Mike Long
| Mike Long | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Demographics | |
| Born | ca. 1974 |
| Residence | Franklin, Tennessee, United States |
| Nationality |
 American |
| Professional Career | |
| Pro Tour debut | 1996 Pro Tour New York |
| Winnings | $84,369 (as of 2018-08-06) |
| Top Finishes | 4 (1 win) |
| GP top 8s | 4 (1 wins) |
| Median Pro Tour Finish | 46 |
| PTs Played | 33 |
| Lifetime Pro Points | 191 (as of 2018-08-14) |
| Awards | |
| PT Champion | |
Michael "Mike" Long is an American former professional Magic: The Gathering player. One of the game's early stars and controversial figures,[1][2] Long won 1997 Pro Tour Paris, and won the Team World Championship with the United States national team three times.
History
Long was known for his charismatic persona, and often was presented as a "villain" in the coverage of Magic tournaments.[3][4] Long's first individual tournament win was at the 1997 Pro Tour Paris.[5] During the Paris tournament, Long debuted the Prosperous Bloom that was notably the first successful combo deck in tournament-level play. During the last game of the finals, Long was playing against Mark Justice and faced losing when Justice played Coercion to find out Long was holding the only Drain Life in his deck (and his only way to win). Despite this, Justice pulled Cadaverous Bloom instead, thinking Long could get the Drain Life back with Elven Cache if allowed to generate the "cadaverous mana" for a large Prosperity. Little did he know Long had sideboarded them out (as he pointed out before draining Justice's life for a total of 44 points), Justice then conceded when Long asked him "if he needed to go through the motions" instead of watching the combo play out and fizzle.[6][7][8]
At the 1998 U.S. Nationals, Long was the subject of controversy over his potential act of cheating when a key card from his combo deck was found on his chair during a game.[9] The head judge issued a match loss to Long, who went on to finish second in the tournament. Long won that year's Magic Invitational. The award was the chance to create a new card and inclusion in the card's art.[10] That card, Rootwater Thief, was printed in Nemesis.
By his retirement, Long had won a Pro Tour, a Grand Prix, and an Invitational and held the record for being on the most winning national teams and was in the top lifetime money winners. Long's legacy also included one of the first player teams, created while he was still in college.[11] He was responsible for several technical innovations; he designed a Vintage format combo deck, named "Long.dec" for him, that used Burning Wish to fetch Yawgmoth's Will out of the sideboard and set up a kill with Tendrils of Agony. Subsequent Vintage combo decks that use tutoring to set up a Tendrils kill have retained the name although the original deck was rendered unplayable by restrictions.
In 2005, former organizer Mark Rosewater nominated Long for the Magic: The Gathering Hall of Fame.[12] This ignited debates over Long's impact on the game. Rosewater later expanded on his nomination, writing "He was an early pioneer in deck design and had an influence on how deck building technology evolved. He was a tournament organizer. He wrote about the game."[1] He repeated his nomination the next year.[13] Rosewater recognized Long's shortcomings but believed that Long deserved to be in the Hall of Fame despite his cheating - much like others in the Hall of Fame.[14] Rosewater also acknowledged that he was co-responsible for Longs image and kept voting for him until Long fell of the ballot.[15]
Others felt Long did not qualify his entry due to the playing controversies.[16][17] During the 2001 Pro Tour Los Angeles, Long had been given a warning for improperly shuffling his deck. During the US Nationals Draft Challenge held at United States Nationals in 2000, Long was disqualified without prize and given a one-month suspension for presenting a deck that was not sufficiently randomized.
After a long pause, Long was seen playing under an alias at Spotlight: Planetary Rotation 2025.[18]
Accomplishments
| Season | Event type | Location | Format | Date | Rank |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Nationals | Philadelphia | Type II and Sealed Deck | July 13-16, 1995 | 3 | |
| Worlds (Team) | Seattle | Type II and Sealed Deck | August 4–6, 1995 | 1 | |
| Worlds | Seattle | Type II and Sealed Deck | August 4-6, 1995 | 10 | |
| 1996 | Nationals | Philadelphia | Type II and Sealed Deck | July 6-7, 1996 | 4 |
| 1996 | Worlds (Team) | Seattle | Team Sealed Deck | August 14–18, 1996 | 1 |
| 1996–97 | Pro Tour | Atlanta | Sealed Deck | September 13–15, 1996 | 6 |
| 1996–97 | Invitational | Hong Kong | Classic, Classic Restricted, Standard and Limited | February 14–16, 1997 | 2 |
| 1996–97 | Pro Tour | Paris | Block Constructed | April 11–13, 1997 | 1 |
| 1996–97 | Grand Prix | Washington, D.C. | Sealed Deck and Booster Draft | April 26–27, 1997 | 1 |
| 1997-98 | Nationals | Columbus | Standard and Booster Draft | July 3-5, 1998 | 2 |
| 1997–98 | Worlds (Team) | Seattle | Team Sealed Deck | August 12–16, 1998 | 1 |
| 1998–99 | Invitational | Barcelona | Classic, Extended, Standard and Limited | February 4–7, 1999 | 1 |
| 1998–99 | Pro Tour | Los Angeles | Rochester Draft | February 26–28, 1999 | 8 |
| 1999–00 | Pro Tour | Los Angeles | Block Constructed | February 4–6, 2000 | 4 |
| 1999–00 | Grand Prix | Nagoya | Team Limited | April 22–23, 2000 | 3 |
| 1999–00 | Nationals | Orlando | Standard and Booster Draft | June 8-11, 2000 | 7 |
| 2000–01 | Masters | Chicago | Booster Draft | December 1-3, 2000 | 9 |
| 2000–01 | Grand Prix | Sendai | Extended | December 15-16, 2001 | 3 |
| 2001–02 | Nationals | Orlando | Standard and Booster Draft | May 31-June 2, 2002 | 5 |
| 2002–03 | Grand Prix | Pittsburgh | Team Limited | May 31-June 1, 2003 | 4 |
→ Source: Wizards.com
Pro Tour Results
| Season | Pro Tour | Format | Finish | Winnings |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1996 | New York | Standard (New York Style) | 18 | |
| 1996 | Los Angeles | Booster Draft | 30 | $1,150 |
| 1996 | Colombus | Block Constructed | 101 | |
| 1996 | Worlds (Seattle) | Special | 15 | $3,200 |
| 1996–97 | Atlanta | Sealed Deck | 5 | $5,500 |
| 1996–97 | Dallas | Standard | 87 | |
| 1996–97 | Los Angeles | Rochester Draft | 9 | $3,200 |
| 1996–97 | Paris | Block Constructed | 1 | $26,000 |
| 1996–97 | New York | Booster Draft | 66 | |
| 1996–97 | Worlds (Seattle) | Special | 24 | $2,400 |
| 1997–98 | Chicago | Extended | 9 | $4,000 |
| 1997–98 | Mainz | Rochester Draft | 256 | |
| 1997–98 | Los Angeles | Block Constructed | 42 | $720 |
| 1997–98 | New York | Booster Draft | 39 | $810 |
| 1997–98 | Worlds (Seattle) | Special | 30 | $1,230 |
| 1998–99 | Chicago | Booster Draft | 26 | $2,400 |
| 1998–99 | Los Angeles | Rochester Draft | 8 | $4,300 |
| 1998–99 | New York | Block Constructed | 168 | |
| 1999–00 | Washington, D.C. | Team Limited | 9 | |
| 1999–00 | Los Angeles | Booster Draft | 4 | $8,000 |
| 1999–00 | New York | Block Constructed | 157 | |
| 1999–00 | Worlds (Brussels) | Special | 39 | $830 |
| 2000–01 | New York | Team Limited | 35 | |
| 2000–01 | Chicago | Standard | 308 | |
| 2000–01 | Los Angeles | Rochester Draft | 192 | |
| 2000–01 | Tokyo | Block Constructed | 147 | |
| 2000–01 | Barcelona | Booster Draft | 328 | |
| 2001–02 | New York | Team Limited | 127 | |
| 2001–02 | New Orleans | Extended | 236 | |
| 2001–02 | Osaka | Block Constructed | 236 | |
| 2002–03 | Chicago | Rochester Draft | 186 | |
| 2003–04 | Boston | Team Limited | 16 | $800 |
| 2003–04 | Seattle | Team Limited | 72 |
→ Source: Wizards.com
External links
References
- ↑ a b Mark Rosewater (June 27, 2005). "It’s a Long Story". Wizards of the Coast. Retrieved on 2015-09-23.
- ↑ Magic the Gathering Documentary - Mike Long: On the "Metagame" - IC2G (Video). icametogame. YouTube (2007).
- ↑ Jason Henry (April 24, 2016). "Meet the former ‘Magic: The Gathering’ champion who brought his Lamborghini to Coachella". The Sun.
- ↑ Mark Rosewater (June 16, 2015). "you said that the HoF "first and foremost is about history."". Blogatog. Tumblr.
- ↑ Mark Rosewater (May 26, 2015). "Six Continents, Six Stories". magicthegathering.com. Wizards of the Coast.
- ↑ Mark Rosewater (July 26, 2004). "On Tour, Part 1". magicthegathering.com. Wizards of the Coast.
- ↑ Mike Flores (February 15, 2007). "Master versus Master". magicthegathering.com. Wizards of the Coast. Archived from the original on December 13, 2014.
- ↑ Pro Tour Paris 1997 Final - Mark Justice vs Mike Long (Video). Ancient CS. YouTube (2014).
- ↑ John "Nev" Balla (June, 2001). "Cheating In Magic". Pojo.com.
- ↑ Mark Rosewater (May 10, 2004). "All-Star Studded". magicthegathering.com. Wizards of the Coast. Archived from the original on 2021-02-07.
- ↑ Davis Kushner (2005), "Jonny Magic and the Cardshark Kids", Random House
- ↑ Mark Rosewater (June 20, 2005). "Decking the Hall". magicthegathering.com. Wizards of the Coast.
- ↑ Mark Rosewater (August 14, 2006). "Hedonism With Attitude". magicthegathering.com. Wizards of the Coast.
- ↑ Mark Rosewater (November 21, 2025). "Mike Long is a confirmed cheater. Why do you downplay that in your podcasts?". Blogatog. Tumblr.
- ↑ Mark Rosewater (February 27, 2025). "I will be so glad when his name comes off the ballot and we can get this issue behind us.". Blogatog. Tumblr.
- ↑ Mark Rosewater (August 15, 2005). "By The Letter". magicthegathering.com. Wizards of the Coast.
- ↑ Peter Jahne (June 24, 2005). "Yawgmoth’s Whimsy #128: A Long Rant". StarCityGames.
- ↑ Raynor Kuang (September 2, 2025). "Here's the side story by itself.". Twitter.