Cole Swannack
| Cole Swannack | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Demographics | |
| Born | ca. 1990 |
| Residence | Auckland |
| Nationality |
 New Zealand |
| Professional Career | |
| Pro Tour debut | 2002 World Championships |
Cole Swannack is a former professional player who became New Zealand National Champion at the age of 12.[1] He went on to finish a respectable 17th at the 2002 World Championships, being chosen for coverage in multiple feature matches.[2]
Playing career
Cole played his first Nationals in 2000 when he was just 10 years old. He went undefeated in the two Booster Drafts before losing his first match in the Standard portion of the event to eventual champion Chirs Wilson.[3] After 12 rounds of Swiss he was in second place[4] but lost his quarterfinal match to eventual finalist Dave Bullock.
With the Magic Invitational being held in Sydney that year, Cole flew over from Auckland to spectate.
| “ | "I learned a lot from watching the players at the Invitational," Swannack said, "Not so much in the strategy they used, but just in the way they carried themselves during a match-the way they shuffled, or held the cards, or used body language. They really taught me a lot about what it took to be a good player."[2] | ” |
2002 Nationals
Cole would only lose one match at the 2002 New Zealand National Championships. This came in Round 5, against 2001 Runner-up James White.[5] By the end of Round 8 he was top of the leaderboard[6], a place which he retained after an intentional draw in the final round of Swiss.[7]
The only archived text coverage of Cole's finals matches was his semi-final against Anthony Gysberts[8], where in the deciding game three he Memory Lapsed the same Skizzik on turns three, four and five. This allows him time to develop his mana, and importantly, drop a sideboarded Circle of Protection: Black. While Cole did receive a warning for tapping his mana incorrectly, tokens from Goblin Trenches win him the match.
He went on to beat Julian Brown-Santirso, playing red/green Madness, in the final to become NZ Champion.[1]
2002 Worlds
Swannack took advantage of the newly released Magic Online to practice his game ahead of the 2002 World Championships, with a particular focus on Limited formats.[2]
He made a strong impact at Worlds from Day 1:
| “ | Without a doubt, the question I heard the most between Wednesday afternoon and Thursday morning was "How did the kid do?" "The kid" is Cole Swannack, who won the New Zealand national championship at the ripe old age of 12. He's since turned 13 and he did quite well on day 1, thank you very much. | ” |
Cole started the Standard portion of the event badly, with a loss to two-time Hungarian National Champion Gabor Papp.[2] However, he managed to rebound and win his next 5 matches, facing such opponents as Ben Stark, Gary Wise (in a feature match for sideboard.com[10]) and Grand Prix Singapore winner Albertus Law.
Day 2 was Odyssey, Torment and Judgment Booster Draft. Cole was a featured player for the first draft, along with Zvi Mowshowitz, building a red/green deck which was hampered by a lack of 2-mana creatures.[9] He managed to go 2-1 in the pod, beating Daniel Clegg in another feature match Round 9.[11] In his second draft, Cole defeated Swedish National Champion Anton Jonsson before being beaten by Finn Tuomas Kotiranta and Irish National Champion John Larkin. He'd finish Day 2 in 27th place,[12] down from a high of 7th place after Round 7.[13]
Echoing his first round loss to Hungarian Gabor Papp, Cole started Day 3 with a loss against the National Champion of the neighboring Czech Republic: Tomas Tomecek.[2] Like before, he managed to recover and came into a Round 17 feature match against Raphaël Lévy needing one win and one draw to make the Top 8.[14] The match was not quite a blue/green mirror: Cole's Block Constructed deck was focused towards the Madness mechanic while Raphaël's favored Threshold. Ultimately, the French veteran would win the decider, thanks to back-to-back Æther Bursts, knocking Cole out of contention. He won his final match, against fellow New Zealander Scott Richards, securing a 17th-place finish.
Accomplishments
| Season | Event type | Location | Format | Date | Rank |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1999-2000 | Nationals | New Zealand | Standard and Booster Draft | June 16-17, 2000 | 5-8 |
| 2001-02 | Grand Prix | Brisbane | Sealed Deck and Rochester Draft | October 20-21, 2001 | 25 |
| 2001-02 | Nationals | New Zealand | Standard and Booster Draft | April 20-21, 2002 | 1 |
| 2001-02 | Worlds (Team) | Sydney | Team Rochester Draft | August 14-18, 2002 | 9 |
| 2001-02 | Worlds | Sydney | Block Constructed, Standard and Booster Draft | August 14-18, 2002 | 17 |
| 2002-03 | Nationals | New Zealand | Standard and Rochester Draft | April 12-13, 2003 | 3 |
| 2003-04 | Nationals | New Zealand | Standard and Booster Draft | July 2-4, 2004 | 4 |
| 2003-04 | Worlds | San Francisco, California | Block Constructed, Standard and Booster Draft | September 1-5, 2004 | 11 |
| 2007-08 | Nationals | New Zealand | Standard and Booster Draft | July 25-27, 2008 | 5 |
→ Source: Wizards.com
Notable Decks
Cole used a creatureless 
control deck to win the 2002 NZ Nationals.[15] The format was Invasion and Odyssey block era Standard.
External links
References
- ↑ a b saltydog.co.nz (2002). "12yr Cole Swannack wins New Zealand Nationals (website)". saltydog.co.nz. Archived from the original on June 6, 2002. Retrieved on October 22, 2025.
- ↑ a b c d e Gary Wise (October 2002). "Player Profile: Cole Swannack (pdf)". The Sideboard #43. Wizards of the Coast. Retrieved on October 22, 2025.
- ↑ Chris Wilson (August 1, 2000). "1st Place Report by Chris Wilson (website)". mtgparadise.com. Archived from the original on April 21, 2001. Retrieved on October 22, 2025.
- ↑ gameon.net.nz (June 16, 2000). "Final Standings New Zealand National 2000 (website)". gameon.net.nz. Archived from the original on June 29, 2002. Retrieved on October 22, 2025.
- ↑ saltydog.co.nz (June 2002). "Round Five Results (website)". saltydog.co.nz. Archived from the original on August 22, 2002. Retrieved on October 22, 2025.
- ↑ saltydog.co.nz (June 2002). "Standings Round Eight (website)". saltydog.co.nz. Archived from the original on June 22, 2002. Retrieved on October 22, 2025.
- ↑ saltydog.co.nz (June 2002). "Round Twelve Results (website)". saltydog.co.nz. Archived from the original on June 24, 2002. Retrieved on October 22, 2025.
- ↑ Martin Jeffreys (June 2002). "Semi Final Cole Swannack vs Anthony Gysberts (website)". saltydog.co.nz. Archived from the original on August 19, 2002. Retrieved on October 22, 2025.
- ↑ a b Randy Buehler (October 2002). "Draft 1: Zvi Mowshowitz and Cole Swannack (website)". Wizards of the Coast. Archived from the original on October 11, 2008. Retrieved on October 22, 2025.
- ↑ Josh Bennett (October 2002). "Round 5: Gary Wise vs. Cole Swannack (website)". Wizards of the Coast. Archived from the original on June 2, 2009. Retrieved on October 22, 2025.
- ↑ Toby Wachter (October 2002). "Round 9: Cole Swannack vs. Dan Clegg (website)". Wizards of the Coast. Archived from the original on June 2, 2009. Retrieved on October 22, 2025.
- ↑ Wizards of the Coast (October 2002). "Round 12 Standings (website)". Wizards of the Coast. Archived from the original on June 2, 2009. Retrieved on October 22, 2025.
- ↑ Wizards of the Coast (October 2002). "Round 7 Standings (website)". Wizards of the Coast. Archived from the original on June 2, 2009. Retrieved on October 22, 2025.
- ↑ Round 17: Raphael Levy vs. Cole Swannack (website). Wizards of the Coast (October 2002). Archived from the original on June 2, 2009. Retrieved on October 22, 2025.
- ↑ saltydog.co.nz (2002). "NZ Nationals Final Standings Top 8 decklists (website)". saltydog.co.nz. Archived from the original on June 6, 2002. Retrieved on October 23, 2025.