Many of us have been hibernating these past few months, so to celebrate the not only the end of our aestivation, but also the two-year anniversary of the Desert Twisters, I figure we could all gather at the newly opened Silver Key Gaming Lounge for some Old School MTG, cold dranks and good times.

Come by around 6:30pm and hang until your eyes are tired. They’ve got a great beer, wine and cider selection, and you can BYOB food from anywhere you want. Figure we can order some pizza if everyone is interested.

LOCATION - https://thesilverkeylounge.com/

It's time... Join us for the first "official" Desert Twisters meetup of 2021. We'll gather at Fibber Magees on Saturday, March 6th in Chandler, AZ for an evening of Old School MTG, braised beef and Irish Whiskey.

We'll be using our very non-official DTFL rules and restrictions (https://deserttwisters.com/rules) and will happily allow proxies to be played all evening.

Formats likely to be present include:
Old School
Alpha 40
Revised 40
Premodern / Middle School

We'll kick things off at 5pm and cast spells until they kick us to the curb. Bring your significant other and your offspring(s), as there will be live music and plenty of room for everyone.

**ATTENTION PLEASE**

With the absolutely heaviest of hearts, we must finally admit defeat. The first 2020 Desertwalker Showdown is now officially postponed. No, we are not canceling, but in light of the world going on lock down, we can't push on in April. We will reassess after the dust settles and give you the new dates soon!

Please stick with us - we will do everything we can to make this event happen as soon as possible!

THANK YOU for understanding, and to everyone who was going to give our little event a chance

"What if Wizards had printed more dexterity cards in 93/94?"

The Desert Twisters know! And they’re intent on showing the Old School MTG community exactly what happens when every deck is equipped a card-flipping arsenal and let loose in the Wild West... So, reload your six-shooter, tip down your hat and travel back in time to the first annual Desertwalker Showdown!

Inspired by the boomtowns, gunslingers and shootouts of the Southwest, this brand new event will kick down the doors in Prescott, Arizona with guns blazing - challenging every man, woman and child with a dexterity card to aim for a “Kill Shot.”

Here’s the twist...

Chaos Orbs & Falling Stars - WotC’s original dexterity cards - are a pair of Peacemakers at your sides, ready to win you some Bullets with each Kill Shot. Additionally, you may choose to flip other cards for a chance to collect some spent shell casings, but beware, a missed shot means a countered spell! Each pairing will play a Swiss with The Sheriff keeping watch to make sure everyone is abiding by the law of the land!

The Top 8 will be chosen at the end of the tournament to compete for a coveted prize worth absolutely nothing and the glory of being crowned Showdown Champion. Meanwhile, the four Gunslingers with the most Bullets by the end of the tournament will go head-to-head in two rounds of Quick-Draw Shootouts (better known as Orb flips), and the last (wo)man standing will be named the Quickest Draw in the West and will go home with a new weapon.

Tickets and additional details...

Tickets are available here: https://www.eventbrite.com/e/89688752473

Ticket price covers entry into The Showdown tournament, which will be five Swiss rounds with a cut to the Top 8. Additionally, the four players who have collected the most Bullet Counters throughout the day (bartering, trading, and games of chance to acquire more counters are encouraged!) will face off in The Shootout, an epic quick-draw Orb flipping contest!

Your entry fee also includes three drink tickets, which can be exchanged for local craft beers, wine and select cocktails, or traded for Bullet Counters, if you find someone willing ;) You will also receive this limited edition playmat.

Food will be available during the 1.5 hour lunch break. Fixed menu choices will be posted to our logistics document, with vegetarian options available. Please be sure to place your lunch order as soon as you arrive at the venue to allow kitchen staff time to prep and deliver during our lunch break.

Please Note: There will be an Orb Flipping Academy on Friday evening (location TBD), as well as a Sunday Singleton and brunch get together at the Hassayampa Inn, among other activities all weekend long!

Transportation and lodging...

We have reserved numerous rooms at a variety of hotels in Prescott, all of which are within stumbling, er, walking distance of the venue. Additionally, a shuttle service from Sky Harbor International Airport in Phoenix is available for a round-trip, fixed price.

Please see our logistics document for additional information, or email us directly for help securing lodging and transportation.

Calling all Old Schoolers in the AZ!

Mike Griffin, founding member of the Desert Twisters and all around Old School aficionado, will be hosting our first ever Two-Headed Giant tournament at the end of March!

We will meet at Steve's Espresso at noon on Sunday the 29th, and play a casual Two-Headed Giant tournament until they kick us out around 5pm! Steve's has awesome little breakfast tacos, bloody mary's and big ass wood tables and benches where we can play. It's also generally quiet on Sundays, unlike a lot of the other brunch joints in PHX.

This will be a casual event with no prize support, and we will be using the Pacific Old School rules and restrictions.

So, find a friend, or just show up and make a new one, and enjoy a Sunday full of cross table Chaos Orb flips, and other such idiocy!

Here's the TL;DR on Two-Headed Giant...

Two-Headed Giant is a fun multiplayer format where two-player teams battle against one another.

Each team has a shared life total that starts at 30 life.

Each team takes their turn together, meaning they draw as a team, attack as a team, block as a team, and go through all phases of the turn as a team.

The team that goes first skips their first draw step.

Teams do NOT share any resources other than life--meaning players can't share cards in hand or mana.

Teams may share information and strategize together.

First mulligan is free.

Here's a link to WotC's official Two-Headed Giant rules - https://magic.wizards.com/en/game-info/gameplay/formats/two-headed-giant

The Desert Twisters formally invite you to our February Old School MTG Meetup and 2020 Phoenix MagicFest Gathering!

These shenanigans will take place at the Arizona Wilderness DTPHX, which is less than a mile north off the Phoenix Convention Center where CFB will be hosting MagicFest.

We will be playing 93/94 Magic using the Pacific Old School rule set, which you can learn more about here: https://deserttwisters.com/rules

This will be a casual event, with no prize support, just casting old spells and tipping back cold beers.

Ye Wizards of the Old School, come test your knowledge of Garfield's game at our first ever Old School MTG Trivia Night!

We'll gather at the Oro Brewing Company at 5pm, and offer trivia questions between rounds of Old School where you can earn points for answering questions correctly. Prizes will be awarded for the most points earned at the end of the night. Or something like that.

Please RSVP so we know how many question sheets to print.

This will be a casual meet, where we'll be playing 93/94 MTG using the Pacific Rule set, which you can learn more about on the Rules page

Joins us at the Otro Cafe on January 14th for Taco Tuesday and Singleton Showdown!

We're encouraging people to build 60 card singleton decks using the rules and restrictions provided by The Beasts of the Bay (link: https://beastsofthebay.com/old-school-singleton).

This is a super fun Old School format and allows for some interesting interactions, win cons, and combos! And since you can only have one copy of a card, and no Moxen or Lotus, it levels the playing field a bit.

We'll meet around 5pm (Happy Hour ends at 6pm) and play until they close.

This will be a casual get together, so bring your Old School/Singleton decks, crush some tacos and have a good time!

Taco Twisters! Since so many of us will be out of town or dealing with family for the next few weeks, we won’t be hosting a proper Old School MTG meetup during the month of December. :(

Instead, we’ll be gathering at the Taco Guid next Tuesday, December 10th for some casual games, tacos and tequila.

So, skip work or leave early (Happy Hour ends at 6:30pm) and cast some demonic spells inside an old Methodist church built in 1893!