States 2009

So, Conta is supposed to have posted some stories about his experiences at some Magic tournaments, but he has real life concerns like working an actual job, going on dates, writing poetry... Anyway, so this blog doesn't end up getting backlogged to hell, I'm going to give a brief overview of States. Then Conta can take you back in the time machine and relive some of his tournament stories with you.

States is pretty much a tournament for pride. The prize payout isn't all that spectacular, but being able to say you're a State Champion is pretty awesome and a sort of tangible title that people outside of Magic can understand (as opposed to a Pro Tour Winner...see, you're already lost and rolling your eyes). It is also a tournament that invites a wide range of players. The atmosphere is lax and there's a good mix of casual and competitive players, as well as all those who fall somewhere in between.

Last year Conta and I both managed to land Top 8 spots at States, an accomplishment we were both hoping to repeat.

We made our way out to Kings Games in Brooklyn (which is about a forty-five minute subway ride), where the New York States competition was being held, along with our teammates Matt and Raja and some friends from Hanley's (shout outs to Sung, James, Newman, Joe Shi, Lauren, Andrew, and Brian!)

Kings isn't the biggest gaming store in the world, and I had heard horror stories in the preceding days about how in past tournaments players had been forced to play their games at a nearby McDonald's or on the street as there weren't enough spots for seating in the store. This year any player from any State may participate in any States tournament, unlike last and past years where you had to provide proof of residence to compete in a State's tournament, so a lot of New York players made their way out to Edison, which has a much bigger gaming venue. I had tried to convince my team to do the same, but the slight proximity difference and lower cost of heading to Brooklyn won out.

I had never been to Kings before. It's a nice store in a neighborhood that's a little rough around the edges (as most neighborhoods near elevated trains, or el-trains, are) but doesn't quite feel like the set of The Wire, which is how Raja had described it to me. They have a decently sized upstairs area, which I could see overflowing with players at a major event. Fortunately that wasn't the case, and we were all able to play within the store (though getting up to switch tables and find pairings for matches was a huge hassle).

And now for my brief overview of the actual event: TERRIBLE...at least for me. I ended up going 0-5 losing my first 3 matches either to mana-flooding (having too many lands and not enough spells) or mana-screw (having no lands with which to cast spells). I also mulliganed in 3 out of my first 4 games.

For newbies: Prior to starting a game you are allowed to choose not to play the hand you have and instead reshuffle and draw one less card, an action you can repeat until you feel satisfied with your opening hand. Most players will not go below a 5-card opening hand, as your chances of winning are pretty bad at that point.

I didn't play a good match until the 4th round, where I still lost, but at least I won a game and the games were close. I had wanted to play out the tournament after the 3rd round, even though I was out of prize contention, as there were only four more rounds. But after losing two more rounds I was too disheartened to go on, so I dropped and played a side event.

The other members of my team did better, but did not turn out stunning records either. Raja finished the tournament 4-3, and Matt finished 3-3-1. Conta played against one of our friends Brian in the last round to see who would break into the Top 8 and lost, ending with a 5-2 record.

Conta had actually helped Brian to sure up his sideboard against the high-octane Boros deck before the tournament. Conta was toting that same Boros deck, while Brian was playing Junk (basically a deck that is a list of good cards from Green and White with little to no synergy), and the sideboard changes Conta had helped him with made the difference in the match.

Coincidentally, last year Conta had helped one of his opponents in the earlier rounds sideboard correctly against his then-Faeries deck after beating him. He played this same opponent, a guy by the name of Stephen Carpenter, in the quarterfinals and lost to him. Carpenter went on to be the 2008 New York State Champ. I'm not sure if Brian got that far, as we left before the tournament had finished, but I at least think it would be pretty funny if history repeated itself that closely (I'm sure Conta disagrees).

This weekend we plan (though these plans are wobbly and Jello-like at the moment) to head south to Philadelphia for a two-day tour. Saturday is a Pro-Tour Qualifier (PTQ) and Sunday is another 5K, though this one will not be run by Star City Games. I personally feel very strongly about going, as I have only one thing on my mind concerning Magic: REVENGE!!!


Upcoming: Either “Reports from the Philly Weekend” or “Stuff from Conta”...we'll see which comes first.


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