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Yeah, the only reason I think anyone ever went to that store is because those of us who lived in NoVA had a closer drive going there than to Richmond for state champs. They always used to hold the large regional prerelease events and were bad at organizing things, as I recall. SCG might be lacking in other areas, but they do run tournaments well - at least until their screw-ups in Richmond. The mini-masters debacle was amazing.
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Mar 27, 2014 15:28
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vOv posted:
Are you perhaps thinking of Ancestral Vision from Time Spiral?
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Mar 27, 2014 15:40
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Zoness posted:Are you perhaps thinking of Ancestral Vision from Time Spiral? He was actually referring to Ritual, last printed Standard legal in Masques.
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Mar 27, 2014 15:46
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Fox of Stone posted:Yeah, the only reason I think anyone ever went to that store is because those of us who lived in NoVA had a closer drive going there than to Richmond for state champs. They always used to hold the large regional prerelease events and were bad at organizing things, as I recall. SCG might be lacking in other areas, but they do run tournaments well - at least until their screw-ups in Richmond. The mini-masters debacle was amazing. Yeah that was rough. I can't fault them a ton, I don't even know how the hell you deal with thousands of people showing up at opening time and get them all in for their free event without it taking a whole frickin day. The only realistic way that I can think would be to massively increase the staff taking registrations.
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Mar 27, 2014 15:49
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Fox of Stone posted:SCG might be lacking in other areas, but they do run tournaments well - at least until their screw-ups in Richmond. The mini-masters debacle was amazing. I missed this is there a short version?
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Mar 27, 2014 15:59
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Snacksmaniac posted:I missed this is there a short version? Long lines, announcements stating you can skip the line and minimasters and pick up your battle blanket later/next day to no avail, logistics screw ups with minimasters flights, flights not starting, no defined area where to look for judges for your rounds 2+ (in addition, nobody was told you were supposed to look for a judge and rounds were no longer posted on banners rounds 3+), causing people to miss rounds/packs, rounds ending in 20-30 minutes with the players waiting upwards of an hour to start their next round, etc. Really, I just wonder why they even did it. I understand they probably wanted to get people in the door so they can get their pack, lose, and stick around to give them more money in side events, but all the waiting just to try to get a modern masters pack at the end probably cost them a lot of money too. Hell, it saved me $20 from entering the legacy challenge on friday.
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Mar 27, 2014 16:09
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What a Judas posted:This is a piece of poo poo store run by piece of poo poo people. I have been going to Dream wizards for about 16 years now and one of the main complaints I hear is how "Cliquey" the store is and I def see new players given a hard time more often than not. The level of competition is some times over the top (I faced a $1200 elf ball deck at game day 2010 with a >$100 white weenie soldiers deck that was exactly as crappy as it sounds, casual event my rear end there was 25k points up for grabs) and Min the merciless is roundly hated as a judge but I just find him aggravating. He tries to be so diplomatic and fails so hard he just ends up pissing everyone off IMO. So what's your beef with DW? Tl;Dr Dream wizards isn't perfect and I have heard lots of legit gripes about the place but "piece of poo poo run by bigger pieces of poo poo" is new to me. Fun story about Dream wizards grinders: When Marvel/DC vs was just starting up UDE poured a poo poo ton of cash into the first big tourney in NY. A bunch of the DW magic/vs players car pooled up to NYC and finished out as the entire top 8 and think several slots from 8-16. one of the guys bought a 95 Toyota mkIV supra turbo with his prize money. PleasantDirge fucked around with this message at 17:06 on Mar 27, 2014 |
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Mar 27, 2014 16:20
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Fox of Stone posted:Long lines, announcements stating you can skip the line and minimasters and pick up your battle blanket later/next day to no avail, logistics screw ups with minimasters flights, flights not starting, no defined area where to look for judges for your rounds 2+ (in addition, nobody was told you were supposed to look for a judge and rounds were no longer posted on banners rounds 3+), causing people to miss rounds/packs, rounds ending in 20-30 minutes with the players waiting upwards of an hour to start their next round, etc. They were still announcing flights at 8pm that night. I'm sure that is not what they envisioned going into it, they were just trying to add more value to the cost of GP entry. It turned out to be a total waste, It literally killed the first 2 hours we were there, and for us, like many I'm sure we basically got out of the car after a 5 hour drive to stand in line for 90 minutes to go play, and odds were that you'd be out after round one. My opponent got a loving Kiora in his pack, cast it on curve, and I did not get anything to help me remove it before he could Ult it, so I got smashed by krakens. My rare was that green poo poo instant that costs 5. It was a giant waste of time.
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Mar 27, 2014 16:22
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Fox of Stone posted:Yeah, the only reason I think anyone ever went to that store is because those of us who lived in NoVA had a closer drive going there than to Richmond for state champs. Yeah, the DMV magic scene actually kinda sucks. The only decent place I've found (though it is very good and has some super skilled Eternal players) is Curio Cavern, but that's in loving Springfield. There are some skilled pro players in the area, so I wonder where they go to sling.
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Mar 27, 2014 16:23
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Anyone going down to GP Philly? I just wish there was a store around me that did sealed so i could get some practice in before the GP other than what I did at the prerelease...
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Mar 27, 2014 16:28
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mcmagic posted:Anyone going down to GP Philly? I just wish there was a store around me that did sealed so i could get some practice in before the GP other than what I did at the prerelease... I'm going but not to play in the main. Sealed has to much variance for me to spend the $$ to open a poo poo pool and drop since PES doesn't even guarantee a playmat (everyone should follow SCG and do this)
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Mar 27, 2014 16:32
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AgentSythe posted:Yeah, the DMV magic scene actually kinda sucks. The only decent place I've found (though it is very good and has some super skilled Eternal players) is Curio Cavern, but that's in loving Springfield. There are some skilled pro players in the area, so I wonder where they go to sling. I even like the guys who run curio but I have heard nothing but stories of neck beard caked grognards playing in that place. Like "women obv not welcome" poo poo.
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Mar 27, 2014 16:33
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jassi007 posted:I'm going but not to play in the main. Sealed has to much variance for me to spend the $$ to open a poo poo pool and drop since PES doesn't even guarantee a playmat (everyone should follow SCG and do this) Can't you register online to guarantee yourself the playmat?
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Mar 27, 2014 16:36
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PleasantDirge posted:I even like the guys who run curio but I have heard nothing but stories of neck beard caked grognards playing in that place. Like "women obv not welcome" poo poo. Correct. This is why it's too bad that as much as I'd enjoy losing every week to skilled legacy players, it's filled with gross grognards. The few women who regularly play have complained about and I got at least one of them to be more assertive and call people out on poo poo but of course you can't change much unless you kick out the grognards or Tom starts calling people out. While the good players (Signorini, Hatfields, few others) are groomed and decent, I can only imagine it's the same case of not wanting to cull your clientele for fear of losing the good guys. The problem is that the regulars are always there so it's v cliquey. It's really like a manchild treehouse. I'd love to be around more to call people out but I'm at school. It's bad enough that I'd much rather play at VC or CGO for legacy even though the competition there is much lighter and I won't learn as much. As for FNM, don't know what the crowd is like there nowadays since CGO just has a much better atmosphere. This is all coming from the guy who has a dick land tax. Perhaps I'm the true grognard. Chill la Chill fucked around with this message at 17:13 on Mar 27, 2014 |
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Mar 27, 2014 17:09
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PleasantDirge posted:I have been going to Dream wizards for about 16 years now and one of the main complaints I hear is how "Cliquey" the store is and I def see new players given a hard time more often than not. The level of competition is some times over the top (I faced a $1200 elf ball deck at game day 2010 with a >$100 white weenie soldiers deck that was exactly as crappy as it sounds, casual event my rear end there was 25k points up for grabs) and Min the merciless is roundly hated as a judge but I just find him aggravating. He tries to be so diplomatic and fails so hard he just ends up pissing everyone off IMO. I play Vintage and EDH, powerful decks do not scare me. DW is notorious for having offensively low prize support and poo poo staff. The judges are the only redeeming quality, actually. And Min is a friend of mine and an overall good guy so I'm actually a bit curious where you fit into all of this . Edit: also Laurel is the shittiest TO in the whole DMV area.
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Mar 27, 2014 17:20
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Dream Wizards is pretty bad, I played there a couple of times when I first moved to the area almost two years ago. In terms of playerbase it was a lot of self-identified grinders and people who were unpleasantly competitive. I could see it being a good store for someone who takes the game super seriously and and like that kind of environment. Outside of the playerbase, parking is atrocious, prize support is garbage, they won't let you browse through their sales binders, and will give you a hard time for looking for foils or cards they deem unplayable. Whenever someone new showed up to my regular stores for events and identified as coming from Dream Wizards it was a pretty good bet that they were either a): A DW refugee who was tired of it and was looking for a new store or b:) A grinder who came expecting to easily crush an event and would get pissed when they encountered good players who didn't take the game as seriously as they did. I can't recommend Beyond Comics in Gaithersburg or Novel Books in Clarksburg enough if you're the kind of player who doesn't dream of taking down a GP. Events at both places are run by the same TO (although NB's FNMs are run by deputized regulars) and he's super great and sells singles through his website. There's a good mix of skill levels and more experienced players are happy to help newer players get better. I miss those stores like crazy since I moved back to the Detroit area and hate trying to find a new store because none of them match up 
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Mar 27, 2014 17:31
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There's a handful of pretty good stores around Detroit. Pandemonium is the only one I don't care for because of ventilation and smell issues. The store and employees were really cool when I used to go.
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Mar 27, 2014 17:35
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Snacksmaniac posted:There's a handful of pretty good stores around Detroit. Pandemonium is the only one I don't care for because of ventilation and smell issues. That seems appropriate for a place named after a site where every demon gathers.
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Mar 27, 2014 17:36
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mcmagic posted:Can't you register online to guarantee yourself the playmat? The playmat will be offered free to the first 700 players who register for Grand Prix Philadelphia on-site Friday. The playmat will also be offered to any player who purchases the Grand Prix Philadelphia VIP registration package.
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Mar 27, 2014 17:37
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With regard to the Detroit area, Eternal Games just opened up a couple of weeks back and is pretty nice. Haven't played up there much but the store is clean, their selection is great (packs back to... Kamigawa, I think?) and the people I have talked to have been cool. Don't know what area you're in though!
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Mar 27, 2014 17:46
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What a Judas posted:I play Vintage and EDH, powerful decks do not scare me. DW is notorious for having offensively low prize support and poo poo staff. The judges are the only redeeming quality, actually. And Min is a friend of mine and an overall good guy so I'm actually a bit curious where you fit into all of this . I don't really play at anything other than prerelease events with Laurel because I prefer working the events for product and I just back into standard here in Mo (Now its time for me to put my foot in my mouth again, just give it a minute). I don't really know what to say about prize support other than Laurel makes money doing what she does, not magical Xmas land dreams of internet pricing on booster boxes or pie in the sky payouts for winners of her events. I never did a poo poo ton of buying from them BC her prices did reflect her MoCo rockville pike rent that she has to pay but that's MoCo for you. This is not a hobby for her it's how she puts food on the table and pays her rent and without putting all her poo poo out in public she does it on her own with a kid in college now. As far as Min goes I don't have any personal problems with him I just don't dig on his style of interacting with players. If you are friends with Min how do you feel about Liz as a judge? I have heard she is playing more and judging less but I happen to think she is a stellar person. Listen, I really like you and your posting here so I would rather not get into a pissing match because we accidentally totally insulted one another. I can concede that a lot of people might have problems with her payouts and that the staff are surly when they don't know you but to call it a poo poo store and to call it's ppl poo poo is a bit harsh for the problems you are describing.
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Mar 27, 2014 17:54
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jassi007 posted:The playmat will be offered free to the first 700 players who register for Grand Prix Philadelphia on-site Friday. The playmat will also be offered to any player who purchases the Grand Prix Philadelphia VIP registration package. Yeah, if I go i'll do the VIP since I work friday and can't get down there at noon.
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Mar 27, 2014 17:56
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PleasantDirge posted:I don't really play at anything other than prerelease events with Laurel because I prefer working the events for product and I just back into standard here in Mo (Now its time for me to put my foot in my mouth again, just give it a minute). I don't really know what to say about prize support other than Laurel makes money doing what she does, not magical Xmas land dreams of internet pricing on booster boxes or pie in the sky payouts for winners of her events. I never did a poo poo ton of buying from them BC her prices did reflect her MoCo rockville pike rent that she has to pay but that's MoCo for you. This is not a hobby for her it's how she puts food on the table and pays her rent and without putting all her poo poo out in public she does it on her own with a kid in college now. Liz is great and a good friend of mine. Hell, you and I probably know each other.
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Mar 27, 2014 17:59
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I played at DW events about 15 years ago and they pulled shady poo poo like changing up prize support and tournament structures mid-event. Their store also smelled like a sewer, was too small and cramped for the events they were holding, the staff gave you poo poo when you tried to buy singles out of the binders, and their prices put SCG to shame. They also spent years strongarming Wizards and the Baltimore stores to keep a stranglehold on running every major event in Baltimore. I stand by everything I've ever said about the place. If I have literally 20 local stores and the one in the shittiest location operates like assholes, it's pretty easy for me to not have anything to do with them.
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Mar 27, 2014 18:05
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Death Bot posted:With regard to the Detroit area, Eternal Games just opened up a couple of weeks back and is pretty nice. Haven't played up there much but the store is clean, their selection is great (packs back to... Kamigawa, I think?) and the people I have talked to have been cool. That looks likes a solid event schedule.
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Mar 27, 2014 18:09
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Yeah I forgot to mention all of the shady poo poo that's been pulled. Honestly it's probably better as a casual place because prize support has always boiled down to Laurel getting upwards of six dollars per booster pack. That's not how it works. Also the changing of prizes mid event. The majority of the Baltimore crowd now refuses to go there, even for States.
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Mar 27, 2014 18:11
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OK where is this store and how can I play there? 
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Mar 27, 2014 18:19
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I've heard good things about Xanadu games in Bmore but never been there. You guys?
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Mar 27, 2014 18:19
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Smashing Link posted:I've heard good things about Xanadu games in Bmore but never been there. You guys? Xanadu is more well known for hosting monthly fighting game round-ups than wizard poker. I don't know much about the store, itself, though.
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Mar 27, 2014 18:20
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AlternateNu posted:Xanadu is more well known for hosting monthly fighting game round-ups than wizard poker. I don't know much about the store, itself, though. Xanadu was pretty cool at the one event I attended there. Just be prepared for the fact that there may be fighting game grognards and people actively drinking there.
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Mar 27, 2014 18:38
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Smashing Link posted:I've heard good things about Xanadu games in Bmore but never been there. You guys? Xanadu used to be THE place to play chill but competitive Magic. That's not really the case anymore, but the guy who owns it and the dudes behind the counter are cool folk. The best place to play is probably Games and Stuff. Brewport is fine for a small store (mostly Legacy and Vintage), The Family Game Store has a very, very casual environment and can be great for a more relaxing night, and Squabbles, Dropzone, and Titan (and I may be forgetting some) are all reasonable places with no special reason to choose one over the other.
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Mar 27, 2014 18:45
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Toshimo posted:Xanadu was pretty cool at the one event I attended there. Just be prepared for the fact that there may be fighting game grognards and people actively drinking there. Eh, it's not so bad if you remember to close your eyes with holy dread.
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Mar 27, 2014 18:45
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So is this thread 3/4 Baltimore and one or two people in other cities, or what?
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Mar 27, 2014 19:06
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Snacksmaniac posted:There's a handful of pretty good stores around Detroit. Pandemonium is the only one I don't care for because of ventilation and smell issues. The store and employees were really cool when I used to go. Yeah I played at Pandemonium once when I lived here before I moved to Maryland, the smell was pretty bad. Death Bot posted:With regard to the Detroit area, Eternal Games just opened up a couple of weeks back and is pretty nice. Haven't played up there much but the store is clean, their selection is great (packs back to... Kamigawa, I think?) and the people I have talked to have been cool. I'm in Ferndale, the closest stores to me are Gamers Gauntlet (tiny and only runs standard) and Time Traveler's (ugh). I've been playing FNMs at RIW and it's not too bad outside of the crowd running more high school age than I'd like. I've also played a few times in Gamer's Gauntlet EDH league, the store seems nice and I have a friend who plays there, but I'm not super enthused with the Sheldon Pointstm system they've got going on. It's also a serious hike for me to get out there depending on traffic. My friend was going to swing by Eternal Games for their Sunday EDH so I might give them a try if he likes it, I'm hesitant to do the Friday draft since if I'm giving up my Friday I'd at least like to be in the running for the promo.
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Mar 27, 2014 19:08
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As someone who used to live in Ferndale, Eternal's probably gonna be your best bet. GG is indeed small as poo poo and TT is neat to go to but bad to stay at for very long. Eternal is right off of 696 anyways so it's only 5-10 minutes further than GG is and all of their stuff starts a bit later. I would probably go to GG more if their prize support wasn't poo poo, but they tend to get 12-16 people for drafts and even when they do two pods of drafting they mash them together for play and only pay out to the top two. I had one month where between drafting and standard I placed third at every single FNM and didn't win a single thing  Eternal also does drafts on sundays if you want to try and make that work, and I live less than a mile away if you just wanna meet up for a beer some time or something 
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Mar 27, 2014 19:15
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Boxman posted:So is this thread 3/4 Baltimore and one or two people in other cities, or what? NoVA representin'  Though, I barely get a chance to do anything but weekend drafts because I get home too late to make it to any of the local constructed tournaments.
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Mar 27, 2014 19:27
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Quick question on rotation: When M15 comes out in July, will M14 rotate out with its release? Or is that postponed until Ravnica rotates out next fall?
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Mar 27, 2014 19:31
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TheLoser posted:Quick question on rotation: When M15 comes out in July, will M14 rotate out with its release? Or is that postponed until Ravnica rotates out next fall? M14 rotates out with the whole Ravnica block in the fall. The summer months are sometimes referred to as "super standard" because both core sets overlap.
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Mar 27, 2014 19:34
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TheLoser posted:Quick question on rotation: When M15 comes out in July, will M14 rotate out with its release? Or is that postponed until Ravnica rotates out next fall? Both core sets are legal in Standard until Huey is released and RtR block rotates out. M14 will rotate with it.
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Mar 27, 2014 19:34
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They do it that way so that there's only one "rotation" a year, to keep things simpler.
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