Feature Friday: Blogging From Sheldon's Pool

So: it's Thursday, and I'm getting ready for Grand Prix Daytona Beach this weekend. By way of preparation, I've come to Tampa, Florida, where I've joined the following cast of judges:

• Toby Elliott, Level 5, Palo Alto, California
• David Vogin, Level 4, Orléans, France
• Nick Fang, Level 3, Seattle
• Shawn Doherty, Level 3, Hockessein, Delaware
• Adam Shaw, Level 3, Manchester, Conneticut
• Sheldon Menery, Level 5, Tampa, Florida—our host
• Scott "the DCI" Larabee, Renton, Washington

... it's not a bad group to be stuck with. As people filtered in today, we asked that they contribute to a blog, more or less, of the day's activities. It's not the typical Feature Friday, but we're having a good time, and it's both a nice opportunity to see judges having fun, and at the same time a working holiday for some of the most active judges in North America (and Orleans!). Enjoy, and we hope to see you at this weekend's event. -Seamus

9AM: Sheldon
The alarm claxon otherwise known as the espresso machine has gone off, summoning sleepyheads from all corners of The Estate, and this third day of Grand Prix Daytona run-up activities commences. The family room, just off the lanai (that's fancy Florida-speak for the screened-in outside place where the pool is) was last night converted into guest room #4, in which Toby Elliott dreamt, and was the first to arise. At the moment, Scott Larabee (guest room #1), strolls on the far side of the pool, cigarette in one hand, scratching the head of our newest family member, a 5-month-old tabby named Cupid. David Vogin (guest room #2), sits next to me on his laptop, searching his MODO account in vain for something or other. Seamus Campbell (guest room #3, which is the only one with a name: "The Whisky Room"), still snoozes, as does Shawn Doherty (guest room #5, the hastily-bedded chaise lounge in the piano room). My beautiful and talented wife Gretchyn, previously referred to as "The Rocket Scientist," putters in the kitchen, putting together her tea, ready to join us on the lanai table, no doubt with her laptop as well. The day has begun with the same sort of calm with which yesterday ended.

After Tuesday night at Bern's Steakhouse, one of America's great restaurants, and last night at Mise en Place, one of American's undiscovered secrets, tonight will be in the best kitchen of all—here. More on the menu later.

Last evening ended with swimming (the pool is currently 86F/30C), hot-tubbing (103F/40C), more swimming, more hot-tubbing, perhaps a few after-dinner drinks, and sitting around the fire pit. In other words, a fitting closure to a great day with great food and great friends.

Only bump in the road from yesterday: When time came to leave for the restaurant, the Frenchman proclaimed "All we do here is eat!!!"

Toby: The Frenchman lies. Mostly we watch Cupid being unbelievably cute.

Larabee: btw, cupid likes me better than uncle Toby.

11:30am: Sheldon
Elder Dragon Highlander has begun. It might be a while.

12:20 p.m.: Nick
Somebody apparently forgot to CC Florida on the memo that it’s November already.

While most of the others have been here for a few days already, getting acclimated, I’m just now arriving by way of Chicago, Seattle, and Denver, all of which are getting a nice head start on winter.

Here, on the other hand, it's a balmy 83 degrees out and even given what you've have been told about how incredible the estate and the group are... they've been understatements. Standing here next to an impressive fruit plate, watching the Level 23 judge-mass (oh, and the Wizards tournament manager) playing EDH on the table between me and the pool, I have to wonder—why am I ignoring all of that to stand here typing?

Of course, I seem to have jinxed the weather just by marvelling at it. As we speak, the clouds are rolling in and the winds are starting to pick up, so it seems that we might now have the critical mass of Pacific Northwesterners that it takes to bring the clouds with us.

Time to explore—more later.

1:30p.m: David "the Frenchman" Vogin
First out of the first EDH game. Trust me, if ever someone plays a Mind's Eye, don't Confiscate it, or you'll spend the next 18 turns paying to draw extra lands while everyone at the table is attacking you, believing you're dangerous.

Well, at least I now have time to get ready for lunch in the ever-eating house of lust.

2:13pm: Shawn
Well, the first game of EDH is still going. The game did slow while people had a fine lunch of salad and pasta salad, but it is still rolling along. I was smashed once I got the Mind's Eye back from David, but there are still 4 players left.

2:17pm: Shawn again
Looks like I spoke too soon. Everyone else gave up after Toby got Ghost Council back into play with Kokusho, the Evening Star, then cycled a Decree of Justice for 12. Time to start a couple more games!

Toby: 1, Everyone else: 0

2:57pm: Shawn
Door to Nothingness has sent me quickly into oblivion. After David played the Door, we made an attempt to kill him before it untapped, but failed. I had become much too dangerous to the table, so I was shown the Door. Looks like the game is still pretty interesting since Toby has a pile of tokens from Mobilization and David may be able to recur the Door.

2:58pm:
Toby 2, Everyone else: 0. Storm Herd + Ajani Goldmane is pretty good. Fortunately Nick held off a turn from playing Netherborn Phalanx so that I would take out David first, and both of them went.

3:30: Sheldon
The first bottle [of wine, of course -Seamus] has been opened. It’s Umberto Cesari Tauleto 2003, which was opened about 2 hours ago so that it can breathe for this evening. It's an absolute monster, and will need the time. The second bottle opened, 2001 Smith-Haut Laffite, a Bordeaux from Graves, is actually being consumed at the EDH table 1, which includes me, the Larabee, Adam, and Seamus. The other table is wine-free at the moment.

3;35: Toby
And everyone else will come up with one. Guess where Door to Nothingness went first this time?

4:00: Nick
The thing about my EDH deck is, it was basically built out of the best stuff I could find on short notice from draft decks, which means that it is the most ridiculously underpowered deck ever. Every other card is one of those "why are you playing that?" cards, which was great in draft and awful in any constructed format, let alone one as power-packed as EDH.

To the chagrin of the EDH regulars, though, at one point in its life this deck was 4-1, which would be a feat even if this wasn't a multiplayer format. Many of these wins were on the back of some of these aforementioned stinkers of cards. Games have been with Soulblast, Sudden Spoiling, and most recently, Frostwielder. Netherborn Phalanx was almost on this austere list, but for Toby's manipulations (though something else would have had to come along to overcome David, even if Toby had been taken out—perhaps Phthisis, which, I suppose, is not actually useless when it does an average of 10 damage). ` OK, I suppose Kaervek the Merciless as a general helps a lot, too.

16:23 : Adam
Our Hero (who is in a superior board position, on the back of a 10/10 Godo, Bandit Lord with Sword of Fire and Ice and Tatsumasa, the Dragon Fang): Ha ha Sheldon, I have you now.

Sheldon: Oh no my friend, you do not. Float 12 mana... "Obliterate."

Our Hero with one remaining permanent scoops.

Our Hero: Null Profusion for the loss.

4:25: Nick
And now it's fully raining. Pacific NW FTW. "Thanks, Nick," says Scott, followed by a second from Toby.

4:30 PM: Larabee
And just in case any of you are asking "Isn't Scott from the Pacific NW?", I would like to point out that I got here Tuesday and the weather was great until Nicholas Fang arrived!

6:30: Gretchyn
I'm really glad I stayed home today. Cooking for a crowd like this isn't an easy job. I've been prepping for the last three hours.

7:07 p.m.: Nick
Despite the heavy Magic bent of this crowd, there is certainly affinity for other games of all sorts, and the last few hours saw myself, Adam, and Toby learning how to play "Race for the Galaxy", a German-style game that Scott brought. Think "San Juan", or "Puerto Rico" with cards instead of a board, and you've got the right idea. German-style games are famous for mixing relatively simple mechanics with lots of complicated interactions, making for a brain-melting combination that is neither as simplistic and luck-oriented as the mass-market games you find in the United States, nor as complicated and long as the detailed strategy games you find in specialty shops. Exactly the right kind of thing for a crowd of Magic players.

A lot of these games end up winning awards for their intricate designs, but in the end, this one seemed to boil down pretty simply. Draw cards, collect resources, and buy things in various combinations, and in the end, watch Scott blow everyone out of the water no matter what happened. I wish I'd known that that was all it takes to design a hit game.

8:15 pm: Sheldon
The menu is as follows:

Goat cheese and roasted red pepper stuffed mushrooms
Roasted tenderloin of beef in port and shallot reduction
Potato and leek gratinee
Braised fennel with parmaggiano reggiano

And the wines:
2003 Gravity Hills Syrah "Killer Climb"
2003 Umberto Cesari Tauleto
1999 Capanna Brunello di Montalcino (in magnum)

I'll let the following bloggers tell tales of how tasty it might have been

10:15pm: Toby
Mmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmm

10:16pm: Nick
Gretchyn's 3 hours were well spent, and then some.

For some odd reason, there was some silly wager about whether or not four pounds of tenderloin was going to be finished across eight guys, or whether we'd have to find some way to package up the alleged leftovers with us for our journey to Daytona. Suffice it to say, given that the said eight guys could probably finish four pounds of hamburger without breaking a sweat, there was certainly nothing left of the much more exquisite meat that was offered.

Sheldon summed everything up best when he went up to get a bit more food, with a simple, "Wow, what happened to the food?" If Gretchyn ever offers you dinner, II'd suggest you accept.

10:25pm: Sheldon A remarkable night. Brilliant food, wonderful friends, ridiculous wine. There needs to be a GP in my backyard more regularly. See you all in the coverage.

[The judge does not have, by a long shot, the most glamourous role in Magic... or any other competitive game. By a long shot. However, when we get together, we make the most of it. We'll be up bright and early this weekend, on site before most of the players. But the lot of us will take home memories of a vacation well spent, despite and because of the long days on our feet and the hard work we do. And the wine. It's a good job.

Until next time, keep shufflin'. -Seamus]