Tournament Grinding History
My History of Tournament Grinding
I recently placed in a small local tournament and won some prizes. A friend asked me if it was the biggest event I’d ever won. It wasn’t. I’ve taken down larger events—both in prize amount and number of players—but that question got me thinking: maybe it’s time to document my history of tournament grinding. There isn't anything special in this; it's a chance to think about old times.
The Early Days
I started playing Magic: The Gathering when I was about fourteen, almost fifteen, but I didn’t get serious until much older....sixteen. Once I could drive I started playing at local shops around Waterford.
At first, there were two or three stores running weekly tournaments. My friends and I started going to a store each week night to play. Jerry's, Don and Susie's, A shop in Keggo, A downriver lumber store - yes, like a Lowes, there is a store called Sibley Lumber Centers, they set up tables and we played in the plant section, a coffee shop in Frendale. We would go to a tournamanet at least 4 days each week.
What I won:
During this time I won a bunch of store credit, I used that credit to get cards I needed for decks or cards I could trade to other people for more expensive cards I wanted.
The Card Castle Years
There was one store that started having higher turnout then other stores. This store, was The Card Castle, on Sashabaw and Walton in Waterford. It was run by Kevin, who would eventually become my best friend (rip). The Castle drew the serious crowd. For the next three to five years, it was the place I played out of.
This is the group of players that helped me get good. This is where I started winning/placing in weekly events. This is where I learned to draft, still not very good but playing out of the Castle made playing elsewhere seem easy.
What I won
At the Castle I won a bunch of store credit but my biggest wins where in "ante" games. I played a match where I put my collection (trade binder) up against another kids Black Lotus. I won that Lotus. Then he put his trade binder up against my new Black Lotus, back to back matches; I won his trade binder and Black Lotus in under an hour.
I think I got a Juzam Djinn and a Mox Ruby playing for ante too.
After playing out of the Castle for a few years; I evently got asked NOT to complete in other stores weekly events.
RIW was the place for high level play, but the Castle was a close second.
Here's an example decklist from those days:
Vintage Control
A classic control deck from the early days
Hitting the Road
Magic has always been a competitive game, and Wizards of the Coast fueled that fire with events like Pro Tour Qualifiers (PTQs). Once I started doing well locally, Kevin invited me to carpool with him and a few others to PTQs around the region.
I was on the road with my "team" known as "Team Bald Dummy". Side note: it's weird typing that after all these years.
I was sixteen or seventeen, driving to Ottawa, Downriver, Detroit, Columbus, and Lansing—anywhere there was a big event. We’d play Border Wars (U.S. vs. Canada), Type 1 tournaments, and anything else that looked serious.
I never spiked any of those events, I top 8ed a few - like this one: PTQ Report - Detroit My friends did better than I did; some even qualified for the Pro Tour in places like New York, Los Angeles, and maybe even Italy or Japan.
What I won
These events where top heavy (PT invite) and I didn't win anything really.
College and Cash Prizes
When I went off to college, I kept playing on weekends. I wasn’t chasing the Pro Tour anymore. Around that time, there were more cash events, and I managed to take a couple down back-to-back.
I think the first event had ~70 players, the second had a much smaller turn out, I think 40 players but both had some of the best players in the area, from PT players to JSS winners. It was cash prize so the players came out for it. Maybe that is why the turnout dropped after the first few events...too many semi/pro-players.
What I won
1K (cash)
The Hiatus and Return
After college, life pulled me away from the game for a while. I didn’t play much until around 2010, I got back into the game via a short stint working for TCG Player. After that contract ended I keep playing, not that serious but I did top-8 another PTQ.
The Modern Chapter
Now I'm back at it again. Three events in, and I've already made the finals of one event. My life is in a much different place now. Older kids, stable work, and time.....I'm interested to see how the next year goes.
My play group is focused on cEDH, which I've learned to like - I think of it as a cross between Magic and Poker.