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 support@eternalcentral.com. Thanks for reading!