1996 Pro Tour Columbus
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Under construction
Expect many and frequent revisions to this content.
“All will soon be made clear.”
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| Pro Tour Columbus | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
 | ||||
| Date | July 6 and 7, 1996 | |||
| Location |
 Columbus, Ohio | |||
| Attendance |
Seniors: 167 | |||
| Format | Ice Age and Alliances constructed. (aka ALICE) | |||
| Prize pool |
Senior: $125,000 Junior: $30,000 (Scholarships) | |||
| Winner |
Senior:  Olle RådeJunior:  Terry Borer | |||
| ||||
The third Pro Tour event in the 1996 season was held on July 16 and 17, 1996. The location was the annual Origins convention in Columbus Ohio. The format was Ice Age and Alliances constructed. It was won by Swedish teenager Olle Råde in his Pro Tour debut.
The 1996 United States Nationals were held directly afterwards at Origins.
Description
Qualifying
Entry to the tournament was invitation only. There were four ways to qualify:
- Finish in the Top 64 of PT Los Angeles (Seniors)
- Finish in the Top 32 of PT Los Angeles (Juniors)
- Win a qualifier tournament
- Be among the Top 25 DCI-ranking players who haven't otherwise qualified
Format
The format in Columbus was ALICE: Ice Age and Alliances constructed. Alliances had been released less than a month prior on June 10, 1996 and so Columbus was the first major event to use this format.
Meta
There was quite a bit of secrecy in deck-building leading up to the event, meaning that most decks felt "somewhat under construction".[1] The players who had the most success were those who correctly identified the power of Thawing Glaciers, with one player reporting that there was always at least one Thawing Glacier on the battlefield in nine out of the top ten tables.[2] Glaciers allowed players to safely splash a third or fourth colour, rebuild after a Jokulhaups, or to simply hit all their land drops.
The other defining card of the format was another land: Kjeldoran Outpost.[3] The power level of creatures available in ALICE was lower than that of Type II, which made a repeatable source of Soldier tokens a significant threat. The absence of cards like Strip Mine or Armageddon which would otherwise be able to efficiently control lands was another definite advantage.
Red sweepers Jokulhaups and Pyroclasm could be seen as the third "pillar" of the format. Many creature decks ran Pyroclasm themselves, which necessitated playing creatures with 3 or greater toughness.[4][5]
The three most popular deck archetypes at Columbus were:
- Bugbind: A
deck featuring Stormbind and green creatures with shroud (Deadly Insect) or high toughness. Champion Olle Råde played Bugbind. - Counter-Post: a
control deck which would exile its library with Browse then use Soldevi Digger to recur any spell it needed from its graveyard each turn.[6] The target for Digger was often Jesters Cap, repeated use of which would lock the opponent out of the game. - Gargohaups: A deck built around Ivory Gargoyle and Jokulhaups, usually also with Blinking Spirits.[7] Three players in both the Senior and Junior Top 4s utilised these cards in their decks.
All three decks would often play a third, or fourth, color. For example, Mark Justice and other members of the Pacific Coast Legends team splashed black in their Bugbind decks.[8]
Despite the Black Summer being in full swing, with Necropotence decks making up a significant part of the field at the following Type II format US Nationals, it was not highly played in ALICE. Brian Weissman and John Immordino had Top 8 finishes with a 
build, while a player named Dave Dittmer managed 9th place with a monoblack Necro-deck.[9]
Day one
On Day One there were six rounds of Swiss with best-of-three matches.
The Top 64 Seniors, and Top 50 Juniors, on Day One would advance to Day Two. Tie breakers on Day Two would also be based on these placings.[1]
Standings
At the end of six rounds of pool play the known standings were:[10][11]
| Place | Player |
|---|---|
| 1 | Alvaro Marques
|
| 2 | |
| 3 | John Immordino
|
| 4 | |
| 5 | |
| 6 | |
| 7 | Eric Tam
|
| 8 |
Previous Champions Michael Loconto and Shawn "Hammer" Regnier placed 28th and 56th respectively.
Notable players who missed the Top 64 cut included Mark Justice, Bertrand Lestrée and Preston Poulter.
Day two
There were seven further rounds on Day Two. Players were initially seeded based on their finish the previous day with the top seed, Alvaro Marques, playing the 64th, 2nd playing 63rd and so on.[1]
Due to the compressed nature of the event, due to the US National Championships also being run at Origins, there was a cut to Top 4 at the end of Swiss. The players who finished 5th to 8th are still acknowledged as having earned a Pro Tour Top 8 finish, however they didn't have the opportunity to play a single elimination match to advance further.
Standings
At the end of pool play on the second day the standings were:[11]
| Place | Player |
|---|---|
| 1 | Alvaro Marques
|
| 2 | |
| 3 | |
| 4 | Sean Fleischman
|
| 5 | Brian Weissman
|
| 6 | Javier Garavito
|
| 7 | John Immordino
|
| 8 | Scott Johns
|
Olle Råde and Peter Radonjic both were in the Top 4, but who was 2nd and who was 3rd is not recorded.
Top 4 Bracket
| Semifinals | Finals | |||||||
| 1 | Alvaro Marques | |||||||
| 4 | Sean Fleischman | 3 | ||||||
| Sean Fleischman | 1 | |||||||
| Olle Råde | 3 | |||||||
| Olle Råde | 3 | |||||||
| Peter Radonjic | ||||||||
Grand Final
Fourth seed Sean Fleischman earned his spot in the grand final by upsetting Alvaro Marques, who had topped the leader-board on both days of Swiss. Fleischman was from New York, playing regularly at Neutral Ground with many of the game's early stars. His deck was a four-color version of the popular Gargoyle/Johulhaups deck. He took advantage of Thawing Glaciers and the Allied Painlands to add countermagic and Mind Warp (a "fairer" Mind Twist) to the base strategy.
Olle Råde was only 17 years old, but had opted to play in the Senior division with his fellow Swedish competitors. In the end, most the other Swedes missed the event due travel delays; Olle had taken an earlier flight.[12] He played a straight version of the Bugbind deck. While retrospectively Olle's deck has been ridiculed, being called the "Worst Deck to ever win a Pro Tour" by Hall of Famer Frank Karsten[13], it was quite well positioned in the meta. The three mana 2/3 Spiders could withstand Pyroclasm, and the five mana 6/1 Deadly Insect could not be targeted by Swords to Plowshares or Incinerate. The enchantment Stormbind could clear the way for attacks, or give the deck the last little bit of reach it needed.
Game 1
Råde quickly won the initial game. Fleischman, in an interview for the Sideboard magazine, pointed to the key moment being Råde's first turn mana Elf:
| “ | I messed up in the first game. He played a land and Fyndhorn Elves and I should have plowed the Elves because I had a Stone Rain. It would've kept him down to two mana until the fifth or sixth turn and he wouldn't have been able to get the jump on me with all his Spiders.[14] | ” |
Game 2
The second game, with Fleischman able to comfortably answer all Råde's threats, is disturbed by loud cheering. Concerned that the cheering seems to be happening whenever he draws a card for turn, Fleischman asks head judge Tom Wylie to investigate. It is determined that the cheering is coming from a Limited Edition Beta Sealed side event, as Moxen are opened[15]. The players are asked if they want to pause their match, which they decline.[16]
With Råde on 6 life, Fleischman attacks with a Gargoyle and Solider Token into a Woolly Spider and Orcish Cannoneers. Råde is compelled to block both, and so Fleischman is able to cast Pyroclasm. However as the Spider had blocked a flier (the Gargoyle) it has +2/+0 and doesn't die. He also remembers to return his Blinking Spirit to his hand after playing a land for turn,[17] which results in a shaky hand gesture and "be a bit more careful next time" from Wylie.
The game is decided by Jokulhaups. Råde had eight lands in play, but only one in his hand, and isn't able to recover in time.
Game 3
Game 4
Final Results
Seniors
After the conclusion of the single elimination finals the final standings were:[18][19]
| Place | Player | Deck | Prize | Pro Points | Comment |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Olle Råde
|
Bugbind | $22,000 | 30 | First Swede to win a Pro Tour Pro Tour debut |
| 2 | Sean Fleischman
|
GargoHaups | $12,800 | 25 | |
| 3 | Alvaro Marques
|
Blinkie-Haups | $7,500 | 20 | Pro Tour debut |
| 4 | Peter Radonjic
|
GargoHaups | $7,500 | 20 | Pro Tour debut |
| 5 | Brian Weissman
|
Necropotence | $4,400 | 10 | |
| 6 | Javier Garavito
|
$4,400 | 10 | ||
| 7 | John Immordino
|
Necropotence | $4,400 | 10 | |
| 8 | Scott Johns
|
$4,400 | 10 | Second Pro Tour Top 8 |
Juniors
After the conclusion of the single elimination finals the final standings were:[20]
| Place | Player | Deck | Scholarship | Comment |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Terry Borer
|
Bugbind | $8,400 | Junior debut First Canadian to win a Junior event |
| 2 | Paul McCabe
|
Bugbind | $5,000 | Second Junior Top 8 Second grand final |
| 3 | David Parker
|
Bugbind | $2,900 | Junior debut |
| 4 | Jon Finkel
|
Counter-Post | $2,900 | Second Junior Top 8 |
| 5 | Elijah Pollock
|
$1,700 | Junior debut | |
| 6 | Justin Schneider
|
$1,700 | ||
| 7 | Robert Gray
|
$1,700 | Junior debut | |
| 8 | Mike Bregoli
|
$1,700 | Second Junior Top 8 |
References
- ↑ a b c Evan Gridley (July 12, 1996). "Subject: PT3 report (since someone was asking) (Usenet post)". The Dojo. Retrieved on June 20, 2025.
- ↑ Eric Taylor (July 10, 1996). "What is with Thawing Galciers? (Usenet post)". Newsgroup: rec.games.trading-cards.magic.strategy. Usenet. Retrieved on June 30, 2025.
- ↑ Jeff Hannes (July 7, 1996). "Junior final is over!! (Usenet post)". Newsgroup: rec.games.trading-cards.magic.misc. Usenet. Retrieved on June 25, 2025.
- ↑ Mike Flores (June 2, 2005). "High-Water Fire Mark (website)". Wizards of the Coast. Archived from the original on September 17, 2021. Retrieved on June 30, 2025.
- ↑ Mike Flores (July 13, 2006). "Icepick (website)". Wizards of the Coast. Archived from the original on March 15, 2007. Retrieved on July 1, 2025.
- ↑ Brian David-Marshall (September 2, 2002). "Deconstructing Counter-Post (website)". Wizards of the Coast. Archived from the original on October 1, 2002. Retrieved on June 30, 2025.
- ↑ Daniel M Gray (October 10, 1996). "Strategy: IA/AL-Constructed Part 2: Saturnia (.txt)". The Dojo. Retrieved on June 30, 2025.
- ↑ Daniel M Gray (July 7, 1996). "Junior final is over!! (Usenet post)". Newsgroup: rec.games.trading-cards.magic.misc. Usenet. Retrieved on June 25, 2025.
- ↑ Daniel M Gray (July 7, 1996). "Junior final is over!! (Usenet post)". Newsgroup: rec.games.trading-cards.magic.misc. Usenet. Retrieved on June 25, 2025.
- ↑ Beth Moursund (September 1996). "Pro Tour 3 (Magazine)". Inquest Issue 17, pp. 76, 77. Inquest. Archived from the original on August 2, 2020. Retrieved on June 20, 2025.
- ↑ a b Daniel Brickwell (OCtober 10, 1996). "Strategy: IA/AL-Constructed Part 2: Saturnia (.txt)". The Dojo. Retrieved on June 21, 2025.
- ↑ Wizards of the Coast (November 02, 2005). "Olle Råde - Hall of Fame (website)". Wizards of the Coast. Retrieved on June 30, 2025.
- ↑ Frank Karsten (November 7, 2013). "Frank Analysis – The 7 Worst Decks That Have Ever Won A Pro Tour (website)". Channel Fireball. Archived from the original on July 19, 2014. Retrieved on June 30, 2025.
- ↑ Terry Melia (September 1996). "Looks Can Be Deceiving (website)". Duelist Sideboard Volume 1 Issue 2, p. 18. Wizards of the Coast. Archived from the original on September 14, 2019. Retrieved on June 30, 2025.
- ↑ Craig Mason (26 Aug 1996). "UK Tourney report. A Scot at PT3. Courtesy of Team Highlander (LONG) (Usenet post)". Newsgroup: rec.games.trading-cards.magic.misc. Usenet. Retrieved on June 26, 2025.
- ↑ Pro Tour Columbus 1996 Final - Sean Fleishman vs Olle Rade (Video). Ancient CS. YouTube (June 21, 2013).
- ↑ Mike Flores (December 1, 2005). "Anatomy of a Game: Better Than the Best (website)". Star City Games. Retrieved on June 21, 2025.
- ↑ MTG PT Results (2025). "Pro Tour Columbus (website)". MTG PT Results. Retrieved on June 30, 2025.
- ↑ Wizards of the Coast (January 1, 1996). "Pro Tour Columbus 1996 (website)". Wizards of the Coast. Archived from the original on March 3, 2016. Retrieved on June 30, 2025.
- ↑ MTG PT Results (2025). "Pro Tour Columbus - Junior Division (website)". MTG PT Results. Retrieved on June 30, 2025.