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My arrival in the heart of Asia was uneventful, yet I was struck with one particular sensation – the heat! And oh, how oppressive it was! Having adjusted to the heat (you have to love that most places have air conditioning there), I started to plan my activities, which included a visit to the local MTG Mecca on a Saturday afternoon – Bishan!

But more of that soon….

Singapore is an eight hour flight from Sydney, and is a small island nation with a population comprised of people of Chinese, Indian, and Malay origin and some ex-pats thrown in for good measure. It is small, clean and very safe. It also has a small Magic community that hangs around Bishan MRT station on a Saturday afternoon.

But more of that soon….

My travels around this wonderful island nation saw me visit the city, with its old world charm and modern buildings, the colonial charms of the Raffles Hotel (where one can indulge in a world famous Singapore Sling cocktail for the princely sum of $18), Orchard Rd, where one can get hassled by tailors, touters and titilators (especially in Lucky Plaza), the bikini clad beaches of Sentosa Island and the Changi Prison Museum and Chapel with its sombre memories of brutality, comradeship and war.

Buried deep within my pack, was one of my favourite Type 1 decks:

1 Berserk

1 Polluted Delta

1 Sol Ring

1 Mana Crypt

4 Tropical Island

4 Underground Sea

4 Flooded Strand

4 Quirion Dryad

1 Yawgmoth's Will

1 Demonic Tutor

1 Timetwister

1 Mox Sapphire

1 Mox Ruby

1 Mox Pearl

1 Mox Jet

1 Mox Emerald

1 Black Lotus

1 Time Walk

1 Ancestral Recall

4 Skullclamp

4 Crookshank Kobolds

4 Crimson Kobolds

4 Kobolds of Kher Keep

3 Cunning Wish

3 Daze

4 Force of Will

3 Brainstorm





Sideboard:

2 Stifle

2 Unsummon

1 Skeletal Scrying

1 Force of Will

1 Misdirection

1 Blue Elemental Blast

2 Terror

1 Smother

1 Diabolic Edict

1 Naturalize

1 Berserk

1 Oxidise

It was quite simply a case of “Have Kobolds Will Travel”.

And since I have been chatting to several Singaporeans on the local forums, I decided to visit the local gaming community at their local hangout.

Bishan! Or to be precise, in a noisy, hot and humid outdoor location outside some small dodgy card shop (that didn’t sell singles) that is outside Bishan MRT station. The MRT is the local train system: its clean, cheap and very handy to use. And I didn’t get lost getting there! Quite an achievement! And yeah, you can use your MRT transit cards at places like Maccas to buy burgers – how cool is that?

It is a place where the locals hangout to buy, swap and talk magic - one of the main Magic hangouts on Singapore. Most full of locals of who play Type 2 and a couple of dealers who bring out their folders and display their wares for all and sundry. “You buy magic card – give you good deal”, well not really like that, but can get some good prices due to the good exchange rate.

I arrived there, purchased some cheap cards (have to love the favourable exchange rate) and waited for the man they call Fratelli. Mr Fratelli, or Mr Melvin to the locals is Mr Type 1 – the man at the heart of the Singapore MTG Type 1 scene; the man with the power; the man who plays the best format in Magic – Type 1!

We finally caught up, after initially exchanging pleasantries via the Paradise PM and got down to business – the business of Type 1. We proceeded to leave the hallow grounds of Bishan (with Type 1 disciples in tow), to finally arrive at our destination – the Temple of the Golden Arches, the symbol of world domination and our destination – the local Maccas, complete with ice cold air conditioning and the best lemon/lime drinks you can buy!

Type 1 in Singapore is small. Yet it is full of dedicated players – powered up and ready to play. If ever there is a large Type 1 event in Australia they will be there! We sat down, talked and got down to business. I started crunching kobolds and played against a TPS decks, Hulk Smash deck and lost big time to a fish/landstill deck whilst holding a hand of 7 kobolds and drawing nothing but land. I lost a few, won a few and then had to run – a hot dinner date awaited!

I did get in some further playtesting of my kobold deck, while occasionally inconsistent, is tremendous fun to play and can just get outlandish draws to win. So watch out at the Nationals Type 1 side event! Hahahahaha

It was a great visit to Singapore and I highly recommend it as a holiday destination. The locals are friendly and should you bring a deck or two, you should not have many problems getting a few games in around Bishan. I look forward to going back there again sometime, to have a few games, a bit of a chat and possibly to get some good Type 1 trades. The magic scene there is small, but is dedicated – several Type 1 players have indicated their willingness to fly eight hours just to play Type1 – so c’mon tournament organisers, lets get some big type 1 events going in Australia.

Stayed tuned for my next report – my Type 1 side event report from the Nationals in Canberra.

Mick

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