Extended is probably my favourite constructed M:TG format, as my collection is mostly based in Invasion and Odyssey blocks, with a decent amount of Mirrodin but very little that is currently type 2 legal. At Gencon last November I played MTG in several GPTs and PTQs to a decent amount of sucess (won a GPT, made top 8 of a PTQ) despite (a) not having played magic for many months and (b) my decks were my own constructions.
So when the local games store in Southampton announced they were running an Extended tournement "by popular request", I made plans to go, and assumed there would be a decent turnout. I decided to play U/G Madness, and Colin, who was also going over from the IW, was running a UB Leyline of the Void / Mists of Singularity Prison deck.
U/G Madness
4 Basking Rootwalla
4 Wild Mongrel
4 Thought Courier
4 Arrogant Wurm
3 Wonder
1 Golgari Brownscale
4 Careful Study
4 Circular Logic
3 Deep Analysis
3 Roar of the Wurn
3 Rushing River
1 Stupefying Touch
9 Forest
9 Mountain
4 Yavimaya Coast
2 Stupefying Touch
3 Golgari Brownscale
1 Roar of the Wurm
1 Deep Analysis
2 Naturalize
2 Oxidize
1 Krosnan Reclamation
1 Ground Seal
2 Counterspell
So, Saturday morning I get up early to finish building the deck, catch a bus to Cowes, and the Red Jet to Southampton. Walk to Hidden Fortress - -and the only people who haved turned up are me and Colin. I am not pleased.
Colin and I play a couple of games anyway, while waiting.
Game 1 he drops a Leyline for free, but doesn't have any counters to prevent my Thought Courier - Arrogant Wurm. He then taps low to cast an Isochron Scepter, but I have a kicked Rushing River to bounce the Specter and the Leyline, and that's bascially game.
I sideboard in Naturalize, Counterspell and some more Brownscales (the Dredge really hurts Colins plan to empty my graveyard).
Game 2 and again Colin has the free Leyline. But I have a Thought Courier, and the card advantadge, combined with my cheap beatdown and answers (Counterspell, Naturalize), let me take the game fairly easily.
So I won the "tournement". Afterwards we played a game of VS, and my JLI/EE 4-resource took down his JLI/TT team attack deck. I got a pretty good draw, while Colin got the TTGs! to stun loads of chracters turn 4, but I have a JLI embassy, and Colin didn't have an Arsenal to make best use of his large number of characters.
Browsing round the shop it really struck me how much the internet has changed things. Five years ago a day out in Southampton would have been an opportunity to buy stuff that you can't get on the Island. Now they have stuff I want (they had TTR:M, Calyus and Elasund), but I know I get them cheaper on the Internet. When it costs you 15 quid and several hours to go to your FLGS, suddenly online stores with free postage seem very attractive. So I didn't buy anything (just as well, having picked up Star Wars Epic Duels half price for my girlfriend the day before).
And after travelling for over an hour to get to a shop running a tournment "by popular request" to which only two people turned up, I am not inclined to give them more of my money. It seems the CCG scene in south Hampshire is pretty dead, apart from Yu-Gi-Oh.
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