Kamloops, BC
Saturday November 8th, 2025


An Abandoned Hub
The last GameHub RCQ was a little ill-attended, and I didn't have high hopes for this one. The Standard format hasn't improved, and at this point in the season, most players who were grinding for an invite got one already. For the third RCQ in a row, I hung around as we scrambled to get 8 players in the event. Some Commander players were canvassed, some friends were called, and even some significant others were given decks from the store's loaner pile to hop in and play.

A Financial Failing
The store ran the RCQ for free for the players with no prize support (save for the promos and playmat that came with the RCQ kit). I felt really awkward about asking to be paid when it didn't really feel like I was doing any work, so I told the store that I'd run the event pro bono. I usually charge around 200CAD for a local RCQ (my store is an hour drive away from me), and more if I have to drive longer. Most RCQs in my area get from 10-20 players so they're not difficult events to manage, and being able to sleep in my own bed is a huge boon. The store wasn't thrilled about paying me nothing, so after some negotiation they tossed me a few old FNM promo packs and a collector booster.

Is It Really Invite Only if the Invites Are Free?
Did I mention this was a four slot RCQ? Winning a single round got you an invite, and 2 of the players there didn't intend to play that day and were roped into it. Because it was a four-slot kit I gave everyone 8 Shoot the Sheriff promos and two non-foil Laughing Jasper Flints. After the first round, I organized a few fun matches for the players that were knocked out, since single elimination is pretty mopey. The players seemed to appreciate jamming some casual games.

An Awkward Awakening
AP controls Awaken the Honored Dead. For its third chapter ability, is AP able to discard a creature and then choose to return that same creature to their hand? Yes, Awaken the Honored Dead's third chapter ability includes a reflexive trigger, so AP doesn't need to choose what they're targeting in the graveyard until after they've discarded a card. (CR 603.12)

Superior and Generic
AP casts Superior Spider-Man as a copy of Bringer of the Last Gift, they return two other Superior Spider-Man cards to the battlefield, and want to choose the single Craterhoof Behemoth in their graveyard for both of them to copy. First of all, after Superior Spider-Man's copy effect is applied, while it retains its name, it doesn't retain the legendary supertype. This threw me for a bit of a loop since other creatures that do something similar and retain their names oftentimes also retain their legendary status (such as Lazav, Dimir Mastermind and Sakashima, the Imposter). Secondly AP can choose the same Craterhoof for both incoming Superior Spider-Men, since the clause that exiles the card from the graveyard isn't part of the replacement effect, but actually a reflexive trigger. (CR 603.12)

Screaming Policy
AP attacked with Screaming Nemesis and NAP blocked with a 1/1 Goblin Token. Afterwards NAP said "I take one from the Screaming Nemesis". AP seemed a little confused, but agreed, and NAP took one. Notably NAP had a lot of 1/1 creatures that AP was kind of racing with, and it seemed like killing one of them would've been a better choice. AP was on a deck that they had borrowed and weren't that familiar with the cards. It seemed like they had simply assumed that they had to target NAP with the ability. I briefly considered stepping in and saying something, but recalled that while this felt like an FNM it most certainly wasn't, and clarifying to AP how their cards worked would definitely be outside assistance. After all, NAP had proposed a legal choice for the target, and AP had agreed.

...In Conclusion
Even though the event was small, we still had a good time. The players seemed to have a lot of fun, and all the players that still needed invites got them. This kind of turnout doesn't bode well for the future of RCQs though, and I'm concerned that if next season's promos aren't real bangers, most stores will likely eschew running RCQs at all.