Mike Flores
| Mike Flores | |
|---|---|
| Demographics | |
| Residence | New York, United States |
| Nationality |
 American |
| Professional Career | |
| Pro Tour debut | Pro Tour Dallas 1996 |
| Top Finishes | 0 |
| GP top 8s | 0 |
- For other uses, see Mike.
Michael J Flores has been a pundit and expert of Magic: The Gathering strategy since there has been Magic on the Internet; he is the former editor of The Dojo and a sometime professional player. He has written on every aspect of the game, but is most well-known for writing the foundational Magic theory article Who's the Beatdown, in 1999.[1] Despite his writing success, his greatest Pro Tour finish was 27th at Pro Tour Magic Origins in Vancouver.
Biography
Flores is credited with the creation of several famous decks, including Napster and Jushi Blue. He has tested with a wide range of famous and successful professional players including Jon Finkel, Osyp Lebedowicz, and Mark Herberholz.
Flores is a somewhat polarizing Magic personality. Though he was once cited as the most popular Magic Internet columnist of all time, winning "Writer of the Year" honors multiple times at both StarCityGames and magicthegathering.com, as well as the "popularity contest" Resident Genius award in 2006, Flores has detractors amongst Eternal players. Flores has played on numerous Pro Tour events, participated in US Nationals, been voted into the 2006 Magic Invitational, and won the 2006 New York Standard Champs with a White-Blue-Red deck featuring Serra Avenger.
From 2014 to 2021, he hosted Top Level Podcast, a strategy podcast focused on Constructed Magic, with Hall of Famer Patrick Chapin. In 2015, he qualified for a Pro Tour for the first time since 2006.
Pro Tour Results
| Season | Pro Tour | Format | Finish | Winnings |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1996–97 | Dallas | Standard | 134 | |
| 1996–97 | New York | Booster Draft | 113 | |
| 1998–99 | Los Angeles | Rochester Draft | 222 | |
| 1998–99 | New York | Block Constructed | 240 | |
| 1999–00 | Chicago | Extended | 87 | |
| 1999–00 | Los Angeles | Booster Draft | 197 | |
| 2001–02 | New York | Team Limited | 17 | $700 |
| 2002–03 | Boston | Team Limited | 78 | |
| 2003–04 | Boston | Team Limited | 121 | |
| 2005 | Los Angeles | Extended | 156 | |
| 2006 | Charleston | Team Constructed | 26 | |
| 2014–15 | Magic Origins in Vancouver | Standard and Booster Draft | 27 | $1,500 |
| 2015–16 | Battle for Zendikar in Milwaukee | Standard and Booster Draft | 346 |
→ Source: Wizards.com
Literary career
Mike Flores has been playing and writing about Magic since at least 1995 when he started writing on Usenet. He has subsequently written for The Dojo, Neutral Ground, Brainburst, magicthegathering.com, and Star City Games.
A largely unedited collection of his columns from 1995 to 2005 was published by Top8Magic.com, under the title Michael J. Flores: Deckade.
External links
- fivewithflores at YouTube
- fivewithflores.com/
- Mike Flores (April 28, 2005). "Naming the Red Metagame". magicthegathering.com. Wizards of the Coast.
References
- ↑ Mike Flores (January 1, 1999). "Who's The Beatdown?". The Dojo.