The Godfather Muses on Torment, the Event Horizons Invitational, and Stuff

Howyadoin ? It's Tuesday and it is snowing like crazy here in the beautiful Fort Worth/dallas metroplex. And that is dallas with a small d because we on the Fort Worth side wouldn't give a tinker's dam if dallas fell into the Trinity River. Today's column will be a collection of short pieces on various subjects of interest or not to the MTG world.

First up are Torment thoughts. Like most people I talked with, I figured that the idea of having a "black" set was a really dumb idea. Now having played some limited tourneys of various types with Torment I am happy to report that I was wrong, at least partially. The idea of sets with an intentionally dominant color still seems silly. It seems like ¾ of all the sets would be called "blue" sets if color domination were important. BTW- I am still waiting for the 'red' set. But it seems to me and a lot of other players that Torment is a solid expansion because it contains high quality cards in all colors. It doesn't play well at all on it's own but when mixed with Odyssey you can see the quality of the set.

Torment thought number 2. Have you noticed how much Torment and to a smaller extent Odyssey have changed how the game is played ? Now you have to know not just what is in your opponent's graveyard but also how many total cards are there, whether any of them flashback, and how many are available for the new graveyard manipulation cards. Add to this the fact that you have to be aware of madness cards and it seems that suddenly how you build decks, how you respond to your opponents spells, and every other facet of game play becomes a little more complicated. I predict that Torment will bring out the best in deck building and will show players that just copying a net deck without understanding the usage of every card in it will result in a much greater losing percentage than was seen in the netdeck heaven that was Invasion block constructed. I really hope this happens.

The Event Horizons Invitational is this weekend and the Godfather is playing in it. So come to Houston and watch the fun. There is also a Nice PTQ at Strikezone at the same time so you could come to Houston and win $500 and a PT Nice invite while watching the most fun and entertaining Magic tournament in the world. Rumors abound that there will be all kinds of surprises at the tournament. If you can't be there be sure and check out the Sideboard's coverage of the event. I understand that the great Mike Turian will be in Houston doing the coverage so I will have to come up with some special welcome to Texas gift for him. It should be good !

The EHI Contest- I have also decided to have an EHI results contest. I haven't figured out what the prize will be, but the Godfather is certainly no cheapskate and maybe Scott or Bill at the POJO and Joe x2 or Billy at AGYPSY.com will help sweeten the prize pool. All you have to do to win is send me your predicted order of finish for the 16 contestants in the tournament and whoever has the most names in exactly the spot they finish in is the winner. The Godfather's lawyer also says there have to be rules so here they are; 1) one entry per person, if you cheat and use your cousin's name or your dogs I probably won't catch you but you will be punished karmatically in this life or the next one. 2) All entries must be submitted to rob.lawing@earthlink.net before 10:00 am on Saturday February 9, 2002. 3) EHI participants can't play and 4) in case of ties I will do something that is fair and 5) the no cheating rule has been invoked.