Soup on Sarpadia
Happy Fall! To follow is a quick report on the only “fall soup” themed MtG event of the year! (as far as I know)…
I’ve always been a sucker for quaint and offbeat MtG events. I try to attend many, but make sure to host at least one from the heart each year. Cube has emerged as one of my favorite casual ways that I can share what I love about MtG with those around me without barrier. Previous recent years have included: Lorwyn, Onslaught Block, 93/95, ante-cube, and Vanguard events. I was happy to add “Soup on Sarpadia” to the list for 2025.
The Event
This event was simple: 3 round “Sarpadia Remastered” Cube Draft, modern rules with mana burn. Entry: a homemade dish, prizes were donated, and one player would walk away as the Soup-reme ruler of Sarpadia!
The “Sarpadia Remastered” cube is a personal, immersive design and somewhat of a favorite amongst my facets of MtG. I’m thankful for the continued interest in it! (Maybe someday I’ll write more about it). In short, it features Fallen Empires as the base set, and themes mainly from the fringe continents of early Dominaria. It showcases cards from 1993 to present. It is a casual product of years of FE40 online league results with fluid updates based on previous reps, and an unhealthy personal dive into the deep lore of early Magic. This is truly a unique environment featuring unlikely heroes –all cubes are best shared on the kitchen table with beer and 7 others… or in this case a soup cook-off!!
Cube List
Attendees and Soup
An all-star crew of Rocs, and other close friends/enthusiasts accounted for easily 150+ years of Magic experience in the room (with a healthy variety of reps in the cube) – truly a valuable group for the continued assessment of this limited card pool.
Brad Wayne, Mitty Harmon, Paul Blakely, Mike Klements, Taylor Kane, Christopher Benson, Halle McLaughlin + Kevin Kelsey.
Personal opinion, nothing pairs with Sarpadia (or OS mtg) more than a little neat Laphroaig – a perfect match with dark peaty notes of seaweed and smoke. Cheers.
Pre-game festivities also included a bonus “pre-release promo style” soup themed card that could be included in decks, and many calories.
Three rounds went quickly and I will review the archetypes that bubbled up below.
Most importantly: Congrats to Paul for winning the “Master Chef” prize with his roasted tomato soup!! Other highlights included Butternut Squash soup, Italian Wedding, and (my wife’s) outstanding “garden pepper” chili. Thanks to Mitch for bringing it altogether with some coma-inducing grilled cheese sandwiches to balance us out!
On to the Magic…
The finals came down to Kevin Kelsey on B/G Thallids versus Taylor Kane on B/W “Kindred removal”. Taylor has had previous experience and positive results with this cube (at the Fallen Empires Worlds I + II) and was able to take the trophy this time in an extremely close match, ending with a fatal dry spell! Kevin finished 2nd overall with a 2-1 (5-2) record.
Taylor’s B/W “Kindred Removal”
3-0, proving that again, nothing can beat a well-timed hand of justice! (or dry spell). This list got right to the point and consistently removed threats. Fliers are few and far between, and Taylor’s concentration of them, along with the looming Hand, kept a short clock!
Mike’s “Mermaid Stuff” Mill
2-1 (5-4) This was way outside my comfort zone, and had a surprisingly solid ground floor. It emphasized on wasting time until my opponent’s deck disappeared, although had an alternate aggro option that just sort of worked.
Mitty’s Big Green Tokens
I was surprised this did not place higher, as it is very similar to the FE champs ‘24 winning draft deck! Maybe a bit more removal? Definitely could be some luck of the draw as well.
Brad’s U/W Aggro
2-1 (5-4) – U/W aggro. This deck really made use of the enchant creatures/equipment. Plus, Wave Knights and Ancestral Vision was enough to scare anyone away. It had some lands in it too.
Christopher’s Jund Aggro
This deck looked to have outstanding potential, but had trouble making it to the advantage point of the game. Mana Crypt will live to see another draft!
Halle’s U/B control -vs- Paul’s B/R aggro
Sea Singer with a mystic compass!
Kevin’s deck was highlighted by big thallids and a Fallen Angel over the top if things took too long. For anyone that has partaken in the “splash” months in the online FE40 league, Fallen Angel is the threat.
Thanks
Thanks all for another fantastic mini-event, and for those that read this far, for indulging! Hopefully see you in Sarpadia (or otherwise) soon!
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