Ranger Magic

Vince's Shivan Dragon

Ranger Magic

Introduced at Matcon 38 in 2019, Ranger Magic is our third iteration of a Magic the Gathering tournament. The new format is still a no-prep, draft-style event but has several advantages: everybody plays at the same time (three-on-three teams), there are no two-on-one beatings (each opponent can be attacked only once per turn), and games are quicker (about 30 minutes each). As a timed event, Ranger Magic now runs in a single evening.

Deck Construction

We start by holding a six-player draft. Each player gets 3 booster packs. At the end of the draft, everyone has 45 cards. From these, players make a 40 card deck. As always, I will provide the booster packs and plenty of basic lands.

Playing the Game

With 10 possible matches, each game begins by drawing a random chit from the bag to determine teams. Each player on a team plays at the same time (i.e., untap together, draw together, etc.). Combat is done as three 1-on-1 battles. The attacking team chooses the match-ups for the turn (i.e., Bill attacks Bob, Jeff attacks Alan, and Tim attacks Neil). Then, combat is resolved simultaneously. Teams have a pool of 50 life points each.

Each win is one point. Teams are shuffled after each game by drawing a new chit. The game plays until midnight with a goal of 5 games played in the evening. The player(s) with the highest point totals get a prize (see below).

Past MTG Winners
Event	Chris	Jeff	Tim	Alan	Bill	Bob	Neil
Matcon 40	1	DNP	2	2	2	2	0
Matcon 39	1	DNP	2	0	2	1	2
Matcon 38	DNP	2	3	1	1	2	3
Matcon 37	3	4	4	3	1	1	DNP
Matcon 36	3	4	2	2	1	4	DNP
Matcon 35	2	4	0	4	0	2	DNP
Matcon 34	4	2	1	1	4	2	DNP
Matcon 33	2	4	0	0	2	4	DNP
Matcon 32	3	4	1	1	3	4	DNP
Matcon 31	4	2	1	1	4	2	DNP

The Prize

This game is worth 100,000 experience points in the Realm. Each winning game is worth one point, and the experience pool is divided up accordingly. If you lose all your games, no experience for you!

If you are the player with the highest point total, you are allowed to choose one spell from your Magic deck to use in the D&D adventure. For example, Vince wins and chooses a Shivan Dragon (a card from his deck) as his spell to cast. During the D&D adventure, Vince may summon his dragon and, if he wants, use his magic points to pump up it's breath weapon. The DM will decide exactly how to implement spells in the D&D game and reserves the right to disallow any spell which is out of balance or out of the spirit of the game. In this case, Vince's Shivan Dragon takes out a horde of treasure-toting orcs gaining him enough experience to learn how to track indoors.

Past Matcon Results
Event	Winning Players	Card
Matcon 40	Tim Alan Bill Bob	Fractured Sanity (T) Tourach's Canticle (A) New card (Bi) Tizerus Charger (Bo)
Matcon 39	Tim Neil Bill	Memory Theft (T) Trapped In The Tower (N) Outmuscle (B)
Matcon 38	Neil Tim	Broken Bond (N) Yawgmoth's Vile Offering (T)
Matcon 37	Jeff Tim	Mirari Conjecture (J) Keldon Overseer (T)
Matcon 36	Jeff Bob	Trygon Predator (J) Giant Tortoise (B)
Matcon 35	Jeff Alan	Vessel of Malignity (J) Eerie Interlude (A)
Matcon 34	Bill Chris	Archfiend of Depravity (B)
Matcon 33	Bob Jeff	Flesh to Dust (B) First Response (J)
Matcon 32	Bob Jeff	Hysterical Blindness (B) Back From The Brink (J)
Matcon 31	Bill Chris	Bitterheart Witch (B)
Matcon 30	Bob Jeff	Avenger of Zendikar (B) Everflowing Chalice(J)
Matcon 29	Bill Chris	Chain Reaction (B)
Matcon 28	Bill Chris	Protomatter Powder (B)
Matcon 27	Bill and Chris (rock) Bob and Jeff (scissors) Alan and Tim (paper)
Matcon 26	Bill Chris	Havenwood Wurm (B)
Matcon 25	DNP
Matcon 24	Jeff Neil	Veil of Secrecy (J) Ronin Cliffrider (N)