Preamble: Before getting into the official announcement, please allow me to ask two quick things of you that will help make this event incredibly fun and memorable for everyone.
1.) A fairly good estimate of attendance will ensure things like: enough pizza ordered, seating that is neither too little, nor too cramped, additional prize support as warranted, etc. Therefore, can I please, please ask that if you plan on attending let me know either via pm, posting in this thread, emailing me at iamfishman2000@hotmail.com, texting me at 860-605-3730, messaging me on facebook, choosing “attending” in the facebook event(coming soon), sending a carrier pigeon, etc. It is not a binding agreement, but it only takes a second and it will help me get a feel for attendance.
2.) Could I ask those of you who already know what an experience I try to make for each of my events tell others about this so that we can have a great turnout. With the infrequency of my events the last few years, there is a whole new generation of Vintage players who don't know about the TMD Open experience.

In return, I will promise to plan plenty into this event that will leave everyone with some lasting memory above and beyond the vintage they play. So without further ado…

What: TMD OPEN 19 (TREASURE HUNT!)
(Check out https://www.facebook.com/groups/455436901463091/ for the event's discussion group)
Where: Oakville VFW
85 Davis St
Oakville, CT 06779
860-605-3730
(This place is literally 0.25 miles from the Waterbury town line, so you can still call it a Waterbury tournament)

When: May 12, 2018
Doors open at 10:00 am
Registration is 10:00 am - 11:00 am
Tourney Starts PROMPTLY at 11:00 am (To avoid a prolonged tournament, this will be strictly enforced. Latecomers may be subject to a round 1 loss.)

Cost: $50 Entry Fee
(Entry fee must be paid in cash. Because I don't work for a store, I don't have a credit card machine. I apologize in advance for the inconvenience)

Format: Type One with FIFTEEN proxies with a cut to top 8.

Prizes: (Above and beyond the many hundreds of dollars in prizes for all the side events) I will be using a “based on participants” prize scale for the main event prizes.

Prize Support based on 120 Participants
1st Prize –$1600 in cash + Free Entry at TMD Open 20 + an official TMD OPEN 20 Playmat + an official TMD Open 19 Playmat
2nd Prize –$800 in cash + an official TMD OPEN 19 Playmat
3rd-4th Prize –$400 in cash + an official TMD OPEN 19 Playmat
5th-8th Prize –$200 in cash + an official TMD OPEN 19 Playmat
9th-16th prize –$100 in cash + an official TMD OPEN 19 Playmat
17th prize - 17th prize - An official TMD OPEN 19 Playmat
18th-32 prize – Pack of Masters 25

Prize Support based on 110 Participants
1st Prize –$1400 in cash + Free Entry at TMD Open 20 + an official TMD OPEN 20 Playmat + an official TMD Open 19 Playmat
2nd Prize –$700 in cash + an official TMD OPEN 19 Playmat
3rd-4th Prize –$350 in cash + an official TMD OPEN 19 Playmat
5th-8th Prize –$175 in cash + an official TMD OPEN 19 Playmat
9th-16th prize –$75 in cash + an official TMD OPEN 19 Playmat
17th prize - 17th prize - An official TMD OPEN 19 Playmat
18th-32 prize – Pack of Masters 25

Prize Support based on 100 Participants
1st Prize –$1200 in cash + Free Entry at TMD Open 20 + an official TMD OPEN 20 Playmat + an official TMD Open 19 Playmat
2nd Prize –$600 in cash + an official TMD OPEN 19 Playmat
3rd-4th Prize –$300 in cash + an official TMD OPEN 19 Playmat
5th-8th Prize –$150 in cash + an official TMD OPEN 19 Playmat
9th-16th prize –$60 in cash + an official TMD OPEN 19 Playmat
17th prize - An official TMD OPEN 19 Playmat

“TREASURE HUNT” Special Events:
The theme of the last TMD open was “Quest for the Crown” (like those in Conspiracy 2). This TMD OPEN’s theme is “TREASURE HUNT”. Here is what that entails:
Pirate’s Booty: At the start of the event, every player will receive a pirate’s pouch that looks like this:

The contents will be a surprise, but they will be pirate/treasure themed and be things that you can use in the event.

Captain and His First Mate Table: Starting with current reigning champ Jarad Demick, the Captain and his First Mate Table will be one of two featured match tables each round. If Jarad keeps winning, he will always have a spot at the table. But, whoever beats Jarad will become the new Captain of the Ship and defend that table every round until they lose. And how will everyone know that you are the Captain of the Ship? Easy, of course…you will get to wear this sweet Pirate’s Hat letting everyone know you are the bravest pirate of the seven seas!

Feed the Treasure Chest: Throughout the event there will be many opportunities for you to get these(everything from losing matches, to supporting the vendors, to acts of sportsmanship, etc:

When you receive them, write your name legibly on the treasure card and deposit them in the treasure chest at the judge’s station that looks like this:

During each round(and other times TBD) I will randomly choose treasure cards from the chest and give out prizes. I am still ordering prizes, but this is an example of the raffle prize pool from the last event:

(In case you can’t tell from the picture, most of that stuff is either foreign or foil)

Additionally, if you think about what treasure is usually in a treasure chest you think of gold coins and jewels but occasionally there is also a painting in there as well. We have 2 such paintings to round out our giveaways:

Pirate Crew Selfie: Ever see those large cutout image stands where you put your head through and have someone take your picture? How about a magic pirate themed one?

Stick your face through, have someone take that picture, and upload it (or another image from the day) to a special thread in the TMD Open 19 Discussion Group. Whichever picture in the thread gets the most “Likes” by the end of the day will win a TMD Open 19 playmat.

One Man’s Trash is Another Man’s Treasure: (This one will be a true measure of the honor system but I think as a community we can be honorable about this.) There will be a treasure chest with a few vintage playable Magic Cards in it that I will provide to start. Throughout the day, I will encourage people to regularly look through it for something they might “treasure” and in exchange for taking that card or cards they must put in a card or cards of greater monetary value that they consider “trash”. For example, maybe a shops player sees a Foil Hangarback Walker(current TCGPlayer Low= $6.79). They take that “sweet” card and leave behind a “useless” Near Mint Japanese Gush(current TCGPlayer Low = $8.97).
My hope is that we can grow the contents of the chest (while people getting cool stuff in the process) and use what is in there at the end of the day for some door prizes.

Other Competitions:
Free Side Event: At the end of round 3 we will be taking signups for a FREE tournament for an Italian Legends Mana Drain. The second place prize is to be determined. This free tournament will be single elimination.

Card Throwing Competition: Grab a land card, write your name on it, and flick it across the room. Farthest flung card wins a TMD OPEN 19 playmat. It is that simple! This will be held after the swiss rounds.

Team rivalry, a.k.a. Braggin Rights Supreme May 2018: Here is how its gonna go down. Teams of three will agree prior to the event to play as a team and will register (separate from a deck registration...it will be done on a different sheet of paper). Each team’s cost is $9...$3 per person. Then, at the end of the tournament, the teams with the highest combined number of match points(single elimination matches count as 3 points per match, just as in the swiss) will win.
If enough teams enter, there may be a second place prize or more, but the number of teams entering, and thus the collected entry fees, will determine the prizes. In the event of a tie for match points, the average opponent match win percentage from the swiss rounds of the three players on each team will be computed and compared.
After round 3 team designations will be inserted into players names, so teams may view each other team's players and match points on the pairings/standings.

FREE Magic Trivia: Some consider the most fun part of a TMD open to be Magic Trivia. This competition will test your Magic knowledge, take you down memory lane, and give you a fun-filled hour with friends. It is FREE to enter and all teams win prizes. The event starts after the Swiss rounds.

Other Information:
Proxies: (Borrowing from Nick Detwiler’s guidelines)
Most everyone on these forums knows what a proxy is. A proxy, for the TMD Open 18, will be defined as the following:
A Magic the Gathering card with the full name, card type (instant, sorcery, land, artifact, creature, enchantment, planeswalker), full mana cost and text clearly displayed. This can be done in one of two ways:

1. Using a Sharpie, not pen or pencil, to fill in the required text on a card where it can clearly be read. (Revised lands are excellent for this, new commons and uncommons aren't usually, as they're darker, and far tougher to read.)
2. Using acetone to remove certain text from a card that's close to the intended proxy (i.e. Lotus Bloom, with certain words removed to proxy a Black Lotus, Ancestral Visions with certain words removed to proxy an Ancestral Recall).
   Take pride in your proxies! Your opponents should know (at all times) what your proxies are, because they're clearly defined. Using 15 Swamps to make your proxies is a bad idea, as it's going to create confusion. If you're proxying Moxen, please, use a Land from each appropriate color to make a proxy for that Mox (i.e., a Mox Sapphire is on an Island, a Mox Jet is on a Swamp, a Mox Pearl is on a Plains...). Beyond that, please use your best judgment when creating your proxies - we know what will, and what won't, be easily recognizable.
   Your opponents should not ever be at a disadvantage because you don't own the cards. There is nothing wrong with using proxies as you slowly pick up the cards that you need to play Vintage, but please consider your opponents while you're making them, as we're out to make this an enjoyable experience for everyone involved.
   If you're worried that your proxies may not pass muster, please speak to the head judge of the event before the event starts. Leave enough time to create new proxies, if necessary.
   Using paper printouts of card faces, and gluing them to cards, is not acceptable! This alters the thickness of the cards, making the cards marked, for all intents and purposes. Please don't do this, as the judges will be instructed to consider these as marked cards, and enforce punishment according to a DCI Competitive REL event!

Snacks & Meals: We will be selling pizza slices, soda, and other snacks all day long.

Parking: I found this ‘ere old treasure map fer the land where treasure be found. X’s mark where ye be parking, matey!

ALSO: FRIDAY NIGHT MAGIC: VINTAGE EDITION

As you may have seen in my facebook poll, there is some interest in a small Friday night event for those arriving the day before who want to jam some games in and maybe win a round 1 bye. Here are the details:

Friday, May 11th at the VFW(Same at the main event the next day)
Format: 15 proxy vintage
Registration: 5:00-5:30pm
Round 1 of 4 starts promptly at 5:30
Entry: $25
Prize based on record: 4-0 = $100 and a round 1 bye for TMD Open 19
3-1 = $50

These prizes are based on 16 people. The $300 return on $400 is because I will put $100 to cover part of the cost of the hall Friday night(I am covering the rest of the Friday hall rental because I, and possibly the vendors, will also be setting up during this time). If we have more than 16 people though I will put more into the prize pool(maybe something for all the 2-2's for example).

Questions, comments, concerns? Please share them all here.

See you on May 12th,
Ray

I'm glad this is continuing, but it's a huge bummer that it's too short notice for a coast to coast trip for me. I'd request that, in the future, you try to give at least 3 months notice to get the best priced flight and to plan for work, etc.

This is my favorite Vintage event.

Thanks for all the work you do putting it together, @iamfishman ! Really looking forward to it.

Glad you are hosting again! I was really hoping to make it for the first time this year but alas it is a weekend I am single parenting it as my wife will be gone on a trip. Maybe next year!

As @Smmenen noted, this is slightly too short of notice for those of us who have to fly. Bummer, because this looks like a blast (and my family lives ~45 minutes from Waterbury). Hope it's a great event though!

Official info is up! If you plan on going, be sure to reserve your spot. Almost half of the 128 spots are already accounted for.

Also, join the official discussion group here: https://www.facebook.com/groups/455436901463091/

(And sorry for those who are farther away. Every year I tell myself I will plan the date farther out, and every year I wait too long!)

Attendance List So Far
1.) Matthew Moss
2.) Keith Grim
3.) Greg Hughes
4.) Jarad Demick
5.) Justin Gennari
6.) David Matthew Nunez
7.) Tim Candee
8.) Dan Nelson
9.) James JP Kohler
10.) Mark Hornung
11.) Sean Came
12.) Kenan Diab
13.) Rich Shay
14.) James P Hangley III
15.) Raffaele Forino
16.) Vincent Forino
17.) James Rocheleau
18.) William Dayton
19.) Samantha Dayton
20.) Chris Danis
21.) Will Magrann
22.) Daniel Miller
23.) Andrew Farias
24.) Chris Hanson
25.) Skee Monoblack
26.) Matthew Murray
27.) Joe Brennan
28.) Sullivan Brophy
29.) Josh Lalo
30.) Sean Higgins
31.) Dan Sollazzo
32.) Greg Fenton
33.) Amir Akhundzadeh
34.) Sahaj Viradia
35.) Carlos M Santos
36.) Joel Lim
37.) Neil MacDonald
38.) James Doheny
39.) John Grudzina
40.) Christian Aguanno
41.) Nicholas DiJohn
42.) Michael Scheffenacker
42.) David Fleischmann-Rose
43.) Jon Byer
44.) Kevin Maher
45.) Hunter Prendergast
46.) Chris Pankiewicz
47.) Vasu Balakrishnan
48.) Jacob Bard
49.) Tom Corrado Metelsky
50.) Ben Feingersh
51.) Josh Langdon
52.) Ryan Fisher
53.) Dominic DiFebo
54.) Rich Meyst
55.) Dan Haberek
56.) Timothy John
57.) Ben Wagnon
58.) Ryan Glackin
59.) Mickey Mahr
60.) Mike Noble
61.) Jer S Rudolph
62.) R Jeremy Desrosiers
63.) Travis Compton
64.) Joey Sacino
65.) Chris Cosenza
66.) Sam Mandeville
67.) Jonathan Geras
68.) Michael Keller
69.) Dean Harris
70.) Leon Anton
71.) Shawn Chen
72.) Mike Brum
73.)
74.) Jason Morawski
75.) Matt Paquet
76.) Scott Bradley
77.) Josh Meckes
78.) David Lisevick
79.) D.j. Seco
80.) Roland Chang
81.) Kenny Loiterman
82.) Stephen Harvey
83.) Zach Dobbin
84.) Maura Fitzgerald
85.) Eric Meadow
86.) Joe Vitalis
87.) Bill Copes
88.) Ryan Scacca
89.) Zohar Bhagat
90.) Akash Naidu
91.) Matt Deering
92.) Jeremy Beaver
93.) Peter Craft
94.) Joseph Spicola
95.) Ashok Chitturi
96.) Eric Dupuis
97.) Micah Beren Greenbaum
98.) Jeff Rodgers
99.) Jesse Martin
100.) Joe Spicola
101.) Brian Swatkins
102.) Daniel Gacioch
103.) Brian Kelly
104.)
105.) Shawn Stroke
106.) James Saltsman
107.) Tom Daliapes via Shawn Stroke
108.) Brian Rottendoogen via Shawn Stroke
109.) Michael Sorrentino via Shawn Stroke
110.) Jostin Rodriguez
111.) Ben Lukas
112.) Mason Sokol
113.) Craig Dupre
114.) Dale Gigliotti
115.) Bryan Palace
116.) Daniel Atticus Proulx
117.) William O'Neil
118.) Elz Antunez
119.) Nathaniel Hoffman
120.) August West
121.) Jeremy Tibbetts
122.) Brett Spinelli
123.) Steve Carpenter
124.) John Hogan M.D.
125.) Travis Laplante
126.)
127.)
128.)

Already told the wife this was happening! See ya there!

I won't be there, but is any kind of online coverage planned?

@gremlin-lord agreed, that would be great if possible

@iamfishman if you're interested in doing stream coverage but need help with technical stuff or equipment I'd be happy to assist. I have a reasonable amount of experience with streaming paper Magic with commentary -- here's a sample https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Q4lFalCi0HY

@iamfishman the cards I want to donate were sent Monday, and should be there I'd imagine by tomorrow.

At everyone else, I donated some sweet cards to be used however ray seems fit. Go win my cards!

@hierarchnoble @nucleosynth

The work that both of you do is remarkable. Many people have asked for coverage but there are two big limiting factors.

1.) I have always taken the stance that I wouldn't utilize a single penny of money spent by players(entry fees) for the benefit of those people who aren't in attendance. Doesn't seem fitting to lower the EV of the event by using someone's money for the benefit of someone who didn't pay into the event. Thus, my budget for online broadcast is $0. That is probably the deal breaker right there.

2.) I am not sure where there is a space for broadcasting to take place from. Obviously, there needs to be a space outside of the main hall so the players can't hear the broadcast, and I suspect the other room in the VFW and the bar are off limits.

@13nova
Big Kudos to Soly for the donation! This just means the giveaway pool will be even bigger!

@iamfishman That all makes sense.

The budget isn't the concern for me. I own all my stuff and would happily bring it and set it up. Just need power and an internet connection.

No separate space for commentary is an issue, though. Not sure how to solve that one

@iamfishman as someone who can’t come I would be willing to pay to get a broadcast. I wouldn’t be surprised if others would too. Especially if it is recorded and can be watched later. However that doesn’t solve the space part.

@iamfishman Why not try to get someone who couldn't be there to broadcast via oBS/Twitch? I don't think you need someone there. Just have @Nucleosnyth Google Chat two people into the Broadcast and away they go!

@nucleosynth :

Would Soly's plan work? If you set up the camera work around the feature match area can we have someone not present offer commentary? Would there be a delay/lag? That could work!