World Championship Player Interview: MIT Round 3 Champion 余弘毅

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

Let’s get started!

The 2024 World Championship has come to an end. In 2023, the year Guildmages’ Forum was founded, three players also stood on the world stage. Let’s go back to the past and continue inviting those players to share what they saw and heard back then, and talk about how Magic: The Gathering and the community have each changed over this year and more.

Q1: First of all, congratulations to 丈丈 on qualifying for the 2023 World Championship! Let’s go back to the MIT championship venue. How did you feel while in the final decisive rounds?

A: Looking back, the most nerve-wracking stage was going from the top 8 into the top 4. The goal I set for myself then was to go to the PT (Pro Tour), and to travel to Barcelona to compete together with 黃永銘.
During the top 8, I was actually quite nervous, but I tried to calm myself down and observe. From my perspective, it seemed my opponent was no less nervous than I was. Later, I think because of the difference in big-tournament experience, I was able to play relatively steadily and got through the Mono-Green deck.
During the finals and the semifinals I felt rather calm. Once the goal of going to the PT (Pro Tour) was confirmed as achieved, a big stone in my heart was put down. As for qualifying for the World Championship, I did not take it too much to heart.
And after relaxing my mindset, with no pressure, I felt my performance could be better and more stable. For example, with mulligan decisions I could think more objectively instead of falling into the negative thinking of being unwilling to lose cards. So afterward, without worrying about gains and losses, I just let things take their course to this result, and I am honored that it exceeded my expectations.

Q2: What deck did you choose at the time? Why did you choose that deck?

A: I chose UW Lotus Field.
MIT Round 3 gave a fair amount of deck-choice dividends. Many players overlooked Strict Proctor, so there were plays in games that cost them, or they did not quickly realize that Lotus Field does not require sacrificing two lands when it enters.
The reason for choosing UW Lotus Field was actually quite simple: I had played all the mainstream decks of the time, but whether it was Rakdos midrange, Mono-Green, aggro and so on, none of them fit me that well.
Two weeks before MIT Round 3, I noticed someone in Canada took second place with UW Lotus Field. In that case, I chose to try this deck, though the effective practice I got was actually very limited… Lots of people were practicing this deck on MO, so I played quite a few mirror matches XD.
Of course, MO is a completely different environment from Taiwan’s tournaments. As I said, since UW Lotus Field was a new deck at the time, it was not targeted too much, and even got a fair amount of dividends.

Q3: Every player has certainly been inspired by someone along the way. Do you still remember your starting point with this game? In what circumstances did you first encounter Magic: The Gathering?

A: The first time I played Magic: The Gathering was, as I recall, in the Urza’s Saga era. At the time I actually saw the Yu-Gi-Oh! manga first, but Magic was just being distributed by 尖端 then, so I kept seeing ads in video game magazines. And there happened to be Magic at a small shop nearby, so I bought one or two boxes of product to try it out, and started playing with friends using our own rural house rules, and whenever we ran into something we did not understand, we would find time to phone the 多明納里亞服務站 (Dominaria service station) to ask about the rules.

Talking about this, we as listeners suddenly had a thought flash by: “What on earth is the ‘多明納里亞服務站’?”
Even if you type “多明納里亞服務站” into Google now, you cannot find any trace of its history. With the spread of the internet, customer service hotlines in the entertainment industry have gradually become a tear of the times.

I stopped playing for a while around the Invasion (INV) period, until Scars of Mirrodin (SOM) and Magic 2011 (M11) came back in Chinese, when a friend ~~a bad influence~~ asked me to play draft together, and I gradually returned to the world of Magic.
Afterward, I naturally got better and better, and started making top 8s and top 4s at some major tournaments. At first I had no thought of competing abroad, and just enjoyed it with the mindset that “getting certain limited prizes is pretty nice,” and twice I even handed over the chance at a PTQ (Pro Tour Qualifier). Until I saw a PTF (Pro Tour Finals) in 2013 and found it very interesting, and a voice wanting to challenge the world began to surface in my heart. After working hard for five years, I finally got my first ticket abroad (the 2018 national team tournament).

Q4: Do that excitement and emotion still exist? Could you talk about how Magic today differs from the past?

A: As for how I look at the game, of course it is different from the beginning. Moving toward competitive play inevitably brings other pressures. But moving toward competitive play also let me meet all kinds of different people, and that part of the experience has been great.
For example, during my World Championship run last year, I practiced with some top players. When I used to watch foreign players through a screen, I always assumed they were hard to approach, but after actually stepping into the Test House, you feel that everyone is just a group of players who love Magic: The Gathering, and we share a common language. For example, Andrea Mengucci is actually quite easy to talk to. We drafted, tested decks, and swam together. Anyway, the foreign players really love swimming XD, and a Test House has to be chosen with a pool.

A team photo of Team Heavy Play, and the “legendary pool” XD.

A: I do not have a particularly beloved card, but I have a habit: if I win a major tournament with a deck, I keep that whole deck and let it retire completely. I have probably retired four decks so far. Besides the UW Lotus Field mentioned earlier, there is the 2018 national team tournament’s Mono-Blue Artifacts (Standard, with the key card Aetherflux Reservoir), the Simic Food deck that later got so strong it was banned (Standard, with cards like Oko, Thief of Crowns and Once Upon a Time that got banned for being so strong), Izzet Dragons, and so on… They are all memories of campaigns they accompanied me through.

A: Looking back, I feel my preparation then was not very ideal. Because I was in a team discussing together with foreign players, I initially set myself to play the Team Deck, playing whatever everyone else played. The first concept the team put forward was a Rakdos graveyard recursion deck, which everyone thought was quite strong, so we went into the Test House and started practicing.
However, the last big Japanese tournament before the World Championship was won by Esper midrange, and we then discovered that Rakdos graveyard recursion has a hard time beating Esper midrange, and the team began to split in opinion: some wanted to keep working on the Rakdos graveyard route, while others wanted to join the Esper midrange camp.
Later I judged on my own that Esper midrange was the more competitive deck, so I chose to join, but my practice was relatively limited, just one evening of discussion, so it was almost fair to say I copied it and went (though someone on the team still made top 8 with Esper midrange).
As for draft, I put in more than usual, and simulated the cards and strategies of almost every color pair. In the end I took two wins with a red-green aggro deck mainly built from C and U cards, which was the deepest I personally have ever dug into a Limited format.

Editor’s note: 丈丈 added that when his time is less abundant than usual, before a draft he will only prioritize studying two or three color pairs, and those two or three color pairs are of course ones he is good at and interested in. 丈丈 also provided this information as a reference for beginner and intermediate players.

A: I feel I am more of a player with a “big-picture view.” For example, with control decks, the key is to widen the resource gap, so two or three less points of life lost are not necessarily crucial.
I have never pushed the details to the extreme myself, so “damage math” decks such as UB Murktide and aggro are relatively my weaker areas.
Rather than my own turns, what I would like to share is the playstyle of Shota Yasooka. He is very good at grabbing the timing to “sneak in” attacks, applying and building pressure at the right moments. I highly recommend that readers watch more of Yasooka’s videos. Whether it is the timing of attacking with manlands while tapped out, or his attacking choices against aggro decks, I believe you can learn something from them.

A: I probably do not have any particular superstitions, but I keep thinking about how to improve my play actions. For example, in videos, top players always riffle shuffle so effortlessly, but I have sent my cards flying more than once… Yet when my hands itch I often want to shuffle a bit, so when playing I remind myself never to riffle shuffle XD. I try to cut down on unnecessary motions, because I really dislike playing into time.
Also, at the major tournament stage, before each game begins I go to the restroom first, and then try to keep a calm mind.

As the interview went on, the sunshine in Hsinchu that day was very warm, and just as we were basking in this comfortable atmosphere, huh? Why is there a little hand in the frame?

Q10: Competitive-level events always go through multiple rounds of qualifiers, with at least a full day of continuous games. A great player must combine correct concepts, focused spirit, and abundant stamina… Which of these qualities do you think made you stand out?

A: It does not seem like anything special… I just “keep doing” this.
Some players may be unable to keep going after playing for a while, and of course everyone’s situation is different. I believe that everyone has their moment in the spotlight, and as long as you stay patient and keep playing, you may hit the point where a burst of luck combines with accumulated skill. I have played from 2013 until now without interruption, so there are bound to be a few times when I get lucky.

Q11: Although it is the player standing on the stage, the team, family, and friends around the player surely take part too. Have you encountered any memorable support or arguments in life? And how were they finally resolved?

A: My family is quite supportive of me. My wife is willing to let me out on Saturdays, so I can go to 新竹新世紀卡牌遊戲店 to play some draft and join events, and on weekdays I play some MO (Magic: The Gathering Online) to pass the time.

The answer is revealed: it turns out 丈丈’s daughter came along to join the interview~ She originally did not want to show her face, but in the end she still showed off the Team Heavy Play jersey together with her dad.

Q12: Could you name a few players who have influenced you? And talk about what you learned from them?

A: The one who comes to mind is 黃永銘. He has been on the competitive path for a very long time, and still is. I have learned a lot from him; he is both a good friend who fights alongside me and someone I can talk about all sorts of things with.
A long time ago, when I handed over the chance at a PTQ (Pro Tour Qualifier), the person who reminded me I could try to go for it in the future was also exactly 黃永銘.

Q13: As a competitive player, what is the most valuable piece of advice you have received?

A: For this question I will mention another player. When I played the World Cup in the past, our team captain was a player named 葉志成, and he gave me quite a lot of advice, the most important being this line: “Keep a calm mind. Hold good intentions, and do your best.” And this line was very important to my mindset.

Q14: This is a card game with great depth but also relatively hard to get into. If you were to briefly introduce the charm of Magic: The Gathering, how would you describe it to a beginner?

A: Magic: The Gathering established its competitive system very early, with a feeling of climbing up layer by layer, which is great for me, giving a sense of leveling up and slaying monsters.

Q15: Last of all, please describe what Magic: The Gathering is to you.

A: A pretty good game. Through this game you can get to know different people, with players from all walks of life, so maybe this is a game that appeals to both refined and popular tastes? It is a great medium for breaking the ice and making friends.

Thanks to 丈丈 for his support and sponsorship. At Guildmages’ Forum’s second anniversary event, we will additionally give away the Wilds of Eldraine playmat that 丈丈 shared with readers. This is a precious souvenir 丈丈 brought back from the World Championship, so please keep following and supporting Guildmages’ Forum, and happy New Year to everyone!