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10:17 PM - Top Tables Constructed Metagame and the Adventures of the Last Chancers

Two final tables to end the day:

Player	Wins	Archetype

Barnes, Michael	11	Xavier's Dream
Jones, Ryan	10	Curve Sentinels
Noland, Donald	10	Curve Sentinels
Dawson, Jason T.	10	Curve Sentinels
Eugenio, Brian	10	Gamma Doom
Wijaya, Vidianto	9	Curve Sentinels
Oldaker, Matt	9	New School
Eisenhard, Cory	9	Fantastic Fun
Holman, TJ	9	Curve Sentinels
Justice, Anthony	9	New School
Fiorillo, John	9	Curve Sentinels
Akow, Sacha	9	Curve Sentinels
Tatar, Matthew	9	Common Enemy
Shvartsman, Alex	9	Curve Sentinels
De Rosa, Antonino	9	Curve Sentinels
Ashton, Tommy	9	Curve Sentinels

Yes, after twelve rounds of Swiss, ten of the Top 16 decklists (or 62.5 percent) are Curve Sentinels. That represents a twenty percent improvement over the percentage of Curve in the field. Eegads! Thankfully, there is hope, as the New School decks and Xavier’s Dream seemed to kick the unloving bejeezus out of the bad robots.

Player	Final Record
Shane Adams	0-x
Johvet Lopez	3-x
Angelo Valdez	2-x
Seth Allison	1-x
Cory Braiterman	7-5
Christian Calcano	5-x
Jason Liu	3-x
Amilcar Cardona	2-x
Brian Eaton	7-5
Dave Fashbinder	4-x
David Lamparter	5-x
Jacob Perlman	8-4
Anthony Cheng	4-x
Daniella Grihalva	5-x
Paul Madden	6-6
Alvaro Elliot Jiran	1-x

Only three of the sixteen LCQ qualifier winners made it through to the Drafting day, with various and sundry records posted by the rest of the crowd. That’s a bit less than the field as a whole that made it through to Saturday, but not an unsurprising result.

9:00 PM - News and Notes

Through the first ten rounds, the 7-3 Mike Krumb faced an astounding six Teen Titans mirror matches, in spite of the fact that Titans only makes up eleven percent of the metagame.
“You want to know how bad I am?” asked “Bad Player” Flores. “Here's how bad I am. Earlier today, I let my opponent end a turn on my initiative at 1 endurance, in spite of the fact that I had a Bastion in play and multiple Sentinel character cards in hand. Now, is that better or worse than last match, where I ended a turn with my opponent having only Dr. Light on the board, one face-down card in his resource row, and one card in hand, while I had like six unstunned guys on my side? After we ended that turn, I looked down at my resource row and noticed the two Savage Beatdowns just waving at me.”
PC Indy winner Brian Kibler can be found hanging out at the player tables this weekend, but his recent move to Upper Deck R&D means that instead of getting his game on, he's now acting as a judge. “We have a new slow play rule in effect when I'm around now. You are playing too slow if I'm watching you and I figured out the play over a minute ago while the player still hasn't done anything.”
It looks like Adam Horvath pulled a fast one on Gabe Walls earlier in the blog, as he could be seen scrapping it out in round 11 and trying to hang on to Day 2 with his Teen Titans deck. It may be too hard for “The Champ” to play, but that didn't stop him from running it today, or from lying to the master liar about which deck he was running.
Curve Sentinels may have made up a very scary proportion of the field in our Metagame Breakdown, but there's a little more diversity at the top of the standings, including two New School decks (one run by Michael Barnes, who pushed his record to 10-1 this round by beating Vidi Wijaya) and a Fantastic Fun deck piloted by Cory Eisenhard. John Fiorillo started the day at 8-1 but then faced Barnes and Eisenhard in back-to-back rounds. He had this to say about his matches: “I wasn't even in the game in my last two rounds. I'm doing things like casting Sentinel Mark Vs while my opponents were busy winning the game. What a beating!”

7:15 PM - Fun with the Free Time

I walked up to Neil Reeves and Nick Little chatting after one of the rounds only to hear Neil say the following: “Yeah, TiVo changed our life. I was really happy to find that Gabe had a TiVo as well when I got to Indianapolis.”

This got me thinking . . . gamers have a lot of free time and more than a few of them spend it watching television. So now, the inside scoop you've all been waiting for (with the promise that I'll get back to normal bloggery next round)—what is on your TiVo?

Neil Reeves: Let's see . . . I've got The O.C., Desperate Housewives, One Tree Hill, Gray's Anatomy. I would have Smallville, but I really like getting those on DVD, instead.

Gabe Walls: American Idol, Everwood is masterful, One Tree Hill, The O.C., Saved by the Bell (more and more and more). I watch a lot of TV.

Osyp Lebedowicz: I probably watch more TV than any gamer in here and I watch all of those shows (yes, all of them), but I don't have any sort of TiVo device.

Tim Willoughby: In the U.K. we don't have TiVo, but we have Sky Plus, which is basically the same thing. The two shows I watch all the time are the O.C. and Late-Night Poker.

Dair Grant: I'm not ashamed to admit that I still record things on my VCR, thank you very much. I'm a big fan of Family Guy, Desperate Housewives, and Arrested Development.

6:45 PM - Finally, Time to Relax!

After starting the day at 0-3, Fabulous Gerard Fabiano had had enough. He needed a change—something to shift his spiraling fortunes to his favor. Things just weren't working for him today, until . . .

Gerard went to visit the friendly massage therapists from Massage2Wellness. A few pokes and prods from the kind ladies at the booth and Gerard was a different man, reeling off a 5-1 record since the massage and pushing himself firmly back into Day 2 contention. Notice the smile on Gerard's face! That's the smile of a happy man, a relaxed man, a winning man . . .

A little "before and after" action for Gerard . . .

6:15 PM - Round 8 Feature Blog: Matt Tatar vs. Matt Oldaker

As I walked up to this match in progress, Oldaker was busy using Wild Ride about four times on turn 2 to fill his hand with a Fizzle and men like Micro-Chip and Dagger, signaling his Evil Medical School intentions. Matt Tatar, on his way to becoming one of the most consistent players on the Circuit, brought forth Boris for his Common Enemy deck and passed the turn.

Recalling that I've covered Oldaker before, I asked him if he was the best player in West Virginia or Ohio, as I couldn't remember where he hailed from. “Well, I'm certainly the best player in Ohio these days,” he said with a smile, “but I live in West Virginia, and we actually have some good players there.”

Oldaker quickly had a board of four weenies, including two moderately manly manservants (Boris and Alfred Pennyworth), Micro-Chip, and Dagger, Child of Light to Tatar's Boris and Spider-Man, New Fantastic Four. Both players threw down Dr. Doom, Diabolic Genius as their 4-drops, Tatar chaining Signal Flare on top of his, while Oldaker used his to flip over Wild Ride. Tatar attacked Alfred and Doom on his turn, trading Dooms. Reign of Terror from Oldaker returned Spidey to Tatar's hand, and Reign from Tatar shipped Dagger and Boris back to Oldaker's hand, while Micro-Chip took one for the team to flip over a Wild Ride that had been up and down more than (insert family-friendly simile here).

Oldaker's next build phase brought forth Shimmer, another Micro-Chip, and Alfred, while Tatar paused for a very long time, noting he had to think three or four turns ahead now to try and keep Oldaker's deck in check. Oldaker noted that he was starting to get a little worried about the time, since his deck needed to make it at least another couple of turns in order to put the game away. Tatar finally recruited Ghost Rider, New Fantastic Four, and then both players passed the turn with no attacks, leaving the endurance totals at Tatar 43, Oldaker 33.

Turn 6 added Hulk, New Fantastic Four to Tatar's squad as Oldaker used his build step to bring forth Dr. Light. A stunned Doom from Dr. Light and a mistaken attack from Tatar into Dr. Light left him losing his Doom in favor of keeping Ghost Rider around. Time was called with Oldaker only down 1 in the endurance race and holding initiative for turn 7.

“I can nail Hulk and Ghost Rider, and exhaust your 7-drop Thing, so I don't think you have any outs,” Oldaker informed Tatar. Tatar thought about it, pondered as many outcomes as he could, and then finally agreed that Oldaker was right and conceded the game.

4:50 PM - Behind the Goofy Masks

First, here's yet another awesome piece of artwork that can be found in the main hall of the Javits center before you enter the Pro Circuit area. Looking at the image of The Hulk and Iron Man on that giant mural made me wish there was a Sneak Peek for The Avengers this weekend to go along with the PC and the $10K event.

The Feature Match area for round 7 was a saucy one, featuring two of the loudest players on the Circuit and two very old-timers battling in a near elimination match. The two old-timers were none other than Gary Wise and Zvi Mowshowitz. Before the match, Gary asked for Zvi to return all of the cards he had let Zvi borrow this morning, trying to add another notch in the win column without the effort of battling the deckbuilding genius. Zvi just shrugged and called his bluff, giving Gary the deck to shuffle so they could start play. The match then continued in a friendly fashion as the players tried to block out the match across the way, where the volume knob had clearly been turned to 11.

Sitting at the next table over were two of the biggest and brightest personalities on the Circuit, Osyp Lebedowicz and Gabe Walls. The Indiana native is a literal and figurative heavyweight when it comes to the game, boasting a reputation as one of the best Vs. System players around and delighting any crowds that come to watch. Lebedowicz is slightly less well known in the Vs. world, but Osyp is widely considered one of the best American TCG players alive and his team (TOGIT) is one of the most successful around. TOGIT put three players in the Top 8 of PC So Cal and sports the PC Amsterdam Champion.

The start of the match was ridiculously loud, with both players putting their buffoonish wares on full display for the gathering crowd. The banter was actually loud enough that Zvi and Gary stopped their match briefly to comment that they'd probably just rather watch those two play than finish their own match. The judge ordered them to sit down and continue, and they went back to work.

Perhaps more interesting than the volume in the Walls vs. Lebedowicz match were the quiet spots. As the game progressed, both players gradually tightened up, concentrating on the proper play rather than goofing around and playing to their audience. In normal matches, both players frequently use their goofiness and banter to elicit reactions from their opponents so that they can get a read on what might be in their hands. One of the things that makes these two players in particular so good, though, is that in spite of their jubilant buffoonery, they always know when to shut up and focus on the game. The combination of antics plus outstanding play skill has brought them both a great deal of success in the TCG arena.

2:30 PM - Intrigue

When the pairings were posted for round 5, one interesting one went unnoticed by the Feature Match crew and was left in the back row of the hall. Robert Leander, one of three double $10K winners, was paired against Frank Lepore, otherwise known as the man who accused Leander of cheating. The match was your standard Curve Sentinels mirror, something Curve players will be completely sick of by the end of the day, but more interesting to this reporter was how the players acted towards each other. Would there be

frost on the sleeves as these two men recruited robot armies to do proxy battle, simulating what was previously carried out on message boards, or would there be heated exchanges between the two? TCGs have had their fair share of acrimony over the years, and wars between players are relatively common, but the pairing system rarely seems to reward the populace with interesting battles between sworn foes like this one.

Surprisingly, the behavior of both players was quite friendly. The banter was lively, no harsh words were spoken, and in the end, these two men told each other good game and moved along. Leander ended up with the win, finishing things by beating down with a Savage Magneto on Lepore's Mark II, Number II, but underneath the politeness you could tell that there were still some hard feelings. After the match, Brian David-Marshall walked up to Leander and asked him how things went. Robert's response?

“Guess who doesn't have to cheat to win?”

1:45 PM - The Curse and More

Brian Kibler wins Pro Circuit Indy. He then bombs out at Pro Circuit So Cal, finishing out of the money. Ryan Jones wins Pro Circuit So Cal. He starts 1-4 at PC Amsterdam, failing to make Day 2. Adam Horvath wins Pro Circuit Amsterdam. His record is now 1-3 and is starting to approach the danger zone for not making Day 2. We're not exactly sure why it exists, but this curse business is approaching trend status, much to the dismay of PC winners everywhere. It's a good thing that $40,000 is enough money to make missing a Pro Circuit or two relatively painless, or these guys might be in trouble . . .

While Adam Horvath is looking for a way to turn things around, some previously mentioned players have posted the following records through four rounds.

Mike Flores: 3-1

Zvi Mowshowitz: 2-2

Gary Wise: 2-2

Robert Leander: 2-2

Mark Slack: 2-2

Adam Horvath: 1-3

We do not expect this particular trend to continue.

Speaking of good players, though, here's a comparison of what the Top 8 players from So Cal are running this weekend and what they played back in California:

Player	So Cal Deck	NYC Deck

Ryan Jones	Teen Titans	Curve Sentinels
Mark Slack	Teen Titans	Batman Curve
Antonino De Rosa	X-Men Stall	Curve Sentinels
Eugene Harvey	X-Men Stall	Gamma Doom
Vidianto Wijaya	New Brotherhood	Curve Sentinels
David Fielder	Gotham Knights	Batman Curve
Raymond Punzalan	Doom	Gamma Doom

1:03 PM - Quotes on the Format

“You know it's a good format when the last PC winner won't play the best deck because it's too hard to play,” quoth walking sound bite Gabe Walls.

“What do you mean?” I asked.

“Well, I was talking to Adam Horvath and I asked him if he was playing Teen Titans this weekend. He told me there was no way he'd play it because the deck was too hard. If the winner of the Pro Circuit thinks the best deck is too hard to play and win with, it has to be a good format.”

“And what are you playing today?”

“Teen Titans, obviously. The best players play the best decks.”

Master of consistency Matthew Tatar holds a different opinion on what the best deck happens to be. He's 3-0 right now and reasonably happy with the format, as well. “People don't really understand what happened at PC So Cal (the last time we played Golden Age). All they see is that Teen Titans

won the tournament, so they think it's the best deck in the format. Titans is good, but did you see the decks that did well in Constructed at So Cal? There were a bunch of Common Enemy and X-Men Stall decks running around at the top of those standings, and even the Titans deck piloted by Slack and Jones was built to beat other aggro decks.”

“So what are you playing today?” I asked.

“Common Enemy. It's still the best deck for a good player to play. I'm 3-0 right now with it and I want to at least become the first player to ever get back-to-back Pro Circuit Top 20s this weekend, but we'll see. I'm not going to count my chickens before they . . . you know.”

12:45 PM - Perking Up

While most of the reporters were walking around whining about the lack of coffee this morning, a few of us decided to take advantage of perks of another sort and visit the massage therapist booth here at the Pro Circuit. You see, as part of their quest to make the Pro Circuit even more rewarding than it already is, Upper Deck Entertainment hired three massage therapists to loosen the tension of competition from the muscles of players and staff alike. We tried for two hours to get some action shots of players using the new (and quite exquisite) service, but there was just one problem . . . the players are all gamers.

“Well, maybe after my first loss,” said Antonino De Rosa.

“Definitely waiting until tomorrow,” said Gabe Walls.

Every single person we talked to this morning said that they were saving their one free massage for some other point in the weekend, presumably after they had been beaten down and needed refreshing. However, the real test of skill is finding the break-even point. If you wait too long for a massage, you'll wind up stuck in the crowd and possibly unable to use the service when you need it most. Waiting until Day 2 is a dangerous proposition, because then everyone knocked out of contention will be able to get in line while Day 2 competitors start their rounds, making it tough to work your way in during the heat of competition. Yet none of the players want to avail themselves of the service early. You do have to feel sorry for the players running Gamma Doom decks this weekend, though, because their decks basically ensure that unless they get a quick loss along the way, they'll be stuck grinding it out each round with no chance at all to take advantage of one of the best perks on the Pro Circuit.

Update

Realizing the fatal error of the players, I took the vacancy at the therapist station as my cue to check out the services for myself. The verdict in a word? Ridiculous! Services are provided by the Medical Massage Therapists from local clinic Massage2Wellness, and these ladies are awesome. You enter the darkened room to the sounds of reasonably good ambient music, sit down in the funky therapy chair, and let them go to work. Five minutes later, your body feels lighter, your muscles feel renewed, and you go back to work filled with a bit more pep than before. After my trip, I tried to drag Osyp Lebedowicz to the area as consolation for his first loss of the day (to teammate Anand Khare), but he was too concerned with the nine rounds left in the day to be bothered with thoughts of loosening up. Silly players, don't they ever learn?

10:45 AM

Normally the spot of itinerant blogger for Pro Circuits is occupied by one J. Gary Wisenheimer, master of bombast and baseball trivia. However, as can be seen in this spiffy picture, Mr. Wise will not be seen behind a computer screen today. Instead he has chosen to enter the fray himself, becoming an instrumental force in the half-hourly sway of good vs. evil. That's right folks, Gary Wise is playing. Uncertain of how long he will continue to hold the title of “competitor,” we figured we'd give you an early shot, just in case the wheels come careening off over the course of the first six rounds.

For those who have not been here, New York City is actually a gaming mecca, home to more than a few notable names that can be found taking a dip in this weekend's shark-infested waters. Since this weekend marks the expiration date for the initial celebrity invites, some New York players have taken the opportunity of a home town Pro Circuit to cash in their invite and get their game on. My own “TCG Personality” invite expires this weekend, but I chose to write about the event instead of getting my face smashed by the liked of both friends and foes alike. First among the celebrities playing this weekend is TCG Superstar Zvi Mowshowitz, who stopped by the Javits Center yesterday just to see what was going on and found himself suddenly signed up for the event by friends Justin Gary and Brian Kibler. Zvi was actually one of the early playtesters for Marvel Origins, but took a break from gaming shortly after the debut of the set and hasn't been seen since. Gary Wise threw a deck in his hands when he arrived yesterday, and now Zvi is out there on the floor, doing battle with 308 other competitors and hoping that the playskill he developed two years ago hasn't eroded completely.

Unexpectedly doing battle today is none other than Metagame.com contributor Michael J. Flores. This popular crank rarely travels outside of New York for gaming purposes (a new baby and a lovely wife tend to keep him close to home), but a local Pro Circuit event was too tempting to resist, especially since he's on vacation this week. He actually called me this morning wondering if I had been given the deck he was supposed to play, but that task was left for our last brief competitor profile.

Also making a surprise visit this weekend is none other than The Shark, Tony Tsai. Last seen losing to Paul Sottosanti in the Top 4 of 10K Indy at last year's inaugural PC event, The Shark just hopped in a cab outside his house to get to today's venue. Shark's other occupations are rumored to include running his own Ebay card shop, counting cards for the MIT Blackjack team, and international espionage. His layoff is unlikely to affect either his or Mike Flores's deck choices though, because they just happen to be good friends of Team TOGIT, the Team that sports reigning PC Amsterdam champion Adam Horvath as well as numerous other Top 8 members.

It will be interesting to see whether any of these celebs are able to compete at a high enough level to make Day 2. The level of competitive play here has skyrocketed since the early days and now it's downright difficult just to survive the first 12 rounds of Constructed.

10:07 AM

Greetings. Salutations. Welcome, friends, to Pro Circuit New York. It's been a while since the Big Apple has seen card slinging as hot as this, but now the Vs. System has brought professional card gaming back to NYC, and players seem ecstatic to be here. A total of 309 qualified players showed their happy faces at the Javits Center this morning, many stuffing them with bagels and cream cheese while re-sleeving their decks. There will be twelve rounds of Golden Age Constructed today and nine more rounds of Booster Draft tomorrow before we cut to the single elimination Top 8 and find out which player will suddenly become $40,000 richer. Stay tuned this weekend, and we'll bring you the happy, the sad, the magic, and the mystery of this smokin' hot Pro Circuit event in New York City.