Nine Questions with… Blue Collar Commander

What first interested you in Magic (or even TCGs more generally)? Was there a moment, or did it happen more gradually?

As a kid I used to play yugioh quite a bit with friends at school. I always enjoyed collecting the cards and the art and was always super competitive! I stopped playing in middle school and went on with life until an old friend was telling me about magic and showed me some of his cards and started telling me about this huge multi planar war for the upcoming set called All Will Be One! It really intrigued me and I fell in head first. My first commander deck was a wilhelt the rotcleaver precon. And All Will Be One was the set out when I first started playing!

Similarly, what first got you interested and active in content creation? What keeps you interested?

My pod would come to me a lot with questions and deck advice. I’d also spend hours of free time just researching and tweaking decks. I would almost always have YouTube going in the background listening to creators and commander games. My wife saw this huge passion I had for it and convinced me to give it a shot! She has been a huge supporter throughout! 

What’s your all-time favorite Magic card, and does it hold a personal story or significance for you?

100% Phyrexian Obliterator. Specifically the Todd Lockwood art!! This card is just uniquely disgusting to play against and there’s just nothing else quite like it out there. And the art??? Oh man; if I were to ever get an MTG themed tattoo it would be of this art! I throw it in almost every black deck I have I don’t care if it doesn’t make sense!

If you had to choose one Magic format to play forever, which would it be and why?

I would say commander! It’s the format I started with and it’s always a blast! I’ve started playing standard recently and each format has its own value to the game but commander has a special place in my heart. 

Who are some creators or players in the Magic community that inspire you or you think deserve more recognition?

There are way too many to list but the one that gave me the most drive to give it my own shot was MTGNerdGirl! I’d see her all over streams all the time and I got to meet her at Commandfest Dallas last year and it was a wonderful experience! She was genuine and nice and took the time to talk to us about our interests. That little engagement just helped fuel the fire. Special thanks to you lifeisaresource, Mana_Flooded, MTGDemonicTutor, Saltydeckgaming, and Paythe1mtg for being so welcoming and supportive and answering all of the questions I’ve thrown at them!

What’s your take on the current state of Magic: The Gathering—formats, new sets, or the community?

We are currently about to hit Innistrad Remastered which is a set we have been looking forward to for awhile! We love us some horror and from just having Duskmourn a little while ago to this has got a chokehold on my finances! Hopefully they keep it up with horror themed sets in the future! 

The community as a whole has been absolutely amazing. They welcome each other with open arms, help answer questions and recognize new creators to do their best! Much like this interview! We can’t stress how supportive the community has been.

Have you ever had an epic Magic moment—like a top-deck win, an unexpected combo, or a perfect draft—that you’ll never forget?

Oh yes! At Commandfest Dallas last year I was in the mystery booster sealed tournament. If I won this I would have enough tickets for one of the giant poster cards!! I made it to the last opponent and they were playing a control heavy dimir deck. I was forced to play sultai with what I got from the packs. We got to round three and it was the tie breaking round. They kept bouncing and countering my spells making it hard to get damage in anywhere. I got them down to 6 and top decked an Exsanguinate!

I cast it and they bounced it to the top of my deck and swung in getting me down to 3. I draw it again, I had just enough mana to do one of two things, either full cast Exsanguinate to get them to zero hoping they didn’t have ANOTHER response like they had the entire game or play a spell that would give me a bunch of blockers. I full sent the Exsanguinate and won! I was able to get my tickets and get a poster sized extended art Fierce Guardianship!!! An epic win from my very first magic event I ever attended! The poster proudly displayed in my game room!

What’s one Magic card or mechanic you think is underrated or doesn’t get the love it deserves?

Chromatic lantern gets a loooooot of hate for no good reason! It’s a mana of any color mana rock AND an instant mana fixer… for three mana… It belongs in every deck that’s three or more colors and I’ll die on my hill! 

How has being part of the Magic: The Gathering community enriched your life, and what do you value most about it?

My biggest hobby for the longest time was video games. Whatever fps shooter was out at the time I was all over it. Besides that I really didn’t get out much. Hanging out with friends was online and that was it. Once I started playing Magic I fell hard for the game. Researching, fine tuning decks, attending pre releases, drafts, Magic events and having friends over once a week for a night of commander craziness. An old friend got me into it and it spread like crazy throughout our group. Ever since I started there’s been things I’ve been crazy excited about like the Duskmourn release, pulling my first chase card and going to events and hanging out with my friends. It has given so much value to my life I just can’t imagine not having it in my life.
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Follow and connect with Blue Collar Commander on Instagram at BCCMTG.