The Grand Prix circuit is celebrating its 10th year of operation. Indeed, its tenth anniversary was celebrated in Amsterdam last weekend. As of the time of writing, I’ve played in a total of 57 Grand Prix tournaments, to varying levels of success. Today’s article will take a look back at some of the most remarkable Grand Prix tournaments of the 57 I’ve appeared in.
My First GP: GP: Barcelona, 3-5 May 1997
I was a 15-year-old punk, and eager to show that even kids could play the game. Three of us from Toulouse made it to Barcelona: Jeremie Bonte (a player who had a lot of potential but unfortunately quit the game early), Matthieu Poujade (who you can read about here), and my good self. It was the first and last time a player’s mom would drive me to a Grand Prix tournament. Jeremie’s mom came for some sightseeing while we were busy slinging spells. I had already played in Pro Tour: Paris prior the GP, and wanted to show my qualification there wasn’t a fluke. Qualifying for a PT back then meant a lot more than now.
The funny thing about this GP was that points after Day 1 were reset for Day 2. A draw was worth one point, and a win two points. That meant that four wins and three draws made Day 2, with the same score as everyone else. The players lucky enough to have three byes only had to win their first round in order to play on Sunday.
To have an idea of how old this is, the format was Mirage/Visions Sealed Deck, on Day 1, Day 2, and in the Top 8. Matthieu, my first rival, managed to make Top 8, while I only finished in the Top 16, with a 4-1 record on Day 2.
Finish: 13th
Man, was I stupid: GP: Madrid, 24-25 January 1998
I was a 16-year old, fresh off a good finish in Pro Tour: Mainz (12th) that had qualified me for the next Tour. I had in my hands what probably was the best deck in the format. The format was Extended, from Ice Age to Tempest. During the byes, I played friendly games against other French players who could see some potential in my game. But after they saw what I was playing, their esteem wavered. “Are you kidding? What are these Kudzus proxying? And what the heck is Stunted Growth?”
I drew my last round, with about 80% chance to make Top 8… and finished 9th. The lesson I learnt was harsh but fair. When you’re not sure to be in with a draw, play it out. You’ll regret it far less if you lose than if you draw yourself out. The good thing about this 9th place is that my decklist didn’t appear anywhere on the coverage, so I was happy give it another try in the following event.
Finish: 9th
Where it all started… for real: GP: Lyon, 7-8 February 1998
Two weeks after GP: Madrid, and after I’d tweaked my deck a little, I was eager for revenge. There was a good reason I didn’t make Top 8 in Madrid after all, it was because I had to win in Lyon. Legion Land Loss (you can find the decklist here) was the best deck in the format for a reason: the Paris Mulligan rule was only applied in PTs. You could only mulligan a seven-land or a no-land hand into another hand of seven. Imagine keeping a one-lander against a stable Land Destruction deck… back then, you didn’t have the choice to throw them back.
I eventually walked away with the trophy. The PT points I won there qualified me for Worlds that year, and I would never have to play PTQs again.
Finish: 1st
Notoriety does some good: GP: Goteborg, 24-25 March 2001
Little did I know that I would move to Goteborg five and a half years later. I had left Israel and my kibbutz a few months before, where I met people from all around the world. The ones who affected me the most were Swedish girls, of course. I was in Paris after PT: Tokyo, and Olivier and I decided to fly to Sweden for the GP. I wanted to see what Sweden was like, and visit the homeland of those girls that left an indelible mark on my memory.
While waiting during the byes, a blond girl made her way into the venue. She seemed familiar. In fact, I knew her. It was Ulrika, a girl I met in Israel. What was she doing there? She had been travelling the whole time since she left Israel, and on her way back to Sweden she met some Austrian players on a plane. She asked them what they were up to in Göteborg, and they answered they were going to play a Magic tournament. That rang a bell, and she asked them if they knew me and if I was going to attend the tournament. And there she was!
I would eventually bump into her in the street, six years later…
Finish: 4th
First GP in the U.S.: GP: Columbus, 28-29th July 2001
At that time, Europeans never really travelled to GPs overseas. It was only a couple of named U.S. pros that attended GPs on another continent. Worlds were held in Toronto two weeks later, and Columbus was on the way. Antoine, Olivier, and I decided to team up. That was quite an experience, as we had never been such a small group travelling together. We met our biggest fan, Gerard Fabiano, who would sponsor our stay in exciting Columbus by asking us to team draft against him.
There are some rounds you are happier to win than others. We had had a pretty bad Day 2, and finishing in the money came down to my game 3 in the final round. I remember our opponents weren’t the nicest players (maybe they were nice, but to us they were the bad guys). I remember Antoine and Olivier almost holding each other’s hands behind me, while I was trying to win my game before time was up. We only played for a few hundred dollars, but it felt that we playing for much more. We had travelled to a GP in the U.S., and we didn’t want to leave Columbus without money. When I actually pulled out that game, they jumped around as if I had won them the lottery. Winning in team events always feels special. Great memories.
Finish: 11th
Chaos: GP: Paris, 27-28 November 2004
I think everyone can agree that GP: Paris was by far the worst GP of all time, organisation-wise. If the ones I’ve attended, the worst were:
GP: London ’97, where you had to find your seat by reading the result entry slips laid on the tables before the round (no pairing board).
GP: Madrid ’04, with its 1400+ players and only 1 or 2 pairing boards… Oh, and Day 1 finished at 2am. Wizards was kind enough to pay for our cabs home, as the subway was closed at that time.
GP: Amsterdam ’07. See below for more details.
But while these were bad, Paris was in a different category altogether. It was the first time they used the “two tournaments in one” system, and the computers were not ready for that. With more than 1500 players, the slightest crash would end up in a disaster. Day 1 ended around 1 or 2am. With about a hundred people waiting for a cab outside – the metros weren’t running anymore – it was hard to go back and get some sleep for Day 2. Those who made Day 2 were offered a night’s sleep — or, more accurately, a couple of hours – in the Hilton opposite the site.
But the true chaos came the next day…
In round 14 – the second round in the second draft – the software, probably DCI Reporter, simply died. It paired players from different pods against each other, and rattled up a few crazy and ridiculous things.
The break between round 14 and 15 lasted approximately five hours.
Finish: 4th
Home: GP: Toulouse, 24-25 June 2006
For 9 years, I’d been travelling around the world. I’d met so many people. And every time I knew someone from the place I was going to, I asked for shelter. It was time for me to pay back all the services I’ve been given. Fortunately most of the players’ I crashed at had quit the game at this point, so there weren’t too many people at my place. I took care of my guests as well as they took care of me in the past, and was happy to see a big Magic event held in my hometown. Having to WALK twenty minutes to attend a GP… that was special. I’d even written exams in the venue!
Finish: 10th
First GP in Japan: GP: Yamagata, 18-19 November 2006
I had never travelled this far for a GP. If you’ve followed my articles last year, you know the purpose of that journey. It’s not really how well I did there that’s important, it’s more that the GP itself that was amazingly well organized. I was used to endless Day 1s and chaotic drafts. In Japan, they knew what they were doing.
For example, a judge collecting the last match entry slips would run back to the judge station to ensure the next round started as soon as possible. Instead of having the very useless pairings for the drafts, the players would sit according to their position in the draft — player ones would build their decks on table 1, etc…
GP Judges and organizers should be sent to Japan to undergo training.
Finish: 11th
Please, don’t talk about: GP: Dallas and GP: Singapore, 24-25 February, 3-4 March 2007
I know you’ve read enough about these two already. I myself have written far too much about them already. However, bear with me for a few words about organization:
It’s funny how differently tournaments can be held. Sure, European and U.S. GPs are larger, but they are so chaotic compared to their Asian equivalent. While I don’t think the wait was spectacularly long in Dallas – only a couple of hours late, which is still quite bad when you call it a “professional event” – Singapore was amazing. To sum it all up, the schedule of the tournament was posted on Saturday morning: “Round 4 starts at 2pm,” an announcement had been made, to warn the players with three byes to be there at 2pm. And as unbelievable as it could be, Round 4 started at 2:05pm… That pretty much says it all.
Finish: 1st and 1st
GP’s Tenth Anniversary: GP Amsterdam, 10-11 March 2007
GP Amsterdam took place last weekend, and I can’t say we — Geoffrey Siron and myself – did too well. I didn’t have high expectations for the tournament after we opened our Sealed Deck cardpool. The Magic Gods were smiling upon me for the two weeks prior to GP: Amsterdam, so I have nothing to complain about.
Below, our decks and card pool.
Creatures (13)
- 1 Benalish Cavalry
- 1 Crookclaw Transmuter
- 1 Dream Stalker
- 1 Fledgling Mawcor
- 1 Looter il-Kor
- 1 Pentarch Paladin
- 1 Riftwing Cloudskate
- 1 Zealot il-Vec
- 1 Calciderm
- 1 Dreamscape Artist
- 1 Shaper Parasite
- 1 Veiling Oddity
- 1 Whitemane Lion
Lands (17)
Spells (10)
Creatures (13)
- 1 Cockatrice
- 1 Dauthi Slayer
- 1 Basal Sliver
- 1 Greenseeker
- 1 Liege of the Pit
- 1 Spinneret Sliver
- 1 Urborg Syphon-Mage
- 1 Viscid Lemures
- 1 Citanul Woodreaders
- 1 Deadwood Treefolk
- 1 Giant Dustwasp
- 1 Magus of the Coffers
- 1 Rathi Trapper
Lands (17)
Spells (10)
Sideboard:
Chronatog Totem
Feldon’s Cane
Claws of Gix
Foriysian Interceptor
Return to Dust
2 Pallid Mycoderm
Ivory Giant
Sinew Sliver
Watcher Sliver
Sidewinder Sliver
Errant Doomsayers
Amrou Seekers
Clockspinning
Reality Acid
Tidewalker
Gossamer Phantasm
Synchronous Sliver
Screeching Sliver
Shadow Sliver
Erratic Mutation
Seal of Primordium
Krosan Grip
Glass Asp
Reflex Sliver
Mwonvuli Acid-Moss
Aether Web
Uktabi Drake
Smallpox
Waning Wurm
Traitor’s Clutch
Null Profusion
Extirpate
Vampiric Link
Dash Hopes
Deadly Grub
Phantasmagorian
Ridged Kusite
Spitting Sliver
Temporal Exortion
Timecrafting
Battering Sliver
Fury Sliver
Undying Rage
Ancient Grudge
Mogg War Marshal
Keldon Marauders
Lavacore Elemental
Skirk Shaman
Barbed Shoker
2 Blazing Blade Askari
Firefright Mage
Two-Headed Sliver
Keldon Halberdier
The cardpool, for the Two-Headed Giant format, is far below average. Red doesn’t have enough playables, or even the potential to be played as a secondary color. Urborg Syphon-Mage and Squall Line didn’t really make up for the pool’s weakness. They are both great cards in 2HG, but you can’t really rely on them alone. Being able to deal fifteen direct damage is wonderful… as long as you can deal the other fifteen first.
Geoffrey’s deck looked like a pretty good individual draft deck, while mine looked… just bad.
The alternative we had was to play all the Slivers in the pool, which meant playing: Sidewinder, Watcher, Sinew, Screeching, Synchronous, Reflex, Spitting, Fury, and Battering Slivers. We decided against this plan, as most of the Slivers we had didn’t do enough on their own, and splashing the Red Slivers made the second deck even less reliable, mana-speaking. Just like in most Sealed Decks, we had a lot of options, so you’ll probably find cards you would have played over others from the main decks.
We would have to play seven rounds with these decks, thanks to our two byes, and I wasn’t really feeling confident in our ability to go 5-2.
We lost our two first rounds. Our games were almost close, but we just didn’t have the cards to turn the tables
Thoughts about 2HG:
I’m not sure I’m a big fan of all the changes that have been brought to the format. First of all, I didn’t like the “player B draws on the play” change. Some players thought it was better to draw first, as the two-card advantage could make the difference. With the team playing first having only a one-card disadvantage, there’s no point in not playing first.
I liked the game with forty life. It was definitely too much in Constructed, as it didn’t allow aggressive strategies to see play, but was the right amount in Limited. The only thing dropping to thirty really changes, in Limited, is the fact that one team can never really recover from a slow or bad draw. If the team on the play has a fast draw, they are almost guaranteed to win. And with only one game per round, it’s like playing a one-game tennis match in which you decide randomly who serves. We’ve also seen that the rounds weren’t really shorter with ten fewer damage to deal.
I’ve attended many GPs, and this one is in my Top 2 of the worst I’ve played in terms of organization (the first being GP: Paris). However, the players’ party was quite nice. Yes, the hot dancers seemed kinda out of place, but it was funny to see the awkwardness they brought to the place. The site itself was big and welcoming, but maybe a little small for 1400 players.
This, however, doesn’t make up for what happened on Day 1. For those who weren’t there, let me tell you how it went:
The tournament was supposed to start at 10am, but the pairings for deck construction were posted around 1120. The reasons were that the software died again (this thing keeps dying), and that there weren’t enough basic lands to support all the players so judges had to crack starter packs to collect some.
2HG is a slow format, no matter how much life you give to any team. I personally don’t think life total is that relevant when it comes to a time limit, as players seem to play faster when they see time is running out. Rounds were literally taking forever, between ninety minutes and two hours (quite long for fifty-minute rounds).
At around 10pm, when we started round 5, they realized the tournament wouldn’t end until 3am at least. They decided to cut one of the rounds, to make it eight in total. I didn’t want to drop until we had three losses, but two losses was enough to see us out of contention in an eight-rounder. We scooped with lethal damage on the stack, as our opponents wanted to play until the end (brave warriors). Later, it was announced that the organisers needed to cut another round, dropping it to seven…
I’m just hoping lessons have been learnt, and that GP: Massachusetts will be a successful event. Both for Wizards, and for myself!
Until next time,
Raph.