MTG Reporter - Poops Be Cheatin' [Edward Eng - Battlemage, Level 42]
This past weekend was a rough one for me at Grand Prix Houston. I finished day 1 at 8-1. I started day 2 at 2-0. Then I lost my last 4 rounds to end at 10-5. I missed cash but got another Pro Point. That's unacceptable in my book. But what's even more unacceptable was the fact that I had a pretty frustrating tournament because I had to call the judge so many times throughout the two days.
The first round I played was round three since I had two byes. I caught my third round opponent looking at the bottom card of his library, so I called a judge. A few turns later, he went to draw a card and another card slipped out from his library. I called the judge again. I also noticed he was looking at my deck while shuffling it, so I told him to look away. This was my first round of play and I was already a bit tilted.
I played Grixis Control with Sphinx's Tutelage a few rounds later. He triggered the mill effect and it retriggered. He said, "Do it again." And I milled two extra cards by accident because he had two copies in play. This was partly my fault for not slowing down to check exactly how many cards I needed to mill. But he should've been clearer as well.
In round three of day 2, my opponent Duresses me and takes a card. Then says something which sounded like 'go', so I untapped a drew a card. Then my opponent says, "I said you're good. Not 'go'." I called a judge and he said that my opponent gets to pick a card and shuffle it back into my library and we would rewind back to his turn after the Duress. WTF! I was pretty tilted.
Then my round 15 opponent also looked at the bottom of his library. By this time, I was in a pretty terrible mood and really wanted to just flip the table. I despise cheaters. If you suspect anyone of cheating, tell a judge.
STOP CHEATING, YOU POOPS!
1. Look away when you shuffle your opponent's deck.
2. Look away when you shuffle your own deck.
3. Don't ever pick up your library in a way where you have a chance to see the bottom card.
4. Carefully draw cards from your library.
5. Be clear in your communications.
Aside from all the crap I had to deal with, Andrew Cuneo was a great opponent to play against even though I lost to him. He was very assertive and clear with his plays and communication. And that's how I play too. Yes, Magic is just a game. But it's not a fun game when you have to call a judge often to sort out miscommunication or sloppy play.
What else am I missing about poops that cheat?
Peace, love, and have fun…
Eddie
Additional Reading
1. Event - $1k Magic Tournament Hosted by Galactic Treasures & The Card House
2. The MTG Community - Get Lucky [Edward Eng - Battlemage, Level 42]
3. The MTG Community - Why You Should Play More Limited [Ty Thomason - Archmage, Level 46]
4. The MTG Community - Pros & Cons of Playing Two-Headed Giant [Edward Eng - Battlemage, Level 42]
A Little Bit about Eddie
He started playing Magic around December of 1994 then hit the sanctioned competitive tournament scene in 1997. He played till about 2000 and was on the cusp of making the Pro Tour but stopped to focus on school. He found his old teammate on Facebook in 2009 and got back into the game in 2010. Since then he's played in two Nationals, top 16ed an SCG Invitational, and day 2ed multiple Grand Prix.
Edward Eng
Galactic Treasures
