Weekly Events - Gecko’s Game Guide

Gecko’s Game Guide, April 1-7 2024

Written By Jim Ziegler

Ever since Wizards of the Coast retired the block structure, Magic: the Gathering has felt a bit like the wild west. Not so much in terms of setting, that’s still to come. Rather, we’ve been flitting around from plane to plane like geckos on an anthill, never getting more than a cursory look at any of the new settings. We’ve got werewolves fighting robots, dinosaurs eating detectives, and a rekindling of the age-old rivalry between pirates and ninjas. And that isn’t even considering Universes Beyond.

But even while it seems like WotC is rolling a die to figure out the next setting, they’ve managed to cobble together a few stories spanning multiple sets. The Brothers War took us back to the conflict between Urza and Mishra, filling in some of the blanks in old Magic lore, and then rolled into Phyrexia: All Will Be One and March of the Machines to finish the story of the Phyrexians and Mirrodin, after which we followed Kellan’s quest to track down his deadbeat dad, Oko.

With the imminent release of Outlaws of Thunder Junction we’re looking at the end of Kellan’s story, with no clear sign of what we’ll see next. Bloomburrow certainly looks interesting, but it doesn’t seem likely that we’ll have a multi-set journey following a squirrel's attempt to bury an acorn like Scrat in the Ice Age films. And they definitely missed the opportunity to work Great Mouse Detective references into Murders at Karlov Manor.

Still, most players probably care less about the story than about the gameplay, and Magic has been delivering novel cards for decades. Sometimes they get a little carried away: People haven’t stopped complaining about Voja, Jaws of the Conclave, and Annie Joins Up is ready to make it even more difficult to deal with. But overall they’ve been fairly consistent about delivering a fun, social game, and that doesn’t seem to be ending anytime soon.

CHAOS RPG DAY

Sunday, April 7th, 1:00 PM

Chaos RPG Day is back! Bring your ready-to-play 5th Edition character (level 3, Adventurers League rules). Be ready to switch tables, games, and roles as you play Dungeons & Dragons and other tabletop RPGs all afternoon. Have a short game ready to DM, and if you’re bringing something other than D&D be sure to bring at least seven pre-made characters to play. Entry fee: $5

GATHER FOR MAGIC

FNM - Friday Night Magic

Friday, April 5th, 6:00 PM

This week’s FNM will be a Standard Constructed format. Standard deckbuilding restrictions apply, and the current list of legal sets can be found here. This will be your last chance to play before we go West into Thunder Junction, so bring your A-game! The grand prize for this event is a copy of Polluted Delta, a perfect addition to your next Dimir deck. Entry fee: $15

Standard Showdown

Saturday, April 6th, 3:00 PM

Solve the mystery in Karlov Manor in this week’s Standard Showdown. Bring your best deck, and battle it out for fun and prizes. Stick around afterwards for Pioneer and Commander! Entry fee: $6.

Pioneer Constructed

Saturday, April 6th, 6:00 PM

If you’re still itching for a fight after the Standard Showdown, stick around for Pioneer. A more complex format with a deeper card pool, Pioneer follows the same rules as Standard but allows cards from all the way back to 2012’s Return to Ravnica. Your Standard deck will still be legal, or you can purchase a Pioneer Challenger Deck at the counter. Entry fee: $7

Casual Commander

Monday, Tuesday, Thursday, and Saturday at 6:00 PM.

The most popular format in Magic, Commander, is back on the table. Bring your favorite deck, or playtest a new one against other magicians. No entry fee: These battles are for honor, not prizes!

IN THE WORLD OF POKÉMON

Standard Constructed Tournament

Sunday, April 7th, 3:00 PM

The new Standard format goes into effect on April 5th, so this will be your first opportunity to test out your new deck in the new meta. Cards with the “E” regulation mark will no longer be allowed, so say “goodbye” to your Battle VIP Passes. Full details of the new format can be found here.

Pokémon League Casual Play

Monday and Saturday at 6:30 PM, Sunday at noon

The $6 entry fee comes with a pack of your choice from any in the store.

Pokémon Go

Don’t forget to redeem your code for ten free Purified Gems this week in Pokémon Go! 

Code: 7B3ELFUMKLP4G

TIME TO DUEL! Yu-Gi-Oh!

Advanced Constructed Tournament

Wednesdays, Thursdays, and Fridays, 7:00 PM

Duel for supremacy in the Yu-Gi-Oh Trading Card Game. Earn OTS Tournament Packs while demonstrating your skills as a duelist. Entry fee: $5

A WHOLE NEW WORLD

Into the Inklands Lorcana League

Monday & Saturday, 6:30 PM

The adventures in the Inklands continue with Locana League. Bring your sealed deck, or join the fun! The initial entry fee includes a starter deck of your choice, a booster pack, and a 200-card deck box to keep your sealed cards from getting mixed up with your collection. Entry fee: $25 (one-time charge) plus weekly entry which includes a booster pack.

THIS MEANS WAR(HAMMER)!

Warhammer 40K League

Sundays 5:00 PM

In the grim darkness of the far future, there is only war. At Gam3Escape, there is only Warhammer! Whether it’s a Tyranid terror or a Blood Angel battalion, stage your army and prepare for battle at the weekly Warhammer 40K League. 

About Jim Ziegler:  Jim is an OG Pokémon fan. He's the guy who got his first job to buy a Game Boy and a copy of Pokémon Red, and never stopped playing. He's played just about every TCG under the sun, but views himself as a lifelong learner who's always looking for new games and new tricks. Jim is also a Pokémon Professor and judges at Gam3Escape's Pokémon events.  You may catch up with him on casual commander nights, time permitting.  He is a writer for The Gamer.  Follow him there and check out his articles.