Date: May 26-27, 2012

Format: Innistrad-Avacyn Restored Block Constructed

Tournament Location

Anaheim Convention Center
800 West Katella Avenue
Anaheim, CA 92802

Registration: $40
Friday, May 25: Noon – 9 p.m.
Saturday, May 26: 7 a.m. – 9:30 a.m.
Preregistration is now closed.

Southern California has long held the ability to transform relative unknowns into household names. In Los Angeles stars are discovered, while in Anaheim fantasy becomes reality. So it’s apt that this crossroads should host the only Block Constructed Grand Prix of 2012.

Sunmesa Events invites you to a weekend filled with excitement, innovation, and surprise endings. There will be foils, friends, and lots of fun. This production is bound to involve a cast of hundreds and is missing only one element—the headliner, the lead—yes the Star. You are our star, everything else is in a supporting role. Join us on May 25-27 because as Tom Hanks almost once said, “If you have to have a job in this world, a high-priced magic star is a pretty good gig.”

The Magic: The Gathering Grand Prix tournament series is a great reason to get out into the Magic tournament community, catch up with old friends, meet some new ones, and play some great Magic. Grand Prix tournaments are world-wide open events that allow all Magic players to participate and experience the thrill of a large-scale competition. In addition to cash prizes, a high Planeswalker Points multiplier, and exclusive foil promo cards for participants, Grand Prix feature a host of other activities, including public events and artist signings (prizes subject to change). Find out more about the Grand Prix tournament schedule here.

Tournament Format and Schedule

Format: Innistrad-Avacyn Restored Block Constructed
Participation Fee: $40
Preregistration is now closed

Registration and Schedule

·         Friday, May 25: Registration Noon - 9 p.m.

·         Saturday, May 26: Registration 7 a.m. - 9:30 a.m.

·         Saturday, May 26: Tournament begins at 10:15 a.m.

·         Sunday, May 27: Day Two begins at 9 a.m.

The main tournament at Grand Prix Anaheim is open to Magic players of all ages.

Players must have a signed publicity release form to be included in Wizards of the Coast's official online event coverage. Forms can be downloaded here (15k PDF) and will be available onsite. Minors must have a parent or guardian’s signature on this form. Publicity releases will be collected during registration.

Tournament Format

·         Innistrad-Avacyn Restored Block Constructed

·         Deck lists are required.

·         Each Player must use the same deck on Day 2 that he or she used on Day 1.

Tournament Structure

·         Modified Swiss-style (50-minute rounds).

·         If 799 or fewer players register for the event, all players with an X-2-0 or better record OR the top 64 players—whichever number is greater—will advance to the second day of the event.

·         If 800 or more players register for the event, all players with an X-2-0 or better record OR the top 128 players—whichever number is greater—will advance to the second day of the event.

·         The Top 8 players after the final Swiss round on Day 2 will advance to the Top 8 single-elimination finals.

·         Top 8 playoff matches will be best 2 of 3, and have no time limit. (Players are still expected to play at a normal pace and complete playoff matches in a reasonable amount of time.)

·         Where necessary, the standings after the Swiss rounds will still be used to determine final order in the standings.

·         For the first game of each match in the Top 8, the player that finished higher in the Swiss rounds chooses either to play first or to play second. For subsequent games in each Top 8 match, the usual Play/Draw rule applies (loser of the previous game decides whether to play first in the next game).

Judges and Admin Staff
The Head Judge for Grand Prix Anaheim is Toby Elliott. Judge applications have closed for this event. Judge Certification is available at this event and should be arranged beforehand. Please contact Judge Manager Sean Catanese via email with questions and/or to make arrangements for certification.

Public Events

Here’s a complete look at our Public Events Schedule

Artist Information

Martina Pilcerova
Martina Pilcerova finished the Master Degree at the Academy of Fine Arts and Design in Bratislava, Slovak Republic. She has won various awards including the "Jack Gaughan Award" for the Best Emerging Artist in 2003 (Boston, USA). Her paintings are published on more than 70 covers of books, magazines and games and on many collectible cards all around the world. As creator of a limited but significant work of Magic illustrations, we welcome Martina for a rare North American visit.

·         Magic card art by Martina Pilcerova | www.martina.sk

Terese Nielsen
Terese Nielsen’s very first card was, perhaps, her most famous: Force of Will. With that data point you might conclude that timing and luck played a pivotal role in her Magic: The Gathering illustration career. That would dismiss her tremendous talent and hard work. In a world of amazing artists, Terese’s work is singular. Terese created an entire genre of extreme alterations. Her genuine social media presence creates intimacy among thousands of fans. Most importantly, Terese’s art speaks to us in ways often hard to describe.Terese tells us this will be her only show for 2012, so you won't want to miss it! Born and raised in Nebraska, Terese now lives in Southern California.

·         Magic card art by Terese Nielsen | www.tnielsen.com

Daarken
To condense Daarken into a single paragraph feels like explaining a diamond to a blind person. He’s shy, yet driven. He’s talented but self-depreciating. He seems innocent and crafts the stuff of nightmares. His work is moody, frightening, and powerful. Like Terese Nielsen, his first card was a player favorite: Korlash, Heir to Blackblade. He nailed that image and never looked back.Today demand for his work across many different games is huge. Even with the demand he always makes time for the players. He usually seems most happy when he’s making a player’s image come true on a card or playmat. daarken lives in Southern California while surfing the tides of freelance illustration.

·         Magic card art by Daarken | daarken.com

Special Guests

Matt Tabak
Matt Tabak is the current rules manager for Magic: The Gathering. That makes him the archenemy of Mark Rosewater (head designer). Matt must not be doing a very good job because Mark never complains about him. We suspect Mark has bribed Matt with such juicy projects like design work on Duel Decks: Phyrexia vs. The Coalition and Dark Ascension. Or maybe it was developing Planechase. We can’t say. Matt is funny, smart, plays a scary good game of Magic. Best of all, whenever a judge rules against him, he just goes home and rewrites the rules. If you watched Matt play competitively before he worked for Wizards, you’d understand how appealing that situation is to Matt.

Adam Styborski
Ever notice that most of Adam Styborski ‘s profile photos are in black and white? This strikes us as a guy who understands that “Less is More”. By removing color from his profile he immediately becomes distinctive without doing a thing! Very. Smart. That tidbit helps illuminate Adam, the player, writer, and editor. Adam has written for numerous MTG sources including DailyMTG.com and gatheringmagic.com. Adam’s best moments come by removing tournament rules and creating a different style of fun. Ask him about new ways to play your favorite game and he’ll have answers. Cube, Multiplayer, Commander -- he does them all with the cheerfulness which comes from love of the game. Adam lives in Maryland and edits GatheringMagic.com while tackling his day job.

Adam's collected articles on DailyMTG.com can be found here.

Evan Erwin

They say a picture is worth a thousand words; perhaps that’s why Magical Video Maestro Evan Erwin is always talking. Whether it’s tugging on the cape of the Wizard, or revealing the next monster beatdown stick, or just holding a mirror up to ourselves in our most mad cap moments Evan is like a best friend. He’s always there, always funny and quick with a gag and a grin. This everyday hero has achieved his success one video at a time by inviting his 25 thousand closest friends into his living room.

Even when he’s losing (aka 2007 Invitational-dead last) he’s clearly having a blast. Currently Evan is the master of a dozen projects at [Starcitygames.com](http://www.starcitygames.com). His wit, his genuine sincerity and clear passion for Magic have lead him from Eastern Tennessee to Essen, Rome, San Juan, Amsterdam, Roanoke and now Grand Prix Anaheim.

Travel Information

Arriving by Air

There are three airports in Southern California.

·         John Wayne/Orange County Airport (SNA) is 13 miles from the venue—allow 25 minutes to drive from there to Anaheim

·         Long Beach Airport (LGB) is 20 miles for the venue—allow 30 minutes to drive from there to Anaheim

·         Los Angeles International Airport (LAX) is 33 miles from the venue—allow 45 minutes to drive from there to Anaheim

Shuttle Service

SuperShuttle: 1-800-BLUE-VAN; 1-800-258-3826
SuperShuttle of Orange County operates a fleet of comfortable vans. Major credit cards accepted on board. Advance reservations recommended.
LAX - Airport Shuttle To/From LAX - $16 per person
SNA - Airport Shuttle To/From SNA – $10 per person
ONT - Airport Shuttle To/From ONT - $35 1st person, $9.00 additional, same reservation

Arriving by Car

FROM POINTS NORTH
Take I-5 South.
Take the HARBOR BLVD. exit.
Keep RIGHT at the fork in the ramp.
Merge onto S. HARBOR BLVD.
Cross W. Katella Ave.
Turn RIGHT onto CONVENTION WAY.

FROM POINTS SOUTH
Take I-5 North.
Take the KATELLA AVE. exit toward DISNEY WAY.
Turn SLIGHT LEFT onto ANAHEIM WAY.
Turn LEFT (west) onto E. KATELLA AVE. (becomes W. Katella Ave.)
Turn LEFT onto S. HARBOR BLVD.
Turn RIGHT onto CONVENTION WAY.

FROM POINTS EAST
Take CA-91 West.
Merge onto CA-57 South toward SANTA ANA.
Take the KATELLA AVE. exit.
Turn RIGHT (west) onto E. KATELLA AVE. (becomes W. Katella Ave.)
Turn LEFT onto S. HARBOR BLVD.
Turn RIGHT onto CONVENTION WAY.

Arriving by Bus or Rail
Local bus service is provided by Orange County Transportation Authority. OCTA can be reached at (714) 636-RIDE (7433) or www.octa.net/busrail. The following bus routes have stops near the Anaheim Convention Center (ACC):

Route 50 Long Beach – Anaheim via Katella Ave.: stops on W. Katella Ave. between S. Harbor Blvd. & West St., short walk South to Anaheim Convention Center entrance.
Route 205 Laguna Hills – Anaheim: stops on W. Katella Ave. between S. Harbor Blvd. & West St., short walk South to Anaheim Convention Center entrance.
Route 430 Anaheim Metrolink/Amtrak Station – Anaheim Resort: stops at S. Harbor & W. Katella Ave., and also stops at West St. & W. Katella Ave., short walk South to ACC.

Miles to venue from surrounding cities:

Riverside, CA 40 miles
San Diego, CA: 94 miles
Ensenada, Mexico 202 miles
Las Vegas, NV 266 miles
Phoenix, AZ: 357 miles
Oakland, CA: 398 miles
Tucson, AZ: 470 miles
Salt Lake City, UT: 658 miles
Albuquerque, NM: 785 miles
Los Angeles, CA: 33 Miles

Contact Information

Tournament Organizer: Sunmesa Events
Email: sunmesaevents@aol.com

Venue Address

Anaheim Convention Center
800 West Katella Avenue
Anaheim, CA 92802