1996 Pro Tour New York
| Pro Tour New York | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
 | ||||
| Date | February 16 to 18, 1996 | |||
| Location | New York City, United States | |||
| Attendance |
Seniors: 239 (256 places) | |||
| Format | "New York Style" Type II (Standard) | |||
| Prize pool |
Senior: $30,000 Junior: $30,000 (Scholarships) | |||
| Winner |
Senior:  Michael LocontoJunior: Graham Tatomer | |||
| ||||
The inaugural Pro Tour event was held from February 16 to 18, 1996 in New York City.[1][2][3]
Description
When it was first announced, on December 5, 1995[4], Pro Tour New York was referred to as being the first event in the Black Lotus Pro Tour. The Black Lotus nomenclature was dropped before the tournament started.
| “ | We wanted to name the Pro Tour, and one of the first things we came up with was "The Black Lotus Pro Tour." We sent out postcards announcing it, and we later learned that the lotus had connotations in some foreign markets that were not good. It is symbolic of drug trafficking in Asia, for example.[5] | ” |
The event was not streamed live, but a video was later published by Wizards of the Coast.[5][6][7]
Michael Loconto ended up the winner, taking down 1994 Worlds finalist Bertrand Lestrée in the final. The top prize was $12,000 for the win, much more than the winners of the earlier major tournaments got, yet a lot less than future Pro Tour winners would earn. Loconto and Lestrée had agreed to split the prize, with both taking home $8,500.
Qualification
While successive Pro Tour events would develop a system of qualifying tournaments and invites based on previous results or DCI rankings, none of this was yet in place for New York. Wizards of the Coast staff instead personally invited many players whom they considered needed to attend. Mark Justice, then the current US National Champion, reported that he was told by Mark Rosewater that he was "one of about ten players" with automatic entry.[8] Other sources, including Rosewater himself, have noted that this could have been as much "several dozen".[9]
| “ | We invited everybody that we could think of who were good players, including using rankings for the first time. We invited the top 25 or top 50 or whatever. Then we needed to fill out the rest of the tournament, and we had no other means to do it. So the way you got into the first Pro Tour was by calling in.[5] | ” |
The remaining slots, out of 256 total, were open entry. Players could register by calling a special phone number, giving the event the nickname of "Pro Tour Speed Dial". Eventual champion Michael Loconto was one player who secured their place at the event in this manner. Entries sold out within two hours of becoming available on Thursday, December 14, 1995.[9]
Format
This Pro Tour used a novel deck construction format, a variation of the Type II (Standard) format. In addition to the usual restrictions for Standard decks, each deck was required to contain at least five cards from each of the legal expansions:
Meeting this requirement without lowering the efficiency of the decks gave the deck builders an interesting challenge. Future Wizards employee Elaine Chase, for example, chose to include Aysen Highway in sideboard of her white weenie deck as tech for the mirror-match.[5] While many players approached the "Homelandicap" by registering cards that they otherwise would not have played in their sideboard, others managed to incorporate cards from the weaker expansions more successfully. One player reported making a relatively late change in his deck, swapping Memory Lapses for Serrated Arrows to meet the Homelands quota, which he credits as being a factor in his success at the event.
The format variation was not the only thing which was new for New York; it was also the first time the "Play/Draw Rule" was utilised.[10] Previously the starting player had also drawn a card.
Black Vise Restriction
At the start of January 1996 it was announced that Black Vise would be restricted in Type II, effective from February 1, 1996.[11] Six out of eight of the decks from the 1995 World Championships finals had included Black Vise; it had been a significant aspect of the Type II metagame.
Beside the immediate effect of making decks like Henry Stern's "Vice Age" nonviable, the restriction allowed players to draw extra cards without being punished. This was apparent at New York in the popularity of decks utilising Land Tax, including Champion Michael Loconto's White Blue Control deck.
| “ | Very, very, very unoriginal decks. Land tax was everywhere. A lot of light or no creature decks. A lot of wrath of god, A lot of stormbind a lot of armageddon/balence/zorb decks etc |
” |
The breakout performance of black decks featuring Necropotance, including Junior Division champion Graham Tatomer's deck and the ones played by the Swedish Top 16 competitors Thomas Andersson (3rd in Swiss) and Leon Lindbäck (semi-finalist)[13], can also be explained by the absence of Black Vise.
| “ | I think that Necropotence as an archetype was made possible by the restriction of Black Vise prior to PT 1,” explained Flores. “People say 'it took a long time' for players to notice that Necropotence was good. That's not true. The card WASN'T GOOD. Paying life to go to seven cards in hand would have been terrible in a format where Black Vise was not only available but heavily played as a 4-of.[14] | ” |
Following Pro Tour New York the Necropotence decks of Tatomer and Lindbäck would inspire many others, leading to the infamous "Black Summer" of 1996.
Schedule
Friday February 16
- Player interviews at 8 am
- Reception at 6:30 pm
Saturday February 17
- Seven rounds of best-of-three Swiss.
Sunday February 18
- The Top 16 players from the previous day to play in a single-elimination finals series. The round of 16 and quarter-finals to be played best-of-three, with the semi-finals and grand finals to be best-of-five matches.
Friday
The first day of Pro Tour New York was a casual affair. Players were interviewed for the planned video release and spent their time testing for the tournament, socializing, or playing games of Type I for Ante.
The winter of 1995 and 1996 had been quite severe in New York, with the Blizzard of '96 a month earlier being one of the most significant winter storms on record. By the afternoon of Friday it was clear that another snowstorm was brewing[15] and the decission was made to delay the start of the Swiss rounds on Saturday by 4 hours.
The majority of contestants had managed to make it into New York before the weather conditions had closed airports and roads so the opening reception was still held at 6:30 pm as planned. Richard Garfield was present, and in addition to the canapés, there was an exhibition of Gamma playtest cards and original card artwork by Richard Kane Ferguson.
Saturday
The first round of Magic started at 12:45 pm. Due to the late start, Round 6 finished after midnight, with Round 7 being rescheduled for 8 am on Sunday.
Sunday
At the start of Day 2, four players had undefeated 6-0 match records.[16] These were:
- Mark Justice
- Eric Tam
- George Baxter
- Thomas Andersson
All four were guaranteed a place in the Top 16 no matter the result of their final pool match. In Round 7, Justice would beat Tam, and Baxter would beat Andersson, leaving those two players as the top seeds.
Standings after Round 7
| Place | Player | Match wins | Game wins |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | George Baxter
|
7 | 17 |
| 2 | Mark Justice
|
7 | 15 |
| 3 |  Thomas Andersson
|
6 | 18 |
| 4 | Dennis Bentley
|
6 | 17 |
| 5 | Sean Fleischman
|
6 | 15 |
| 6 | Leon Lindbäck
|
6 | 15 |
| 7 | Michael Loconto
|
6 | 15 |
| 8 | Preston Poulter
|
6 | 15 |
| 9 |  Andrea Redi
|
6 | 15 |
| 10 |  Bertrand Lestrée
|
6 | 14 |
| 11 | Bruce Swiney
|
6 | 14 |
| 12 | Nathan Wildgrube
|
6 | 14 |
| 13 | Eric Tam
|
6 | 13 |
| 14 | Shawn "Hammer" Regnier
|
6 | 11 |
| 15 | Jim Lemire
|
5.5 | 12 |
| 16 | Christopher Bishop
|
5.5 | 11 |
Top 16 bracket
In the round of sixteen:
- Mark Justice beat Bruce Swiney (2-1)
- Preston Poulter beat Thomas Andersson (2-0)
- Michael Loconto beat Italian Andrea Redi (2-0)
- Eric Tam beat Chris Bishop (2-1)
- George Baxter beat Jim Lemire (2-0)
- Leon Lindbäck beat Sean Fleischman (2-1)
- Shawn "Hammer" Regnier beat Dennis Bentley (2-0)
- Bertrand Lestrée beat Nathan Wildgrube (2-1)
Top 8 bracket
| Quarterfinals | Semifinals | Finals | |||||||||||
| 2 | Mark Justice | 1 | |||||||||||
| 8 | Preston Poulter | 2 | |||||||||||
| 8 | Preston Poulter | 2 | |||||||||||
| 7 | Michael Loconto | 3 | |||||||||||
| 13 | Eric Tam | 0 | |||||||||||
| 7 | Michael Loconto | 2 | |||||||||||
| 7 | Michael Loconto | 2 | |||||||||||
| 10 | Bertrand Lestrée | 1 | |||||||||||
| 1 | George Baxter | 0 | |||||||||||
| 6 | Leon Lindbäck | 2 | |||||||||||
| 6 | Leon Lindbäck | 0 | |||||||||||
| 10 | Bertrand Lestrée | 3 | |||||||||||
| 10 | Bertrand Lestrée | 2 | |||||||||||
| 14 | "Hammer" Regnier | 1 | |||||||||||
Grand final
The two finalists, Michael Loconto and Bertrand Lestrée, had already played during the pool stages of the competition. Lestrée had won that match and was expected to be able to repeat the feat in the grand final.
Loconto was a Social Worker from Worcester, Massachusetts. While relatively unknown outside of the New England region, he was well respected in the Northeast tournament scene. He played a White Blue Millstone deck that generally defeated his opponents by running them out of cards. One innovative concept was his addition of Hallowed Ground, which he used to protect himself against Armageddon, to activate his Land Tax, and to save his Mishra's Factories from destruction.
His opponent, 1994 French National Champion Bertrand Lestrée, had finished second to Zak Dolan at the 1994 World Championships. He played the most popular deck of the tournament: a Green White ErhnamGeddon deck. Erhnam Djinn, a 4/5 for only 
, was one of the most efficient creatures in the Fallen Empires to Homelands Standard environment. Its drawback of giving an opponent's creature Forestwalk each turn was negligible, especially after casting the deck's other namesake card Armageddon.
Game 1
The first game was defined by a mistake by Loconto. He played an Icy Manipulator and on Lestrée's upkeep, he activated it to tap down one of Lestrée's forests for the turn. Lestrée was consequently able to use his Plains, his sole 
source, to cast Balance. Also activating his Zuran Orb in response to his own Balance left both players without lands. Lestrée was then able to take advantage of the lifegain from an Ivory Tower, which he had played on his first turn, to draw extra cards off his Sylan Library.[17] This card advantage slowly allowed him to take control of the game.
Game 2
In contrast to contemporary Magic where the first two games in a best-of-five match are played sans sideboards, in New York, the finalists sideboarded after Game 1. This game took 75 minutes to play, with Loconto finally winning by decking Lestrée.
Game 3
The match was supposed to be best-of-five, but as the first two games had been quite long Judges asked the two players if this could be reduced to best-of-three. This was agreed; they would split the first and second place prizes and play one more game for the title.[16]
Game three would end up being much faster. Lestrée Armageddon'd with a Whirling Dervish in play, putting significant pressure on Loconto. On 4 life, with the Dervish having grown to be a 5/5, he needed to draw Swords to Plowshares to survive. On his turn, he played the Plains he had been holding and successfully exiled the creature. The momentum of the game was now in Loconto's favor, and he ended up managing to beat Lestrée and take the Championship.
| “ | The first night we got there...we were partying pretty hard. I'll never forget this, though: Richard Garfield, who at the time was kind of a big deal, was there, and I had never met him. We were all practicing in the hallways of the hotel, and I'd had a few too many drinks. I went up to him and I said, "Hey Richard! I'm Michael Loconto, and I'm gonna see you Sunday when I win this thing!"
And then after it was all said and done, and I'm standing there with him, he was shaking his head, saying, "I can't believe you won." |
” |
Final results
Seniors
After the completion of the single-elimination Top 16, the final standings were:
| Place | Player | Deck | Prize | Pro Points |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Michael Loconto
|
White Blue Control | $12,000 | 30 |
| 2 | Bertrand Lestrée
|
ErhnamGeddon | $5,000 | 25 |
| 3 | Leon Lindbäck
|
Necropotence | $2,500 | 20 |
| 4 | Preston Poulter
|
Lily White | $2,500 | 20 |
| 5 | George Baxter
|
The Good Stuff Deck | $1,000 | 10 |
| 6 | Mark Justice
|
Elkin Bottle Challenge Deck | $1,000 | 10 |
| 7 | Shawn "Hammer" Regnier
|
Old '85 | $1,000 | 10 |
| 8 |  Eric Tam
|
Zoo | $1,000 | 10 |
The 9th through 16th placed competitors each earned a $500 cash prize.
Juniors
The final result for the junior division was:[18]
| Place | Player | Deck | Scholarship |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Graham Tatomer
|
Necropotence | $12,000 |
| 2 | Aaron Kline
|
White Weenie | $5,000 |
| 3-4 | Ross Sclafani
|
Red White Sunstone | $1,000 |
| 3-4 | Maxwell Suver
|
Red Green White Stormbind | $2,500 |
| 5-8 | Jon Finkel
|
White Blue Control | $1,000 |
| 5-8 | Nate Foure
|
unknown | $1,000 |
| 5-8 | Brendon Herzog
|
unknown | $2,500 |
| 5-8 | Jason Norment
|
unknown | $1,000 |
References
- ↑ Blake Rasmussen (November 24, 2014). "Magic's First Pro Tour Top 8". magicthegathering.com. Wizards of the Coast. Archived from the original on 2021-04-29.
- ↑ Sparky!! (February 23, 1996). "WotC Release: Pro Tour Results (Usenet Post)". rec.games.trading-cards.magic.misc. Usenet. Retrieved on June 11, 2025.
- ↑ Jeff J. Lin (May 1996). "Magic Takes Manhattan (website)". The Duelist, pp. 66-69. Wizards of the Coast. Archived from the original on October 22, 2020. Retrieved on June 11, 2025.
- ↑ Sparky!! (December 5, 1995). "WotC Info: Pro Tourey Info (Usenet Post)". rec.games.trading-cards.magic.misc. Usenet. Retrieved on June 11, 2025.
- ↑ a b c d e Brian David-Marshall (February 2, 2016). "An Oral History of the First Pro Tour". magicthegathering.com. Wizards of the Coast. Archived from the original on 2016-02-05.
- ↑ Mark Rosewater (July 26, 2004). "On Tour, Part 1". magicthegathering.com. Wizards of the Coast.
- ↑ Magic the Gathering Showdown in New York 1/10. YouTube. Retrieved on 2015-09-29.
- ↑ Mark Justice (June 1, 2009). "Musings on the History of the Magic Pro Tour (website)". Wizards of the Coast. Archived from the original on Oct 20, 2020. Retrieved on June 11, 2025.
- ↑ a b Wizards of the Coast (December 18, 1995). "Premiere Magic: The Gathering Pro Tournament Sells Out in Two Hours (Press Release)". mtghistory.info. Retrieved on June 12, 2025.
- ↑ Mark Rosewater (February 1996). "Big Money! No Whammy! (website)". The Duelist, pp. 12. Wizards of the Coast. Archived from the original on March 26, 2020. Retrieved on June 11, 2025.
- ↑ Sparky!! (January 8, 1995). "Vise and Twist (Usenet Post)". rec.games.trading-cards.magic.misc. Usenet. Retrieved on June 14, 2025.
- ↑ Jamie Wakefield (February 19, 1995). "RE: PRO TOURNEY THIS WEEK: What happened?? (Usenet Post)". rec.games.trading-cards.magic.misc. Usenet. Retrieved on June 14, 2025.
- ↑ Dan Hörning (June 6, 1996). "RE: [Complete List] Pro Tourney 1 - Decks (Usenet Post)". rec.games.trading-cards.magic.misc. Usenet. Retrieved on June 14, 2025.
- ↑ Brian David-Marshall (February 17, 2006). "Ten Years Ago Yesterday… (website)". Wizards of the Coast. Archived from the original on October 15, 2021. Retrieved on June 14, 2025.
- ↑ Robert D. McFadden (February 17, 1996). "Fast and Fierce, 12th Storm Batters the Region (website)". New York Times. Retrieved on June 11, 2025.
- ↑ a b Mark Rosewater (February 21, 1996). "New York Pro Tournament: A Personal Recap (Usenet post)". rec.games.trading-cards.magic.misc. Usenet. Retrieved on June 11, 2025.
- ↑ Daniel Brickwell (March 11, 1996). "Late insights from the Protourney (Usenet Post)". The Dojo. Retrieved on June 12, 2025.
- ↑ Brian David-Marshall (August 5, 2004). "A Skull in the Snow (website)". Wizards of the Coast. Archived from the original on July 5, 2017. Retrieved on June 12, 2025.