MTG Clue

I just wanted to share the name of this blog. 

MTG Clue - http://mtgclue.wordpress.com/

It looks like it will be discontinued as the author has now left Korea it is still a great resource for now.

I think his guide on how to get to various Magic shops is better than the ones on the Seoul Players facebook page. His liberal use of photos is appreciated.

OZ in Gangnam

This store is apparently moving and will no longer be stocking Magic the Gathering.

Bye Bye OZ

Back on the Wagon

After a pretty tiring search with long trips to Seoul, Dalmuti has become my Local Game Store (LGS). 

99% because of its proximity and 1% due to the fantastic customer service. Fantastic customer service isn't really a decisive factor because all the Korean shops I have been to have been awesome compared to what I was used to back in Australia.

I played in Return to Ravnica block draft which was pretty mind bending. We used Korean cards and it was the first time I had played with Gate Crash or Dragons Maze. I was allowed to use my smart phone to look at the spoiler but I didn't want to hold up the draft by reading what every card in the pack did.

Quite a few picks were made blind but I ended up with a reasonable enough deck. I went 1-2 in matches but was able to put up a decent fight in every game.

I will have to study up between now and Friday when I plan to play in the FNM booster draft.

Modern Masters

Modern Masters came and went in a flash which was a huge shame.

This was the most fun I have had playing Magic in Korea and unfortunately Dalmuti only had enough stock for one event.

The event started at Midnight and because of the numbers and the level of stock they had just enough to run it as sealed rather than draft but with Ravnica block prizes. This was decided by a player vote which has been fairly common in my experience with event schedules very "fluid".

I think the change was unanimously agreed on because everyone wanted more product.

The set was great and I absolutely loved it because it drew cards from the sets I was most familiar with from the time I was most into competitive magic. I loved the nostalgia kick and also have a great fondness for Timespiral for the same reason.

As all the cards were in English and were reprints I didn't find it very taxing to play (in contrast to drafting full block Ravnica for the first time with cards all in Korean) despite being very rusty.  I was the only foreign player but Dalmuti draws a fairly older crowd and at this event I think all the players were older than 24 and had played Magic for a while. These are players that were playing pre Innistrad block when there weren't Korean cards and so everyone has pretty decent English.

I ended up only going 2-2 even though I felt my deck was broken. As it turned out everyone's deck was super powerful and capable of doing some amazing and very fun things.

I am looking forward to Modern Masters 2 and shame on Wizards for not printing more.

How to get to the OLD Dalmuti Suwon

EDIT: This is the old location for Dalmuti. Their now location is at (http://theangryhermit.blogspot.kr/2014/12/dalmutis-suwon.html)

I thought I would follow up the previous post about Dalmuti in Suwon with some more information now that I have actually been there. I didn't have time to play but I was impressed. 

It's opposite the station (across the road from the Subway station) near one of the large bus stops. The most recognisable chain chops are the nearby Paris Baguette and Baskin Robbins. The store is located about 150m or so down the laneway that runs next to the Baskin Robbins.

The first picture is the map from their website. I think it gives a good idea of where their store actually is but that is not the actual route I would suggest taking. Exit 4 puts you on the wrong side of the road. I normally head towards exits 1,2 +3 but then take a gate (on the left) up the stairs straight to Baskin and Robbins. That is the quickest route but very hard to describe in words and only applicable if you took the subway.

If you took the bus or train then you are best of just using the map as a location reference rather than a route. Look for the Baskin robbins franchise on the opposite side of the main road from AK plaza.

Go down the alley way that runs alongside Baskin Robbins for a bout 100 - 150m and look for the green white Dalmuti sign on the right (picture 3). 

At street level it's easier to look for the Noori Zone sign (picture 2) as it's bigger and more garish.

This is where it got tricky because the shop is on level two and there is no direct access from the street.

Walk in to what looks like the entrance for Norae Zone (picture 2) but rather than go inside Norae Zone take a right turn right near the entry door (picture 5). 

Go through that door even though it's marked "no admittance" and head on up using the stairs or the lift.

Places to Play: Oz at Gangnam

Update: This store is now closed.

This seems to have become the main magic centre for foreigners and there was a decent turnout for the Magic League organised through the Seoul Magic facebook group (16 plus players).

It's a pretty convenient location if your based in Seoul and the shop was nice enough and went tot he effort of stocking English cards for this event.

All the Seoul shops are a bit of a hike for me so I only went the one time and wasn't really interested in the league format* they were running  which are the only reasons I wouldn't go more often.

* I think leagues are best run as a casual thing because they are just too loose rules wise and open for abuse but the prize structure was very top heavy which would only encourage shadiness. It seems that wasn't an issue though which is a credit to the community.

Edit (26th September 2013): OZ Gangnam is due to relocate soon and apparently won't be stocking Magic the Gathering at the new location. This news came out a while ago but apparently they are stocking Theros ..... confusing.

A new store called Dalmuti in Suwon

Magic players in Seoul have a lot of options for places to play but for those of us living South of the city we were always in for a long commute.

There is apparently a playgroup at the American Army base and somewhere in Suwon a board game café….. but I never encountered any advertising for their events, if they existed at all.

That has all changed with the Christmas day opening of Dalmuti 달무티. They seem to have a full on magic schedule and have a great location (close to Suwon Subway Station).

Decoration wise it's pretty sparse but they have been open for just a few days.

I haven’t been there yet but it’s more than likely the next entry in this blog will be my impressions of that store.

Update:
More directions: http://theangryhermit.blogspot.kr/2013/01/how-to-get-to-dalmonte-suwon.html
It also is fully furnished now and looks good.