First look: Missoula
I've been trying to figure out how to approach the magic scene in my new town. I don't play commander and I'm not interested in being a guy who hangs around the game store all day. That being said, I know I am going to need to embed myself a bit to get a sense of things, meet the locals, and try to ferret out the cube players or the folks I could convince to cube.
With that in mind, I signed up for a Kaldheim draft at a local spot for Friday night. I didn't know how big the store was or how many people might attend, but I figured if nothing else, it got me out and about to play some games.
21 people showed up to draft Kaldheim. From chatting with the folks around the store, I got the sense that this was more than normal and it was a great opportunity for me to see the scene. There were a bunch of chaco-sandal sporting folks who I learned all worked for the forest service. It seemed like people were across a wide range of ages and experience levels. I was also encouraged that there were women in the pod. I think it's a sign of a healthy scene when it's not homogenized.
Things were well organized and the team organizing the pod was thoughtful about explaining all of the aspects of draft for new players. It felt good and I think this is something that has changed throughout the years I have been going to game stores. There used to be a defensiveness, a quiet "who the fuck are you" energy that new players would get when trying to go somewhere new. That wasn't present here.
The draft went well enough for me. I pulled Vorinclex and tried to make a red/green pile. I had listened to an old episode of Sam Black's Drafting Archetypes on green red decks and tried to follow what I remembered: get ahead with 1 and 2 drops and try to get to big guys quickly. This plan worked for the first two matches and I went 2-0 in round one and 2-0 in round 2 to kick things off. My first game was against a red/white voltron style deck and my second round was against a similar green/white pile. One of the things I remember from that drafting archetypes podcast is that white is a deep color in Kaldheim that can play a lot of roles. It was the common color across all of my opponents, which is interesting if not revelatory.
After two wins, I found myself fighting for my first 3-0 in Missoula. My opponent was a great player (who has been playing since the 90's) and super kind and thoughtful. But he was just demolishing me. Game one, I almost stabilized off the back of some Ravenous Lindwurm lifegain, but it wasn't enough. I think the deck I played needed a good curve out to start with and I was keeping risky hands without much land. I got swept in two by an unrelenting amount of lifegain in my opponent's Abzan beatdown deck. As I reflect back on the game to try and gather some insight, I am trying to think about what role I should have been playing in the match. I wasn't fast enough to be a beatdown deck as he played small ball life linkers and started to search up runes. I didn't have the juice to keep his board clear until I built up some big guys. I think he just had a really solid midrange deck and he out mid-ranged me. I had been feeling hot and my deck had been synergizing. That fell apart here and it was a good slice of humble pie. My opponent just had a better plan.
This store isn't as worried about the top player and instead gives you a pack per win, plus a promo pack and foil card for each player. I walked out with a few extra packs and very much felt that I had got my money's worth out of this. I connected with a local guy who runs some cube drafts and mentioned the 100 ornithopters cube, which feels like an "in" I am excited for. I got his number and he said he'd add me to a group chat for some cubers. Maybe it's the bigger city, or maybe cube has started to permeate into magic player consciousness, but I was surprised how quickly that connection happened.
I walked home and opened my packs in the cool night air after a horrendously hot day. I browsed Marvel cards by streetlight (those were the pack prizes) and tried to figure out what I would do with those cards that didn't spark joy in me. In the flurry of moving across the country, I haven't been playing Magic lately and this was a great reminder of the things I enjoy about the game: meeting new people, having a shared language, making interesting decisions with cardboard on a table. It's all got me feeling encouraged about playing Magic in Missoula and I am excited to dig in.