Andrew Elenbogen
@Ajelenbogen
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Competitive Magic player. Software Dev. The longest reigning Pro Tour champion. I stream with @SystemMagicGreg at: https://t.co/PFfvCHu4at
Minneapolis, MN
Joined November 2009
Competitive Magic is the art of correctly generalizing from sample sizes too small to draw real conclusions.
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Uro was ejected. Uro was not the Imposter. Two imposters remain.
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Aggro. Control. Combo. Midrange. Long ago, the four deck types lived together in harmony. Then, everything changed when the FIRE Nation attacked.
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This person cast an upkeep Collected Company on camera when it made no sense to do so. I believe it happened because they knew their top card was a good hit due to the curve of the card. Judges don't DQ people unless they believe it was intentional cheating.
thread 1/x.Sadly am not going to the pro tour, I was disqualified today from dreamhack, I had some foils in my deck specifically secret lair collected companys among other foils in my de k and the judge staff cut to them and showed how I could have gained an advantage.
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One of the most important virtues in a Magic player is that of ruthlessness. You have to be willing to abandon cards, decks and ideas that are not working. You cannot afford to be attached. You must simply do what wins.
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Regardless of how you feel about Austin personally, the act of leveling the playing field by publicly posting Pro Tour information already availible to elites is a heroic one. He is a whistle blower, not a leaker.
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Fun fact about this card:.Under normal circumstances, it will never make mana.
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Maybe the real pro points were the friends we made along the way.
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Does anyone else experience a phenomenon where whenever you try a new deck you immediately win a lot then slowly regress to the mean? I don't know if psychologically I play better each time I swap or what, but this happen to me pretty consistently.
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Somehow, someway, I top 8’d a Pro Tour. I am overwhelmed. Thanks to everyone for all the support! I literally cannot describe how I feel right now. #PTGRN.
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I remember when it was the Pro Tour. I remember when Magic was the greatest game ever made. I remember being ecstatic for friends who finally hit Silver for the first time or hit Gold and got on the train. I remember when Limited mattered, when Modern mattered.
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In general, I'm not a big of unbannings. They have a high risk and a relatively small reward. That said, I really wish Wizards would unban instants in Standard.
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Magic players love to say "Pioneer is too dependent on Play/Draw" when what they mean is "I don't like playing against the specific deck Mono-Green devotion.".
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I am currently traveling for non-Magic reasons. So far, I have wondered whether I forgot my deck twice and what format I’m playing five times.
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If Wizards stops printing busted cards and fixes organized play, I will be happy regardless of the number of crossover sets they create. If they fail to do these two things, I will be unhappy regardless of the number of crossover sets they create.
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The most recent Magic set to not have any cards banned or restricted was Ravnica Allegiance. Think about that.
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Not off the train yet, I’m going to the Player’s Tour!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!.
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IN TOP 8 OF THE GP AND BACK ON THE PRO TOUR!!!! I would like to once again thank @Tristan_MTG_ for his spiritual guidance. @TeamRmpntGrowth #unwashAndrew.
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Periods of time where one deck is very dominant seem to always be named after seasons. The combo winter, the Eldrazi Winter, the Hoogaak summer. I thus propose this most recent period of Magic be called: Oko's Fall.
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Modern right now isn't that complex. The 3 pillars are Cascade,Murktide and 4C Blink. No deck in the format is good vs all 3, almost no decks are good vs 2. The easiest way to win is to pick a pillar, master it and tune it week to week.
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I can't say much about Kai that hasn't already been said. But I will say this: Kai mostly predates me but we played once at PT Hogaak. He was playing Hogaak and I was playing UW Control, god knows why. (1/2).
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I just made the finals of the Magic Online Pioneer RCQ. It's a two slot event which means, after a season long sweat and numerous finals losses. I'LL SEE EVERYONE IN ATLANTA!.
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I don't really understand why Monarch and Initiative don't have the text "if you have two or more opponents" somewhere on them. Impacting Legacy via multiplayer mechanics seems unlikely to have been WotC's intent.
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Magic accomplishements ranked by skill required to achieve:.1. Hall of Fame.2. Player of the Year.3. Platinum Pro/MPL/Rivals.4. Gold Pro.5. Pro Tour Win.6. Pro Tour top 8.7. Silver Pro.8. Grand Prix Win.9. Grand Prix top 8. 100. #1 on the Mythic ladder.
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I don't love the large scale McDonaldsification of MTG. But I am also not mourning the loss of Magic's unique IP. Although there were some gems, most Magic story was not very good and this has been the case for years.
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Kai flashes back Faithless Looting, pauses, points at my Narset and discards two cards. He calls it on himself, owns up to his mistake instantly and goes on to win that game and the match. It was handled with grace and utter humility. I am gutted to hear the news. (2/2).
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Important announcement:.At the end of the first paper Pro Tour, I can finally remove the word "last" from my twitter bio!.
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About to play the finals of a PTQ! Please send energy, because despite playing many Pro Tours I’ve never won a PTQ or RPTQ in my life.
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Magic design thought of the day: cards that gain life, draw cards, and interact positively with removal should not exist. The three ways to beat a card are to grind it out, race it, or answer it. Leave us at least one. Uro and Dream Trawler are two recent examples of this.
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Public service announcement: If you cast Raise the Alarm and then Intangible Virture, you have just cast two Grizzly bears, a start worse than most Standard aggro decks. If you cast Legions Landing first, you just added Isamauru Hound of Konda. None of that is Modern playable.
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I think it is really bad to print cards direct to older formats. It is unpleasant that we cannot play Malevolent Rumble or Accursed Marauder in Pioneer or that Modern is all Horizons cards. Printing UB sets into Standard prevents this and makes the cards feel more real. (1/2).
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I qualified for my first Pro Tour at Grand Prix Boston 2014. That tournament had over 2000 players. While it had above average attendance, it was not an outlier. This year most GPs I have played have had under 1000 players. The lack of Pro Points and coverage is strangling GPs.
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This is not a logical suggestion. If you want to ban some elementals in Modern, that's a reasonable stance free spells are very strong. But there is absolutely no reason fo change an entire mechanic when 3 total evoke cards out of 30 are even remotely problematic.
Change the rules for Evoke. #mtg.
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I would like to annouce that the Grand Prix Detroit Play It Forward winner, @mtgNhi, took an intentional draw in the last round so that she and her opponent could both min cash. I am confident she is ashamed of her actions and will do everything she can to repent. #MTGDetroit.
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I am 8-0 after day 1 at the #MCAmsterdam GP!!!!!! Huge shout out to everyone on @TeamRmpntGrowth for helping me prepare but especially @Tristan_MTG_. Regardless, jobs not done back at it tomorrow.
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Cascade shouldn't work the way it does. If you hit Fire/Ice, Dead or Petty Theft you should be forced to cast them. I don't know if WotC is planning to touch the Modern ban list, but I'd much rather change the cascade rules than ban Shardless Agent or whatever.
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The timing on cutting Pioneer from RCQs is very weird to me. We slogged through endless Pioneer season where the format was stale and now finally Pioneer is interesting and Modern is bad but we cut Pioneer? I love seeing more Standard though. Standard is awesome.
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Magic players love to say their own decks are hard and hate to say their own decks are easy. The reality is that usually in Magic, even the easy decks are hard.
UW Lotus Field is probably one of the strongest decks in Pioneer but is hindered by its complexity/difficulty. A single misplay or mistake in sequencing lands can be an instant loss.
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There's a lot of talk about the OP announcement. Let me be clear about what I want: Consistency based qualifications. I have no interest in a system where I have to spike for each PT invite. All I want is to qualify by stringing together 11-4 or 12-3 at paper GPs or equivalent.
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WotC thinks that they can stop Pros from playing GPs by removing all incentive for them to do so. Little do they know I love GPs so nothing can stop me. See everyone at MagicFest Madison next week!.
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I am home from the Pro Tour and the result still seems utterly surreal to me. Thanks to everyone for the unending stream of support. I will let you know when I wake up.
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If you are my round 4 opponent at the Mythic Championship, then congratulations! Here is my exact deck list. Secrecy is extremely overrated in general and I do not care if people know the numbers on my sideboard cards.
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How to mulligan by format:.In Limited, always keep. In Modern, always mulligan. In Standard, sometimes keep.
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I really like that this event exists, but would like to propose one small change:.Just call it a Grand Prix.
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Me when I do poorly in a random MTGO event:.Am I washed? Was I ever good? Do I understand anything about anything?. Me when I do well in a random MTGO event:.I am the greatest of all time and a god among men. Tremble before me.
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ChannelFireball is currently running a Black Friday sale that allows you to pre-purchase GPs from Apr-Dec of 2019, at $60. If you are a GP grinder like me, You should calculate the min GPs you will play during that period and purchase that many vouchers. It's value. #NotSponsored.
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Pioneer players will show you the most unplayable aggro deck you've ever seen and claim they like it because "it beats Mono-Green".
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When thinking about deck difficulty in Magic, I generally characterize decks along three axes: Average difficulty of decisions, average number of decisions per game and how punishing making mistakes is. It's important to consider all three.
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Please stop building Red Modern decks that play removal and don't play Ragavan. They are always improved by simply adding Ragavan. Prowess? 4 Ragavan. Food? 4 Ragavan. Goblins? 4 Ragavan. Play the Good cards.
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So you wanted queued people to be able to play RCQs eh?.
@Crew3Podcast @fireshoes .I DID IT!!! I WIN AMALIA WINS #BanAmalia deck was great and got some good ole team scoops in but won the finals on my own. R1 RB transmog WW.R2 team scoop.R3 team scoop.R4 Vamps WW.R5 draw.QF homie scoop.SF team scoop.F waste not WW.Thanks Team!!
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Some things takes years to build up but can be sold in a moment. Many of us in the competitive community have poured our hearts and souls into the game for a chance to play at the highest level. Our hard work is being trivialized. Please don’t let this be the future of the MPL.
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Something people might not know about me is that I love building sealed pools. In fact, I’m one of the rare individuals who prefers sealed to draft. If you come up to me and want to have your pool rebuilt, even if we don’t know each other at all, I will rebuild it. #MTGDC.
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"In a vacuum, Ragavan is a bad card because you don't have any opponents to hit with it." -@SprungLevi.
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Before today I have never 9-0'd a Grand Prix. Today, after much hard work, I finished 8-1 again. #MTGNewJersey.
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A lot of people have been complaining about the lack of block structure in Magic lately. To them I say: Name a beloved 2nd set in the entire history of Magic. I'll wait.
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What's it going to take for us to simply rename the Magic Spotlight Series "Grand Prixs"?.
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Won an RCQ with Modern Jeskai Breach! Please cut Mishra's Research Desk.
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@JUJUBEAN__2004 If this description is accurate, it's an egregious error on the part of the staff. Sorry bean.
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I can finally publicly say this without leaking information:.Mono-White Humans is the best deck in Pioneer.
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Let me absolutely clear: This event was not a Pro Tour and calling it that is an insult to the greatest event competitive Magic has ever had. That said, it was a stacked tournament with large number of rounds and doing well is a monumental accomplishment.
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In a few days I will no longer be the last Pro Tour Champion and I couldn't be happier. #MTGPhilly.
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Stop calling for bans in formats that don't need bans 2022 challenge. Challenge level: Impossible.
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I am unconvinced the card Waste Not is playable in the deck Waste Not.
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@GavinVerhey This is not my favorite deck but I think it is hilarious. An insane wizard stands behind an uncrossable bridge and randomly throws books into a shredder and rings a bell. At some point, the other Wizards cannot handle it and leaves.
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Nine years ago, I cashed my first ever Magic tournament: a SCG draft open. For that event, I had memorized my DCI number. But, when it came time to fill out the paperwork, I had to call my Mom to get my social security number. In my heart, I am always 1208275994. Rest in peace.
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This weekend, @mtgNhi and I will be at Grand Prix NJ. This means we will be accepting sealed pool rebuilds! If you come find us, even if we do not know you at all, we will rebuild your sealed pool. Additionally, I willl give you a free token of me once we are done. See you there!.
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This is the list I won the Magic Online RCQ with. Boat Green!
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I will, of course, be at the Grand Prix an hour from my house this weekend. As before, if you come find me with a sealed pool, even if we have never met, I will rebuild it. #MTGDetroit.
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Pioneer is looking a lot more interesting at the moment. UW Lotus, Zoomer Drakes, Archfiend Combo and the rise of Rakdos Sac are really shaking up the format. You love to see it.
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On the OP announcements:.Systems that reward spiking over consistency are, in general, a very bad idea. There needs to be a way to maintain qualification via consistency that approximates Gold. I am glad competitive Magic is a career now, I am worried it is not a maintable one.
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It is my opinion that if you believe Julian's statement to be incorrect, you should release a statement of what the staff feels actually happened. This statement does not do that whatsoever. Obviously harassment of the individuals involved is wrong and you shouldn't do it.
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Congrats to the NEW last Pro Tour Champion @ReidDuke! One of the nicest people I have met through Magic, and somehow I am always incredibly happy to see win. You really do love to see it.
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The search for any human being who likes any single Pioneer deck continues. Will they ever be found?.
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12-3 with Frenzy Affinity at #MTGToronto for 11th place. Frenzy was incredible for me against UR Phoenix specifically. Thanks to @jkyu06 for working on the list with me. Attached screenshots show the list I played. Use it well.
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You are playing a Magic tournament and are not allowed to test for it at all. But you are offered the chance to choose another player and copy their 75. The catch is you don't get to see the decklist beforehand and you can't change a card. Which player do you choose?.
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Wotc removing the public suspended/banned list does a huge disservice to the competitive community. Obviously, I have no idea what caused this, legal or otherwise. However if it within Wizards’ power to reverse this, I hope that they do so.
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Every B&R season I thank the gods that WotC runs the ban list not the mob. I criticize WotC a lot, but it’s important to give credit where it is due. Goob job Wizards. Today, you made the right call in a tough spot.
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Is the following card in color pie?. Boros Terminate RW.Instant.Choose one -.CARDNAME deals 3 damage to target creature. Destroy target creature with toughness 4 or greater.
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Each time you grind someone out with Adanto,.Each time you need a 3rd one drop for Loxodon,.Each time they mull to four,. Use my token. It will be available from @StarCityGames in July and August beginning at noon (12pm ET) on July 1! Visit to learn more.
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There’s nothing wrong with charging people for sb guides. There is also nothing wrong with offering sb guides for free. Ultimately, each individual person will either decide paying for them is worth it or that it isn’t and choose accordingly. Nobody is in the wrong here.
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I think Get Lost was very over hyped and a fairly small upgrade to existing options in both Standard and Pioneer. This, on the other hand, is the real fucking deal in both formats. It's time for the truth and the truth is Teferi.
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I don’t care about Pro Points, I don’t need any invites. My flight is expensive enough that I’m unlikely to turn a profit. But I’ll be at Magicfest DC this weekend for one reason: I love Magic. See everyone there! #MTGDC.
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Won a Pioneer RCQ with Mono-White Humans. Best. Deck.
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