The newest weekly PDC event, a GMT-friendly Block PDC tourney on Thursdays, has arrived. Its host, Shokra, wants YOU to attend! It’s called HPDC.
The event thread on Gleemax is here: http://forums.gleemax.com/showthread.php?t=1078675

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[b]“Trust in wood, for wood is good.” -hurriboy[/b]
The last two BPDC events have had attendance in the upper twenties — 28 and 24, respectively. This hearkens back to the earliest days of the event, when the hype factor was at an all-time high. Nowadays, with Lorwyn-Shadowmoor block already the largest Block environment ever, and poised to become even larger and richer next season with the introduction of [i]Eventide[/i], I think people are attending BPDC just because they like the format!
And what’s not to like? In a world where Blind Hunter and Aven Riftwatcher rule the day (Extended and Standard, respectively), it’s nice to see a format where the lifegain is so poor as to give mono-red a fighting chance. More than a fighting chance, really, as that archetype is the only one with two gold medals (:1st: :1st:) to its name. White weenie, aided by a scrumptious aura called Steel of the Godhead, helped [b]Rickwins1971[/b] rick a gold medal and trophy of his own at BPDC 3.03.
But the news of this past week at BPDC 3.04 was the triumph of a new kind of deck, a deck with plans for a late game. A deck with great care and attention to the metagame. A deck filled with strong cards and ways to get those cards back after they’ve been used up. A deck… filled with treefolk.
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[trophy]BPDC 3.04[/trophy]

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Monday evening, sixteen Paupers answered [i]Shadowmoor[/i]‘s call, lining up along the walls of the BPDCCOM Conference Center. (Sixteen is quite a bit below the 28 present for BPDC 1.01′s [i]Kamigawa[/i] kickoff, but I’ll chalk it up to the incredible popularity of that favorite of blocks…) [b]SypherSun[/b] warned me before registration even began that new match tables and sideboarding had been lagging, but little did we know that the BPDCCOM Conference Center, and indeed the entire framework of MTGO v3, seemed to be under assault from a wrecking ball. Or so it felt. However, the patient and even-tempered among us waited through the ridiculous lag to eventually crown a champion of BPDC 3.01 — [b]Boin[/b], piloting “Warrior Sligh.”
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[trophy]BPDC 3.01[/trophy]

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Before moving into Lorwyn-Shadowmoor Block, let’s take a second to reflect on some wisdom shared with the community by the victor and near-victor of BPDC Season 2.
[trophy]BPDC Season 2 Finale[/trophy]

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If you’re anything like me (which you’re not, but stay with me here) then you’re extremely pumped about the biggest Block format yet in the history of Magic. You’re needlessly stoked about seeing how the tribal cards sprinkled throughout Shadowmoor will enhance the groundwork laid by Lorwyn and Morningtide. You’re also geeked (perhaps more literally than you’d like) about trying out decks in previously non-competitive color pairs that Shadowmoor‘s hybrid cards now support. (If your favorite color pair isn’t represented in Shadowmoor, never fear — Eventide will come to your rescue. Be patient.)
Even if you’re not like me, you’re going to want to give this block format a shot. As I mentioned above, Shadowmoor‘s addition to Lorwyn and Morningtide will produce the game’s largest Block environment to date. It will have themes and mechanics that crosshatch and weave together like no block before. Also, and perhaps most importantly, this block format will give the PDC community its first glance at the new Standard format coming our way this fall after the rotation occurs.
Let’s take a closer look at how the addition of Shadowmoor will shake up the Block metagame by making some archetypical predictions based on the tools given to us by this outstanding new set. Buckle up, gentle Paupers, and read on!

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[url=http://www.pdcmagic.com/forums/phpBB2/viewtopic.php?t=1369]WU Merfolk Combo[/url]. [url=http://www.pdcmagic.com/forums/phpBB2/viewtopic.php?t=1417]HomeBRU Control[/url]. [url=http://www.pdcmagic.com/forums/phpBB2/viewtopic.php?t=1401]RG Warriors[/url]. Three weeks, three winners, three archetypes. [i]Lorwyn[/i] Block has been anything but predictable so far. As the summer kicks into high gear, things should shape up to be as dynamic as ever.
The lone Block event, [url=http://www.pdcmagic.com/forums/phpBB2/viewtopic.php?t=334]BPDC[/url], struggles to achieve stability. As attendance increases, innovation should increase as well, with a variety of new decks challenging the previous winners for top billing. This initial articular foray into the format of [i]Lorwyn[/i] Block will look at a couple unsung decklists and how they may factor into the metagame.
[trophy]BPDC 2.01[/trophy] [trophy]BPDC 2.02[/trophy] [trophy]BPDC 2.03[/trophy]

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BPC 2.02, 2.03, and Thoughts on the Meta
Hello there, this is guest writer LordSanda reporting on BPDC 2.02 and 2.03. I have seen a very different meta each of the three weeks in BPDC so far, so let’s take a look at some of the popular decks!

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An initial turnout of 19 at Monday night’s BPDC Lorwyn event helped take the format out of the cellophane like a pro. Creatures great and small from across the plane turned out to take part in the war, but not every tribe was represented — and there were even some non-tribal monstrosities taking part!

[trophy]BPDC 2.01[/trophy]

[url=http://www.pdcmagic.com/gatherling/profile.php?player=Lashof]Lashof[/url], :wu: [url=http://www.pdcmagic.com/gatherling/deck.php?mode=view&id=3565]Merfolk Combo[/url], [url=http://www.pdcmagic.com/gatherling/deck.php?mode=view&id=3565]BPDC 2.01[/url]
[url=http://www.pdcmagic.com/gatherling/eventreport.php?event=BPDC%202.01]Gatherling Metagame Report[/url]

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Back when the PDC community was preparing for Lorwyn Block the first time around (which was before the format for BPDC was switched to Ravnica Block, which in turn was before the format was switched back to Lorwyn Block), some of my testing partners encouraged someone from our group to make a “gauntlet.” I decided to take up the challenge and proceeded to create more than a couple affectionately-named lists. When I heard that there would be a new season of BPDC, and the format was to be Lorwyn Block, I revisited the decklists I had saved in Magic Workstation and found them to be surprisingly decent, though nowhere near finely tuned. Regardless, I have decided to share a few of them in anticipation of the upcoming BPDC event with the hope that they will inspire more of you to show up with a unique creation of your own (or, if you like a list you see below, with a unique creation of my own).

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BPDC Season 2 is coming! BPDC 2.01 kicks off the new season and the new format on Monday, April 28 at 8:30pm EST in /join BPDC. This time around, it’s going to be [b]LORWYN BLOCK PAUPER[/b], which means that only commons from [i]Lorwyn[/i] and [i]Morningtide[/i] are going to be legal at BPDC during Season 2.
If you’re afraid of a stale metagame, I think you’ll find you’re mistaken. The eight tribes, which I’ve laid out in this article, are just the tip of the deckbuilding iceberg. We haven’t even begun to look at tribal decks based on the five ‘classes’ of [i]Morningtide[/i] — Soldier, Wizard, Rogue, Shaman, and Warrior — let alone any truly “rogue” ideas that think outside of the box!
Read on, gentle Pauper, and become inspired to collect and build your very own Lorwyn Block Pauper deck, and join us on April 28 for epic tribal warfare at BPDC 2.01!

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