November 23rd 2015 – Two more weeks to departure
Wow that month sure flew fast! Its now about two more weeks before we fly. Guess its time for another edition of Meet the Crew. I already did a Meet the Crew for Raymond and myself (for PT Vancouver) here:
http://vmtgstore.blogspot.my/search/label/PT%20Vancouver%20-%20Meet%20the%20crew
Lets get down to the two other Malaysian crew of your WMC 2015!
Competitor name: Syed Zulkarnaen
Profession: Internal Auditor
Age: 33
Qualification method: WMCQ #1 Winner
My guess of his favorite Magic card: Anything that says “Red Instant – Deal Damage to Target Creature or Player”
I met Syed somewhere in 2012 while gaming at Tavern, Kota Damansara. He was “always” the red mage. Red mages in MTG were like Level 1 mages. Red is one of the most basic decks to play and easiest to master. But the natural progression of most red mages is that at one point they will often hit the brick wall until they feel tired and realise that they need to move up the chain to a Level 2 deck such as Abzan or Bant. But Syed approaches red slightly differently. He puts thought into certain elements into his red decks that most other “amateur” red mages wouldn’t consider, like inherent card advantage, balancing tricks + burn, number of creatures vs spells. His natural instinct on the timing of playing his spells comes from wealth of experience, which I have previously dubbed him as the most potent Red Mage in the country today.
The road to the WMC wasn’t easy for Syed. You can read his report here:
https://www.classroom.com.my/index.php/blog/mtg/feature-articles/item/42-red-si-merah-a-burnin-tale-by-syed-merah-zulkarnaen
Fast forward to the Finals of WMC, Syed was paired vs Nicholas “Obama” James. Aside from the deck designer Wei Han, Obama was a natural pilot for Mardu. His execution was flawless throughout the tournament but luck didn’t swing his way with multitudes of mulligans and Syed drew the Stoke the Flames he needed to seal the win.
Whether or not we play a Red Aggro for WMC, Syed’s contribution to the team has been tremendous, basically he is our Red Gauntlet. He destroyed many of our earlier variations of Mardu and made us shore up our Ramp decks to the point so it didn’t automatically fold to a random Red Aggro. Syed’s not a Pro Tour competitor (yet), but you don’t get a better red mage test partner in your team.
Competitor name: Chin Wei Han
Profession: Product Manager
Age: 23
Qualification method: WMCQ #3 Winner
My guess of his favorite Magic card: Abzan Charm? Mardu Charm? Jund Charm? (What’s with Wei Han and charms?? Hence the nickname, Macaroon Charm, oops i mean Chin)
Youngest team member on this years WMC team, but not the the one with the least experience. Many people may not know this but Wei Han did Top 8 a Grand Prix (GP Kuala Lumpur) back in 2010 with Jund, losing out in the quarterfinals. He was only 17.
When I was his age, I haven’t even picked up my first Craw Wurm or Terror and here he was slinging with Bloodbraid Elves and Broodmate Dragons. Being so young, he declined his invitation to the Pro Tour. So after more than 5 years trying, he is finally due for his first grand stage, a World Magic Cup at that. Team Decards was originally founded by Shawn Khoo and Wei Han, which later on added members to form the team you see today.
Wei Han plays with a very cold (more like frozen) demeanor, unfazed at opponents plays and demonstrating his ability across a variation of decks and formats. In 2015, his pet – Mardu Dragons, was the weapon of choice for the team for WMCQ #1. The inspiration was received when he was taking a shower and realized that Chain to the Rocks was the answer to Hangarback Walker menace. It didn’t fear Dromoka’s Command and the deck had the right answers for the meta - Crackling Doom (Siege Rhino), Goblin Rabblemaster (Control), Stormbreath Dragon (Abzan). The team had answers and it was so close to seal a win in WMCQ #1.
For WMCQ #3, Wei Han went a safe and stable road, pushing aside GR Devotion and Mardu Dragons for Abzan Control and took it all the way in an epic finale. You can read what transpired here:
http://vmtgstore.blogspot.my/search/label/WMCQ%203%20and%20more
Versatility has been Wei Han’s key strengths in both limited and constructed which proves invaluable, as the team is able to switch around decks easily, as opposed to being constraint to a certain player’s play style etc. I’m still asking him everyday for deck inspirations and ideas, but so far nothing yet, as according to him, his showers have so far been “uneventful”…..
End of Part 3
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