Q: Please tell me about your accomplishments concerning Magic. I know, for example, that you made top 8 in the 1998 World Championships!
A: Since joining the tour at PTLA 1 (1996), my strongest finishes have been Top 8s at PT: LA 1, PT: Columbus, Worlds '96, and Worlds '98; Top 16 at PT: NY '99, Champion PT: Dallas Type 1, member of PT: Atlanta Team Event Champion team (PCL), and member of PT: NY 2000 Champion team (Potato Nation).

Q: Tell me a little about yourself growing up. Gaming interests?
A: For as long as I can remember, I've always loved games. Early on it was board games like Monopoly and especially Risk. In fact, my entire family is really into playing games together; you can't make it through a holiday or family reunion without participating in at least some of the myriad games being played at any given time. During high school, a friend of mine got me heavily into the tournament chess scene, which was about the same time that I really got into the more "gamer" type games like Dungeons & Dragons and Axis & Allies. However, it was as if all of the other games vanished when my best friend brought Magic to my apartment during my first year of college.


Q: How old are you, and are you married?
A: I'm 27, my wife's name is Jillian, and we've been ecstatically married for over three years now.

Q: How do you like Mindripper so far?
A: Running Mindripper is an amazing combination of challenges and rewards. After working my way through school with a number of "behind-the-scenes jobs," it's so gratifying to have the kind of position where the work I put in has an immediate result. But that's the downside, too - if I don't get the job done there's no hiding it, and I know I'll hear about it the next morning. :) I'm also very fortunate in having such a great group of writers and readers to interact with. Without them, my work would be far more difficult.


Q: How is your time split between playing Magic and being the editor?
A: The bad part about working from home is that you never really leave work... it means I have a lot more control over the site than might be possible otherwise, but the result is that my schedule can be a real challenge during busier periods, like the two weeks that followed the State Championships. I try to put in at least two or three hours per day actually playing and practicing, but many days end up having more than that. My actual "work" tends to involve about eight to ten hours per day during the main five days, and then typically a half day on Friday where I get to all the things that managed to get by me during the week. The end result is that my day-to-day life has far more Magic in it than it ever did previously, but so far it's been rewarding. (Being on the winning team at PTNY didn't hurt any. :) )


Q: What is your take on Invasion so far, from a constructed view?
A: So far I'm impressed. The current Standard format looks to be one of the healthiest environments we've ever had, and the only reason I think it hasn't been mentioned more is that the previous season was also excellent. R&D tends to get a ton of flak from both fans and writers (myself included), but overall I think they've done an excellent job in recent formats.

Q: What is your favorite color?
A: I'm a control player at heart, and I love combo as well, so blue has always been one of the first places I start looking when a new format starts up. That said, I've had green in an awful lot of my most successful decks, so it's tough for me to pick between the two.

Q: What do you think of Jamie Wakefield? (Everyone seems to have an opinion about him.)
A: I think Jamie was one of the best writers the game has had... but the reason why he was popular is what I think was so significant. Unlike many other authors, who became popular due to their "tech" or their ability to impart it, Jamie was more of a persona. His writing was personal, involving, and always had the sense of the storyteller. It was so often such a pleasure to read, and I think many of us could learn from his example. If writing is a journey, I think Jamie did a great job of exemplifying one of its paths.

Q: What is your favorite color?
(I'm so Deranged that I even ask the same question twice... and get two different answers!)
A: You know, I've always loved Red, and the ability to just ignore what's on the table and just blast away at that life total, not to mention... oh, wait, you already asked this, and I said blue (and green). Guess I'd better stick with that... :)

Q: Do you trade online? How about signing cards through the mail?
A: I've always had enough players in my area to be able to get the cards I needed in the past, and I'm inherently lazy, so promising someone I'll get their cards to them in a certain amount of time makes me a little nervous. :)

Q: Do you think the takeover of WotC has changed the company? If so, in which way?
A: So far I can't really point to anything specific, and I think the game as a whole is going in a very good direction, led by the flagship that is the Pro Tour and Masters Series. With the kind of interest that ESPN2 has shown in the game, I think we're all in for some very exciting times.

Q: How many cards do you own?
A: When I "quit" the game after PTNY '99, I literally sold ALL of my cards. Since rejoining the game at the beginning of 2000, however, I've managed to again pick up enough cards to fill one of the shelves in my closet and spend at least one weekend a month trying to organize the chaos. (Does anybody win that fight?) (Yes, but they kind of terrify me -- The Ferrett, feeling odd about editing a fellow editor)

Q: What is your favorite card of all time? (And your most hated one?)
A: If I had to pick any single favorite card, it would probably be Blinking Spirit. Over the course of more than a year, I went through three different archetypes and countless revisions of decks based around it. That year was likely the best year I ever had as a competitor, and the card has always given me a nostalgic smile ever since.

My least favorite card is Necropotence, because I am just sick to death of seeing it wreck games nearly every time it hits the table. While Trix may not necessarily be dominating Extended right now, that doesn't make it okay for all of the times I saw good players just lose because someone got it into play. If the Extended format continues to be as varied as it was at GP: Dallas, I'll live with it, but that doesn't mean I won't get frustrated every time I see someone lose due to a spell that costs three mana.

Q: Here are a few names. Say the first thing that comes into your mind: Dave Price.
A: One of the nicest guys on the tour, and a great representative for the game.

Q: Jon Finkel.
A: This guy really is a machine, while at the same time being another one of those competitors that does a great job of setting an example for the other players. Perhaps best of all, Jon has shown that this game is not as luck-based as so many have claimed, and does the crucial job of setting the horizon for other pros to aim at.

Q: Dr. Richard Garfield.
A: What can I say? We wouldn't be playing this game without him, and he's admirably dedicated to both it and its fans.

Q: Mark Rosewater.
A: I've known Mark since the days when Juzams were considered bad cards. (Why would you use a card that hurts you?) In many ways Mark is the face of Magic, acting as a guiding hand, enthusiastic representative, and example of just how FUN this game can be. I honestly can't imagine a much better person for the job.

Q: Do you have a special or memorable Magic story to tell - something that happened to you during a match or something you may have witnessed?
A: Arguably the most famous story from my Magic career was in my Quarterfinals match against Tom Guevin at the Pro Tour Dallas Type 1 Event. (A "side" Pro Tour, where the top hundred rated players were invited.) I was on the heels of three straight Top 8s, but hadn't won A SINGLE GAME in any of those three matches! Plus, the first of those three matches was against none other than Mr. Guevin. After two very tight games, Tom opened game 3 by dumping his entire hand minus two cards, casting Balance in the process. He shook his head in mock sympathy and said, "Sorry, Scott, but sometimes Type 1 is just dumb." I discarded three Guerrilla Tactics, and kept a hand of Tropical Island + Ancestral. The Ancestral found me a Mox Ruby, Gorilla Shaman, and a Wasteland, not to mention a Time Walk the next turn, followed by a Regrowth soon after. The monkey and Strip Mine wrecked what was left of Tom's mana... and luck had smiled on me in a way that I probably won't ever forget.

Q: If you could change one thing concerning the game of Magic, what would that be?
A: I think Wizards has done a really impressive job of shepherding this game into a real phenomenon. Also, I think a lot of the formats we've been enjoying recently have been among some of the best we've ever played. So with that in mind, the last thing that's really been bothering me is this: With the game so concerned about establishing a "professional" image, perhaps it's time to revisit the question of whether it's appropriate for the banned/restricted lists to be determined by the same people with a vested commercial interest in the game's sales? It's no secret that the decisions on which cards get the axe are (sometimes significantly) influenced by commercial concerns that don't really have anything to do with the game from a competitive perspective. The metaphor is a bit sloppy, but it feels a little like letting a company that makes golf clubs tell you which clubs you can use on the PGA. Now I'll admit that there's a lot of difficult issues here, not the least of which involves the fact that you pretty much need insiders to know all the cards that are coming up. Without the cards that were coming in Invasion, it's hard to imagine that Port wouldn't have been banned from Standard at an earlier date. And yet it still seems like a conflict of interest to me when you have a body which must make these crucial decisions that also happens to be directly tied to the game's corporate interests.

At the same time, if that's the worst thing bothering me right now (and I'm a known complainer!), then I take it as a sign that the game is truly in a great state, and Wizards, DCI, and R&D deserve a lot of the credit.

Q: Thanks for your time! - Sean
A: Thanks for asking! - Scott Johns, editor@mindripper.com