Bennie Smith currently writes Into the Aether for MagictheGathering.com. In his life before that, though, he wrote for this here site. He’s a pretty good player, too, having won… well, if you don’t already know, you’ll find out later.
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CBR: I’m keeping track of this one… it’s interesting to me that the non-Magic players in the world presume that all Magic players started out as Dungeons & Dragons players. Are you now, or were you ever, a role-playing gamer?
BS: I am indeed one of “those” stereotypical, Dungeons and Dragons players. In fact, I still get together with old friends every other Monday night and play in my buddy Al’s campaign. Al and I have been playing D&D together for twenty-three years now. I found out about Magic while reading the old White Wolf magazine when I was dabbling around with White Wolf’s World of Darkness RPG setting. They had a section in the magazine for game reviews, and the review of Magic sounded interesting (this was in the Winter of 1993-94) enough for me to pick up two starter decks and boosters for me and a friend. Obviously, I was hooked.
CBR: Twenty-three years of D&D? That’s some campaign. What’s your most powerful character?
BS: Well, I’d like to say I have a 25th level paladin/30th level wizard half-ogre with a 30 strength and 500 hit points, but sadly it hasn’t been one continuous campaign. It’s probably been somewhere around a half dozen different campaigns. I’ve only worked a character as high as 12th level, a Dwarf Fighter named Faelstaff Ironaxe who was last seen taking leave from the party in order to go unite the fragmented Dwarven clans under one King. With him being King, of course. That was one of my first characters. In the current campaign I’m playing another Dwarf named Moonfaer Ironaxe, with the idea that he’s some far distant relative to my old character. Moonfaer’s a 9th level Dwarf Wizard, one of the interesting twists that the new 3rd edition allows that wasn’t at all common back during the days of AD&D. Choosing that class was in part inspired by Faelstaff Ironaxe who had a magic carpet, and the joke then was that only a Dwarf Wizard would fly through the air rather rely on his own sturdy legs to travel.
CBR: You say that Magic hooked you. Is it possible to put your finger on exactly what did it? For example, for me, I was hooked by the art. The game play came later.
BS: I think I loved how Magic allows you to infuse your deck with personality – in your card choices, colors, and game plan. When my old gaming group adopted Magic, we all came up with wild concoctions and delighted in whipping out surprises that no one expected.
CBR: Are you single, married, or attached and not sure what to call it?
BS: Married for eight years now, with two wonderful kids: Anna Marie, who’s five; and Aaron, who’s three-and-a-half.
CBR: Your son’s name is Aaron. Is he named for all-time home run king Hank Aaron, Magic guru Aaron Forsythe, or neither?
BS: Living life as Smith, I realized the value of having a first name starting with a letter early in the alphabet when listening for your name or waiting in lines. As cool a name as Zachary is, I figured the best I could do to offset the curse of having such a common surname is by making sure you’d be the first Smith in any list or line. I don’t think any other first name would come before AA. I also thought the name both unusual and yet “classic.” Luckily, Martha liked the name too.
CBR: You’re a married Magic player. In that respect, many of the quintessential, young, never-been-kissed guys who play this game look to you for advice on how to find a woman. What can you tell them?
BS: I had pretty crappy luck with the ladies until college hit (and boy, did my luck turn around!). So, my very best advice post-high school is to take at least one class at college, hang out at the student commons, and join clubs in order to plug into the social scene there. For those who still have some years before being college-aged, I’d recommend extra-curricular activities. You don’t have to necessarily play sports (though that certainly helps), but there are things like band or the drama club that are chock full of smart and interesting girls. The trick is to position yourself to interact with plenty of girls so that perhaps one of them will click with you. The more opportunities you give yourself, the better chance you’ll have.
One last tip: original poetry, especially written in iambic pentameter professing your feelings, can really knock a girl’s socks off.
CBR: Well, her socks are a good start.
BS: I actually got a date with my high school dream crush by working up the nerve to give her a five-page poem I’d written for her. Yeah, it was geeky as all hell, but never underestimate a genuine romantic gesture, especially in high school when most boys are hamfists in the romance department.
CBR: Speaking of the females, your daughter Anna Marie is old enough to shuffle cards. Are you gonna try to get her interested in Magic? And, if she or Aaron starts playing competitively, will you be a good daddy or a stage father who gets all in it with folks?
BS: I am definitely hoping both kids get into gaming. The one limitation is having to wait until Aaron is old enough to play the game, because he’s always going to want to do whatever his big sis is doing and it’s going to be hard to teach the game if Aaron keeps grabbing at the cards. If they ever get into the game enough to want to go to tournaments, I definitely will hope to be one of the cool dads, though if they get paired against a rude jackass it might be tough to hold my tongue. Or hold my open hand from flying upside the head of the ill-bred whippersnapper.
CBR: “Ill-Bred Whippersnapper.” I like that. You should submit that card name. A few years ago — 1999, I think it was – someone named Bennie Smith won the Virginia State Championship. Was that you?
BS: Yep, that was me. Let me do a Flores and pull the decklist out of the dust pile of ancient history:
Creatures (25)
- 2 Rofellos, Llanowar Emissary
- 4 Birds of Paradise
- 2 Elvish Lyrist
- 4 Yavimaya Elder
- 4 Groundskeeper
- 2 Dawnstrider
- 3 Deranged Hermit
- 2 Child of Gaea
- 2 Masticore
Lands (24)
Spells (11)
Sideboard
What was cool about this decklist was how it came together. My original thought was to play a deck with fast mana acceleration, disruption, and finish things off with large creatures. I loved Gaea’s Cradle and played Crop Rotation to make sure I got one early, with Birds and cheap utility creatures to ensure it would be giving a big mana bump. Rofellos obviously helped too. StarCityGames.com first editor, Omeed Dariani, tipped me off about how good Rishadan Port was before it had really caught on big, and it worked perfectly in this deck. With all the mana acceleration, I could slow down my opponent while still playing my game. Plow Under was really the star of the deck, especially since I could pretty reliably cast it on turn 3 and really set my opponent back. I ended up picking Child of Gaea and Deranged Hermit (and Treetop Village to some extent) as my “fatties,” since none of them could be effectively stolen by the infernal Treachery and used against me.
Anyway, once I’d come up with the original decklist, I posted it to the Magic Strategy newsgroup about a week before States, and the guys there poked, prodded, and critiqued my list until I finally came up with the above lineup. While it may look less than tuned, it performed very well that day (obviously). I think I must have been on to something, since by the time Regionals rolled around Trinity Green and the “Angry Hermit” decks had exploded onto the professional Magic scene, with elements very similar to mine.
CBR: Very belated congrats, even as the From Right Field crowd cringes at the cost of that deck.
For those of us who can only dream of doing so well in such a big tournament, please, tell us what was going through your mind during the last few rounds… Did you start thinking “Wow, I might be State Champ in a few hours,” or did you just play like it was another round of another tournament? Or were you thinking something else?
BS: This was my first Top 8 at a big tournament, and, when people started talking about “drawing in,” I confessed to not having any knowledge on how that worked. I was so thrilled about making Top 8 that I really didn’t even stress about trying to win it all. I had attained my dream of making it to the elimination rounds, anything more was just gravy… and what good gravy it was! Suddenly, I’m in the finals squaring off against Pro player Pete Lieher, and since I’d already beaten him in the Swiss I felt fairly confident in my ability to win the title. But honestly, my frame of mind was, “Wow, I can’t believe I won again!” each time I kept winning in the Top 8, up to and including the final game. I was just happy to finally walk away with product, but winning the title was very sweet. As a writer about the game, having that sort of success gave me a boost of legitimacy that I may actually know what I’m writing about.
CBR: I have no idea what this “legitimacy” is about which you speak.
Do you still get to any big tourneys like Pro Tour Qualifiers or States anymore, or are you strictly online now?
BS: I get out and play whenever I can. Luckily, StarCityGames holds plenty of events right here in my home city of Richmond, Virginia. I don’t have to travel much to get some high-level play in. I try and play in all the area Constructed events (Pro Tour Qualifiers, Champs, Regionals), and occasionally play in Limited events. I’m looking forward to playing in the upcoming Two-Headed Giant Limited Champs tournament!
CBR: So you play a lot at StarCityGames.com Global Headquarters, huh? Who’s your nemesis? The person whom, when you’re paired against him or her, you think, “Oh, geez, here we go again. I’m gonna have to sweat bullets – again – to beat this one”?
BS: Technically, the epicenter of Pete’s Empire is about three hours away in Roanoke, Virginia and I rarely make the trip down there anymore. Luckily, Pete holds quite a few events right here in Richmond, including all his “big” events. Locally, my nemesis is probably Star Wars Kid (Chris McDaniel). I used to have an okay record against him when we played at a local game shop (and even then it was tough winning), but now that he’s gone Pro he kicks my butt pretty consistently.
CBR: Well, if you have to lose consistently to someone, there are worse players than Star Wars Kid to be the one.
You know those “Who would you invite to dinner?” questions, right? Let’s say that Wizards is setting up an eight-person Bennie Smith Invitational for a series of columns. You get to invite any seven people to play, and they are guaranteed to show. Who do you invite?
BS: For the Bennie Invitational, it would have to be Magic players who fit into The Ferrett AWWAJALOOM designation (Adults with Women and Jobs and Lives Outside of Magic), and also be Magic writers whom I’ve always wanted to meet in person. So in no particular order: John Rizzo; Jay Moldenhauer-Salazar; Anthony Alongi; Chris Romeo; Mike Mason; Will Reiffer; and Dave Meddish. C’mon, you know we’d have a helluva good time!! Since we’re all current or former StarCityGames writers, maybe Pete can fly all of you in for one of his Power 9 tournaments and we can make it happen!
CBR: I’d be there for that. We could even get columns out if it! Thanks for inviting me to the Bennie Smith Invitational, by the way. Would we play multi-player chaos, too? I mean, for Alongi and all…
BS: Of course! The only rule would be that, when I don the Greater Cloak of Pity, everyone has to lay off me for a few turns. Also, alcohol would be served. And we couldn’t let Alongi win, because we’d never hear the end of it.
CBR: You used to write (and still do, on and off) for StarCityGames.com. Now, you’re an “official” Hasbro/Magic writer, doing Into the Aether. What are the biggest differences between writing for the two sites?
BS: Signing a contract pledging to deliver content week after week for a year or so tends to add a considerable amount of pressure writing for Wizards that I didn’t have writing for Pete. There’s also a rather larger and more international audience there than anything I got when I wrote for StarCityGames. (Not that StarCityGames has a smaller audience, it’s just I had a smaller audience, heh.) It’s kinda neat to think about people all over the world knowing who you are. Being on the same writers’ mailing list with Rosewater, Forsythe, JMS, Alongi, Zvi, and Flores is pretty hot too!
CBR: Dish time. That writers’ mailing list… has anything ever degenerated into childish name-calling, or is everyone boringly professional? I ask because I giggle thinking about someone on that list calling someone else a “poopyhead.”
BS: Strangely enough, I never knew Zvi had such a potty mouth until I got on that list. Every other word is !@#$ that and *&%$ that. And here’s a big secret – Mark Rosewater is always claiming he reads every email he receives… but actually he has aides read his email and compile briefings that they read to him every morning over stinky fish and bagels. You’ve heard of “R&D interns?” Well, now you know what they really do.
CBR: Aside from the Magic Online account that’s loaded with four of everything, what’s the best part about writing Into the Aether?
BS: Interacting with people that I might have never had the chance to, from the good folks at Wizards, to the online players I’ve made friends with after they’ve popped in to watch one of my games, has all been pretty amazing. It’s opened up a whole new level of the Magic community to me.
CBR: As far as I know, only Mike Flores could possibly support himself solely through writing about Magic, and that would just be by sheer volume. I’m presuming here that, like the rest of us, you also have another job. What do you do to make ends meet?
BS: I am a Quality Analyst for Hamilton Beach/Proctor-Silex, a household appliances manufacturer. I basically crunch returns and quality data and spew it out in a variety of reports, charts, and graphs for the higher-ups to make decisions on. I also work part-time as a college campus police dispatcher – a job I had when I was a college student, but I picked it up again to help pay for preschool for my two kids.
CBR: Okay, you work for Hamilton Beach/Proctor-Silex. JMS works for Taco Bell and has already promised me a free chalupa. Can you get me a commercial-grade kitchen mixer? I love to cook.
BS: Well, not free… but I can get one for you relatively cheap. Go to our websites and let me know which one you want, and I’ll quote you a price.
CBR: Sweet! It’s not a free chalupa, but it’ll do. Thanks! Seriously now (as serious as I get anyway), what talents or abilities do you take from Magic that help you at work? I’m talking the HB/PS job. I gotta presume summoning dragons helps with the campus police dispatcher job.
BS: Indeed! I suppose problem-solving skills and being solution-oriented are qualities that I bring to both Magic and work. Expecting the worst but hoping for the best has been helpful too.
CBR: I’m sure that you love movies, since I have yet to meet a Magic player who’s said, “No, sir, I don’t like ’em. Don’t like ’em one bit.” What’s your favorite movie of all-time?
BS: Picking just one movie is cruel and unusual punishment. Here’s a few movies at the top of my list, all of them movies I can watch anytime, anywhere: The Sixth Sense, Raising Arizona, Memento, The Usual Suspects, When Harry Met Sally, The Matrix.
CBR: That’s a pretty solid list of movies. I noticed that half of them (Memento, Sixth Sense, Usual Suspects) are suspense-laden. Are you a Hitchcock fan?
BS: Hitchcock rulez! The screenwriting for Psycho still knocks me out.
CBR: What’s the best movie that you’ve seen in the last year or so?
BS: Hands-down, King Kong – just for the pure spectacle of it. It’s a fantastic adventure movie. For the more cerebral choices, The Constant Gardner and Syriana were both quality films but too depressing to be my favorite. Very pleasant surprises include In Good Company and The Matador.
CBR: Ah, Good Company. I’ll watch anything with Scarlett Johanson in it. Except for that awful kids-breaking-into-the-SAT-headquarters one. And Dennis Quaid is, of course, dreamy.
I’ve also found that a lot of Magic writers tend to be voracious readers. Do you read a lot, non-Magic-wise, that is? If so, who are some of your favorite writers?
BS: Mary Doria Russell’s The Sparrow and Children of God are superb. I love Roger Zelany’s Amber books. I love most of Stephen King’s books, including The Stand, Salem’s Lot, The Shining, and the Dark Tower series.
CBR: King’s books tend to be fantastic with a rare clunker here and there. Even as a Red Sox fan, for example, I couldn’t get through The Girl Who Loved Tom Gordon. He’s very visual, but the big-screen versions of his books tend to suck (The Shining aside) [What about The Shawshank Redemption? Or Stand By Me? Or The Green Mile? — Craig, confused.] Why do you think that is?
BS: King typically layers on so much detail in his stories that it’s just not feasible to recreate that faithfully on the big screen, so fans of the book are going to be naturally inclined towards disappointment in a film version. Book adaptations require a skill that smart filmmakers should pay a premium for, or risk major suckage. Take Misery, for example—Rob Reiner got William Frickin’ Goldman to write the screenplay. Yep, as in Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid, Princess Bride, and All the President’s Men William Goldman. Kubrick’s The Shining was good because Kubrick is a good writer in addition to being a good filmmaker. Kubrick was also not afraid to take a hacksaw to King’s story and make it his own
CBR: Is Virginia really for lovers?
BS: Oh yeah definitely, even when you’re in the minuscule backseat of a Geo Metro. Um . . . don’t ask me how I know this.
CBR: Moving on then. I’ve asked both JMS and Rizzo this, and I’m curious about what you’ll say. I’ve found that I learn more from my mistakes than my successes. Yes, I’ve heard all of the jokes about how I must be the smartest man in the world.
BS: I wish you would have given me this written question ahead of time, so I could plan for it. (Laughter.) John, I’m sure historians will look back and say, “gosh, he could have done it better this way, or that way.” You know, I just – I’m sure something will pop into my head here in the midst of this press conference, with all the pressure of trying to come up with an answer, but it hasn’t yet*.
CBR: If your family and friends are anything like mine, they know that they can always buy Magic cards as birthday or Christmas gifts. For example, for my birthday last year, my wife bought me the first Masticores that I’ve ever owned. What’s the best Magic-related gift you ever got?
BS: My family has never, ever bought me anything Magic related as a gift. While I get no flack over my hobby, I still get the feeling that they all secretly wish I would grow up and leave gaming behind. However, I have received Magic cards as a gift from fellow gamers, most notably from Kevin Anderson, a young preteen local Magic player who I took under my wing and did my best to cultivate a love for the game. That Christmas he hooked me up with three Crucible of Worlds as a gift. That rocked!
CBR: Your family has never bought you a Magic-related gift? Wow. Here’s your chance to let them know what you want…
BS: I’ve always wanted Singing Tree from Arabian Nights.
Now we come to the rapid-fire section of the interview.
CBR: Babylon 5 or Battlestar: Galactica?
BS: Battlestar: Galactica
CBR: Hot or cold?
BS: Cold
CBR: Justice League, the cartoon, or Justice League, the comic book?
BS: Comic book
CBR: Justice League or Superfriends?
BS: Justice League
CBR: White, Blue, Black, Red, or Green?
BS: Green, of course
CBR: Beatdown or control?
BS: Control (with creatures)
CBR: Rolling a die or rock paper scissors?
BS: d12
CBR: Hot date or winning states?
BS: Am I single or married for this hypothetical?
CBR: Whichever gets you in the least trouble if your wife reads this. I know the drill. I’m married, too. The hot date, can, of course, be with your wife.
BS: Since having two small kids has made romantic opportunities a precious rare thing, I’d have to say I could not turn down an actual hot date with my wife, even for the possibility of a repeat crown
CBR: Kirk or Picard?
BS: Tea. Earl Grey. Hot. Of course, Picard!
CBR: Jessica Simpson or Christina Aguilera?
BS: Xtina, in every way
CBR: Buffy or Angel?
BS: Buffy, but I heard that Angel was a fine series
CBR: Night or day?
BS: Night
CBR: Finally, I know that you know how this works. It’s a Desert Island Top Ten. You’re going to be stranded on a deserted island for a year, but you have electricity to run an entertainment center and all the food you need. What ten DVDs do you bring? Or CDs, or books? Whatever you want. You’re the one being stranded for a year. We want you to be comfortable.
BS: First, I’d bring Stephen King’s The Stand (The Complete and Uncut Edition) to help pass the time. It would also make a good weapon if I needed one. I’d also bring Moby Dick, because I’ve never read it but always wanted to. On DVD, I’d bring The West Wing, Seasons 2-4; Pirates of the Caribbean – The Curse of the Black Pearl (2-Disc Collector’s Edition); and The Lord of the Rings – The Motion Picture Trilogy (Special Extended DVD Edition). On CD I’d bring Welcome Interstate Managers by Fountains of Wayne, and Tusk by Fleetwood Mac. For my tenth item I’d bring a magnum bottle of Sandeman “Vau” Vintage Port 1997 to savor and get buzzed off on cold evenings.
CBR: Pirates of the Caribbean on a desert island? Are you a masochist or what?
BS: A man can dream about Keira Knightly, a large stash of rum, and a desert island with no one else around, can’t he?
CBR: Dreaming of being on a desert island with Keira Knightley? I thought you were worried about your wife reading this. And Fountains of Wayne with Fleetwood Mac. I don’t think I’ve ever had someone mention such a mix of music for DIDs. To what do you ascribe this eclectic taste in music?
BS: A lot of newer acquaintances are surprised about the spectrum of music I enjoy. My CD collection runs from zydeco (Beau Jacque and the Zydeco Hi-Rollers) to classic rock (Jethro Tull), “college rock” (Hoodoo Gurus), gospel (Staple Singers), ska (Fishbone), grunge (Screaming Trees), swing (Squirrel Nut Zippers), rap (Beastie Boys), funk (War), folk (Cowboy Junkies), new rock (White Stripes), and goth (The Cure). Pre-kids, I used to have some rockin’ parties. I’ve always just had a very open mind and ear when it comes to music.
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{*Unlike some other folk who can’t think of a single mistake they may have made, my problem is trying to pick just one. I suppose I’d have to say that not pushing myself in academics during high school was a big mistake. I was a smart kid and could manage good grades without too much work. I floated along, got a full scholarship at VCU… and promptly lost it all with a C average my freshman year. See, by never pushing myself academically (I avoided taking any honors classes), I didn’t really develop good study habits and once I got to college, coasting along on just raw smarts didn’t cut it. I lost my scholarships and had to take out student loans to finish school. I had those loans hanging over my head until just a few years ago. While we all know that working hard for things often yield big payoffs, I’ve also learned that not working hard – taking the easy way – can sometimes bite you in the butt.}
CBR: That sounds like good advice for life in general and Magic specifically.
Thanks for the answers, Bennie.
BS: You’re welcome! I’ll be curious about the response, and I’m certainly looking forward to reading the others’ Q&A.
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On Thursday, we finally learn exactly who this “Craig Stevenson” guy is who so bravely stepped in to edit this here site.