My MTG newbie series has taken me from knowing absolutely nothing about Magic: The Gathering, to knowing some stuff, but still being terrible. Yet along the way, I have been loving it. This has been in no small part due to the awesomeness that is Bea DND in Petone. The warm atmosphere, amazing staff, and the community they have fostered, makes being a newbie fun.
So I decided to go along to my first actual pre-release event!
What is a pre-release event?
I had done a championship event using pre-release boxes, so I wasn’t totally new to this. But for anyone that is, let me quickly explain. Everyone gets a pre-release box that comes with six draft boosters and a promo card. This gives you 91 cards to make a deck of 60 cards. You also borrow land cards from the store. .
This means everyone is in the same boat. You don’t know what cards you are going to get, and neither does your competition. Being an actual pre-release event, this is the first weekend the new set, in this case Lost Caverns of Ixalan, are available. The most hardcore among us may have watched some videos or card lists to get an edge, but it’s not going to be much of an edge because they haven’t played with them yet.
Make your deck, and then have some matches to determine a winner. It’s awesome.
So what is the event like down at Bea DND?
Bloody awesome! Seriously, the vibes are so damn welcoming and fun. I played with peps that were one month into their journey, and peps that had been playing for years. All of them, fun to play with, and nothing short of awesome.
Against one stronger player, we pulled the judge over to make a call on how a certain rule would play out. As Lost Caverns of Ixalan has some new rules we were all figuring some bits out. There was no hostility in pulling the judge over, it was two people figuring out how something worked, then cracking back into the game. The judge, knowledgeable as hell, the culture, fun as hell, everything you want on a Saturday afternoon.
After a player stomped me (I had a rough draw of cards so the match lasted less than five minutes) I made a joke about that being good for him. He said, with all sincerity, not really, I just want a good game of Magic. He wasn’t there to win, he was there to play. So as a newbie, don’t be scared. The players down at Bea DND want to play and have fun. After he stomped me the second time (the comp is best two of three), we then got stuck into friendlies as we had heaps of time to spare.
That place is all about having fun, and it damn well is.
Should you go to a Pre-Release event at Bea DND?
Hell yes! If you are anywhere near Te Awa Kairangi Ki Tai or Te Whanganui-a-Tara, then take a quick drive to Petone for Bea DND. They have heaps of sealed events, but the next set drop, I cannot recommend cruising down there to check it out.
I’m becoming a proper fan of that place. The staff, the community, the store, every part of it rules!
