Erik Carson spends most of his time as a musician and graphic designer but still makes room for Magic. He has 2 Star City Games Legacy Top 8s and 1 Grand Prix Top 8. He goes through spurts of streaming and is looking to make a run at the Pro Players Club starting with Grand Prix Portland 2016. Erik lives in Roseburg OR.
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Zendikar
Innistrad
Capsize
The strategy and brain exercise.
Deck building. Mono curves weren't at the top of Erik's mind.
SCG Open in 2012. Erik made Top 8. Lost in quarter finals. Erik made a huge mistake in game 2. He misconducted the game state and lost. Slow down and think through your plays.
Top 8 at GP Los Angeles, hearing his name over the speakers felt amazing. It was very validating.
Legacy
Play a deck with Force of Will. Ask to read you opponents card. If you don't understand it, counter it.
Erik chose his deck early, a few months in advance.
Clothes, Deck Box + Deck, Extra Cards, Toothbrush, Trail Mix Legion
Never be afraid to make mistakes and look foolish. Don't let your dreams be dreams.
Playing Music.
Reid Duke
Twitter: @platypusisland
Magic Story brings the lore of the Multiverse to life in an audio presentation never before heard in the Magic community.
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Robert Lombardi has a Degree in Mechatronics Engineering, he's married and has a 6 month old son. He has been playing Magic since Visions, took a break in Odyssey and got back in during Zendikar. He's the Champion of Grand Prix Toronto and made Top 8 of Grand Prix Montreal. He's much better at Limited than Constructed and is actively trying to be less hyperbolic.
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4th Edition
Khans of Tarkir
Lightning Bolt
Deck building
Losing to an "unplayable" card. Sub per cards when used correctly have a place. Expand your range.
Winning GP Toronto.
Don't get out of the game. Go straight to university.
He was a poor looser.
Restricting themselves to archetypes in draft. You need to be able to draft a good deck regardless of what you open.
A lot of free time leading up to the Grand Prix. 6 hours a day playing against the best decks (the gauntlet).
Draft daily.
John Buden, Patrick Chapin
Binder of Rares, Dragon Shield Sleeves, 10 of each land
Consume, content; articles, streams/videos; more friends & share cards. Focus on learning instead of winning during play testing. Treat your opponent with more respect.
LSV, Patrick Chapin, Huey, Owen, Reid Duke
Twitter: @RobertLombardi0
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Philippe Gareau has been playing Magic: The Gathering for 18 years and made his first Grand Prix top 8 at GP Montreal which qualified him for Pro Tour Kaladesh in Hawaii. Philippe lives in Quebec City, Canada.
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Tempest / Stronghold
Time Spiral
Life from the Loam
Learning the stack. Understanding the stack helped Philippe get to the competitive level.
GP Ottowa 2014 - Khans Limited - Philippe had multiple Secret Plans in play with a mandatory draw clause. He was disqualified because he missed the draw trigger.
Top 8 at GP Montreal 2016 and qualifying for the Pro Tour.
Cube
Players don't trust in their own instincts. Too many players copy the 75 cards of an online deck. To get ahead, look at the strategies and tweak to address them.
Golgari
Talking with people about cards and match ups.
Try to play for a limited time. Never be afraid to experiment. The best way to win at Magic is to lose at Magic.
Find Philippe on Facebook
Magic Story brings the lore of the Multiverse to life in an audio presentation never before heard in the Magic community.
Listen to Episode 1 here or on www.magicthestory.com
Jonathan Melamed is a husband and father and has a PhD in Neuropsychopharmacology. He’s a long time Magic player, a Level 1 Judge, a Tournament Organizer AND store owner from Brasilia, Brazil. He has 2 Grand Prix Top 8s and 1 Pro Tour Top 16.
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Ice Age
New Phyrexia
Island/ Oath of Druids/ Tropical Island
The challenge of Magic drew Jonathan in at the beginning. All these years later the game is still challenging.
Learning when/how to attack. As a control player attacking didn't come easy to Jonathan. Playing a lot of limited helped him learn.
Feature match in a Pro Tour in 2009. Playing a UG Landfall deck. Jonathan won but a well-respected player looked at him and said "you play so awful". This hit Jonathan hard. Jonathan focused on learning everytime, even if he wins. Pay a lot of attention to the game.
National Top 8 in 2011 (first major top 8) made Jonathan realize he could do it.
Be positive. No matter what. Jonathan struggles with this sometimes but knows how important it is.
Not communicating well during a game. If you communicate well the entire game then mistakes come across as honest instead of cheating.
Neuroscience articles help Jonathan improve his focus.
Have fun.
Twitter: @InsideMTG
Magic Story brings the lore of the Multiverse to life in an audio presentation never before heard in the Magic community.
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Andrew Sullano is a Pro Tour veteran who has attended Pro Tour Avacyn Restored, Return to Ravnica, and Oath of the Gatewatch. He made top 4 at Grand Prix Oklahoma City. Andrew lives in Dallas, Texas.
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Betrayers of Kamigawa
Shadowmoor
Wild Nactl
At first, Andrew liked the lore. Then, because when he gets into things he like to do them well, he started getting more competitive. Now, Magic is a social component of his life and he likes the people he can surround himself with when he plays.
Andrew lost a lot during team drafts when he started and while this was disheartening he learned to ask for help. By getting guidance from better players he slowly improved his win percentage.
At Grand Prix Pittsburgh Andrew was salty most the day because he needed 2 points to get Silver level as a pro player and even after two byes he found himself 6-3. His core group wasn't with him on this trip so things just seemed bad. Thankfully, another friend scooped to him and he was able to carry on but Andrew learned that the people you surround yourself with are very important.
Making top 4 at GP Oklahoma City.
Players are quick to clean up and move to the next game after losing. Andrew takes his time and reviews the entire game in his head (especially if he lost). He will analyze hands, land drops and spell sequencing to see what he could have done better.
Exercise
Deck
Clothes
Toiletries
Draft at least once a week (if you're new to the game).
Set a long-term goal (like making Day 2 or Top 8 of a Grand Prix) and then actively work towards it.
MTG Top 8
Friends
Twitter: @panicking92
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Matteo Moure has been playing Magic since he was 12 and has only been playing competitively for about one year. He made the finals at both Grand Prix London 2015 and Grand Prix Stockholm 2016. In addition to a few other minor Grand Prix placings he placed in the money at Pro Tour Milwaukee. Matteo lives in Rome, Italy.
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Odyssey
Onslaught
Jace, The Mind Sculptor
A lot of friends play and Matteo gets to travel.
Matteo had to stop playing Magic for a while due to work and this was his worst moment with the game.
Top 8 at Grand Prix London
Limited
Matteo learned how much of a social animal he is. He loves having fun with friends and Magic gives him that opportunity. (Futbol does as well.)
Players underestimate their opponent too often.
Players also play their resources too early in the game and don't have answers to real problems later on.
Draft when you can and trade your cards for what you need.
FB: Matteo Moure
Magic Story brings the lore of the Multiverse to life in an audio presentation never before heard in the Magic community.
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Matt Tumavitch recently graduated college with a degree in sports and recreation management. He’s a front end leader at a grocery store during weekdays and a ski instructor in the winter. He’s an aspiring Magic pro with one Grand Prix Top 8 and 2 Star City Games Open Top 8s. Matt lives just outside Scranton, PA.
Click to Tweet: I got a ton of value from Matt Tumavitch when he shared his story on #MTGProTutor! Click here: http://bit.ly/mtgprotutor-ep#120
Return to Ravnica
(Matt would be in the Gruul Guild)
Gatecrash / Khans of Tarkir
Domri Rade
Matt's first Standard Grand Prix was tough because he started out 10-0 and then bombed. He felt like he was coming up short of his potential.
If you feel the same way Matt says: "You're good enough. Don't give up."
Standard
Matt learned he can achieve his goals and succeed if he applies himself. He always tried hard in sports but was never a starter or varsity member. Through Magic Matt know he can get the results he desires.
Showing too much emotions.
Players let it show when they draw a bad card and it gives a lot of information away.
Control your emotions.
Play 10 games of each match up.
Borrow cards and build budget decks.
Always ask for advice.
Sports help build drive.
Being a skiing instructor taught Matt to ask for advice.
MTGO Decklists
Seth Manfield videos and articles
Twitter: @MattTumavitch13
Magic Story brings the lore of the Multiverse to life in an audio presentation never before heard in the Magic community.
Listen to Episode 1 here or on www.magicthestory.com
Luis Salvatto has 1 Super Sunday Series win, 1 Grand Prix top 8 and 1 Pro tour top 8.
Click to Tweet: I got a ton of value from Luis Salvatto when he shared his story on #MTGProTutor! Click here: http://bit.ly/mtgprotutor-ep119
Invasion
Morningtide
Reveillark
Luis played all kinds of games and saw that Magic had infinite possibilities. Now he loves to draft and play constructed. Just trying all the formats is exciting to him.
Losing a lot of win-and-ins to the top 8 was hard early in Luis' career. To overcome that and finally make it into the top 8 he focused on minimizing mistakes. Don't justify mistakes, address them head on and admit that you are the problem.
Luis was motivated by seeing a team he wanted to join and learn from.
Thiago Saporito
Willy Edel
Under the old PTQ system, Luis reached the finals and lost. Then he reached another final and lost again by making a huge mistake.
He learned that he is a good player and you have to stay prepared so when luck strikes you can seize it.
Making top 32 of his first Grand Prix.
Winning a Super Sunday Series.
Making it to the Super Sunday Series final.
Making Top 8 of a Pro Tour.
Draft
Luis learned how to lose. When you lose to someone you think is worse than you, you learn a lot about yourself.
"If you play angry or you play sad, you don't play your best game."
Not seeing the game unfolding. Not having a plan. You should always be able to answer, "How are you going to win this game?"
Find a good deck and play it a bunch.
Start with a cheap deck and make friends.
Twitter: @LUISLUJAN77
Magic Story brings the lore of the Multiverse to life in an audio presentation never before heard in the Magic community.
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Julien Henry started playing Magic in Shards of Alara but has been playing competitively for only 2 years. He made it to the Finals of Grand Prix Manchester and qualified for Sydney which is going to be his 2nd Pro Tour. He’s a member of MTG Mintcard and he lives in Paris.
Click to Tweet: I got a ton of value from Julien Henry when he shared his story on #MTGProTutor! Click here: http://bit.ly/mtgprotutor-ep118
Shards of Alara
Shards of Alara
Nissa, Vastwood Seer
Trying to find interactions between cards.
Winning is also very fun and keeps Julien going.
Focusing on improving keeps Magic fun.
Won a RPTQ for Pro Tour Atlanta. Julien played a lot with the same deck in preparation for the event and it paid off.
Modern Grand Prix in Madrid. Julien played a TON and fine-tuned his deck. He even gave his list to friends who also tweaked it slightly and took it to the GP. His friends did really well but he didn't make day 2. To practice so hard and then fall short is very frustrating.
You have to practice so when luck hits you can grab it.
Grand Prix Manchester 2016. Julien had a huge win streak and made Silver pro when he made Top 8.
Standard
Deck
Spare cards
Wait until the Pro Tour to invest in a Standard deck (if you're new). They'll do all the heavy lifting for you.
Twitter: @Lyserg42
Magic Story brings the lore of the Multiverse to life in an audio presentation never before heard in the Magic community.
Listen to Episode 1 here or on www.magicthestory.com