Saturday's Gatecrash Pre-Release was not only our largest Pre-Release but also our largest Magic: The Gathering event ever! For Game 1, ComicReaders Downtown hosted 68 players. That is not a typo! 68 players! That beat our previous largest event (Return to Ravnica Pre-Release) by 16 players.

With 68 players (and with one staff member having to deal with a leaking ceiling for the first half hour of the registration process) it took more than an hour to get everyone physically registered, but all players appeared to be patient and in good spirits. Thanks to all of you for your good humour and patience during that.

We had people playing at tables on the showroom floor. We had people playing at our counters. It seemed there were MTG players in every nook and cranny in the store. All players kept their good cheer and I want to thank you all again for your enthusiasm.

We had 28 players for Game 2 in the afternoon, and 23 die-hards for Game 3, which stretched into the evening and wrappd up just past 10pm.

I stuck around after the doors were closed and reset the store because we're doing it all again today (Sunday)!

It was great to see so many new faces, some out-of-towners, and many of the old faithfuls. I was also very pleased to see the veterans helping out the new players during and after the games. That kind of support is what helps the MTG community thrive. I am honoured to host such wonderful players.

I'm Ambassador for this game night and I look forward to seeing everyone. It's been about a month since my last Chewsday Challenge and I'm jonesing for some board game action. I'm going to bring some quick-playing games for when the hand-shaking and "hellos" are done and I can sit down at the table.

I'll bring Escape From the Curse of the Temple. I can teach it in about 10 minutes and every game plays in 10 minutes. I'll also bring Linja, Six and Kulami-- three great 2-player games.

And Snake Oil. I can't come to Chewsday Challenge without Snake Oil....

Gatecrash Pre-releases *Magic: The Gathering*

---

DESCRIPTION
The Gatecrash pre-release events allow you to experience the newest Magic: The Gathering set a week before it goes on sale.

ComicReaders Downtown is able to run a total of three pre-release events on Saturday, and three pre-release events on Sunday, if there is sufficient interest. The events are sealed events.

For the Gatecrash Pre-Release events, each player will choose from the guilds in Gatecrash (Orzhov, Dimir, Gruul, Boros, Simic) and receive a Guild Prerelease Pack (while supplies last) of five Gatecrash booster packs, a guild-specific booster pack, a special alternate-art Prerelease card unique to each guild, an achievement card, a Spindown life counter, a guild symbol sticker, and a letter from the guild's leader.

And for this event, players may use the promo card included with the Guild Prerelease Pack in their decks. That's because each promo card is designed to fit in with Gatecrash guild specific abilities. 

GUILD REGISTRATION

ComicReaders Downtown will be taking pre-registration for Gatecrash Pre-Release events. This is so players can choose their Guild in advance. There is no guarantee every player that pre-registers for a specific Guild will receive the Guild of their choice, but ComicReaders Downtown will do our best to acommodate requests.

If you wish to pre-register...
Call (779-0900), email (readers2@sasktel.net) or respond to this post. We will need the following...
- Your first and last name
- The pre-release event(s) you are attending: Saturday morning, Saturday afternoon, Saturday afternoon / evening, Sunday morning, Sunday afternoon, Sunday afternoon / evening.
- The Guild(s) you wish to play

Our staff will maintain a spreadsheet of the pre-registrations.

DATE & TIME
Saturday, January 26, 2013
The first game begins at 10am. Doors will be open at 9:30am to start registration. The second event will most likely begin when the first is half over (when players start to drop from the first and as other players arrive in the early afternoon). The third event typically begins in late afternoon / early evening and goes into the night.

Sunday, January 27, 2013
The first game begins at 10am. The rest of the day typically plays out similar to Saturday.

LOCATION
Venue Information: Click Here

COST
$25

EVENT ORGANIZER
Chad Boudreau / Jason Morton / Lareina Chan

EVENT ATTENDANCE LIMITS
No limit on seating for this event.

ADDITIONAL DETAILS

Ask your questions on the forum or give us a call (779-0900) and we will endeavor to answer in a timely fashion.

Yu-Gi-Oh Tournaments

---

DESCRIPTION
Yu-Gi-Oh tournaments are held every Saturday at ComicReaders Downtown. Feel free to show up early because players are always visiting, trading and playing casually before the tournament. Prizes given to all players.

DATE & TIME
Saturday, January 5, 2012 at 1:00pm (Normally runs until 4:30)
Saturday, January 12, 2012 at 1:00pm (Normally runs until 4:30)
Saturday, January 19, 2012 at 1:00pm (Normally runs until 4:30)

There is no Yu-Gi-Oh Tournament on Saturday, January 26 because of the Magic Gatecrash Pre-Release event.

LOCATION
Venue Information: Click Here

COST
None.

EVENT ATTENDANCE LIMITS
No limit on seating.

ADDITIONAL DETAILS
None.

Friday Night Magic *Magic: The Gathering*

---

DESCRIPTION
For information on the Friday Night Magic promotion please Click Here

DATE & TIME
Every Friday in January at 18:00 (Normally runs until 22:00).
Friday, January 4, 2012
Friday, January 11, 2012
Friday, January 18, 2012
Friday, January 25, 2012

LOCATION
Venue Information: Click Here

COST
$5

EVENT ORGANIZER
Chad Boudreau

EVENT ATTENDANCE LIMITS
No limit on seating for this event.

ADDITIONAL DETAILS
The promo card for January 2013 is Searing Spear.

Sunday Limited Magic *Magic: The Gathering*

---

DESCRIPTION
Sunday is Limited day at ComicReaders Downtown.  We alternate back and forth from week to week playing Draft and Sealed Deck, usually with the most recent set.  Limited is a great way to learn to play competitive Magic without needing to have a large collection, and a great way to acquire new cards.

DATE & TIME
Sundays in January at 12:00 (Normally runs until 16:00)
January 6 (Sealed)
January 13 (Draft)
January 20 (Sealed)

There is no Limited event on Sunday, January 27, 2013 because of the Magic Gatecrash Pre-Release event.

LOCATION
Venue Information: Click Here

COST
$15 for Draft / $25 for Sealed

EVENT ORGANIZER
Chad Boudreau

EVENT ATTENDANCE LIMITS
No limit on seating for this event.

ADDITIONAL DETAILS
None.

Heroclix - No Man's Land - Month II

---

DESCRIPTION
In the wake of a 7.6 magnitude earthquake, Gotham City is in ruins and has been declared a "No Man's Land", cut off entirely from the outside world. However, in the wake of this catastrophic disaster when the Dark Knight is nowhere to be found, a new champion of Gotham arises – Batgirl!

Battle for control of Wayne Manor with a 300 Point force built from 6 sealed boosters of DC Heroclix: Streets of Gotham.

Prize: Batgirl (Helena Bertinelli) LE

Participation prize: Batarangs object

DATE & TIME
Saturday, January 19, 2013 at 12:00pm (Normally runs until 3:00pm)

LOCATION
Venue Information: Click Here

COST
This is a sealed event. Players will purchase six sealed singles from Streets of Gotham.

EVENT ATTENDANCE LIMITS
No limit on seating for this event.

ADDITIONAL DETAILS
This event has an experienced organizer / judge.

Have you watched Star Wars Episode IV: A New Hope?  The X-Wing Miniatures game brings it to life with the Battle for Yavin, a scenario devised by the online personality and gamer known as Dagobah Dave with tweaks by ComicReaders Downtown's Chad Boudreau. In this scenario, the final battle in that movie is recreated, where Rebels pilots skim across the surface of the Death Star, enter its trench and attempt to deliver a proton torpedo down an exhaust port. In the movie, Luke delivers the payload and assures a victory for the Rebels, but how would this scenario play out at ComicReaders Downtown? 

True to the movie, the scenario rules start with the Rebels "surprising" the Death Star commanders with a bold move-- launch a small strike force of single-manned starships.  The Rebels get the first turn to move without any Imperials on the table, thus abstracting this element of the film, as Tie Fighter pilots race to their ships. 

In our game, the Rebels were broken into three attack groups, each commanded by one of the three players playing on the Rebel side.  Each attack group consisted of at least one X-wing and one Y-wing.  The people playing these ships were Rob, Rob and Terry.  The Empire was commanded by Tim, Keith and Ryan. They each commanded a squad of 3 ships-- a mix of Tie fighters and Tie Advanced.

In their first attack, the Rebels scored the first hits, taking out two power nodes, two gun turrets and one Tie Fighter. Taking out the power nodes was important because the scenario plays with a countdown clock. Each round, a d6 is reduced by one pip, and should that dice ever get lower than 0, the Death Star fires its superlaser and the Rebel base destroyed. For every power node destroyed, one pip is added to the dice, thus giving the Rebels more time.

The Imperials responded by destroying Biggs in his X-Wing.  After Biggs departure, two Rebel ships quickly entered the trench to begin the attack run.  The Y-wing pulled out early because it did not have the manoeuvrability required for successful entry. It was either pull up or crash into the trench wall.  Having pulled clear, it cut across the surface of the Death Star, and took out a gun turret. This left the X-Wing on its own. At the helm was Wedge, the best pilot in the Rebel force, who had proved his worth early in the game with a successful strike on the gun turrets.

Wedge hasd a headstart in the trench, but two Tie Fighters swung into his wake, and going full speed, were quickly closing the gap. They would soon be within firing range. Wedge, meanwhile, focused on damaging or destroying the trench turrets as he raced toward the exhaust port.

Meanwhile, over the surface of the Death Star, a pitched battle was under way. The Imperials could spawn a new Tie Fighter for every ship lost to the Rebels, but the Rebels had no reinforcements. A terrible blow to morale occurred when Darth Vader destroyed Luke Skywalker (and R2-D2). (Vader had continually repeated, "The Force is strong with this one" as he chased him around the gaming table, much to the delight of the Imperial players.)

The countdown dice had 2 pips remaining. Wedge's ship was shot up but was holding together. He was almost in range of the exhaust port but the two Tie Fighters had closed the gap and were within firing range. Far behind him there was another Rebel ship in the trench but there would be no time for that pilot to reach the exhaust port if Wedge did not get his shot to strike home. And outside the trench, one lone Y-Wing faced the remaining Imperial horde.

The Tie Fighters had Wedge in their sights. Shots would be fired, but before the Imperial players were allowed to plan their moves, the Rebels played a special card designed by Chad. The card announced the arrival of the Millennium Falcon! One of the chasing Tie Fighters was immediately destroyed. The other Tie Fighter fired, but missed. Wedge was in range, fired his proton torpedoes, which successfully hit home. The Rebel's had their victory. The Death Star was destroyed!

Thanks for the game, everyone.

Battle report written by Robert Possberg & Chad Boudreau

(In the attached picture, Wedge is seen in the background, racing toward the exhaust port, while two Tie Fighers in the foreground are going full speed in an attempt to catch up.)

Big thanks to the players that came out for this scenario. I will post a battle report in the near future.

I'll post a battle report in the near future, but wanted to thank the six players took part in the Battle of Yavin. It was a tense fight right from the start and finished with a very cinematic ending. Feedback from the six players was very positive.