The Watchtower of Destruction: The Ferrett's Journal - I Shall Admit It: Magic Nerdery

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February 16th, 2008
09:43 am

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I Shall Admit It: Magic Nerdery
I have bashed Finkel on a couple of occasions for not writing much, or contributing to the Magic community beyond his achievements of being arguably the top Magic player of all time.* But still, in my heart of hearts, I was always a fan. I wanted him to do well, even as he began to 3-3 tournaments just like the rest of us, and then Kai Budde began his upward climb, and he faded from relevancy.

So I have to squee a little bit when I see that he's made his first Pro Tour Top 8 since 2003. And I kind of hope this is the start of his second wind - the kind of comeback that almost makes me understand why sports nuts get so excited. It'd be awesome if Finkel became a tournament monster on the scene again. I want my early Magic hero to win again.

Silly, I know. But go, Finkel. Take the Tour.

(I'd also be happy with Wafo-Tapa or Mike Hron. Then again, I'm always a fan of Guillaume Wafo-Tapa, mainly because I could say "Guillaume Wafo-Tapa" all day.)

* If you're not familiar with Magic, "Who's the best Magic player of all time? Jon Finkel or Kai Budde?" is the way it's generally phrased. Some people have holdouts for others, like Oliver Ruel and the like, but generally it's down to Kai or Jon.

(Tell me I'm full of it)

Comments
 
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From:[info]scouseboy
Date:February 16th, 2008 03:20 pm (UTC)
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Gotta love that top 8... I'm pitching for Finkel or Herzog, because THAT'S the story of this PT.
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From:[info]theferrett
Date:February 16th, 2008 03:22 pm (UTC)
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Me, too. I want Finkel, but I'll cheerfully take Herzog.

We want miracles of yore!
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From:[info]phizzled
Date:February 16th, 2008 03:23 pm (UTC)
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I've always liked Jon. His decks suggested flair and imagination even with a dearth of writing. Kai put me off, but I'm sure a portion of that was the same kind of backlash that follows the Patriots.
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From:[info]lcd_cow
Date:February 16th, 2008 04:26 pm (UTC)
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Yeah, but at least Kai wrote articles...
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From:[info]phizzled
Date:February 16th, 2008 04:41 pm (UTC)
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not going to deny that. like i said, though, he always put me off. i always felt like he was really just saying "and if you don't have all of these cards, you shouldn't be playing. by the way, if you think [card X] is underpowered, why don't you just go win the invitational and design something good, like I did?"

He never felt like my kind of player. I never came away from interviews or articles about Kai that left me thinking he ever played for fun. With Finkel, you knew he was always going to be beastly, but I always thought he would surprise you by playing with a "terrible card" or so for fun.
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From:[info]gaijineli
Date:February 16th, 2008 08:16 pm (UTC)
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Just because a pro doesn't write articles doesn't mean that you shouldn't appreciate his work. Kai gets a bonus for having written, sure. But you shouldn't penalize him for writing just a little.
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From:[info]cynicalcleric
Date:February 16th, 2008 05:32 pm (UTC)
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Not just Finkel, but Nicolai Herzog came off his HoF induction (with a resume centered around for winning 2 Limited PTs in the same year or something crazy like that) also Top 8'd.

Anyone who wants to bitch and moan about how MTG is all about who has more money or some such nonsense needs to burn this PT Top 8 into their brains and shut the hell up. 2 days of drafting goes to the people with the mad skillz, yo.

Props to Wafo-Tapa, who seems to be on an unspoken message to prove he is the best active MTG today. He's breaking constructed, he's busting heads in limited, he's got it all. I will always be a fan of the guy just because when everyone else had their stupid Izzetron decks, Wafo-Tapa gave us Counter-Mizzet and my Niv-Mizzet loving heart soared (and took it to Regionals).
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From:[info]cynicalcleric
Date:February 16th, 2008 05:38 pm (UTC)
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http://www.wizards.com/default.asp?x=mtgevent/ptkl08/top8

From Finkel's section...

Interesting non-Magic facts about you:
I like single malt whiskey
I want Obama to win the election
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From:[info]ktar
Date:February 16th, 2008 06:42 pm (UTC)
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Yeah man, definitely cheering for Finkel. Not only is he awesome, but his card is still one of my favourites.
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From:[info]creepingcrud
Date:February 16th, 2008 11:50 pm (UTC)
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Yeah, I am quite happy with how that's turned out. Any of Finkel, Herzog, Wafo-Tapa, or Hron winning will please me well. I also wouldn't particularly mind seeing the first pro tour win by a Chinese, since that sort of thing is pretty cool. And hell, Mario Pascoli just looks happy to be there and having a blast, and I would not at all begrudge him victory.

Basically, it's just an awesome top 8.
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From:[info]creepingcrud
Date:February 17th, 2008 06:11 pm (UTC)
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And... Finkel takes it. Guess Olivier Ruel is going to have to wait that much longer to pass him for #2 on pro points.
From:(Anonymous)
Date:February 20th, 2008 02:59 am (UTC)
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"Wafo-Tapa" = "waffle-toppa"
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From:[info]esper3k
Date:February 20th, 2008 02:19 pm (UTC)
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And he did it with a Kithkin deck, no less! Take that, rogues!
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