As though to make up for a 3-year absence, the Singapore Comic Con (formerly known as Singapore Toys, Games and Comic Convention) came back bigger than ever over the Dec 10-11th weekend, spreading over 2 floors at the Sands Expo & Convention Centre. Magic: the Gathering and other Hasbro franchises also made a prominent showing, including a Dungeons & Dragons segment, and a full length trailer truck in the familiar colours of Transformers’ Optimus Prime.
For Magic fans and players, Singapore Comic Con became the final battleground for the year-long APAC League. Split over 2 days, the 1st day consisted of multiple Swiss rounds in Standard format. The top 8 players of day 1 then headed on to day 2 for a quick and dirty pod of The Brothers’ War draft. Take a look at how both days unfolded!
As you would expect from a final, almost every deck played on day 1 belonged to either the Grixis (blue-black-red) or Esper (white-blue-black) midrange and control builds. We did see the occasional blue-white Soldier aggro deck (which does look very fun to play), and of course the ever-scurrying mono-red decks, but those were a rare sight.
On Day 2, after the dust had settled, the inaugural APAC League had a new Singapore champion – Lim Ting Yong! Apart from bragging rights, Lim took home a hoard of prizes including a Brothers’ War Collector Booster box, Set Booster box, 2 playmats, Pinfinity Year of the Tiger set, and an OSIM Transformers gaming chair that comes with a built-in massage system.
Right after the prize presentation, Magic artists Darren Tan and Julian Kok were up next on the main stage, as they shared common threads of how they came into the profession and the creative process on selected artwork.
While Magic: the Gathering certainly had one of the biggest presences in terms of floor space, it unfortunately faded into the background compared to other table top games like Warhammer, Dungeons & Dragons, and even Marvel’s Heroclix. The Magic playing area was confined to the rear corner, on the floor that already brought in much less footfall than the other with artists booths, the main stage, and other big local brands like Mighty Jaxx and SaberMach.
The high entry price (S$60) to take part in the APAC League Finals also put off some players, considering only those who had qualified (placed 1st or 2nd in previous store events) could actually take part. The APAC League is still a rousing success and a great concept to boost awareness in this region, but there are certainly areas that can be improved in future editions.
Positives and negatives for Magic at this year’s Singapore Comic Con aside, there was a lot more to see over the 2 convention floors. Enjoy the photos, and drop us a comment if you were there!
