On The Road (June 1999, from Boston Area Gamers Guild Newsletter)

Touring With the Pros

Location: Meadowlands, New Jersey

It was a simple enough plan: No driving, no hotel expenses. Wizards of the Coast was sponsoring Pro Tour New York at the Meadowlands Complex in New Jersey, and all I had to do was get there and back in time for Boston Area Gamers’ Guild’s sealed deck tourney on Sunday. Of course budget had to be minimal, since I needed money for cards.

Friday afternoon, I packed up and headed out. A short walk to North Quincy Station, and then a quick trip to South Station on the Red Line. It was time to leave the driving to Greyhound. Unfortunately, Friday afternoon is probably not the best time to catch the bus as it was a bit crowded, but I got a seat next to a nice lady and after quickly scarfing down a bagel, I settled in with my book (Frances Hodgson Burnett’s The Secret Garden; nothing like good childrens’ literature to get your mood up), and prepared for a nice relaxing ride.

About five hours later, we arrived in the Big Apple, complete with a nice mini-tour of Manhattan as we made our way to Port Authority. From there I had the pleasure of playing “spot the magic players” as I waited for the bus to the Meadowlands. The convention center itself was impressive, surrounded by hotels, shops, and restaurants. The pro tour was held in a single large hall, with about half the space devoted to the main tournament, and the rest to side tourneys, artists’ and “gunslingers’” tables, a few dealers, and a snack bar.

I checked out the dealers for a bit and then headed for the side tournaments to start playing booster drafts. The plan was to simply play all night. Sleep? Who needs it? That could wait for the bus ride home. Unfortunately, while the action continued well into the wee hours, there just weren’t quite enough player who shared my ambitions. The “24-hour” side tournaments shut down around 4:00 AM, leaving me to attempt to nap in a chair until things opened back up. Eventually I’ll be rich enough to actually get a hotel room. Not this time, though.

Things finally picked up again around 8:00 AM. Trading was the order of the morning, and the Pro Tour provided as good a trading environment as I could have hoped for. Especially prevalent were foreign editions, thanks to the international group of players present. I got to chat with players from Japan, Australia, Canada, and from all corners of the US. I also had a chance to converse with some of the Wizards of the Coast employees, who were all quite pleasant and outgoing.

At about noon, the artists’ tables opened up and I dutifully stood in line to meet and get cards signed by Donato Giancola, Tony DiTerlizzi, Kev Walker, and Scott Fischer, all of whom were very good about signing cards and taking the time to talk. My time was coming to an end, though. I needed to get a bus that would get me back to South Station in time for the last train home.

I played in one last booster draft. I competed in ten, all in all. In nine out of those ten I won my first round match. And in all nine of those I lost in round two. Oh well, I guess consistency counts for something. I made that train too, which was a good thing. I even got some much-needed sleep on the bus back to Boston. All in all, the pro tour was an incredible 24 hours (or so), but it sure was nice to be back to running our own event at our own venue on Sunday. It’s coming home and telling the tales that makes the whole trip worthwhile.

The next Pro Tour in the Northeast will be held September 3rd to 5th at the Hilton and Towers in Washington DC. It’s a worthwhile experience for any Magic player, even if you’re not in the main tourney. Just try and get some sleep at some point, okay?

 

 

 

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