that awesome rare you put in your deck!
The land ratio you're looking at should be about 17 or 18 lands to 23 or 22 nonlands. This isn't right 100% of the time, but most Limited decks end up looking like this, and, in general, it's what I would want to have.
Play a mix of cheap-to-cast and expensive-to-cast cards. If you have all cheap, small creatures, then a single big creature can shut you down. If you have all large, expensive creatures, you risk getting run over first. Stick to a mix that focuses on creatures with a mana value of two, three, four, and five. More games of Sealed Deck are won by casting a creature every turn starting on turn two or three than by any other way.
Evasion is important! Often, Sealed Deck games will get into stalls where both players have a lot of creatures and neither player can attack very well. Creatures with abilities like flying ensure that you can break through these creature stalls.
Unlike most Magic formats, Sealed tends to be a little slower. If your deck is on the slow side, choosing to draw (go second) rather than play (go first) can be reasonable to give you that extra card.

MAGIC FROM A DISTANCE

So, if you get product to bring home and aren't able to, or don't feel comfortable playing in a store, what should you do?

Well, of course there's Magic: The Gathering Online and Magic: The Gathering Arena, both of which let you play the set from a safe distance. But on the other hand, you could try playing over a phone camera or webcam!

If you haven't tried SpellTable yet, it's really fantastic: with just a few clicks, you can set up your phone or computer with webcam to play Magic with someone across town—or across the world. Complete with life-total tracking and card lookup, it's really easy to set up: just log in with your Wizards account, and you're good to go.

MTG Championship

Some exciting news for December this year...

It’s back and better than before! This twice annual one-day tournament is available to all WPN stores where in-store play has resumed, which unless things change in the coming months will be us. 

What is it? This event is all about bragging rights and awesome prizes. We have signed up for this and should get confirmation soon of format(s)

Prizes have been announced and will be...

Arbor Elf promos for participation 

Collected Company promos for top eight

Wurmcoil Engine promo for first place

We’ll be taking a closer look at Store Championships in the coming months, so check back here to find out more!

What is a Pokemon Prerelease?

With the world slowly returning to some kind of normality people are beginning to return in store to play Pokemon TCG and what better way to get back in to this great game is there than a prerelease event. As it has been quite a while since we have hosted an event like this, I thought we should address some of the basics.

First, what is a Prerelase?

Prerelease tournaments allow players to receive and play with cards from the upcoming expansion up to two weeks before the expansion's official release date!
Each participant receives a Prerelease box containing a 22-card Evolution pack, four 10-card booster packs, and an exclusive foil promo card. 

The Evolution pack provides a solid foundation which, along with the booster packs and Energy provided by the Tournament Organizer, is used to construct a 40-card deck. 

What are the prizes?

Tournament Organizers are provided with 3 booster packs per player to use as prizes. At our events, each player will receive 3 packs for playing regardless of where you finish. The event itself is just for fun.

What do I need to know?

These events welcome players of all ages and skill levels. This is an excellent opportunity for new players to learn the ropes of the game and tournament structure, while scoring the newest cards before they reach store shelves.

Make sure you arrive on time. If you are late for registration, you may not be able to play in the event!

What is the tournament structure?

The event format is Swiss, which is a non eliminating event where the first round is paired randomly and then subsequent round are pair based on standings. The number of Swiss rounds that will be played will depend on total attendance at the event (usually 3). 

Players use a 40-card deck and play using four Prize cards.

Western Front

New in this week is a great little game from Little Bighorn Games. It is simple to play, quick, compact and costs less than a tenner! It is an ideal game to take away on holiday or to fill half and hour or so in the evening...

Originally a kick starter project, Western Front is the first in a range of WWII card games that we will be stocking. 

Zendikar Rising Post Release Event

PREPARING TO RISE

Okay, so this week we are looking at one of the sets that arrived during the lock down and for some of you it will be the first time you have got a Zendikar Rising Prerelease pack in your hands. 

For many it has been a while since you built a deck for a sealed event. Here is a bit of recap on building tips and what to expect in this set.

First things first: crack open those booster packs! Then, you'll have a stack of cards.

So . . . what now?

It's time to build your deck, of course!

Sealed Deck is a little different from normal deck building. You get to build a deck using only the cards in front of you, plus as many basic lands as you'd like. Also, unlike a normal Constructed deck where the minimum deck size is 60, you only need to play 40 cards.

The first thing you're going to want to do is figure out a method to pick which colors you'll be playing. I recommend playing two colors and about 23 spells. (Though that gets a little tricky in Zendikar Rising, as I'll explain shortly.) You can sometimes "splash" for a third color, but in general, you'll want to pick two to be your core.

Some things that may draw you into specific colors are:
A really strong rare you're excited about
Plenty of "removal" cards that can deal with your opponent's creatures
A lot of playable cards in that color
A good "mana curve" in that color—meaning lots of creatures of different costs

Ideally, the colors you pick will have all four, but if two or three of those are true, that's plenty good.

Now you have your colors down. From there, how do you take everything you have and figure out which 22–23 cards you're going to want to put in your deck?

Here's one process that may help!

First, lay your creatures out in mana-cost order. This helps you see what creatures you're going to potentially be able to cast at each part of the game. (Don't lay your noncreatures out at this point unless they're cards you are planning to play as soon as you have that much mana.)

A good "mana curve" of creatures is crucial to a successful Sealed deck. You don't want to have a ton of cards at any single spot in the curve. It's important for you to have a good mix so you can play your cheap spells in the early game and your expensive spells in the late game. As a very general rule for Limited, I would look to play something like this:

1 mana: 0–2
2 mana: 4–6
3 mana: 3–5
4 mana: 2–4
5 mana 1–3
6+ mana: 0–2

That's far from hard and fast, but it's a good place to start. Cull your creatures down to these numbers by choosing your favorites.

Now that you have your core creature base figured out, it's time to add in spells! Pick your favorites among your colors to bring your deck to 22 or 23 cards, and then you're good to go from the spell side.

The spells you're going to want the most are what are called "removal spells"—these are the spells that permanently neutralize your opponent's creatures by either dealing damage, keeping them tapped, or just straight-up destroying them. Sealed Deck Magic is all about creatures, so you'll want to play most of the cards in your colors that can get rid of your opponent's creatures.

One wrinkle to all of this are the modal double-faced cards in Zendikar Rising. Some of these are cards that are a land on one side and a nonland on the other. For example:

How should you count them? Lands? Creatures? Something else?

Well, it does depend on the card exactly, but I normally count them as a land since you can always play them as one. However, I usually want to make sure to play 18 lands when I'm playing at least one, and if I'm playing more than three, I'm very conscious about how many of my lands will begin entering the battlefield tapped. In general, playing more lands in this format can be great because of landfall, so playing 18 lands as a base is reasonable.

Here are a few more things to keep in mind for deck building:

• You can play more than 40 cards, but you really should stick to 40 if possible. Every card you play past 40 just means it's that much less likely you're going to draw that awesome rare you put in your deck!
• The land ratio you're looking at should be about 17 or 18 lands to 23 or 22 nonlands. This isn't right 100% of the time, but most Limited decks end up looking like this, and in general, it's what I would want to have. This can get tricky in Zendikar Rising, so be sure to check out my aside above.
• Play a mix of cheap-to-cast and expensive-to-cast cards. If you have all cheap, small creatures, then a single big creature can shut you down. If you have all large, expensive creatures, you risk getting run over first. Stick to a mix that focuses on the two-, three-, four-, and five-mana creatures. More games of Sealed Deck are won by casting a creature every turn starting on turn two or three than any other way.
• Evasion is important! Often, Sealed Deck games will get into stalls where both players have a lot of creatures and neither player can attack very well. Creatures with abilities like flying ensure that you can break through these creature stalls.
• Unlike most Magic formats, Sealed tends to be a little slower. If your deck is on the slow side, choosing to draw (go second) rather than play (go first) can be reasonable to give you that extra card

Understand the MTG Menu Options

Back in January I posted the difference between the various types of boosters and now that the shop is open again and people are once more discovering or returning to MTG I thought it might be good to look at these once again..

Make sure you get the booster that suits you!

Not everyone is always in the mood for the same thing—whether it’s selecting what to have for lunch or buying the right Magic product—so having different options available means we can serve more customers.

Let’s take a closer look at how different Magic booster offerings can satisfy every type of customer.

Set Boosters—The Seasonal Special

Considering something different and a little exclusive?

That's the Set Booster—more exciting than the usual fare with one guaranteed foil and the possibility of extra rare cards.

If you want to get a taste of everything new this season's set has to offer, whether you're grabbing a booster to crack between rounds or exploring the new set on your couch, a Set Booster will be a good choice.

Draft Boosters—The Classic

If you’re seeking a classic, you know what you like and you want the guaranteed satisfaction of consistency. It’s what keeps you coming back for more!

That’s the Draft Booster—the classic, just-like-you-remember-it Magic booster that’s been a staple of the game for over two decades. You can count on a Draft Booster for a balanced Draft experience every time. 

Theme Boosters—The Special Order

Theme Boosters are like a favorite go-to made just the way you like it. They always hit the spot, and you’re certain to walk away satisfied.

Theme Boosters are based on a single theme, typically a color, and are packed with 35 cards—more than double other boosters.

If your someone who likes to play a certain color then you will love Theme Boosters. The cards inside will be perfectly made-to-order to fix their color or themed deck.

Collector Boosters—The Chef's Choice

Anyone who asks for the chef's choice is seeking something even more unique.

Collector Boosters are just that—they show off all the amazing effects and art styles we can do with Magic, just like some of you want to do with your decks.

If you are looking to build a distinct collection, always stuffing your decks with the coolest version of every card, and always flipping to the rare slot of your other boosters first, Collector Boosters are the perfect choice.

MTG In store W/C 24th May 2021

Last week we were once more able to have people in the store playing games. 

Initially this will be limited to just 4 players. The reason for this is that the Rule of 6 indoors is currently a legal requirement and for us to be able to maintain social distancing we only have space for 2 tables of two. 

In addition to the low capacity we are currently not running sanctioned FNM events as these are currently still on hold. We will continue to offer FNM at home using the Spelltable system.

This week will be running three casual events. Two on Friday which will be 'Pioneer' format and one on Saturday which will be a sealed 'Post' release for Zendikar Rising.

Friday's event will start at 7pm and will last for 3 hours. It will consist of three rounds of best of three games which will last 50 minutes per round. It will only be open to 4 players. You must book online to secure your place. The cost of the event will be £6 per player and each player will receive 2 boosters for playing. (One Strixhaven and one from another standard set). There will be no official prize packs for this event. Both tables will have screens in place and hand gel available and players must wear face masks when not seated. There will be an additional event in the afternoon from 4pm which is ideally suited for younger players and the format for this will be 'Modern'

Saturday's event will start at 2pm and will last for 4 hours. It will be open to just 4 players and again will need to be booked online. The event will cost £20 per player for which they will receive one pre-release pack for Zendikar Rising which they will use to create a deck for the event and a further 2 boosters at the end of the event. 

Both events will be go live today.

There may also be an additional event added on Thursday which will be a commander event. This will be announce on Discord later in the week. We will review MTG play in store and announce events for the following week on Saturday.

Summer Team Challenge

We are currently running our qualifiers for the Summer Team Challenge and thought we should let everyone know the prize structure..

 Digital Prizing

Every player in one of our events will get one code, then depending on the amount of players you may recieve more boosters depending on where you finish. 

Players participating in the Qualifier phase will also receive exclusive digital sleeves and deck boxes to be used in the TCGO. Players will be able to access these codes in their Player Dashboards on RK9.gg after the Qualifier period ends.

These will be limited to 1 of each, per unique player.

 

Additional boosters will be issued based on the following table...

 

Adventures in the Forgotten Realms

I am really looking forward coming MTG set Adventures in the Forgotten Realms.

Adventures in the Forgotten Realms is Magic’s take on the most popular Dungeons & Dragons setting, bringing the characters and experiences of the world’s greatest roleplaying game to life in the world’s greatest card game.

 
Adventures in the Forgotten Realms brings the storytelling and roleplaying of Dungeons & Dragons to Magic through every card. Fans of Dungeons & Dragons will recognize plenty of items, spells, and campaign tropes packed into Adventures in the Forgotten Realms. Fans of Magic will see how the rules and tools of their favourite card game translate the mechanics and feel of the adventures you find in Dungeons & Dragons.

We will be stocking the full range of products as well as hosting Prerelease events and drafts. More details will follow closer to the release date.

Magic the Gathering In Store

From Monday 17th May, we will be once more able to have people in the store playing games. Initially this will be limited to just 4 players. The reason for this is that the Rule of 6 indoors is currently a legal requirement and for us to be able to maintain social distancing we only have space for 2 tables of two. 

In addition to the low capacity we are currently not running sanctioned FNM events as these are currently still on hold. We will continue to offer FNM at home using the Spelltable system.

With all of this in mind we will be running two casual events next week. One on Friday which will be 'Standard' format and one on Saturday which will be a sealed 'Post' release for Kaldheim.

Friday's event will start at 7pm and will last for 3 hours. It will consist of three rounds of best of three games which will last 50 minutes per round. It will only be open to 4 players. You must book online to secure your place. The cost of the event will be £6 per player and each player will receive 2 boosters for playing. (One Strixhaven and one from another standard set). There will be no official prize packs for this event. Both tables will have screens in place and hand gel available and players must wear face masks when not seated.

Saturday's event will start at 2pm and will last for 4 hours. It will be open to just 4 players and again will need to be booked online. The event will cost £20 per player for which they will receive one pre-release pack for Kaldheim which they will use to create a deck for the event and a further 2 boosters at the end of the event. 

Both events will be announced on Discord once they go live.

We will review MTG play in store and announce events for the following week on Saturday.

Marvel Battleworld

New in this week we have Marvel Battleworld, an exciting new game and collectible figure set from Funko.

Currently we have several items in stock including the battle balls, starter set, Thanos ship and Ultron travel portal. Check out the video below which gives a basic overview of the game. 

From 17th May if you want to see how this game plays, then please speak to one of our team and we will arrange a time that is suitable for you.

Click and Collect

With the release of a range of Magic the Gathering products for the exciting new set Kaldheim being released this weekend we are improving our click and collect service. Previously once you had placed your order online you would have to wait for us to contact you and arrange a collection location and time. 

From today you will still need to order you products from our website, but as soon as you have completed the checkout head back to the home screen and select 'Click and Collect' in the bottom left hand corner. This will take you to a screen to choose where to collect the order from, a day that the collection will be available and a time slot. Once we get the request we will make sure everything is ok and send you a confirmation email. After that all you need to do is turn up at the time and place you selected and your all done.

MTG Kaldheim Prerelease

Today we have received our delivery of MTG Kaldheim Prerelease Kits and Draft Booster Boxes.

These will be available from midday on Saturday 30th January 2021.

Normally I would be selling prerelease items from the Friday but unfortunately both Jake and I are in self isolation until Saturday so there will be a day delay this time.

Both items are being added to the website today and will be available to order for delivery or collection. 

MTG Kaldheim Booster Box £100

MTG Kaldheim Prerelease Pack £22

Collections can be picked up from the Shop on Saturday but only after midday and these must be booked once the item is paid for. Collections slots will be 15 minutes apart as we can not have two customers arrive at the shop at the same time. Collections will also be available after Saturday but these will be from my home address. I will contact you directly to arrange all collection details via Discord, Messenger, Text or email depending on you preferred method.

Orders can be made on our website ... https://www.kdgames.co.uk/trading-cards

Whats the Difference?

Many people get confused with the different MTG boosters and ask "Whats the difference?" So with the new MTG set just a few days away, I though I would post a quick breakdown of what you get in the main three booster types...