There's something about this WoW game. I don't think my forced hiatus from the game could have come at a better time. 2009 was filled with disappointing finishes that came on the heels of a year of what was likely, for me, an overachieving 2008--variance always evens out in the long run, I suppose--and I was reeling. Now that I've had time and distance to put my life in order, I realize that grinding it out for what really amounts to a pittance is just not worth it. That said, WoW TCG is an incredibly deep and fun game with a great team behind it, and my thoughts have drifted back to Azeroth/Outland/Northrend on many occasions.

I'm jamming this entry out on the laptop I won at 2008 Nationals, wondering why Tim asked me to blog for the masses in the first place (and why I'm writing this instead of sleeping). Nobody should really care what I, of all people, have to say. I don't even play this game anymore. And even when I did, there were always superior players. Then again, I am the 2009 Tanaris Open Champion (I think. Could be 2008). Spikes like that are what keep sucking me back in. If I had missed every time,to start my "career," I would have realized that I'd never catch that carrot dangling in front of my face.

My last tournament was DMF LA at the end of last year, and before that, DMF Las Vegas, and I've done maybe 3 drafts total in that time. Needless to say, I am waaaaaay behind the curve. I've never played a game of Core in my life, although I love the one game format.

[Aside An entry on why those who dislike it are wrong/ridiculous/ignorant/etc. may or may not be coming, though I am leaning "may not" since I don't care to hear or argue against the same old unfounded arguments like luck and die rolls and blah blahdeeblahs that are magically fixed by three game sets. End aside]

I barely even know the cards in the first set of the last block...was it Scourgewar? All I remember about that is windmilling Tuskarr Kite in the first or second draft, and look how high that card has flown since then (it's kite humor, give me a break). Don't ask me about the second or third sets, unless you want to see my stupefied look, which I probably wear more regularly than I'd like to admit. As for this new CakeEater block, second verse same as the first. At least the name is good, and familiar to me, unlike its contents.

That brings me back to why I'm writing this, besides "because Tim asked/told me to." Unlike many things in my life, I haven't lost the fire to do well in WoW TCG tournaments. Maybe it's absence that's made my heart grow fonder, despite knowing full well that I am not only years behind, but that even when I was at "the height of my powers," I didn't wield the biggest magic wand. Fuck it, I say. I went pretty deep at DMF LA--and may have been playing the last round for Top 8 if I didn't punt the round before it--despite knowing stone zero of the cards, very little of the rules, and only being there "for funsies." Maybe if there was cake on the line... Then again, had I made the playoffs, I wouldn't have had the privilege of hauling ass from LA to San Diego with Rob to watch one of the most boring games of football ever played. And to think we paid $600 to do so.

So I'm on a mission. I really would like to do well at NACC, but I'm not sure I have the tools to do so in my proverbial bag. Luckily, what I do have is a great group of friends who just happen to be some of the most masterful gamers (card and otherwise) on the planet, and I know they'll do what they can to get me back on the saddle of my Swift Ram. I've been immersing myself in the cards, and can almost tell you what Magni, the Mountain King does, and while I still feel lost, I've come up with some ideas I think I'd like to explore, whether they are good or not.

I'm going, going, back, back, to Vegas, Vegas from this weekend until the week after NACC, to bask in the company of the miserliest misers I've ever known, play basketball in 100 degree heat for frozen yogurt against Niles, and upper-decker Kirk's guest toilet. Everything else will just be frosting on an already sweet cake, but I'll try to keep you guys posted on the rest of the funny/boring/retarded/asinine but mostly gluttonous things I/we get into at, before, and after Concentration Draft Camp. Hopefully I'll have a victorious tale to tell at the end of my trip. Otherwise, enjoy seeing our world from the inside.

-Dane