LOBSTERCON, an Old School Magic tournament hosted by New England Old School, was held on September 29, 2018 at the George Dilboy VFW Post 529 in Davis Square, Somerville, Massachusetts.

The field was 94 players representing 18 states and provinces in the USA and Canada. Old School player groups in attendance included Chicago’s Lords of the Pit, Montreal’s Tundra Wolves, the Quebec City “brew” crew, New York’s Sisters of the Flame, the Fellwar Stoners of DC/Northern VA, the Beasts of the Bay, and the SoCal Deep Spawners.

Deck construction rules for the event followed the recommended B&R list and reprint allowances for 93/94 championed by Eternal Central. The EC Old School rules were used in their entirety, including the sudden death Chaos Orb flip rule to prevent match draws.

The structure of the tournament was seven rounds of straight Swiss pairings, both as a function of available time at the venue and also to produce a clear “winner” of the event. There was no cut to top 4 or top 8; however, for the seventh and final round, the two X-0 players at Table 1 played a longer match (“3 out of 5” i.e. “first to 3 wins”), setting up a true “final” in a sense.

Catering for the event was provided by local institution Kelly’s Roast Beef, who delivered a total of 56 lobster rolls and 34 bowls of clam chowder for players looking to enjoy a taste of New England during the short lunch break between rounds 3 and 4.

We also had a dedicated cash bar offering a range of libations including a few New England-centric brews: Sam Adams Lager and Sam Adams Octoberfest, Harpoon IPA, and Narragansett.

CHARITY SUPPORT

The event was organized as a fundraiser for Room to Grow in Boston, a non-profit that provides vital services to economically disadvantaged parents and families in Greater Boston. Room to Grow focuses on serving families from just before their child’s birth through age three, supporting them with individualized parenting education and coaching, high-quality baby/toddler supplies, and specialty referrals to community resources to ensure that their children receive a healthy and secure start in life.

All proceeds from LOBSTERCON ticket sales after expenses were donated directly to Room to Grow. In addition, attendees were invited to participate in a baby/toddler supply drive, in which items like clothing, books, toys, feeding supplies, car seats, etc. were donated to Room to Grow in-kind. We also conducted a raffle of unique Old School items, including an engraved leather NEOS playmat, a Khalsa-Brain Retro v5 Spellground, a unique Swords to Plowshares alter done by Jeff Menges specifically for LOBSTERCON, a whole pile of Old School sealed product, a 6×9 Chaos Orb, etc., with 100% of the raffle ticket sales going directly to the charity as well.

All told, the players at LOBSTERCON donated baby/toddler items valued at more than $734, plus another $2,381 in cash generated from event ticket sales and the raffle, for a total of more than $3,116 in support for Room to Grow. The generosity and kindness shown by the Old School Magic community topped even our already very high expectations. On behalf of Room to Grow and the families they serve, and from all of us at New England Old School, thank you!

GUEST ARTIST

We had the honor of working with Jeff A. Menges / Skaircrow Graphics for this event, and it was an absolute treat to have Jeff there with us at LOBSTERCON in-person. Jeff created original art and alters for the event playmat and prize support, and he also did signatures, sketches, and alters for players over the course of the afternoon. Having one of the original Magic artists in our midst was wonderful, and a singular opportunity for the community to show our love and appreciation for the iconic contributions that Jeff made to the game in those early years, and for his very passionate and friendly engagement with the Magic fan base ever since.

“Rock Lobster” re-imagining of Rock Hydra Alters provided for the charity raffle (Swords to Plowshares) and the winner of the tournament (Sea Serpent) Sketches on a NEOS playmat for one of the players “The purpose of any moat is to impede attack. Some are filled with water, some with thistles. Some are filled with things best left unseen.”

BRIEF REFLECTIONS and GRATITUDE

I have been lucky enough to travel to Pittsburgh (EC Old School @ Eternal Weekend), Gothenburg (n00bcon X), and Chicago (Old School Player’s Ball) over the past year, and I can freely and humbly admit that I was standing on the shoulders of giants in organizing this event, and did my best to honor and carry forward the already very rich traditions fostered by Old School player-organizers like Magnus de Laval, Jason Jaco, Bob Agra, and Lorenzo Novaro. LOBSTERCON followed in the spirit of these Gatherings with the aim to share both New England style Old School and New England style clam chowder with our fellow 93/94 players from other regions.

I am constantly humbled by the generosity, goodwill, and passion shown by players all over the world who love 93/94 Magic and give freely of their time and energy to what is now a thriving global community supported almost exclusively by player-organized events. The list of people to thank is quite long, but I’ll still attempt it — to our dedicated judge for the day, Josh Frankel, who ran a damn tight ship; to Jeff Menges, for our thoroughly enjoyable collaboration over the past several months; to Josh Tingley from Room to Grow, a Magic player and gamer in his own right, who was far more than I could have asked for in a charity contact; to Michelle from Gamingetc and Mike and Julian from Diamonds Mined, who provided a ton of value to the players with Old School inventory at their tables all day long, as well as some donated prize support; to Bryan Manolakos, Stephen Hartford, Adam M-W, Shaun Augeri, Jeff Grasso, D.J. Seco, Nick Batista, FRDT, Benoit Seveno, Eric Dupuis (Old Gods Gaming Accessories), Tim McMath, Shaman Ben, and probably half a dozen people I’m forgetting who all generously donated cards and items for use as prizes and raffle bait; to all of the Homarid Warriors who jumped in to help at various points over the weekend, including but definitely not limited to Jared, Jason Williams, Moss, Xanadude, Ryan Lesko, Mark Price, Scott, Curt, Will M, and 8_bit Paul; to Lord Agra and Lord Maldo for the vendor hook-ups and general good advice; to Ravi and Tino; to Lorenzo for our chat that night during the n00bcon X Top 8 when visions of lobsters were just a glimmer in my eye; to Magnus and Jaco, for obvious reasons.

PODCASTS / WRITTEN COVERAGE

Pitcast Episode 5 — Lobstercon

All Tings Considered Episode 32: Lobstercon — The Rack

All Tings Considered Episode 33: Danny Friedman — Potpourri

PHOTO GALLERY (MAIN EVENT)

Dan Courcy and Jim “Not Dredge” Apostolakes Lords at the top tables @oldschoolmtg’s Eye for an Eye @oldschoolmtg’s Eye for an Eye Quebec City “Brew” Crew Montreal Tundra Wolves Spice awards Alpha twins Fork your Disenchant Lord Agra vs DFB Mostly came here for the ‘Gansett Insignia 18 damage? Opening remarks Danny vs Mano in the Finals

PHOTO GALLERY (SIDE EVENTS and GATHERINGS)

Lords

FINAL STANDINGS

And now, on to the deck photos!

TOP 8: SPICE

HONORABLE MENTION: Paul Kovalov, Scimitar Surprise!

HONORABLE MENTION: Matt Mucci, Crypt Seeker

8th MOST SPICY: Benoit Seveno, Turbo-Pumpkin

7th MOST SPICY: Geoff Willard, Atog Minus Atog

6th MOST SPICY: Adam Merkado-Weiss, Stormy Mishra

5th MOST SPICY: Derek Stafford, Serpent Sindbad feat. Jump

4th MOST SPICY: Stephen Hartford, Blue Counter-Rack

3rd MOST SPICY: Nick Batista, Angelic Abyss

2nd MOST SPICY: Christian Arcand, Arboria Control feat. Master of the Hunt

1st MOST SPICY: Jason Beaupre, Tidal Vortex

TOP 8: SPIKE

8th PLACE: Danny Kelly, UWb Cat Control {2x Underground Sea behind cat}

7th PLACE: Will Magrann, A Tog

6th PLACE: Dave Firth Bard, Spice Rack

5th PLACE: François R Derbas Thibodeau, The Pain Train

4th PLACE: Ryan Lesko, URb Atog

3rd PLACE: Blake Burkholder, UWb

2nd PLACE: Danny Friedman, Apex Predator aka The Deck

1st PLACE: Bryan Manolakos, Spice Rack

ALL DECK PHOTOS

(alphabetical order by first name)

Albert Iemma – UG Berserk

Andrew Oliva – Grixis Brawl feat. Sol’Kanar

Andrew Walker – RUG Burn

Ben Wagnon – Grixis Disco

Bob Agra – Grixis Disco

Brendan Cox – UWR

Brett Attmore – Grixis Toys

Brian Fay – Ape Djinn in the Library aka RG Berserk

Brian Urbano – URb DibTog

Brian Wilson – Scorched Earth Policy aka Jund Ponza

Caleb Rogers – Mono Black

Curt Christian – The Deck

Dan Courcy – White Weenie

Daniel Paulsen – Grixis Goblins

Dave Dupont – URb Burn

Derrick Boyce – Esper Midrange

D.J. Seco – Disco Inferno aka Grixis Disco

Drew Epstein — Ohh It Hurts! aka URw Twiddle Burn

Eric Dupuis – Hymn Keeper

Erik Wittern – UG Berserk

Evan Johnson – BR Con-Troll

Evan Smith – UWg Beats

Gary Steffens – Grixis Disco

Greg Kotscharjan – UW Control

Greg Titcomb – UWR Eye for an Eye

Howard Jones – Pink Weenie

Ian McKeown – RUG Angel Zoo

Jackie Kenty – UBA aka Ub Shops

James Duncan – The Deck

James Lebak – Nayageddon

Jared Doucette – Bantamgeddon

Jason Dorman – Mono Black Midrange

Jason Morawksi – Tax Tower Tetravus

Jason Seaman – Troll Control aka Grixis Disco

Jason Williams – Atog Ball

Jeff Grasso – Air Traffic Control aka UW Skies

Jim Apostolakes – White Weenie

Jordan Goodwin – RUG Berserker

Joseph Mozer – RG Aggro

Karl Rivest Harnois – URb Counterburn

Kramer Lawson – Alpha 60

Louis-Gabriel Emond – Grixis Disco

Luke Zinnen – Tax Edge Combo/Control

Marc Flore – RG Berserk

Mark Price – Robots and Nightmares aka Big UWR feat. Rasputin

Mark Seccareccia – VGBB aka Twiddle Attack

Mark Shanly – Rotten Orb aka GB Aggro

Matt Moss – 5C Juzams

Matthew Deering – Esper Shops

Nathaniel Houle – East of the River Blackblade aka Esper Control

Nicky Scars – UR Burn feat. Inferno

Paul DeSilva – RUG

Paul Paloglou – UB Tempo

Pete Lankering – UWb

Peter Broadbridge – Ali Cloak

Petr Bocak – Junk

Ravi Prasad – GW Aggro

Rich Shay – Dark Keeper

Robert Westergaard – White Weenie

Ryan Arnold – UB Beats

Scott Bradley – Mirrorball

Shaun Augeri – Lich Better Have My Money

Stephen Maldonado – Pink Weenie

Stephen Preston – GB O’Brien Void

Tim McMath – UR Counterburn

Tim Moran – Lions Dragons Efreets Oh My! aka UWR Midrange

Tino Galizio – Mono Black Rack

Tyler Etters – Naya Aggro

Uric Simard III – Grosse rougeur aka Big Red

Xanadude – Esper Goodstuff

Yan Desmeules – Fatblack EC

Yanick Blanchet – UWG