We at The Magic Rain were fortunate enough to attend the free IGN Exclusive Magic League Event – Amonkhet that was held at Ballroom – Lagoon 1, Sunway Resort Hotel and Spa on the 10th of June 2017 (Saturday). The event was a collaboration between IGN South East Asia and Magic The Gathering.
For me, as someone who isn’t very well-versed in Trading Card Games, attending the event was a really cool experience, especially since this was my first event of its kind. My first time playing Magic the Gathering was definitely confusing but everyone there, be it new players or MTG veterans, were all ready to help and share what they knew.
The event was separated into three sessions, lasting three hours each. The first session beginning at 10 am, the next at 2 pm and the final session at 6 pm. Attendees were allowed to join more than three sessions but of course, priority is given to those who have not yet attended a session, which I think is reasonably fair.
The activities were based off a point system. Each attendee was given a card with various quests which were divided into three sections. The attendees were required to raise their hand to get the volunteers to sign their card to validate their completion of the quests. I found that the volunteers were very helpful and friendly, they didn’t hesitate to attend to anyone and they explained thoroughly when asked about things the attendees didn’t understand or needed advice on. Even if you seemed troubled, they were ready to ask if you needed help.
I personally find the point card very encouraging of socialising during the event; playing with 10 different players for 30 points, some of the main quests being unachievable unless you work together to fill that section up or switch decks with another player, and pulling off the raid actions where teamwork is not a choice but a requirement. I’m personally not very sociable but this really pushed me to talk to other players more and play with them in the process. Not to mention, I also like how they encourage cosplaying and bringing an “Amonkhet prop to the event. Those two quests alone offer 60 points and I think that is a lot. We even spotted a guy wrapped in toilet paper!
Now you’re probably wondering, all those points? What for? What can you get? Well, 10 points alone can get you one MTG Amonkhet booster pack so if you manage to complete all the quests, you can get at most 20 booster packs per session, not including the raid actions. So since there are three sessions, you can get 60 booster packs if you complete the whole card, not including the raid actions, for all three sessions. Not to mention, 50 points can get you one Amonkhet Plainswalker Deck (Liliana or Gideon). I’m not too experienced but from what I’ve seen, I think this is a lot from what you can get from a one-day free event.
The event was lively and fun. At one point, they played music that really suited the Egyptian theme. It was undoubtedly catchy and fun despite being in a foreign language, I personally enjoyed it. A little complaint I have though is that when the lights were dimmed for that bit of the event, it made reading the cards slightly difficult but that’s about it.
I really enjoyed the event as a new player of MTG. There was never a dull moment. Just positive communication, a lot of fun and unanimous eagerness to collect as many booster packs as possible. I definitely wouldn’t pass on the next event and it has really opened my eyes to the beauty of Magic the Gathering.
Image credits to http://sea.ign.com/mtg/116411/news/more-details-on-ign-sea-exclusive-magic-league-event
