Taiwanese Player Interview: 黃永銘

Note: This article was translated from Chinese by AI and may contain errors. Read the original Chinese version.

Let’s get started!

In the course of interviewing all kinds of top players, the name 黃永銘 kept coming up in conversation, and we are honored to have invited 永銘 to share his journey as a player and the highs and lows of his campaigns around the world. Let us get to know this player who has long been active near the top of the competitive scene, and his eventful exploits in Taiwan’s Magic community!

Q1: We are very happy to have the chance to invite you. Could you briefly introduce your Magic experience, and roughly when you started playing? Please share how it all began.

A: I started playing around 1999, and the environment I remember was Urza’s Legacy. I was a high school student then, and I had read the manga of Yu-Gi-Oh! XD and thought it was cool, but I did not know what similar games there were to play. I am from Tainan, and I had a cousin living in Taipei who happened to learn about the game Magic: The Gathering and told me. I started searching in bookstores and comic shops, bought some booster products and books, and set out on the road of self-teaching; there were no online resources like today back then. After that I played step by step, went into card shops and made friends. At the beginning it was of course the play-for-fun stage, and I did not know there were any tournaments. Later I learned more through the magazine 風雲卡訊, started practicing my decks, competing, and testing myself against strong players, all the way until now.

Q2: We invite you to recall from the very beginning. Before moving on to world-level events, were there any events that left a particularly deep impression on you? Are there also any senior, veteran figures you would like to introduce here? And what influence did they have on you?

A: I think it was my first local tournament win; I believe everyone’s first time is quite unforgettable.
Turn the clock back to January 1, 2000. I had been playing for about a year and was at the stage of life of retaking the university entrance exam. I took a train from Tainan to Kaohsiung to play a Standard tournament (Farewell to ‘99 Open ~ Kaohsiung), and I used the little knowledge I had, adding secret tricks of my own invention, to build a green aggro deck XD, and luckily won first place; I actually was not very familiar with many of the cards my opponents used. In the preliminary rounds I met a mono-black player who sided in Perish from his sideboard; I did not even know this card existed, so I lost that round to him.
In the final I faced the Kaohsiung player 小蘇 (as 永銘 adds: not the 小蘇 from Taipei). I remember that the owner’s wife of 童年往事 and many Kaohsiung players were cheering for 小蘇 on the other side; under high pressure I was lucky enough to win, taking the first local tournament title of my life and receiving two boxes of Mercadian Masques boosters, which was quite an encouragement for a student, and I was very happy. More importantly, this was the starting point that made me want to get stronger and head toward challenging the Pro Tour (PT).
Thanks to 郭老闆, who generously gave me a copy of 風雲卡訊 recording that tournament, I had the chance to fully recall that past, and I also plan to rebuild that deck.
As for veteran figures, I would like to mention the senior player 曹公, who still plays now. When I first went to a card shop in the past, he was the first player I got to know. He was actually still a student too, but a few years older than me, and afterward he often took me along to play, dragged us around when going out to tournaments, and even treated everyone to food and drinks. He was an older brother figure who took great care of the younger players and taught me a lot of basic concepts, and he is a senior I admire very much. Besides Magic, we also share friendship in other parts of life, and naturally became friends along life’s road.

Thanks to 郭老闆’s collection, we had the privilege of seeing the decklist from back then (otherwise even the player himself could not fully remember XD). It also made us feel how very different then and now are: in the past it was a contest of discovery and imagination, and data was hard to preserve; now we have the support of big data and statistics, allowing a deeper exploration of this game.

Q3: We previously interviewed the champions of six MIT seasons, and in our conversations with them, you appeared very frequently. Sometimes you were the opponent sitting across from them at key moments, and sometimes a partner who was both mentor and friend. You have been involved in Magic: The Gathering for a very long time. Do you have any thoughts or assessments of yourself at each stage? And what is the core belief that has kept you going to this day?

A: As I said earlier, at first I played for fun, and it was after getting results in a few tournaments that the idea of competing abroad arose. As I began taking part in more important tournaments, I also got to know more strong players from central and northern Taiwan.
In the past I was also obsessed with and serious about winning and losing, and when I was young I even showed the negative behavior of slamming my cards. By the middle of my own playing career, having had some PT experience, my horizons had become broader, and I understood that luck is still very important in this game. I still want to win every match, but I take the results a little more lightly after the match. I try to do well the parts I can control, and leave the rest to fate. Now it is not far from the middle period, and I see winning and losing even more lightly XD. I put first on keeping a healthy mindset before taking part in tournaments; otherwise I will never be happy, and it would not be worth it.
This game is only fun when played with friends; working hard alone is actually exhausting. The interaction and support among friends is definitely a major key to my persevering until now.
Another thought is that I have never played in the World Championship. I have taken part in the World Magic Cup and the PT, and I want to see whether I can complete this journey. In these two years my performance has not been at a high level, but I still plan to continue and see if there is a chance to fill in this gap… call it a regret? That is my biggest motivation at this stage.

Q4: In the course of challenging world-level events many times, are there any highlight moments you could share with readers? What is the biggest difference between taking part in world-level events and everyday play?

A: First I would like to share the Minneapolis Pro Tour (PT MOM) from two years ago. I was fortunate enough to play, and I got a 10-6 record, which I personally think is quite a rare thing and a highlight of my playing career. Having the experience of competing at the front tables also made me very happy. The pressure on Day 2 was heavy, and between every game I kept communicating with my teammates at the time and encouraging each other to get my emotions back on track. Thanks to that I was able to achieve this, and congratulations to my teammates who have all accomplished so much now XD.
I think that playing at Taiwan tournaments, because I am more or less acquainted with everyone and there is no language barrier, the pressure of communicating is lower; at world-level events, since the players have come this far, the pressure and expectations they carry are usually considerable, the playing and communicating are relatively tense, and the difference between each win and loss can be enormous.

永銘 shared his experiences in great detail, generously passing on his experience to readers and newcomers. Although the past two years are a period he considers himself in slightly worse form, every time the writer sees 永銘 still competing on the tournament floor, it feels like an extremely inspiring persistence. We look forward to continuing together within this good game, pursuing the dreams and happiness each of us wants.

Q5: As a player who keeps competing in world-level events, over the long course are there any joys and hardships you could share with us?

A: The friends around me are getting fewer and fewer. People my age have had to keep their distance from this game for a while because of life and family, and even I have reduced how much of my life it takes up. Frankly, there is a feeling of loneliness, and it makes the difficulty of frequently traveling to tournaments somewhat greater.
Of course, my friends’ decisions are all reasonable and normal; my choice is the odd one, I suppose XD?

Q6: We would like to take this chance to ask: in the process of chasing your dream, in what form do life factors such as family, friends, and work affect your playing career?

A: I personally work as an engineer at a US company, and most of my time is spent working remotely, with relatively flexible working hours and a high proportion that I can arrange myself. Of course, this is definitely helpful for continuing my playing career. But as I grow older, my physical strength and attention seem to have declined slightly, and sometimes I feel tired, so my overall practice time is still less than before. I try to lightly maintain my feel for the cards through MTGA and MO. I use MTGA more, because it is easy to operate XD.

Q7: Let us turn the clock back a bit. In your Magic career, has anyone inspired you along the way? What were your thoughts at the time, and how do you feel looking back now?

A: Consider this a continuation of Question 4: here I would like to talk about my Top 4 and finals experience at GP Taipei. In the Top 4 I faced the Japanese player Yuta Takahashi, and I successfully won that match with the sideboard plan I had prepared in advance.
In the finals, my opponent was the Japanese player Yuuki Ichikawa. Although he was playing the same deck as Yuta Takahashi, I could clearly feel that Yuuki Ichikawa had made big adjustments to his play and sideboarding strategy.
Obviously, the two of them discussed and communicated after the Top 4 and then made adjustments based on my sideboarding strategy, which was a great inspiration to me at the time. As for me, continuing to execute the sideboard strategy I had prepared beforehand, my on-the-spot flexibility was not that quick. In such subtle details, you can also try to anticipate your opponent’s anticipation, not just follow the script.

Editor’s note: Conversely, in situations where we have the leeway to observe other participants, we might also play the side that anticipates the opponent’s logic by legitimate means, of course XD.

Q8: Staying persistently dedicated to Magic: The Gathering, keeping a good mindset, and preparing well before tournaments are all very important. How do you usually go about these?

A: Lately I have leaned toward maintaining my feel online, but my on-the-spot reactions in paper tournaments are not quick enough. I know that in recent tournaments I made some small mistakes in the details, which left me one or two steps short of my goal in key matches, and of course I am still a bit annoyed.
Playing too much online and too little in person is the part I plan to change and strengthen next.

Q9: Is there any advice you would like to share with readers to put into practice?

A: If you aspire to improve at the competitive level, first look at the information online, and get used to observing data from overseas tournaments and the win rate relationships between decks. Next is practice, both online and in person: the online part is more like building up the accumulation of automatic play, developing brain muscle memory; the in-person part is about getting used to withstanding all kinds of chaotic pressure, so that you can keep the level you have when playing online.
Finding like-minded friends is also very important; practicing together, competing together, and sharing the various emotions of life is what allows you to go far on this path.
If there is a chance, I personally encourage players to go abroad to compete more and increase exchanges with international players. I try my best to help build bridges for interaction, but of course the friendships afterward are for each person to build themselves.

Q10: The next question returns to the Magic community. In your Magic career, there was the period when you first started and the most people were playing together, and now the players who frequent tournaments are an entirely different group, so the atmosphere must be completely different. What did the community atmosphere feel like in each period?

A: I think the atmosphere at tournaments now is better: fresh, healthy, and positive XD. From this angle, going to tournaments has become more enjoyable.
For example, in games against SamuelChang and 蹦蹦, their skill is excellent and their personalities are friendly, and after the match they are happy to discuss and share. That way everyone has the chance to spur each other on and improve, and at least you spend a positive tournament day.

Q11: What about the game of Magic: The Gathering itself? Do you think the game has evolved or changed?

A: The cards now are much stronger than before, and under these conditions I think the element of luck has increased somewhat. Games have become shorter, and if the opponent smoothly slams down threats and you have no way to deal with them in time, you are very likely to lose. Life totals are also the same as thirty years ago, still 20, so from this angle a faster pace is inevitable.
The cards used to be weaker, so even if you fell slightly behind early, the opponent’s snowballing was not as extreme as now, and you still had a chance to fight back in the midgame without collapsing too fast. In addition, weaker cards also made it easier to reach a stalemate and play long games. In matches with more turns, skilled players have the advantage, because they have fewer chances to make mistakes.
Now your judgment of opening hands needs to be more proactive, even aggressive. Although a mulligan loses cards in hand, successfully getting your key card is the more important thing, and a hand that looks like it can function but is too mediocre will eventually make you lose the match too.

Q12: And in your journey with Magic, how have your family and work supported and affected you?

A: When I was young my family was against it, and my parents of course expected me to study and work properly; now my family interferes less, since this is currently my only major hobby, as long as I can strike a balance in how I divide time with my family. I consciously manage that division now, so friends and family do not object.
As for work, as mentioned before, its flexibility and freedom help me greatly, except that sometimes I have to go on business trips for two or three weeks, during which I cannot go to paper tournaments in Taiwan.

Q13: On the road of playing Magic for so long, there must have been good friends by your side. Would you mind introducing your friends a little here, their characteristics, and what influence each has had on you?

A: I interact more often with the players 丈丈, 蹦蹦, 小葉, and SamuelChang, especially 丈丈, who is one of my motivations to keep competing friends are getting fewer.
I am closest to the Hsinchu crew. They are all (or used to be) very strong players, and quite a few have made the GP Top 8 or the national team qualifier Top 8, and several have PT experience. It is only that as they have aged, most have gone from professional players to armchair trash-talkers. Although everyone rarely takes part in today’s tournaments, continuing to chat with old friends about life and trash-talk Magic is an important factor supporting my competitive mindset.

Guildmages’ Forum has previously interviewed 丈丈, 蹦蹦, and 小葉; the article links are below. This year we will also interview SamuelChang, who just won Season 9. Stay tuned!

• World Championship Player Interview: MIT Season 3 Champion 余弘毅）
• World Championship Player Interview: MIT Season 4 Champion 陳柏宏（蹦蹦））
• World Championship Player Interview: MIT Season 5 Champion 葉永丞（David Yeh））

Near the end of the interview, of course we had to take a photo with his origin! Thank you to the shy 永銘 for enduring one question after another interrogation and the requests for photo records.
Being able to find each of our own campaign footprints in a physical publication is a joy only genuine veteran players can have.

Q14: Last of all, allow us to end with this old question: how would you describe what Magic: The Gathering is to you?

A: This question feels so nerdy XD.

The writer laughs: “Can’t be helped, the person interviewing you really is a nerd.”

Magic: The Gathering has become a part of my life, and it gives me something to look forward to in life beyond family and work. I still look forward to going to tournaments, winning something, and going abroad to broaden my horizons; these are the drive of my life.
It is also the medium through which I spend time with friends. Magic: The Gathering really is a great game, and of course, we need to face it with a healthy mindset.