“First let me introduce myself. My name is Hashim Bello. I am a player from the New York area. Nuff said.
Shut your ass! Stop your whining. If you don’t want to listen then don’t read my posts. I post here for the people who seek entertainment on the newsgroup, not for the little ***** with their first starter hoping to become players. NO, you cannot fireball me in response to my summoning a ball lightning. YES, I can counter my own spell. NO, You cannot assign damage if I have a banding blocker. Now go play with yourself… I mean with your cards!
If I want your opinion I will give it to you! But until that fortunate day, be happy that I allow you to read MY newsgroup.
Hashim,
Lord and Ruler of rec.games.trading-cards.magic.strategy
PS We don’t care about why, when and how you use AOL. But if you ever want to play magic, you can find me at Neutral Ground almost any night of the week after 10:00 pm. I will always play for ante and just for you I will let you choose the stakes, the odds, and I’ll borrow a deck from a stranger of your choice to play you.
Now thats Magic.”
Hashim Bello, rec.games.trading-cards.magic.strategy, 4/21/97.
Hashim Bello vs. Jon Finkel
One day at Neutral Ground, Hashim and Jon were playing a game of Magic. Jon was a bit of a rapscallion back then, and was in the habit of tossing pens at people, just to bother them. On this occasion, he threw a pen at Hashim. The pen went past Hashim’s glasses, and hit Hashim right in the eye. Both of them froze. Jon had a look of panic in his eyes. Suddenly, Hashim jumped up, knocking the entire table over onto Jon. Finkel was lying prone on the ground, table on top of him, cards flying everywhere. Hashim started making towards Jon, Jon pushed the table off, jumped up, and ran for the elevators. We didn’t see him again for a week. Hashim was banned for several days from the store for his behavior.
Hashim Bello vs. Necropotence
Hashim knew of the dominance of Necropotence decks. He also steadfastly refused to play the card, instead opting for Blue/White control decks all through Necro summer. He wrote a good, if misguided, dissertation on how to beat Necropontence decks here. What he doesn’t mention were his playtest games with this very same deck.
I had piloted Necropotence decks to a reasonable amount of success, and Hashim wanted to try playing against me with his latest Necropotence beater. We sat down to game, and I beat him eight straight games.”Oh, you’re just the luckiest guy in the world!”, he yelled, down seven games to nothing.”I can’t believe I haven’t drawn a Karma yet. Just one Karma and I’d win any of these games! How could anyone not draw a Karma seven games in a row?” After his eighth loss in a row, Hashim threw his deck across the table and stormed off to the bathroom. I dissected the deck, only to find it was fifty-six cards. The missing four cards? The very four Karmas he had been trying to playtest!
Hashim Bello vs. Steve and Dan O’Mahoney-Schwartz
The title of this article comes from Steve, Dan and Hashim’s banter towards one another.
Hashim:”Oh no, it’s Steve and Dan O!”
Steve:”What a fellow, that Hashim Bello!”
They would go back and forth like this for hours and days. Then Hashim would lose.
Hashim Bello vs. a Dead Deer in the Road
We were commuting to a PTQ in the Northeast, caravanning with two separate vehicles for the multiple New York players on this trip. I was driving one van, and Hashim was driving another. Around two in the morning, I spotted a dead deer on the road. Quickly I switched lanes, avoiding the road kill. Apparently Hashim was just about falling asleep at the wheel, because he did not pursue a similar course of action.”Look Out Hashim!” screamed Eric Kesselman as Hashim roared to life, attempting to swerve out of the way of the deceased mammal. He hit the bump going full speed, and the van lifted into the air on the right side, running with only two wheels on the ground. Their van landed to the ground with a thump. Everyone inside jumped awake immediately. Hashim sat there, his hands frozen on the steering wheel, stopped in the middle of the highway for a good ten seconds before he could start driving again. He was awake the rest of the trip.
Hashim Bello vs. Money Drafting
Now I’m not saying that I condone money drafting – in fact, it was expressly forbidden at Neutral Ground at the time. However, money drafting did go on, and Hashim was a huge proponent of playing for both the cards and a $20 bill. He had several partners to draft with – he taught Eric Kesselman, Brook North, Tony Rodriguez, and several other players how to draft Magic. He also lost a lot. A lot! Hashim could beat bad opponents all day long, but he could never consistently beat people at equal or greater skill level in money drafts. I may or may not have pocketed several hundred of Hashim’s dollars at twenty dollars a game.
Hashim Bello vs. David Bachmann
Hashim Bello and David Bachmann were both knocked out of a PTQ. They met outside the main play area and decided to playtest their decks. Hashim had Blue/White Turbostasis, and Dave had White Weenie. They played three games, all three of which Hashim won handily. Dave didn’t even have a chance. Hashim got up to leave, and Dave asked him for a couple more games. Hashim declined.”Let’s just play for something, Hashim,” Dave said, appealing to Hashim’s love of playing for money. Hashim sat back down.
Hashim:”How much?”
Dave:”One dollar.”
Hashim:”One dollar?”
Dave:”That’s right, just one dollar.”
Hashim thought about it for a second.
Hashim:”All right, you’re on. Best two out of three with sideboards?”
Dave:”Sure.”
They sat down to play. Dave proceeded to smash Hashim two straight – as lopsided as the first three games had been against Dave, the next two were as unfair against Hashim. As the second game ended, Hashim pulled out his wallet.
Hashim (Holding out a dollar bill):”Here you go. God, you’re so lucky Dave!”
Dave:”Keep your money, I don’t want it.”
Hashim:”You just won. I beat you three straight, you weren’t even in the game. Then you get so lucky and beat me two in a row. Take your damn dollar.”
Dave:”I don’t want your money. I just wanted to prove that you always lose whenever there’s anything on the line.”
And for the first time that I’d ever seen, Hashim had absolutely no comeback.
Ben can be reached at [email protected].