Intro
Everyone who plays Magic the Gathering does so for different reasons. My story is likely no different in scope, adventure or, for a lack of better term, ”magic”, than any other player. I first came into contact with the game from a friend, who was gifted a starter deck and a few boosters of Revised and Ice Age. The cards were cool but hard to understand, so we mostly played Doomtrooper instead, since it was in swedish which helped the two then 12-year olds. I didn’t touch the game of magic again until my mid 20s, but I vividly remember the Moxen on display in the local nerd store called Collectors Point in my home town. I got sucked in during the first Zendikar block by virtue of another old friend, who cleverly left the game after a few years, while I kept on playing. I sampled standard, sealed, modern and legacy, and even travelled to a GP here and there. The competative side of the game was interesting, but I am not a min-max-player at heart, so I rarely chose decks from the tier 1, but I drifted more and more towards pet decks.
I have since come to enjoy more playful gatherings at places where the beer and subjects flow free, with no big prizes to be seen. This preference have been building over a long time, and made me start gathering the oldest of magic cards in 2018.The allure of the old cards kept me going further and further back. In the end, I wanted to feel the way I felt looking at my buddys and the that used to be on display. I traded away a big part of my Legacy collection for a heavily beat up , simply because I wanted to own a piece of power. That restarted my inner collector, and soon I played my first 93/94 tournament in Karlstad 2019, with quite a few more to follow. Friendships were made, cards was cast, and losses was collected en masse. It was a great feeling, slinging old beautiful cards and seeing decks of mythical looks and power on the opposite side of the table. Then, Covid happened, I had my second son, and the planeswalker spark in me weakened. My time playing the game sometimes waxed and mostly vaned. But in december of 2024 i traveled to Arvika for a small gathering, with many familiar faces and some new aquintances. Games were played, beers was consumed, enjoyment was had and a promise of more was made. The fire of Old School Magic was rekindled, and I started looking ahead to the grandest of stages, Arvika X. The kind of large, multi-national gathering where over a hundred mages would travel to duke it out, trying to win the honour of a smaller side board in future tournaments (The bestowed to the winning player is expected to be in your deck forever) and a place in 93/94 lore.
A Man of a Certain Creed
I have always enjoyed casting blue and white spells that makes the game go longer, slowly gaining full control over the proceedings. This has made me play UW in modern, legacy, and standard, and many an opponent in Örebro know me as the UW guy. My first 93/94 deck was therefore obviously a UW pile of creatures and spells with little synergy.
Then, for the second version of the deck, I removed the creatures, included some tomes of knowledge and I started to dream about wins, even if they rarely materialized. It was still a pile of a pile, though, and the losses kept coming.
Then, I found and at that point I knew that it was literally just a matter of time. A slow, steady, prison was being built in front of me. I simply needed a way to feed the Sanctuary over many turns. and seemed like a marriage made in 1-1-1 heaven, and into the deck they went. I kept win cons at a minimum, since I was in no rush to win two s would have to do. At worst, my factories might be enough to bring the beats in some games. I refined the deck as well as I could, by keeping the curve low. Most of the decks main cards cost one or two mana which is extra important in decks without powered mana. At least that is what I told myself, most sane people would still probably call this a pile.
This is what I played at Arvika X. The sideboard was mainly built to give me a few outs against the burn heavy decks, as well as a way to transform the deck if I had little time and faced the Deck and other slow, late game decks.
A Friday of Scryings
I arrived at Arvika by bus and train on friday afternoon, a journey that takes roughly three hours including a few breaks at places more forsaken than most. Örebro, my place of residence, is a city defined by its grand castle and large university, which painted a stark contrast to the unassuming city of Arvika. But Arvika might be the place on earth with the highest number of Old school players per capita, it seems to be brimming with Magic wielding beerzerkers of stoutness and great humour. I checked in at the Scandic Hotel, and checked out the Magic area on the second floor. There was a big gathering already, easily 40-50 people who was busy talking, drinking, checking out decks and buying their missing pieces from Sky Guilds absolutely amazing card shop. Later in the evening Anson Maddocks and his wife also put up shop, selling play mats, tokens and other trinkets, all the while signing a never ending stream of old cardboard.
First up, there would be a tournament of 93/94 scryings, a variant on the classic format where selected cards from Homelands, Fallen Empires, and Alliances are legal. Since I had not researched this format much, I took a deck mostly consisting of 93/94 legal cards that I rarely have played myself, but it is an old classic: UR Counterburn! Do note my lack of a real sideboard...
In the end I went about as good as I could have hoped, my record was 1-5 and countless of beatings was handed to me. I faced some really cool decks but the beer I drank make the memories dim and hazy. I remember game one was against a UWx + combo deck that beat me 2-0 very quickly, deck looks pretty sweet and powerful. I remember being jealous of its pilot Kalle playing Lat-Nams Legacy, since that card seemed really sweet! Maybe reading through the Scryings legality list could have helped, but I am far from convinced of this.
My favourite play of the night was while playing against a bearded scoundrel named Micke. In a game I was very much behind, I smashed him for 11 with one single factory enchanted with three ans. I promptly lose game 1 after employing Howling mine and never drawing any Barriers or Sanctuaries, he kills me with Dragons and burn, as is Reds style. I sideboard in the CoP:R and Serras since I need to win two games in timely fashion. Game 2 I drop an early LoA and , which I think he lets me search for. The card advantage is too much for him to handle and I assemble the anti-red lock (CoP:R, Sanctuary and Mine), and we go to the last game. It is a fairly unexciting one, since I drop a Serra, a Sanctuary and a CoP:R while he does very little and I win without much hassle. He was heavily flooding (10 lands in play, maybe 5 spells cast) which doomed him this time.
1-0, 2-1
Round Two
Opponent: Coos Cramer, UWrb Midrange
Coos is an international player of some note, since I recognize his name vaguely. He is dutch IIRC and a very pleasant opponent, all the while destroying me with power and angels. In game one he drops a turn 1 LoA which nets him 3 cards until I can destroy it with an Orb flip. The extra cards helps him find some mana acceleration in a few moxen and he casts an early Serra followed by an . Out of mana and no plow, I make no real resistance. In game 2 it is much the same, he powers out two early Serras followed by another . Game, Set, Match.
1-1, 2-3
Round Three
Opponent: Steffen, Junk Midrange
Another international opponent, this time I face a man named Steffen. We shuffle up and he starts game one with beats from factories and random big djinns (Ernham? Juzam? My memory is foggy, I’m afraid). I stop the bleeding at one life and have established the lock (Sanctuary, Barrier and Mine), but he plays a on the Sanctuary that ends the game on the spot. I sideboard the Serras again. Game two he mulls twice while I play turn one LoA. He keeps playing for a bit but he is buried in card advantage and concedes early. Game three he is short on mana, which I make worse with and . I play all my Serras and kill him in a few turns. He is slightly tilted since he sideboarded 4 s and 2 s to add to his 4 Plows, and saw zero of them all game long! Sometimes you get what you need, and sometimes it is just not in the cards.
2-1, 4-4
Round Four
Opponent: Glenn, BWru Robots
Glenn is a cheery man from Västkusten, whom I have met before at another gathering. He is playing a deck with artifact beaters like and , , burn and power. In game 1 I am able to lock up the game using Books for card advantage while slowly milling him out. He concedes and we move on to the next game, where he kills me quickly with a while having two in play. I had some mana issues which made me slow out of the gates and didn´t give me time to handle all his threats. The third game is a long, grueling war of attrition, where I try to mill him out but he finds his Twister late on which forces me to switch gears and beat him down with my factories. It is a close game where i hit him for lethal in turn 4 after time have been called by the TO. Really interesting game overall that could have gone either way. Glenn is a great sport despite losing to fool and his pile.
3-1, 6-5
Interlude: Dinner Break
Going into the break at 3-1 is an unusual feeling for me. Since I started playing Old School I have rarely if ever been above 50 % in winrate so this is new grounds. I sit down with the guys from Fiskmåsklanen, Hedarp is doing fairly well as usual while Glenn is sure that his deck is not good enough and that he will play something different next time. We eat like vikings, feasting on the mixed grill buffet like the savages we imagine we are.
Round Five
Opponent: Kim, WUr Midrange
Kim is by his own admission a decent player that have done fairly well in earlier large tournaments. I have no reason to doubt him. He has a power-ful deck with all good blue and white cards, with a splash of red. In game one I misplay in attacking him with a factory while he have mana open. He destroy's my factory which slows me down, and it gets worse as he both Strips me and use to take out my third land. At this point I am out of lands, can´t do much and concedes. Game two follows the same pattern, I have a land light hand, he have Strip and which he uses to smash my lands again, and I am unable to put up any resistance. Pain.
3-2, 6-7
Round Six
Opponent: Slanfan, Black bordered Power.dec
Slanfan is the creator of .app, the website that many Old school tournaments use for signups, deck pictures, pairings and standings. He is a whimsical man with tons of beer in his belly, and we have a grand old time broaching subjects like human psychology and app design while downing our beer. We can´t contain ourselves from laughing when he, being leagues ahead after playing Lotus, 2 Moxes, and Twister in the first turn, later on copies my millstone and relic barrier in order to keep himself from being milled out. That was a precaution he didn’t really need in this game, but that kind of rubbing it in I can’t ever be mad at. He also keeps his calm as I can´t seem to understand how impacts my ability to draw cards. After he explains how I am now shackled like a
man in a medival prison, it all makes sense to me. In game two he keeps playing a steady stream of restricted cards (Mox, Timewalk turn one, Lotus and turn two), all the while we keep our drunken ramblings and jokes flowing. This is how being in losing heaven feels like. Down below is a sample of the battlefield in our games.
3-3, 6-9
Round Seven
Opponent: Ole, RUb Robots with and
Ole is a norwegian player with a sweet life counter, who plays s and s in his deck along with a sacrifice subtheme and some more Chains. In game one I play multiple Mines and the game progress very quickly. He has too much burn and attackers which he swiftly kills me with. Game two goes long and is very grindy, where I can´t stick a book becasue of shatters and counters, and he can´t attack me because of the lock. This time I can face a Chains without commiting rules infractions like Mike Long, which feels redeeming. Sadly, I missplay terribly just before time is called, which costs me a draw. I play a for 11 in him which empties his library, but he has just enough burn, Trike counters and mana to kill me with exactsies in his upkeep. Doh! Down below Ole gives me one of many turn one plow tests in the format.
3-4, 6-11
Game Eight
Opponent: Simon, Mono Green Aggro
Simon is a member of the Dunces crew, who generously gives me some of their stickers and other trinkets. A funny and friendly dude that proudly proclaims that his crew will never own any power. More power to them, I suppose. In game one I play a Barrier and a , which he never lets me trigger. I can´t find any factories or sanctuaries which means his 1/1s and 2/1s slowly takes me down to zero life points. In game two I play a LoA turn one that he can´t destroy, which draws me into an ancestral. Despite all this card draw I find no Sanctuary and no plows, which means he again slowly kills me with -fueled beats. Despite drawing about 10 extra cards, the blue deck falls at the hand of a Dunce. A fair and even poetic end to my day.
3-5, 6-13
Final Ramblings
This tournament was a blast. Good venue, lots of beer, well-stocked traders, cool artists and good food. The TO, Svetzarn, and his crew, made everything flow smoothly and made sure we had a great time. I will for sure be returning next year, rocking my signed Encyclopean Tomb playmat. Best of all, how ever, was all the banter and friendly people who makes 93/94 so fun and rewarding to play.
Regarding my deck choice and play, I have a few things to ponder. The main deck is ok, but lacks the explosiveness of a deck with more power and gives no free wins beyond the unanswered turn 1 LoA. Most of my losses early on in the tournament was from simply being behind in mana, which I have to accept to a certain degree bacause of the way I have built the deck. I might need one more land since I got hosed by land destruction in more than a few games, so that needs to be changed. The sideboard was pretty much trash, I rarely used anything beyond the Circles and Serras, so that is something I can rebuild heavily. I did misplay quite a bit later on in the tournament, likely due to fatigue and rising levels of intoxication. That is probably not fixable since I am still doing these silly missplays after all these years, but a man can dream. Now, should I instead of getting good start to save up money for a Mox to be more fast out of the gate? Or maybe a new win-con, like with ? The possibilities are indeed, endless.
Because in 93/94, you are never truly done building your collection.
Turnering 93/94
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