I hate magic
Another PTQ and another early exit. When did I become so mediocre? Two PTQ’s in a row now, I’ve missed the mark and not made Top 8. I remember a time when top 8 was practically a given for me. Perhaps thats the problem, I’ve become too cocky.
I love magic
I built my deck and did what little testing I could with a predicted metagame in mind. I figured there would be plenty of Toast and Kithkin. There would be a moderate amount of Faeries, and a pocket of Doran and red. In the end, I was paired with 3 Toast, 2 Kithkin, and 1 Faeries. I’d hit the nail on the head. I love being me.
I hate magic
In the last round I was already out of contention. I was going to drop after last round. Its not like I get any prizes, I’m not an amateur. I did tick the drop box, but scribbled it out at the last minute. Fix your rating, I thought. I was paired against a mate. He was playing my dream pairing, Kithkin. I was likely going to crush him. But thats the problem. Both of us are probably feeling pretty shitty at this point, and one of us is about to be crushed into the 2-3-1 bracket. Not good for him, who ended up losing, and not good for me, who ended beating one of the good guys.I love magic
I love hanging out with people at these events. There are plenty of good characters, they generally follow my sense of humour and agree with what’s cool and what’s not. Thats more than I can say for most non-magic group situations. There’s plenty of people who I only get to see at the bigger events, and I look forward to these events for that reason.
I hate magic
I had a sideboard plan for the mirror which just didn’t work. Instead, I got beaten by the same cards. The interesting thing is, I was beaten by players who had maindecked such cards, but I never lost game 1. They maximized on the heavy hitters main deck, but it didn’t matter. In the end it all came down to luck.
I love magic
The block season is now over, and still the metagame has room to evolve. I was beaten by the mirror in round 4 because my opponent had Crib Swap. It seems like a subtle choice, but it was a match winner. My sideboard plan was to maximize on the threats, while increasing the Runed Halo count to deal with their threats. He had a simple card which removed my guys from the game, while attacking me with decent threats. Simple, yet ingenious. I would most likely include Crib Swap if I was to play again.
I hate magic
Have you ever had your opponent do something which seemed dodgy, but you did nothing about it? For what reasons? Did you convince yourself that you were being paranoid? Did you just figure you had already won the first game, so it didn’t really matter?
I love magic
In round 2, I had an intentional draw with a mate, which was probably a mistake, but at least we got to have some awesome fun games. Have you ever played the Toast mirror, but with the additional rule that you had to make laser noises whenever you played a Vivid land? I have. It rules.
I hate magic
Testing has become a chore. It used to be fun. What happened? I’ve become so sick of the long winded arguments that happen while testing. The problem is, I tire so easily, and end up either ignoring them and changing the subject, or giving in and listening to their logic. Which is not all bad, I’m always open to learning something, but it doesn’t work if discussions are one-sided.
I remember having the argument the night before the event about the expected metagame. Of course I can say now that I was absolutely right, and my prediction was correct. But at the time I wavered and was practically convinced that I was wrong, which led to me spending too much time that night worrying about my sideboard for other matchups. Why didn’t I just stick to my guns? It probably wouldn’t have mattered much, but I could have done without the agonizing last minute sideboard choices.
I love magic
I remember the first time I won a PTQ. I had not made a Top 8 for about 2 years before then. I then ran the swiss 7-0 (14-0 in games), demolished the quarters, won a nightmare matchup in the semis, before taking the finals. I fell to the floor, rolling around giddy at the excitement of my achievement. That is still the best tournament of my life.
I hate magic
After the PTQ we went to get dinner. “I’ll go in Levi’s car,” said one. To which I replied, “Ok, but you’re not allowed to talk about Magic.” When did that happen? When did it get to the point that I, quite rudely, would veto Magic as a topic of conversation amongst friends?
Thats just rediculous.
I love magic
Magic is an awesome game. I love playing it, I love the strategy. I get to pit my brain against my opponent, and try to outwit them. It makes me feel awesome when it works. I’m very bitter about my recent tournament experience, but I know that I’ve had so many good times with this game.
Sure, we all get bad beats, but the good times certainly stand out as the highlights for me. I remember beating a toast deck with Faeries, after a Thoughtseize revealed 7 power cards to my 3 land 1 spell hand. I remember beating one of the more obnoxious Brisbane players quite convincingly on the way to winning a PTQ slot. I remember winning the main event at the Apocalypse pre-release, even though I had to be told in the second-last round that I was still undefeated. These are the moments that stick with me.
I love being part of a community. I love it that I’m known in the community; people in Brisbane, and the rest of Australia, know who I am (unlucky for them 
) I love that I’ve met so many awesome people, both in Brisbane, in Australia, and overseas. I can’t really imagine how my life would be if I hadn’t been convinced to pick it up again, roughly 10 years ago.
It would have been far less exciting, thats for sure.
I love magic.
Levi Hinz
