The History of the Magic: The Gathering Pro Tour: 1996 | Pretty Deece

[@ollerade5769]

I was 17, not 16! 😉

[@tcgplayercom]

dammit. also, hi!!!

[@johnmraz4332]

The legend arrives!

[@onglt27]

How can a comment so short get so much attention?

[@xx3uddhaxx]

Hahaha Olle I use the art depicting you on sylvan safekeeper in my landfall deck thanks for always keeping my creatures safe buddy.

[@ollerade5769]

@@xx3uddhaxx Good to hear, good to hear!

[@recusantvessel]

I would LOVE to see an “Anatomy of Card Advantage” Pretty Deece video. The way luck itself was broken down in that entire sequence between Nassif and Chapin was absolutely perfect. I’d kill to have another one of that caliber.

[@wizardsmix7961]

Problem is there really isn't some hallmark iconic example of card advantage like there is for luck. The reason that video is good is because the moment it's centered around is good. If it were centered around Joe Mama playing at their kitchen table it would've sucked. Also there is no climactic moment in card advantage to build up to. It would be a slow crawl over a dozen turns until we see one guy is winning because he has 3 cards and his opponent has 0. Wowee. Exciting.

[@recusantvessel]

It doesn't need to follow the same formula, in fact I think it would excel in a completely different one. There are so many nuances and little intricate decisions that impact card advantage in Magic that you couldn't possibly have it boil down to one or two iconic moments.

[@tcgplayercom]

i think you should ask rhystic studies about that one

[@recusantvessel]

@@tcgplayercom yeah, I watch their content a ton But something about the formatting and how you put together these videos is something special.

[@VindicatorsPledge]

All those unsleeved cards being loved and abused was peak magic.

[@tcgplayercom]

fr

[@nickfanzo]

When I started in 94 we used to play unsleeved in the school cafeteria and the moxes and lotuses were flying with the pizza sauce 😂 wild times. I still love playing sealed deck, and not having to sleeve. Feels so good

[@LeaSatou]

This historical angle you've been taking has been awesome, as has the further step up the production has taken on the visual side. Really excited for this new series!

[@tcgplayercom]

we live to serve

[@austinprice4813]

God, I hope Pretty Deece is just going to become a kind of History Channel for Magic. Top-notch script, engaging delivery, great editing with an eye for the most amusing and human moments of the subject: fucking love it. Thanks for another banger.

[@tcgplayercom]

hey you're welcome

[@jojosouma809]

I see a Pretty Deece video, I like and comment for engagement. This content is the best, keep it up!

[@tcgplayercom]

thanks

[@druzo5198]

they remind me to order since I always tend to procrastinate buying my list

[@MrKarato]

Oh man, another episode this soon??? Keep them coming! My favorite MtG series on youtube!

[@tcgplayercom]

hey thanks

[@rickelmemonti1405]

i actually don't play magic at all and never did, and still really enjoy this show

[@SmugOcelot]

@@rickelmemonti1405 What’s keeping you from playing? Not interested (that’s okay, I’m just curious)? You could get together with a friend, and purchase an Arena starter for $10 or less/or heck, start with Arena Please don’t feel like you aren’t allowed to play, ever… unless you don’t have time for it, which is perfectly acceptable but unfortunate

[@rickelmemonti1405]

@@SmugOcelot looking back at my comment not sure why i said "never did" play magic. i have played magic a little bit, mostly arena when it first came out. it's cool, but it just didn't draw me in as much as the other card games i really enjoy playing. those being, yugioh, digimon, and legends of runeterra.

[@SmugOcelot]

@@rickelmemonti1405 hmm suspicious… kidding. I’m the opposite where I didn’t like where Yugioh was going. I mainly enjoy Magic and Flesh and Blood (even if I don’t really have a local scene for FaB) That’s okay though, everything isn’t for everyone, especially when it comes to tabletop games

[@wjeffcunningham]

Best magic content being made these days and it's not remotely close.

[@tcgplayercom]

honestly wish we had more competition

[@ryanoconnor5176]

“These people will buy whatever the hell we print” yeah I can’t believe how true that is 30 years later 😓

[@kriskolish6423]

So happy you're getting the time & support to continue making these. Pretty Deece is right up there with Rhystic Studies as my very favorite MtG content on KZbin. Your level of detail, presentation style, and choice of topics are truly second to none.

[@SmugOcelot]

Pretty Deece is always awesome! The videos are so finely edited, and it’s always nice to listen to! I’d put them all the way up there with Rhystic Studies!

[@ZackShank]

As always, another excellent video. As someone who is still relatively new to the hobby you all do a great job presenting historical Magic information in an incredibly digestible manner. Looking forward to future episodes!

[@brianm2242]

The soothing sounds of that sweet, sweet narration.

[@StegDarkhorse]

Even when the format is bad, I love seeing old tournament footage.

[@tcgplayercom]

obviously, same

[@axvd2105]

how crazy is that, just last week I stumbled upon a video talking about the history of competitive YGO right from the beginning and I was wondering if there was a similar video series for MTG... then I see this! Great video, loved the commentary! Hope there will be more of this content.

[@shinyespeon2926]

any day with a new pretty deece is a good day

[@tcgplayercom]

that's nice of you to say

[@mullac0107]

I started playing in Aether Revolt, so I am loving these "retro" videos focusing on the game in the 90s! Keep em coming :D

[@J.Applejuice]

Love the work you put into these pretty deece episodes. Keep it up Jon, you're doing gods work.

[@tcgplayercom]

blasphemy

[@jonathanemontgomery]

Omg raw shuffling duals 😩

[@tcgplayercom]

quickly becoming this channel's specialty

[@pawkkie]

Thanks for all the effort you put into these, always a watch priority when one of them comes out. Hope you can keep making them :)

[@evthemage97]

Easily the most quality channel for mtg on KZbin. Keep up the work you’re an amazing historian

[@zackbonno3675]

I've almost exclusively an EDH player for nearly a decade now, so pretty deece is a good insight to what happened in the formats I wasn't playing

[@natalbright4865]

I've been so glad to see Pretty Deece back, I would replay the Masks block and Phyrexian mana videos a ton. Thanks again for the quality videos!

[@tcgplayercom]

so you're the one who's been running up the views on those

[@natalbright4865]

@@tcgplayercom Guilty as charged. The Eldraine one has become a new recent fave though, as one of a zillion people glad to never see a Stomp into Bonecrusher Giant into Embercleave in standard again.

[@wheelinshirt]

why did revised get left off the print run chart? that was my favorite visual of the video. I was playing at the time but i guess i didn't realize that chronicles came out so late. i would have sworn it came out before fourth edition. i probably would have guessed that it came out prior to revised as well.

[@trumpetperson11]

15:20 - What you are describing there isn't really exponential. I think the term logarithmic makes much more sense. Even though they are kind of inverses of each other, I think logarithmic makes more sense for what you are trying to prove. That being that the early increases matter a lot, then later ones are less important.

[@tcgplayercom]

you're probably right, i suck at math. thanks for the hot tip

[@Captainhowdynv]

I audibly gasped when I saw a new Pretty Deece in my subscriptions. I am so happy more of these are being made. Keep it up!

[@tcgplayercom]

ok

[@pjrappa]

Could watch these videos all day. Great work.

[@tcgplayercom]

thanks

[@Rorschachqp]

Corrections on the format of booster draft and the PT2 booster draft format. Normal 444 draft is 45 cards (not 42, 15+15+15) because each 4th Edition pack is 15 cards, which you calculate correctly in the 44H you proposed (15+15+8). Originally, Revised draft was also 45 cards, same as 4th...only problem was there was basic land cars possible in both Uncommon and Common slots...that's probably why they thought they could get away with 38. In the LA/Orange County area, we had more sealed product than any other place in the Magic playing world, way more than Europe. And naturally, that play group was way ahead of the curve. Other US players also played well as there were stores all over that had cards since 1993 while Europe was just getting its first sets at the time, Italian Legends and Italian Revised. At our major play areas such as South Coast Games and Costa Mesa Women's Club, we played and practiced for Pro Tour Long Beach since it was local. Day 1, almost all of the non-US players scrubbed out.

[@joelmonteiro1419]

This was incredible. Thank you so much for this historical Magic videos. It's amazing how Wizards went from severely underprinting to severely overprinting sets. Jyhad, Richard Garfield's first game after Magic, was also overprintend and you could still find decently priced packs recently.

[@Big_Dai]

Pretty Deece has consistently been interesting and educational. Love your stuff

[@Rinalicia]

Please keep these coming, I adore learning about the history of games and that bit about the side event almost pausing the pro tour is absolutely an amazing bit

[@tcgplayercom]

i will. thank you for being so specific with your feedback

[@thegatheringofcube5873]

My daughter works at TCG Player , and i tell her about my getting into Magic , Neutral ground was the big sponsor around the northeast , i would even play at Tales Twice Told where Cheddy worked , i started around The Dark set but would soon be trying for pro tour events, i didnt do great but it was some of the most fun i have ever had in my life. My pride and joy of Magic the Gathering is 2 alpha and 2 beta lightning bolts signed by Richard Garfield

[@markchaney4469]

He signed my shivan dragon at the magic camp good memories

[@champcabrera]

Love pretty dece. Thank you oreo kid for making these videos. Always will watch and rewatch them for so long

[@tcgplayercom]

you're welcome

[@AqueleGamer]

This is awesome, I love watching anything about the history of pro magic and Pretty Deece does it best. Thank you Jon, thanks a lot.

[@GalvanicChoir]

"I would love to see games raised to the stature of intellectual sports" *video of man holding swamp upside down*

[@FunnyGorillaHaha]

Solid vid, really fun seeing how magic (as a game and as a product) used to be compared to nowadays

[@InsertCleverNameHere0]

Real happy to see this. I was recently looking for old ProTour and World Championship footage and it's unfortunate how hard some of it is to come by.

[@trumpetperson11]

21:38 - Lol, there is a sleight of mind in the maindeck too. That must have felt pretty bad every time he drew that.

[@CB-ke7eq]

For context as to why Tom ran Sleight, it's because Anarchy was a 3-4 of in red decks. One-sided board sweeps suck I believe.

[@mahavemann]

I need more of this. Much more.

[@barryswigart1432]

God, these decks are like Midwestern emo mixes, making me nostalgic for a time I wasn't around for. It makes me want to care about being a fan of competitive magic.

[@hiimemily]

Truly this is the American Football of Magic.

[@methyod]

@@hiimemily i'd say i feel similarly about jokulhaups as a i do about midwest emo and i'm not going to elaborate

[@hiimemily]

@@methyod Nor would I ask you to. I understand exactly what you mean.

[@nickfanzo]

Well I was playing these cards and decks back then and trust me…it was awesome

[@Kopekemaster]

As long as you keep making Pretty Deece, I'll keep watching it. Great as always.

[@sioparker4860]

If this becomes a series i'm gonna be so happy, old pro tours and standard decks are my jam.

[@dragos1214]

This series got me hooked on magic, ty for another awesome video.

[@throbgoblin69]

Excited to finally get these regularly again!

[@tcgplayercom]

samesies

[@vsully360]

Great video. I was playing back in the early days and the nostalgia factor for this stuff just blows me away.

[@JoeBurkeZerk]

Great Video! Comment for engagement and also to point out that it's great to see a well-made series with proper subtitles.

[@KuzaFkto]

Everytime a new Pretty Deece video is released my day gets way better.

[@tcgplayercom]

same

[@TreasureTrain]

Pretty Deece not having its own channel and patreon is a crime

[@raizarslaxterhaha]

Man, so much memories. I started playing back in 1994, and here in Spain the game was introduced first in Barcelona, because the owner of a local games shop went to a board games con in EEUU, and brought with him 2 boxes of Alpha, 6 boxes of Beta and 12 of Unlimited, and january 1994 we started playing 👏. And that same owner closed a deal with a retailer in new york to ship him away every new set coming out, 12 boxes of the game. Until in 1995, the game was franchised in Spain by a company (Devir) and then came regularly to the entire country. Those days was amazing as a teenager, playing Magic, D&D, Vampire, Warhammer, playing in benches in the street because the local shop was so small that we cant be more than 10 people playing inside. Playing at the local library too... I missed those days so much.

[@lutz4820]

just finsihed watching all your pretty deece vids. thank you very much for the informative content which is fun to watch!

[@Rillant]

First five minutes of this video is some of the best MTG content I've EVER seen. Keep it up!

[@omnivision616]

I played in the late 90's and early 2000's. It was amazing. Miss those days sometimes.

[@tcgplayercom]

i own all the gold-bordered decks and played with them a lot and i can safely say that you have amnesia

[@omnivision616]

@@tcgplayercom Definitely not. I'll just keep enjoying PreModern with my fellow middle aged players.

[@nickfanzo]

@@tcgplayercomI have them too and they rule. I’d rather play 93/94 than current standard, myself.

[@anorouch]

Yes. Keep this kind of content coming. Magic history is super cool

[@tcgplayercom]

it really is

[@anorouch]

@@tcgplayercom On a second note, my first cards were a booster of fallen empires. They may suck, but perma fogging Thalids will always be my favorite way to play. Did I have hymms and goblin grenade? Yes. But I didn't care. I had a million tokens and I wasn't afraid to count them.

[@LaserfaceJones]

Pretty Deece is the content I look forward to the most. I always get unreasonably excited when I see an upload.

[@tcgplayercom]

thank you for the kind words laserface

[@full_of_blood]

these videos are why i'm subscribed to this channel, please keep it up!

[@mpawn]

I find it funny that as a newer player, born and raised on commander, Jon makes me care about formats I otherwise would never even think about looking into.

[@tcgplayercom]

awe

[@hoowhdis7191]

Love these videos. Can't ask you to put more cards on screen just because I started playing in 2017, but I still appreciate the content. Waiting on some more.

[@ninjask1038]

it’s pretty simple, when you see pretty deece, you drop EVERYTHING to watch pretty deece

[@tcgplayercom]

don't drop a baby

[@TheMaskedHero]

I appreciate the high quality analysis of something many people would never come across on their own.

[@TheCommunistGamerTV]

Another top notch video. I love the tiny minutia that you get into in your videos. As always, more please.

[@tcgplayercom]

ok

[@gmpd4191]

Always some of the best quality videos for mtg

[@mileshorner8886]

best magic the gathering content on youtube full stop. seriously no one makes videos about the game as a whole like you

[@a_doggo]

This was awesome. Thanks, my dude. Time to put in an order for some more cards.

[@scottwagner2566]

That whole thing with the store owner, the kid, and the sales rep made me cry with laughter. Holy shit.

[@danw.1250]

Pretty Dece is one of my favorite bits of MTG content. Love it.

[@SurriSama]

I haven't played Magic in 10 years but I always watch every Deece video. Top tier content.

[@garethbattell9989]

This was an amazing video. It's so cool to see how similar Magic was back then, to now!

[@zmiller389]

YESSS PRETTY DEECE. This made my week. Thank you sir

[@tcgplayercom]

you're welcome

[@vxicepickxv]

It was called Type 2, which became a variation of standard, and then there was type 1 and type 1.5

[@sebass4379]

This was super fun to watch! It gives me vibes of an MTG version of Jon Bois over at SB Nation. Are you guys planning on covering more years of the pro tours? It would be sick to watch the recap and history of each season, or even just some of the more notable seasons!

[@xruh0]

oh my goodness gracious more pretty deece!!!! my favorite magic videos of all forever

[@darkmystic7764]

I just love these videos.

[@rando7096]

I literally stopped halfway in this video; saving it for tomorrow’s dinner 😂

[@tcgplayercom]

bon appetit

[@rando7096]

TCGplayer thanks!

[@Mrsierramist1]

These videos are absolutely amazing

[@Egledhron]

YAY! Thank you all for the steady stream of Pretty Deece!

[@9sven6]

5:13 Wait, how many 4ed was printed?

[@trbrtk]

Slight of Mind makes sense -- he's running 12 "knights" that have protection from black. Being able to flip the "black" to another color at instant speed could counter removal and make the creature much harder to deal with.

[@wheelinshirt]

sleight of mind is an awesome card. i run it in alpha40 with circles of protection (in a deck that runs karma and magical hack as well) and it can be a bomb. its the only way to make a cop:black in the format and can also help deal with black knights (which have protection from wrath and balance in the format due to the quirky 'time capsule' rules of the format)

[@drewp9819]

This is an awesome video. Holy smokes

[@DavidArcher_]

The little touches in this video are fantastic. The cards used to represent Urza block were great.

[@greyman419]

The Olle Rade match was actually pretty interesting since Fleischman essentially locked himself out of the last game

[@lukemackinlay5126]

Man I would buy the hell out of some pretty deece merch

[@tcgplayercom]

preach

[@jeroenvaneekeren]

This was brilliant to see. Thanks.

[@tcgplayercom]

you're welcome

[@tcgplayercom]

you're welcome

[@Shamax0]

Wooo, I love these, keep em coming!

[@stonesec]

best series on youtube

[@tcgplayercom]

thank you

[@mechtroidProductions]

I'm in the middle of the fallen empires skit and god what did we do to deserve such a great video.

[@tcsmagicbox]

It is fascinating learning about the game's history that happened way before my time.

[@glennolson6505]

So nostalgic. These were the days when I was one of the more regular 'tournament scrubs' - showing up with weird jank and suboptimal decks because I didn't have the cards for the optimal versions and a bias against 'netdecking.' Falling one or two spots short of the finals, just close enough to convince me it was still in reach but never *quite* able to make the stretch.

[@ofthcross]

Amazing video, great amount of research done here. I know you said 📼 but is that original footage of the 1st PT online anywhere?

[@tcgplayercom]

yes

[@jasonmacaro4052]

As someone born in massachusetts, i love that a massachusetts guy won the first ever pro tour

[@manvsmanatee1793]

Always love to see a new Pretty Deece video

[@MindSlain]

Always an excellent job! Chill music too

[@revenantproxy9100]

Pretty Deece is one of the few video releases I look forward to

[@zeez145]

Gosh this show is so good, keep the great work bud 👍

[@Bradmpearce]

Good vibes as always.

[@tcgplayercom]

i'm something of a vibesmith so this is much appreciated

[@mac8456]

commenting just for engagement. luv you deece

[@tcgplayercom]

ly2

[@Rorschachqp]

By the way, Wizards calls PT2 as PT Los Angeles. Back in 1996, it was called Pro Tour Long Beach.

[@Melvinvanharn]

Its impossible to cover the 1st year of the Pro Tour to the depth that I would like, but you did a fine job with 23 minutes. I was not at the first Pro Tour, but I have read a lot about it, and have an interest in early Magic history. Some things that were not mentioned-The 1st Pro Tour had you "qualify" by calling a number and registering for the event. I understand there was also a snowstorm the night before, which may have impacted attendance, and delayed the start of the event by four hours. As said, they were going to do the finals as a best of five, but had to do three. I heard that there was no time limit on games, and one of the finalists played extremely slowly. George Baxter, who top 8ed with his "House of Pain" Brg deck, was possibly the first person to publish a book on Magic strategy. Jon Finkel made his first appearance and top 8ed in the junior division. Loconto had 62 cards in his maindeck, which was pretty unusual, even in 1995.

[@Blackadder75]

I played PTQs for the 3rd PT, sadly I missed the 1st one by like a week (as in, that I knew about it) , if I had known I would have dropped everything camp that phone number and fly to NY, as magic was my life then.

[@lukefuller7445]

Feeding the algorithmosaurus. Excellent work as always.

[@thepook6683]

The only series I actually press like on every time because I want to see more

[@tcgplayercom]

what about nikachu

[@demolisherman1763]

One of the best magic creators on KZbin!

[@tcgplayercom]

top 5, or?

[@demolisherman1763]

@@tcgplayercom I’d say top three, up there with MTG Remy and Rhystic Studies