The fourth annual Eternal Central Old School at Eternal Weekend tournament is history, and made history. 118 players came out to battle on game day, making this the largest Old School 93-94 tournament to date. There were many familiar faces, some players who came out of retirement, and many new players joining in the festivities for their first Old School event. Everyone seemed to have a blast.
The tournament was held on Thursday October 19 2017 at a conference room in the William Penn Omni Hotel in downtown Pittsburgh (PA, USA). Organizing for larger events more than 50 people is quite the challenge compared to finding a small venue, and this venue (and any others we could find in downtown Pittsburgh) was costly, so we charged an entry fee for the first time this year. Entrance fees covered this venue cost, some basic supplies, and the rest is being donated to Cornerstone Community Outreach Program. Prizes included a commemorative stamped Argothian Pixies for every player to have their opponents to sign each round, as well as Alpha and Beta Old School cards split up and awarded down to Top 16, in addition to another separate Top 8 awarded to the “Most Creative Deck” builders. We began this unannounced last year, but will be moving to more fully integrate that and focus on that in all future events we run. Some people want to play optimized and super competitive decks, and other people want to channel their creativity, do fun things, and occasionally imbibe along the way. We enjoy both, and will reward both.
Additionally, the winner of this year’s event (in standings, with the best record) was also awarded a slot and free entry in the prestigious Fishliver Oil Cup, held annually in the fall, in Italy next year. The organizers of the Fishliver Oil Cup have also extended an extremely generous offer of $500 to help cover costs of airfare for the winner, as well as 2 nights paid for in a local hotel, for the 2018 Fishliver Oil Cup. In addition to any other prize cards, the player with the MOST CREATIVE DECK was also awarded a badass trophy – a custom made deck box featuring Chaos Orb, meticulously hand-crafted by the fine folks at Leifkicker.com, and graciously donated by community member Matt Dennis.
Building on last year’s structure, this was run as a Straight Swiss + 1 event, rather than Swiss + Top 8 playoff. Swiss + 1 was how many of the original Magic tournaments were run (or single elimination), and with 118 people that meant 7 rounds, plus 1, for 8 total rounds of Swiss. Tiebreakers matter, as does playing out your rounds to try to keep winning points. This was also to keep the tournament flowing and not be around until super late. As is our policy at all events, we want the maximum number of rounds and matches played, and because of this, do not allow draws. If a match would otherwise be a draw after time is called (plus 5 turns), the match immediately goes to Sudden Death Chaos Orb flipping to determine a winner. There were anywhere from 1-4 matches determined per round by Chaos Orb flips, which was exciting.
Globetrotting New Zealander Gene Brumby ended up winning the Swiss rounds by being the only player to go undefeated over 8 rounds. Most surprisingly, Gene accidentally left home without his Old School deck before hopping on multiple flights across the world, and constructed a deck that morning, basically scrounging cards from his trade binder and borrowing a few things from a friend. But round after round he kept winning, and his UWR Weenie deck ended up beating everybody! The rest of the Top 16 featured everything from The Deck to 4C Aggro Control to Naya ChannelBall to Story Time (Shahrazad) and more. The field was diverse and featured many control decks, combo decks, aggro, and aggro control (see the sortable table directly below).
Metagame Breakdown
Here is a sortable table that shows all players and associated decks played (you can sort by name, deck type, or prize awarded)
| First Name | Last Name | Decklist | Awarded | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Joseph | Alane | Naya ChannelBall | 15 Place After Swiss Rounds | |
| Trevor | Bartlett | Pink Weenie | ||
| Jeremy | Bates | Junk (BWG) | ||
| Jason | Beaupre | White Weenie | ||
| Ryan | Bergeman | UR Control | ||
| Chris | Bergeson | Goblins 4C | ||
| Pez | Bothem | Troll Disco | ||
| Scott | Bradley | Troll Disco | 04 Place After Swiss Rounds | |
| Patrick | Brennan | Pink Weenie | ||
| Gene | Brumby | UWR Weenie | 01 Place After Swiss Rounds | |
| Damyan | Brunson | UW Control | 11 Place After Swiss Rounds | |
| Randy | Buehler | The Deck | ||
| Justin | Burdett | UR Control | ||
| Robert | Burtle | The Deck | ||
| Michael | Butzen | RG Atog Berserk Workshops | ||
| Paul | Callis | Workshop Control | ||
| Grant | Castleton | White Weenie | ||
| Shann | Chaudhry | Naya Birdman Control | Most Creative Deck 2nd Place | |
| Jeremy | Chien | Eureka | ||
| James | Cooney | Merfolk | ||
| Joshua | Cramer | Red White | ||
| Samuel | Craven | White Weenie | ||
| Ryan | Crouch | Goblins Mono Red | ||
| David | Cruthirds | Black Red | ||
| Bryan | Daniels | Goblins Mono Red | ||
| Eliot | Davidoff | 5C Monster Mash | ||
| Tristan | De Liege | Story Time (Shahrazad) | 12 Place After Swiss Rounds | |
| Matthew | Deering | Mono Red Atog Trinket Repair | ||
| Ryan | DeMarco | Stasis | ||
| Matt | Dennis | Living Plane Control | Most Creative Deck 5th Place | |
| Paul | DeSilva | 5C Gas | ||
| Dominic | Dotterrer | 5C DorkAGeddon | ||
| James | Easteppe | Stasis | ||
| Lorien | Elleman | Pink Weenie | ||
| Kevin | Elliott | Underworld Dreams Combo (Black-Red) | ||
| Daniel | Ersch | Mono Brown UrzaTron | ||
| Daniel | Espinoza | Mono Black | ||
| Tyler | Etters | Red White | ||
| Timothy | Everett | UG Skies | ||
| Benjamin | Farkas | 4C Aggro Control | 03 Place After Swiss Rounds | |
| Michael | Finnegan | Mono Black Rack | ||
| Dave | Firth Bard | Icy Toolbox | Most Creative Deck 3rd Place | |
| Marc | Flore | Goblins Mono Red | ||
| Andrew | Frank | Goblins Grixis | ||
| Daniel | Friedman | Guardian Beast Control | ||
| Christopher | George | UR Control | ||
| Dair | Grant | Stasis | ||
| John | Grudzina | The Deck | 05 Place After Swiss Rounds | |
| Charles | Hahn | Atog Berserker RGB | Most Creative Deck 4th Place | |
| Matt | Hahn | UR Control | ||
| Jonathon | Hammack | The Deck | ||
| Evan | Hart | DECKLIST PENDING | ||
| Daniel | Humphreys | DECKLIST PENDING | ||
| Rajah | James | All-In Reanimator | ||
| Phillip | Jankiewicz | Pink Weenie | ||
| Adam | Jourdan | Black White | ||
| Matthew | Junker | DECKLIST PENDING | ||
| Benjamin | Kennedy | Mono Black | ||
| William | Kirkwood | Underworld Dreams Combo (5C) | ||
| Michael | Kochis | Goblins Grixis | ||
| Sherrie | Koone | Mono Green | ||
| Greg | Kraigher | Goblins Mono Red | 06 Place After Swiss Rounds | |
| Kyle | Lenox | Pink Weenie | ||
| Jared | Lentz | Nether Void Grixis | ||
| Dan | Luchesa | RUG Tempo | ||
| Ryan | Maddux | 8 Rakdos | ||
| Bryan | Manolakos | 4C Aggro Control | 02 Place After Swiss Rounds | |
| Ray | Mattson | Eureka | ||
| Jimmy | McCarthy | Workshop Aggro GW | ||
| Steve | McGrew | Twiddle Vault | ||
| Andrew | McLennan | UW Skies | ||
| Stephen | Menendian | UR Control | 08 Place After Swiss Rounds | |
| Mith | Workshop Aggro Grixis | |||
| Jason | Morawski | Power Monolith Combo | ||
| Matt | Moss | Esper Skies | ||
| Shane | Mott | Red Green Sacrifice | ||
| Chris | Moyer | Underworld Dreams Combo (Grixis) | ||
| Nathan | Mullen | Naya Bazaar Zoo | 09 Place After Swiss Rounds | |
| Ben | Murfin | Erhnam and Burn Em (RG) | ||
| Evan | Nyquist | Disintegrated.dec | ||
| Sean | O'Brien | Nether Void BG | ||
| William | Parshall | The Deck | ||
| Chris | Pepin | Mirror Universe Combo | ||
| Benjermin | Perry | Eureka | ||
| Carter | Petray | 4C Justice League Legends | Most Creative Deck 6th Place | |
| Nate | Ponce | The Deck | ||
| Hunter | Prendergast | Mono Red Workshop Kobolds | Most Creative Deck 1st Place | |
| Hart | Prendergast | Berserk Reanimator | Most Creative Deck 7th Place | |
| Andy | Probasco | UW Control | ||
| Nicholas | Rausch | Workshop Aggro UR | ||
| Joe | Reuschel | UR Control | 10 Place After Swiss Rounds | |
| Charles | Rolko | All-In Reanimator | ||
| Stephen | Rosenthal | DECKLIST PENDING | ||
| John | Ryan | Pink Weenie | ||
| Michael | Scheffenacker | UR Atog Burn | 07 Place After Swiss Rounds | |
| Jason | Schwartz | Workshop Aggro Mono Blue | Most Creative Deck 8th Place | |
| Shane | Semmens | 4C Mirror Control | ||
| Joshua | Sherman | UR Control | ||
| Jeff | Simpson | Naya ChannelBall | 13 Place After Swiss Rounds | |
| Matt | Slack | RUG Tempo | ||
| Jonathan | Sparks | Grixis Control | ||
| Thomas | Swindell | UR Atog Burn | 14 Place After Swiss Rounds | |
| John | Tadena | Mono Black | ||
| Michael | Tompkins | Red Green | ||
| Nam | Tran | The Deck | ||
| Forest | Walton | Gauntlet of the Rock | ||
| Owen | Watson | DECKLIST PENDING | ||
| Matt | Webster | UR Control | ||
| Aaron | West | Story Time (Shahrazad) | 16 Place After Swiss Rounds | |
| Jeff | West | White Weenie | ||
| John | White | Mono Black | ||
| JD | Williams | Erhnam and Burn Em (RG) | ||
| Zachary | Wilson | BantamGeddon | ||
| Craig | Winzer | Mono Green Berserk | ||
| Randall | Witherell | Mono Black | ||
| David | Wojtkowski | Mono Green | ||
| Winston | Wood | Titania's Prison WG | ||
| Stuart | Ziarnik | Goblins Mono Red |
Report Roundup
– Bryan Manolakos with 4C Aggro Control (Sped Tempo)
– Dave Firth Bard with Icy Venom
– Grant Castleton with White Weenie
– Stephen Menendian with UR Control
– Jack Ryan with Pink Weenie
ALL Decklists, Alphabetically, by Last Name
Joseph Alane – Naya ChannelBall
Trevor Bartlett – Pink Weenie
Jeremy Bates – Junk (BWG)
Jason Beaupre – White Weenie
Ryan Bergeman – UR Control
Chris Bergeson – Goblins 4C
Pez Bothem – Troll Disco
Scott Bradley – Troll Disco
Patrick Brennan – Pink Weenie
Gene Brumby – UWR Weenie
Damyan Brunson – UW Control
Randy Buehler – The Deck
Justin Burdett – UR Control
Robert Burtle – The Deck
Michael Butzen – RG Atog Berserk Workshops
Paul Callis – Workshop Control
Grant Castleton – White Weenie
Shann Chaudhry – Naya Birdman Control (Most Creative Deck *2nd Place*)
Jeremy Chien – Eureka
James Cooney – Merfolk
Joshua Cramer – Red White
Samuel Craven – White Weenie
Ryan Crouch – Goblins Mono Red
David Cruthirds – Black Red
Bryan Daniels – Goblins Mono Red
Eliot Davidoff – 5C Monster Mash
Tristan De Liege – Story Time (Shahrazad)
Matthew Deering – Mono Red Atog Trinket Repair
Ryan DeMarco – Stasis
Matt Dennis – Living Plane Control (Most Creative Deck *5th Place*)
Paul DeSilva – 5C Gas
Dominic Dotterrer – 5C Dorkageddon
James Easteppe – Stasis
Lorien Elleman – Pink Weenie
Kevin Elliott – Underworld Dreams Combo (Black-Red)
Daniel Ersch – Mono Brown UrzaTron
Daniel Espinoza – Mono Black
Tyler Etters – Red White
Timothy Everett – Emerald Skies
Benjamin Farkas – 4C Aggro Control
Michael Finnegan – Mono Black Rack
Dave Firth Bard – Icy Toolbox (Most Creative Deck *3rd Place*)
Marc Flore – Goblins Mono Red
Andrew Frank – Goblins Grixis
Daniel Friedman – Guardian Beast Control
Christopher George – UR Control
Dair Grant – Stasis
John Grudzina – The Deck
Charles Hahn – Atog Berserker RGB (Most Creative Deck *4th Place*)
Matt Hahn – UR Control
Jonathon Hammack – The Deck
Evan Hart – DECKLIST PENDING
Daniel Humphreys – White Weenie (DECKLIST PENDING)
Rajah James – All-In Reanimator
Phillip Jankiewicz – Pink Weenie
Adam Jourdan – Black White
Matthew Junker – DECKLIST PENDING
Benjamin Kennedy – Mono Black
William Kirkwood – Underworld Dreams Combo (5C)
Michael Kochis – Goblins Grixis
Sherrie Koone – Mono Green
Greg Kraigher – Goblins Mono Red
Kyle Lenox – Pink Weenie
Jared Lentz – Nether Void Grixis
Dan Luchesa – RUG Tempo
Ryan Maddux – 8 Rakdos
Bryan Manolakos – 4C Aggro Control
Ray Mattson – Eureka
Jimmy McCarthy – Workshop Aggro GW
Steve McGrew – Twiddle Vault
Andrew McLennan – UW Skies
Stephen Menendian – UR Control
Mith – Workshop Aggro Grixis
Jason Morawski – Power Monolith Combo
Matt Moss – Esper Skies
Shane Mott – Red Green Sacrifice
Chris Moyer – Underworld Dreams Combo (Grixis)
Nathan Mullen – Naya Bazaar Zoo
Ben Murfin – Erhnam and Burn Em (RG)
Evan Nyquist – Disintegrated.dec
Sean O’Brien – Nether Void BG
William Parshall – The Deck
Chris Pepin – Mirror Universe Combo
Benjermin Perry – Eureka
Carter Petray – 4C Justice League Legends (Most Creative Deck *6th Place*)
Nate Ponce – The Deck
Hart Prendergast – Berserk Reanimator (Most Creative Deck *7th Place*)
Hunter Prendergast – Mono Red Workshop Kobolds (Most Creative Deck *1st Place*)
Andy Probasco – UW Control
Nicholas Rausch – Workshop Aggro UR
Joe Reuschel – UR Control
Charles Rolko – All-In Reanimator
Stephen Rosenthal – DECKLIST MISSING
John Ryan – Pink Weenie
Michael Scheffenacker – UR Atog Burn
Jason Schwartz – Workshop Aggro Mono Blue (Most Creative Deck *8th Place*)
Shane Semmens – 4C Mirror Control
Joshua Sherman – UR Control
Jeff Simpson – Naya ChannelBall
Matt Slack – RUG Tempo
Jonathan Sparks – Grixis Control
Thomas Swindell – UR Atog Burn
John Tadena – Mono Black
Michael Tompkins – Red Green
Nam Tran – The Deck
Forest Walton – Gauntlet of the Rock
Owen Watson – DECKLIST MISSING
Matt Webster – UR Control
Aaron West – Story Time (Shahrazad)
Jeff West – White Weenie
John White – Mono Black
JD Williams – Erhnam and Burn Em (RG)
Zachary Wilson – BantamGeddon
Craig Winzer – Mono Green Berserk
Randall Witherell – Mono Black
David Wojtkowski – Mono Green
Winston Wood – Titania’s Prison WG
Stuart Ziarnik – Goblins Mono Red
Tournament Action
Prize for Most Creative Deck: Awarded to Hunter Prendergast for his Mono Red Workshop and Kobold Aggro; photo courtesy of Jimmy Cooney
Prize for Hardest Drinker, in honor of 2015’s Hardest Drinker, Richard Lessman and 2016’s Hardest Drinker Ziggy Humphrey’s: Awarded to Dominic Dotterer
Chien (Eureka) vs. Wilson (BantamGeddon) – when Eureka resolves, but your opponent has 3 Swords to Plowshares in hand
Dennis (Living Plane Control) vs. DeMarco (Stasis)
Librarian and Lord
Semmens (4C Mirror) vs. Alane (Naya ChannelBall)
Mullen (Naya Bazaar Zoo) vs. Davidoff (5C Monster Mash) – King Suleiman vs. Mahamoti
Friedman (Guardian Beast Control) vs. Cramer (Red White)
Some of the New England Old School Crew
Slack (RUG Tempo) vs. Manolakos (4C Aggro Control)
Cooney (Merfolk) vs. Etters (Red White) – photo courtesy of Paul DeSilva
De Liege (Story Time) vs. Davidoff (5C Monster Mash) – many subgames deep
Dave Firth Bard’s Icy Prison Toolbox in action
Paul DeSilva Flashes the Old School Camera Technology
Sick Apparel
Buehler (The Deck) vs. Grudzina (The Deck) – double-checking how Chaos Orb vs. Disenchant in response works
Jimmy Cooney’s Dice City Games graciously donated a sick playmat, dice bag, and various swag for additional prize support – many thanks!
Pairings
Round 1 Pairings
Round 2 Pairings
Round 3 Pairings
Round 4 Pairings
Round 5 Pairings
Round 6 Pairings
Round 7 Pairings
Round 8 Pairings
Social Media Roundup and Closing Thoughts
The hashtag for social media for the event was #ECOldSchool2017, which you can use to find more on Twitter, Instagram, etc. Thank you to everybody who came out to play, and to those who graciously donated cards or assistance in setting the tournament up. For any comments, follow up, to add any pics from the event (or replace your decklist photo with a better one), or to donate any cards as prizes for next year, please email eternalcentral@gmail.com. Thanks for reading!