Mike Long
Encyclopedia
Michael Long is a former professional Magic: The Gathering
card game player. He was a highly influential and controversial Pro Tour
mainstay for a number of years in the late 1990s. Despite making four Pro Tour top eights and winning Pro Tour Paris in 1997, Long's legacy is the subject of much controversy due to allegations of cheating and unsportsmanlike behavior. In 2003, he began selling "MTG Secrets", a book and DVD guide on how to play Magic. More recently, Long founded Area51Marketing.com and Area51Lifestyle.com.
By winning the 1998 Magic Invitational, Long became the third pro player to create a card for inclusion in a future Magic expansion and have himself drawn into the card's art. The card, , was printed in the Nemesis
set. It is the first Invitational card that does not depict its creator as the card's subject creature, instead depicting Long as a rower being ambushed by a humanoid
sea creature.
In 2005, the possibility that Long could be inducted into the Pro Tour Hall of Fame reignited debates over whether Long's overall impact on the game was positive or negative. Head Magic Designer and former Pro Tour organizer Mark Rosewater
, who is allowed to submit a Hall of Fame ballot, voted for Long in his first two years of eligibility. Explaining his decision, Rosewater wrote, "Mike made the Pro Tour exciting. He made it tense. He made it more interesting than any other player on the list [of inaugural Pro Tour Hall of Fame candidates]." In another article, Rosewater wrote that Long was "the best" at star building and that his reputation as the Pro Tour's greatest villain consistently evoked passion and emotion among tournament followers, which often brought large turnouts to normally low-profile games and events. Rosewater wrote that while few people counted themselves as fans of Long, many came to watch him.
Long began writing strategy articles in 1998. Through his M:TG Insider website, Long built a community of players who use and discuss his decks and concepts. In 2005 professional poker player David Williams
played several of Long's decks at major tournaments.
Long is also responsible for designing a Vintage format combo deck that used the storm mechanic. The deck used to fetch out of the sideboard and set up a kill with . The deck, called Long.dec, resulted in the restriction of both Burning Wish and , which was a key mana engine in the deck. Subsequent Vintage combo decks that use tutoring to set up a Tendrils kill have retained the "Long" name, although the original deck was rendered unplayable by restriction. A version that used was called Death Long, and a more current version with is called Grim Long. Another storm combo deck was called Pitch Long because it used a high number of spells with the alternate casting cost of losing (or "pitching") a card in the caster's hand.
Magic: The Gathering
Magic: The Gathering , also known as Magic, is the first collectible trading card game created by mathematics professor Richard Garfield and introduced in 1993 by Wizards of the Coast. Magic continues to thrive, with approximately twelve million players as of 2011...
card game player. He was a highly influential and controversial Pro Tour
Pro Tour (Magic: The Gathering)
The Pro Tour is the highest form of competitive play for the Magic: The Gathering collectible card game. It consists of a series of payout tournaments held throughout the world, each requiring an invitation to participate. Every PT awards a total of $230,000 in cash prizes, with $40,000 going to...
mainstay for a number of years in the late 1990s. Despite making four Pro Tour top eights and winning Pro Tour Paris in 1997, Long's legacy is the subject of much controversy due to allegations of cheating and unsportsmanlike behavior. In 2003, he began selling "MTG Secrets", a book and DVD guide on how to play Magic. More recently, Long founded Area51Marketing.com and Area51Lifestyle.com.
Contributions to the game
Mike Long's Prosperous Bloom (or Pros-Bloom) deck, which he piloted to a Pro Tour championship at Paris in 1997, is widely recognized as the first successful combo deck in tournament-level play. The deck was centered around a card-drawing and tutoring strategy contributing to a mana engine that eventually led to a 20-plus damage spell for the victory. Prior to this, no combo deck was consistent or powerful enough to earn any major tournament success.By winning the 1998 Magic Invitational, Long became the third pro player to create a card for inclusion in a future Magic expansion and have himself drawn into the card's art. The card, , was printed in the Nemesis
Nemesis (Magic: The Gathering)
Nemesis is the second set in the Mercadian Masques block of sets in the Magic: The Gathering game, along with the expansions Mercadian Masques and Prophecy. Its expansion symbol is an axe. The set consists of 143 cards and was released on February 14, 2000...
set. It is the first Invitational card that does not depict its creator as the card's subject creature, instead depicting Long as a rower being ambushed by a humanoid
Humanoid
A humanoid is something that has an appearance resembling a human being. The term first appeared in 1912 to refer to fossils which were morphologically similar to, but not identical with, those of the human skeleton. Although this usage was common in the sciences for much of the 20th century, it...
sea creature.
In 2005, the possibility that Long could be inducted into the Pro Tour Hall of Fame reignited debates over whether Long's overall impact on the game was positive or negative. Head Magic Designer and former Pro Tour organizer Mark Rosewater
Mark Rosewater
Mark Rosewater is a Magic: The Gathering card designer. He is currently Magics head designer.-Biography:Rosewater grew up in Pepper Pike, Ohio, where he attended the Orange High School. Rosewater has a Jewish background. Rosewater has described himself in his youth as a "social outcast", who did...
, who is allowed to submit a Hall of Fame ballot, voted for Long in his first two years of eligibility. Explaining his decision, Rosewater wrote, "Mike made the Pro Tour exciting. He made it tense. He made it more interesting than any other player on the list [of inaugural Pro Tour Hall of Fame candidates]." In another article, Rosewater wrote that Long was "the best" at star building and that his reputation as the Pro Tour's greatest villain consistently evoked passion and emotion among tournament followers, which often brought large turnouts to normally low-profile games and events. Rosewater wrote that while few people counted themselves as fans of Long, many came to watch him.
Long began writing strategy articles in 1998. Through his M:TG Insider website, Long built a community of players who use and discuss his decks and concepts. In 2005 professional poker player David Williams
David Williams (card player)
David Anthony Williams is a professional poker player and popular Magic: The Gathering player.-Personal life:Williams was born in Arlington, Texas. He briefly attended Princeton University before switching to study economics at Southern Methodist University...
played several of Long's decks at major tournaments.
Long is also responsible for designing a Vintage format combo deck that used the storm mechanic. The deck used to fetch out of the sideboard and set up a kill with . The deck, called Long.dec, resulted in the restriction of both Burning Wish and , which was a key mana engine in the deck. Subsequent Vintage combo decks that use tutoring to set up a Tendrils kill have retained the "Long" name, although the original deck was rendered unplayable by restriction. A version that used was called Death Long, and a more current version with is called Grim Long. Another storm combo deck was called Pitch Long because it used a high number of spells with the alternate casting cost of losing (or "pitching") a card in the caster's hand.
Playing style and controversy
Long's detractors do not generally dispute that he was a talented Magic player. Instead, he is a controversial figure because he used a great deal of mind games and psychological tricks, was frequently accused of cheating, and has been disqualified and suspended from sanctioned play for cheating on the Pro Tour.Mind games and psychology
- In the finals of Pro Tour Paris 1997, Long was playing Mark JusticeMark JusticeMark Justice is a former Magic: The Gathering pro player. He is by many considered the best player of the game in his time. Justice was the first Magic: The Gathering US National Champion in 1995...
. In one game, Long, piloting his Prosperous Bloom combo deck, faced a situation where he would lose unless he could win on his current turn. According to Gavin Verhey and Patrick Chapin, in order to get his combo to go off, he needed to discard his sole copy of , the only card in his deck capable of dealing damage and thus killing his opponent. After doing so, he promptly lost that game, as he had no way to win. However, what Long hoped to achieve here was to convince his opponent that he had more than one copy of Drain Life in his deck, and that he was simply unable to draw it. In game five, Mark JusticeMark JusticeMark Justice is a former Magic: The Gathering pro player. He is by many considered the best player of the game in his time. Justice was the first Magic: The Gathering US National Champion in 1995...
cast and saw Long's sole copy of . However, due to Long's crafty play in game one, JusticeMark JusticeMark Justice is a former Magic: The Gathering pro player. He is by many considered the best player of the game in his time. Justice was the first Magic: The Gathering US National Champion in 1995...
believed that Long had more than one copy of , and operating under these false pretenses, Justice had Long discard a different card, allowing Long to win the game. Long ended up winning the game after drawing his entire deck and showing Justice that he only had one .
Controversy
- At the 1998 U.S. Nationals, Long was caught with a key card, Cadaverous Bloom, on his chair during a game. The head judge, Charlie Catino, issued a match loss to Long, who went on to finish second in the tournament.
- During a crucial round of Pro Tour Los Angeles in 2000, Long was given a warning for improperly shuffling his deck. Long made a comment to his opponent, Darwin KastleDarwin Kastle- Other accomplishments :* 2005 Hall of Fame inductee* Last player to have played all Pro Tours after 48 appearances from 1996 PT New York to 2004 PT Kobe- References :...
, designed to keep Kastle from shuffling Long's deck before starting the match. Distracted by Long's banter, Kastle only cut Long's deck, despite intending to shuffle because there were rumors before the round that Long's shuffling was suspicious. Many players, including Rob DoughertyRob DoughertyRobert R. Dougherty is a professional Magic: The Gathering player from Framingham, Massachusetts. He was inducted to the Magic Hall of Fame in November 2006. He is also a tournament organizer and the founder of Your Move Games...
, a former Magic judge who attended that event as a player, accused Long of deliberately cheating by not randomizing his deck to keep copies of the card evenly distributed. Dougherty wrote an article laying out his case against Long. Dougherty contended that Long's pregame actions were not shuffling but instead pretending to shuffle while stacking his deck. The judging staff, Dougherty asserts, was not familiar enough with catching cheaters to understand what Long was doing. - 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.