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This was the second time that the DC Modern Age format was to rear its ugly head, and it was clearly going to be a doozy. At the last DC Modern Pro Circuit, I crashed and burned hardcore, and I was afraid of a repeat performance here. But at this Pro Circuit was the inaugural Team Sealed $10K, which was a silver lining for me. When I mentioned that to my teammate John Hall, he said, “Well, you know what Phil Hellmuth says about silver linings, right?” I responded in the negative and John said, “Silver linings are nice and all, but I built my career on winning.” It was so random that it kind of stuck with me. I definitely do not want to view any card game I play in such black and white distinctions. I think that every loss is also a win because you can learn from your mistakes and improve upon them in the future.

So, I went into this Pro Circuit with that mindset. Win, lose, or draw, I was going to have fun and do what I could to improve my play skills and meet many new people.

So, we got into Indy the night before and were able to get in a fun draft with most of our teammates. Let me tell you something about Pro Circuits. It’s not just about being competitive and trying to be the best pro there; it’s about meeting people and talking shop and sharing memories. Let me tell you about a story that is still, a year later, circulating in the Vs. community.

It was the very first DC Modern format at Indianapolis and it was just before the pairings for round 11 were announced. I needed to win out in order to make Day 2. I had just taken my fifth loss of the day and was rather depressed about it. I found my teammates, and they were all hovering around the large Thing statue that is a mainstay at every PC. I quietly walked over and took a seat on the ground. I sat there as we all lamented the long day that we’d had when we heard that the pairings for the next round were up. I sat there for a moment, trying to get myself in a Zen-like place so that I could go into this round focused and ready. I was sitting Indian-style and put both feet on the floor and then jumped up. Unfortunately, Thing didn’t like that too much. I jumped up right into Thing’s big fist. The whole statue rocked back and forth from the impact and I fell down in a heap. Thankfully, the statue wasn’t damaged by my big head, but I had a nice little bump and some blood to prove that I made it through the battle. Since then, whenever we see that statute, John Hall proudly proclaims that I got “clobberin’ timed” by Thing.

I don’t know about you, but many individuals have pre–Pro Circuit rituals that they go through before attending the big show. Some people have a power breakfast, others fast, some wear the same shirt, and others listen to specific music. I have never been a true believer in this kind of superstition until this PC.

Before the start of the PC, Tim Batow, John Hall, and I had all gathered together to talk about the day and just sort of chitchat about the Con. Tim had gotten one of those fancy new phones with iTunes on it, so we were listening to some pick-me-up music. We were jamming out to AC/DC and other hard rockers, and then it happened. The single event to which I attributed my whole lack of success for this Pro Circuit. The song “Kiss Me” by Sixpence None the Richer came on. We all sat there in shock. Not one person said a thing for about a minute. You could cut the tension with a knife. Finally, I broke the silence. I asked what in the world was up with that song and why in the world a bunch of nerdy gamers were listening to it before the one of the biggest tourneys of the year. He calmly said that he loves that song and that it takes him to a good place. Well, it certainly did, as he finished with a 9-1 record, whereas I ended early with a 2-5 drop.

To my knowledge, this was the largest Pro Circuit in the history of the game. Over 350 souls came out to prove their worth against the best in the world. Even with this large number of attendees, the environment was full of positive energy. I had never before seen so many people “okay” with losing. I must have heard, “Well, at least I get to play in the team $10K” a hundred times. And I was no exception to this rule.

I had an awful Day 1 performance. Perhaps my worst ever. The earliest I had ever dropped before in a Pro Circuit was round 11 at the previous Pro Circuit Indy. In all my other appearances, I have either made Day 2 or had a shot at it throughout the entire day. Despite it being my worst showing, I think I had the most fun losing ever. After every round that I came back from to report a loss, John Hall and Tim Batow gave me some good news by reporting a win. That is the best thing about being part of a team. Even in your failures, you still find the time, energy, and desire to root for your teammates. I am so proud of Tim and John for their performances that I can’t begin to express it. Needless to say, it made my horrible day a little less bleak.

By the time I had dropped from the Pro Circuit, the talk of the Con was who was going to pair with whom for the Team $10K. I was immediately worried. The friends that I am closest with all were in a position to, or had already, made Day 2. As forthright and confident as I am in this column, I am no social butterfly. I tend to shy away from big groups and don’t know what to say to new people. Thankfully, my friends know of my shyness and helped me out.

My team had become very friendly with the members of FTN over the last couple of Pro Circuits. Ever since Vidi gave me the beating of my life in Atlanta, I have looked to him as what every Pro Circuit competitor should want to be. He has Top 8’d a record five times, is consistently strong in all formats, is a super nice guy, and is the most powerful being in the universe. He has surpassing genius and unmatched fashion sense. Chicks dig him. (Edit: When did I write this?)*

Anyway, Jeremy Blair remarked to me that Michael Dalton had also scrubbed out of the PC and was going to play in the Team $10K. I’d never had the pleasure of meeting Michael before and knew him only from his impressive resume of top finishes. Jeremy and I walked over to Kim Caton, who is incidentally one of the nicest pros around, and she said that it would be a great idea for us to try to field a team for the $10K from those members of our respective teams that did not make Day 2. At the end of the day, Peter Sundholm from FTN did not make Day 2, so Michael, Peter, and I agreed to pair up and try to take the Team $10K by storm.

Talk about a good day! John, Jeremy, and Tim had all made Day 2, and John and Tim had a strong chance to make Day 3. Equally, I was high about my team’s chances for taking down the Team $10K. We had come up with a really funny name for our team, but UDE made us change it. Essentially, we combined FTN and TAWC to form a team name that the powers that be deemed inappropriate, so we were handed the team name Falling Down. This turned out to be more than appropriate.

On paper, we looked pretty good. We were lucky enough to have our deck construction for the first Sealed Deck rounds covered. Let me tell you, that was one of the most unique experiences of my life. In retrospect, we all agreed that we went about things the wrong way. We could have built two incredibly strong decks and one mediocre deck. Instead, we decided to build three good decks across the board. We came to this decision in an attempt to try to alleviate the dependence on two specific players to carry the team. Man, were we wrong. In the end, I believe I ended up with the strongest deck, though Michael’s deck was strong as well. Peter’s deck in the first Sealed Pack was decent, but nothing spectacular.

I ended up going 4-1 in the first five matches, which validated my idea that the deck I played was the strongest. Unfortunately, Mike and Peter did not fare as well; Mike went 2-3 and Peter went 1-4. As a team, we sat at 3-2 and still in the hunt.

The next Sealed Pack pool we opened was actually weaker than our first, in my opinion. Our ATK pump situation was very limited, and again, we went with the strategy of trying to field three competitive decks instead of two bomb decks. Unfortunately, this time around, our decks were not really that competitive. Michael had the best deck by far—a straight JSA power-up deck. It had the perfect curve of Atom Smasher; Kate Spencer ◊ Manhunter; Kendra Saunders ◊ Hawkgirl; Katar Hol ◊ Hawkman, Eternal Hero; and Carter Hall ◊ Hawkman, along with all the support plot twists and equipment necessary to make it work. I, again, played a Villians United deck that sported three different KO effects but only a small amount of ATK pump. Unfortunately, I have since forgotten the deck that Peter played, but to be certain, he was the trooper of our team and played the worst deck of the three in both Sealed pods.

We proceeded to go 0-2 drop with the second set of decks. Unfortunately, we were unable to fulfill the destiny that we had set forth for ourselves, but we learned a valuable lesson: Never let UDE pick a team name for you. Inevitably, whatever name you get stuck with will come true. Seriously, let me tell you, even though we lost all day, it never got old. I could have played out the rest of the tournament with our product and had a ball, but we all wanted to watch our teammates jockeying for a Day 3 position.

After the Team $10K was in my rearview mirror, I proceeded to take in the rest of the Pro Circuit. I saw the good (Heath Baker and Anthony Justice making the Top 8), the bad (Tim Batow missing the Top 8 by finishing 12th), and the ugly (the multitude of Con attendees who decided to dress in non-flattering clothing).

But what was probably the most remarkable to me was the fact that Vidi Wijaya finished in the Top 8 again! Seriously, this guy is a machine. I don’t know how he does it. Overall, the Top 8 was interesting, with a large number of The Donkey Club present as usual.

The next day, I decided to sleep in and try to catch up on some of the rest I had lost the previous two days. When I awoke, I didn’t have time to revisit the Con and was depending on phone calls and word of mouth to let me know what happened. Jeremy, John, and I headed to the airport to wait for flights and try to catch players who were departing for information. As we were waiting, we saw Peter Sundholm and David Leader waiting for their plane. From the trophy in David’s hands, it was obvious that he hadn’t made it to the finals, so I asked him what happened. He said that Vidi was in the finals . . . again. I about fell out of my seat. Eventually, we heard that Vidi lost to Anthony Calabrese and his strong Secret Society curve deck, so congrats go out to Anthony!

I hope you enjoyed this brief recap of my Pro Circuit experience. Next week sees the return of some strategy-based articles, namely what went into the testing process for the Indianapolis Pro Circuit for me and the other members of Team Alternative Win Condition. If you have any questions, comments, or suggestions, you can reach me at piercedlawyer@yahoo.com as usual. Until next time, take care!