It's Black Friday, which means Thanksgiving has come and gone, leaving us full of turkey and looking ahead to the holiday season and the end of the year. It also leaves us looking back at the year as a whole, giving us a chance to reflect on all that has happened in 2023.

It's been quite a year for both Magic as well as myself, so I wanted to take today to look back at five things I am thankful for from 2023!

The Return Of The Paper Pro Tour

One of the things that made me most sad about the demise of the Pro Tour in the wake of the Magic Pro League and Covid pandemic was that the Pro Tour that I knew and loved was gone.

I spent so many years of my life attempting to qualify for, and then getting to travel the world playing in the Pro Tour, and it was such a huge part of my formative early to mid-20s. It sent me, a poor part-time college student across the world to Hawaii, Japan, France, and more, getting to experience new places, meeting amazing people, and compete against the literal best in the world at something that millions of people play every day.

It's hard to quantify how awesome that is, and it bummed me out that many of the younger players and MTG Arena zoomers were going to miss out on that experience.

The online MTG Arena Championships were fine, but there's something about being in the same room as 300 of the best players in the world at something and competing, knowing that you've all travelled far and wide, spending hundreds if not thousands of hours at something to be the best, and are all here for a similar purpose.

And it's finally back!

Having played all three Pro Tours this year as well as the World Championship, I can happily say that the Pro Tour is back and better than ever. Sitting down for that first draft at Pro Tour Phyrexia in Philadelphia early this year felt exactly like the Pro Tour drafts I'd known my whole life, and all the Pro Tours this year have been amazing experiences.

They system could still use a little work, as I really miss classic, one-slot PTQs that give you a direct shot to the big show rather than needing the Regional Championship stepping stone, and I definitely miss States and Nationals, but it's just a wonderful thing having the Pro Tour back.

Getting To Work With The Best Magic Players In The World

One major difference however between the Pro Tours this year and the Pro Tours I used to play was the company I was able to keep.

At my first Pro Tour, Pro Tour Honolulu 2006, I didn't know anyone, and this would continue to be the case for a large part of my early Pro Tour career. I'd meet up with some folks here and there and get into some circles, but I was never fortunate enough to get on one of the bigger testing teams. As such, at every Pro Tour it felt like my deck was just not quite there as I was often just showing up with decks that I built and tested on Magic Online myself.

This year however, after getting back on the Pro Tour mostly by accident after years of solely doing content, I was able to hook up with Team CFB & Friends full-time, affording me the opportunity to work with some of the literal best Magic players to ever play the game. World Champions, Pro Tour Champions, Hall of Famers... and me too!

It's hard to quantify exactly how much playing on a high-quality team raises your floor at Pro level events. You're always prepared for the draft portion, and always have an at least decent constructed deck, making it hard to bomb. And it shows in the results!

This year my Pro Tour results have been:

• 46th place at Pro Tour Phrexia
• 58th place at Pro Tour March of the Machine
• 49th place at Pro Tour Lord of the Rings
• 40th place at The 2023 World Championship

Not the most exciting, but also just super solid. I would rather have come in dead last three times and then made a Top 8, but still nice to see the consistency.

And I ain't done yet, as I'm qualified for at least the first two Pro Tours next year too!

The Success Of The Best Mobile Card Game Ever

It's not always all about Magic, and one of the things I've enjoyed most in gaming in 2023 has been Marvel Snap.

Don't get me wrong, Magic is still the best game ever made overall, but when it comes to mobile card games, Marvel Snap is the pinnacle of the medium.

Everything about Marvel Snap is designed perfectly for the mobile format, from the UI of the game itself, to the speed of the games, to the simplicity of deck-building and how the abilities work. Yet, despite the fact that most games take about three minutes and decks are only 12 cards each, there still manages to be a ton of variety in both gameplay and deck-building. It's probably my most played non-Magic game, mostly because it's just so easy to get in a game here or there when I'm walking the dog or on the toilet.

Also awesome is my good fortune of getting to play in not one but two Twitch Rivals esports events for Marvel Snap, as well as getting to team with former Magic player now full-time Marvel Snap player Jeff Hoogland in said events. Jeff carried me hard in both events, where we took down 2nd place and 3rd place and I won about $2,000 total across both events.

That being said, I've really enjoyed playing Marvel Snap super casually in my spare time and not needing to take it seriously like Magic. It's a fantastic game.

The Renewed Wizards Of The Coast Focus On Standard

This one is still coming to fruition, but has been a long time coming.

It's hard to articulate how important Standard is to the health of Magic: The Gathering, as well as in the acquisition of new players and the growth of the game. A huge reason why Magic has the entrenched and invested player base it has now, which is why they can sell so many expensive secret lairs and all sorts of luxury products, is because of the many years they cultivated those players through FNM and in store play, as well as through large events and organized play like State Championships, PTQs, Regionals, and more.

Without this infrastructure and the years of cultivation and investment players have in the game, these now 30-something players with families and disposable income to burn wouldn't be around to buy all these fancy and expensive products, producing the highest earning year for Wizards of the Coast year after year.

However, years of design issues cumulating in Covid ruining in store play was the death knell for paper Standard, and thus, destroying one of the most formative areas of Magic as a game. Starting Magic playing Commander is not an easy thing to do. You're dropping a new player into a game with 400 unique cards from 30 years of history, and the games are complicated.

Back in the day, the typical avenue for a new player was to show up at a store a few times, maybe draft or play a pre-release, and then turn those cards into a budget Standard deck and start playing FNM and accumulating promos and other perks for playing. This doesn't exist, and Wizards of the Coast has finally recognized that this is a huge problem.

We're still very early in their plan to revitalize Standard, but I'm very happy there's a plan in place.

Having My Family With Me At The World Championship

Of course, playing in Pro Tours and getting to do what I do for a living is incredible, but what's really been awesome is the reason I work so hard.

My son is a little over a year old now, and together with my wife Nicole and my step-son John we've got quite family unit. Typically, when I'm traveling to events I'm leaving everyone behind, like Worlds in 2022 where my son was barely two weeks old and I was off to Vegas to play in the World Championship.

Well, this year they got to come to Vegas to cheer me on at Worlds!

They've been able to make it out to a few events with me this year, and having them there is a clear reminder of both why I do what I do, as well as my good fortune. I've had my best year ever on the Pro Tour this year, and I don't think that is a coincidence that it's come at a time in my life I've been most happy and fulfilled.

I don't need the Pro Tour to validate me as a person anymore and frankly I'm just playing with house money at this point. The Pro Tour is wonderful, but in reality, it's just a fun vacation from my primary job of making content, which I am also exceedingly fortunate to have.

Be Thankful For The Good Stuff

It's very common in nerd culture for folks to have really negative attitudes about stuff.

"Magic is just a greedy money machine now."

"All Marvel stuff sucks now"

Etc.

However, despite all the bad in the world, from nerd culture to actual real issues, there's a lot of good. It's much heathier to take a positive look on the world around you, rather than wallowing in negativity. Negativity is easy because it's safe, but not worth it in the long run.

The reality is that I'm a really lucky guy, and I am incredibly fortunate to get to do what I do. And I'm thankful for everything I've got each and every day.