We pull into the game shop with seconds to spare and are immediately chastised for not being fifteen minutes early. Tom apologizes. I sheepishly order a coffee.
The couple in front of us say thanks for letting them not be the only ones who were almost late.
“Any time. Our work here is done.” We’re pretty much heroes.
The event doesn’t end up starting for another fifteen minutes anyway. Tom and I squish into a table near the back with some very quiet and serious looking men. They don’t acknowledge us.
However, when the pre-release kits are handed out they immediately spring to life showing fire and vigor as they rip open the Dominaria United packs, stained glass styled cardboard flying in every which way.
Tom and I stare at each other in amazement. “Did the employee say we could start?”
Sounds of cardboard being ripped and plastic casings being crinkled and discarded soon fill the room from every other table. It’s like Christmas on crack.
Tom and I decide to delve into our own pre-release kits. We trade our dice to each get our favourite colour.
My kit is a bit disappointing and I can’t identify any bombs. Worse still, there isn’t a single fancy worth more than two dollars. I gaze over at Tom who’s deep in concentration and hope he’s having better luck than me.
I end up coming up with some sort of Green/Blue/Black monstrosity with only a little removal and some pretty pathetic creatures.
“Hopefully I’ll get a bye,” I joke.
One of the quiet men tells me there will be no byes in this match. There goes that wild pipe dream.
As I sit and wait for the matches to be announced, I realize that I normally would have been fretting about my sub par deck.
I’d think, what if, because I didn’t win, my opponents assumed I was the worst Magic player to ever exist? What if they thought I was too stupid to make a proper deck? What if they thought I was only there because Tom was?
These types of thoughts used to give me so much anxiety.
Today I’m just wondering who I’ll be matched with. There’s a girl I always see at pre-release matches that’s super funny and I have high hopes of friending. I pray we’re in the same pod. (Spoiler alert: We were and she kicked my ass with Sheoldred two times over and we laughed about it as we gathered a small audience over our ridiculous antics.)
In the end, I realized two things:
- I’m not going to be inspired by each and every set when it comes to limited events. Dominaria United is one of these sets. That’s okay.
- The new Sheoldred is absurdly good.
Nichole Bolas 