The Beautiful Struggle – I Heart NY
Whenever I say that it’s easier for me to get to Neutral Ground in New York City for a PTQ than many locations that are geographically closer to Washington, it raises the usual set of eyebrows. It’s a non-trivial amount of money, and a mighty long trip, just to suffer through the crush of gamers and the mental pressure of seven or eight rounds of Magic. Why I would bother going all that way for competition that is some of the toughest in the country?

When you open up an Akroma, you want her to show up. Especially when she arrives in the company of a big fatty-fat dragon. But sometimes, the cards just don’t go like you want… Especially when you can’t make up your mind about what kind of player you really are.
In recent months, playtesting for Magic has become more and more difficult — moving in with a fiancee was one part of it, and moving an extra hour away from my would-be playtest partners was another. Faced with these conditions, there’s only one sane thing to do… 