I'm going to venture out a bit on my linear story, and talk about what I did last weekend, to get to 2000 Planeswalker Points. This does not necessarily qualify me for the Pro Tour, but does certainly get me in the mix of the top 100. Recently there has been a lot of drama and controvery, articles like Brian Kibler's "The Problem With Planeswalker Points" being the most recent example. The article makes valid points, and is good, but it is just one person's perspective.
12-11-2011 Playing in a garage is not fun.
After driving from Burbank to Sacramento and back on Saturday, for a pro-tour Qualifier, me and my partner in Planeswalker Points, Ryan Coyle, venture out to the not so well known cardshop, "Extra Innings," in Marina Del Ray. I ask where we will be playing, they inform me it is the garage. Yes, a parking Garage, with tables set up. It is cold and pretty lame. No cameras, no big lights, no chance for fame and glory. It's a Grand Prix Trial tournament, 5 rounds of swiss, cutting to a top 8. The multiplier for the Tournament is 3X, meaning if you win the whole thing, like Ryan did, you make 60 Planeswalker Points. If you go 2-3 like myself, you make about 24 points.
So after traveling to Sacramento for a PTQ, where I went 5-2, then counting my Friday Night Magic, and a few random 1X side drafts, I scored 150 points for the week, bringing my Planeswalker Points total to 2007 points. That would put me around 60th on the current world ranking, but there are still a lot of points rolling in and twelve days left in the season.
Tuesday, December 13, 2011
Monday, December 5, 2011
Journey to 2000 Planeswalker Points, and Hawaii Part 1
Hello Magic Community! I am a Magic player, name "Will O'Reagan" on the Planeswalker Points page. I have about 1870 Planeswalker Points right now, and I'm somewhere in the top 100 for this Magic playing season. It's a coveted hotspot for Magic playing, because that top 100 means I may be qualifying for Hawaii, a tournament with a prize pool of almost a 1/4 of a million dollars. But this situation is not without controversy. I haven't won any tournaments. I haven't top 8'd any PTQ's, or made any Grand Prix day 2's. So my being in this spot is probably a shock to many people. It's a shock to me. How did this happen? Can it continue to happen? Will it happen again? Let me recount how this has all come about, starting when I came back to Magic to have fun and meet new people.
9-2-2011 Magic is about having fun.
After taking five years off of the Magic scene, for lack of good games I suppose or just boredom, I rejoined the scene September 2nd of this year when I entered a M12 Draft at the local card shop. I had cracked a few boosters, and I knew a few cards. (Pacifism, I've heard of that one!) To the disappointment of my opponents, I knew how to play and was not a noob. I went 2-1, and I was very happy. I knew what my DCI rating was, and had no intention of handing over my 1750 rating that I had when I quit Magic. Yes, my rating would go down, for I had no hopes of being on the pro tour. I had no hopes of going to a PTQ even, as I just wanted to meet people and if I met pros or pro tour hopefuls, that would be awesome because I would have someone to root for. I was a fan, playing the game, and milking it for all it's worth. And yes, Chandra's Outrage is awesome because it does 2 to the guy's face, and my Griffin Rider is a freaking beatstick.
9-4-2011 0-1 drop, I am not an idiot
I walk into a standard tournament. My DCI rating is 1800 for constructed, and I haven't played in 5 years. My opponent crushes my "Vampires Event Deck" and I happily fill out the drop slip, and go home. If they want my rating, they will have to earn it.
9-7-2011 So DCI is in the can? I can haz losses on record?
This is mind blowing to me. I hear the news that the DCI/ELO rating system is finally in the can. This system was a plague since a few years after its inception. It was totally unfair, and not fun. Now I can be exactly who I am at these tournaments, and I don't have to drop, or cram the nastiest cards I can find into my deck. I can lose matches, smile easily in defeat and not have to feel bad that I can only go +2 in a match, where my opponent gets +14 for a victory because he somehow has a record less than 1600. I discuss the new system at length with the shop owner, and it sounds totally awesome. Those of you who did not have the chance of qualifying on rating and having a 1900-2000 rating dangling in front of you for years, might not understand, but this change is really good.
9-18-2011 4-2, and a Phyrexian Obliterater for my card pool, thank you!
I'm back, same local tournament, but I've packed my Vampire Event Deck with as many nasties as I can find. 4X Skinrenderer and 2X Phyrexian Obliterator. Goal: Not goin out like a bitch this time. I 4-1'd the swiss, and made top 4. Apparently rogue decks do win, because I beat out a mirror, a Caw Blade, and a RDW. I only dropped a match to Mono-White control, which seemed far out of my reach. I easily lost in top 4 to a Birthing Pod deck that just couldn't seem to stop shooting out stuff. And yes, that is a 7 mana critter that kills all my guys and makes his Blade Splicers into really unfair cards. I win 4 packs, and inside I find another Phyrexian Obliterator. Winning.
9-24-2011 I'm going for Planeswalker Points!
It's the Innistrad Pre-Release and Release weekends. I go for a combined 9 wins, 6 losses and 1 draw. I'm talking about Planeswalker Points to every opponent I see, and happily spouting congratulations and salutations. I have zero hope of going to any PTQ's. I am just happy to be doing the scene and playing the game. I go home each day and watch my lifetime total climb up slowly. It's at 3000 points or so, and I'm graduating to a Sorcerer, which I think is pretty freaking cool. Planeswalker Points are still a joke to me. Not because they are easily abused, as I can hardly see how that is possible (even now), but because they are so fun to get. Good times are being had by all, and it's a great discussion to have at tournaments when your opponent is confused as to why you are congratulation them on going 1-3.
9-2-2011 Magic is about having fun.
After taking five years off of the Magic scene, for lack of good games I suppose or just boredom, I rejoined the scene September 2nd of this year when I entered a M12 Draft at the local card shop. I had cracked a few boosters, and I knew a few cards. (Pacifism, I've heard of that one!) To the disappointment of my opponents, I knew how to play and was not a noob. I went 2-1, and I was very happy. I knew what my DCI rating was, and had no intention of handing over my 1750 rating that I had when I quit Magic. Yes, my rating would go down, for I had no hopes of being on the pro tour. I had no hopes of going to a PTQ even, as I just wanted to meet people and if I met pros or pro tour hopefuls, that would be awesome because I would have someone to root for. I was a fan, playing the game, and milking it for all it's worth. And yes, Chandra's Outrage is awesome because it does 2 to the guy's face, and my Griffin Rider is a freaking beatstick.
9-4-2011 0-1 drop, I am not an idiot
I walk into a standard tournament. My DCI rating is 1800 for constructed, and I haven't played in 5 years. My opponent crushes my "Vampires Event Deck" and I happily fill out the drop slip, and go home. If they want my rating, they will have to earn it.
9-7-2011 So DCI is in the can? I can haz losses on record?
This is mind blowing to me. I hear the news that the DCI/ELO rating system is finally in the can. This system was a plague since a few years after its inception. It was totally unfair, and not fun. Now I can be exactly who I am at these tournaments, and I don't have to drop, or cram the nastiest cards I can find into my deck. I can lose matches, smile easily in defeat and not have to feel bad that I can only go +2 in a match, where my opponent gets +14 for a victory because he somehow has a record less than 1600. I discuss the new system at length with the shop owner, and it sounds totally awesome. Those of you who did not have the chance of qualifying on rating and having a 1900-2000 rating dangling in front of you for years, might not understand, but this change is really good.
9-18-2011 4-2, and a Phyrexian Obliterater for my card pool, thank you!
I'm back, same local tournament, but I've packed my Vampire Event Deck with as many nasties as I can find. 4X Skinrenderer and 2X Phyrexian Obliterator. Goal: Not goin out like a bitch this time. I 4-1'd the swiss, and made top 4. Apparently rogue decks do win, because I beat out a mirror, a Caw Blade, and a RDW. I only dropped a match to Mono-White control, which seemed far out of my reach. I easily lost in top 4 to a Birthing Pod deck that just couldn't seem to stop shooting out stuff. And yes, that is a 7 mana critter that kills all my guys and makes his Blade Splicers into really unfair cards. I win 4 packs, and inside I find another Phyrexian Obliterator. Winning.
9-24-2011 I'm going for Planeswalker Points!
It's the Innistrad Pre-Release and Release weekends. I go for a combined 9 wins, 6 losses and 1 draw. I'm talking about Planeswalker Points to every opponent I see, and happily spouting congratulations and salutations. I have zero hope of going to any PTQ's. I am just happy to be doing the scene and playing the game. I go home each day and watch my lifetime total climb up slowly. It's at 3000 points or so, and I'm graduating to a Sorcerer, which I think is pretty freaking cool. Planeswalker Points are still a joke to me. Not because they are easily abused, as I can hardly see how that is possible (even now), but because they are so fun to get. Good times are being had by all, and it's a great discussion to have at tournaments when your opponent is confused as to why you are congratulation them on going 1-3.
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