Q&A: CTQ Winner Tommy Tomsovic
Tommy Tomsovic is hoping for a less convoluted road 
to the Nerd Rage Championship this year.
For those of you who don’t know, last year Tommy was out but actually in, then out and actually out, then back in on the spur of the moment. Got all that?
To further explain, Tommy finished the season as No. 7 on the at-large points list, with only six at-large players earning a berth. Alex Javed, one of the automatic qualifiers, initially was not going to be able to play in the championship due to work commitments. As the highest-ranked person to not qualify, Tommy was going to take Alex’s place.
But, Alex was able to get free, which meant Tommy was back out. Then, the morning of the championship, a snowstorm prevented Wisconsin resident Matt Hoey from being able to make it down to Nerd Rage, meaning that Tommy, who lives fairly close to NRG, was back in the championship as Matt’s replacement.
This year, Tommy currently sits fourth overall in the standings, and second among the at-large players, putting him in a solid position to earn a spot in the year-end tournament. His cause was helped by piloting his Sultai Death’s Shadow list to first place in a Modern CTQ three weeks ago.
Tommy answered some questions about the deck, his Magic background and his thoughts on the championship. First, his winning list:
Sultai Death’s Shadow, by Tommy Tomsovic, 1st place, Modern CTQ
Casey Laughman (CL): How long have you been playing Magic? What got you into the game and what keeps you interested in it?
Tommy Tomsovic (TT): I have been playing Magic since Gatecrash, so around four years now. I had a couple friends that played, and they kept asking me to play and try it out. I finally decided to give it a try, and I have been playing ever since.
I have stayed interested in Magic because I think it is the best game ever invented. The possibilities are endless and every game is different. Furthermore, the Magic community is awesome, and I have met a lot of great people from playing.
CL: You’ve been a regular on the CT series, and now have won a CTQ. What do CTQs add to the series, and what is the appeal to them for someone who regularly attends CTs?
TT: The addition of CTQs to the series is going to increase the competition for the at-large spots because they are giving players more opportunities to earn points. Last year, you made it into the championship if you had 27+ points, and it’s going to require a lot more than that this year. Because of this, the CTQs are going to be super important to the players who regularly attend CTs, because they are going to need these extra points to keep up with the players willing to travel to every event.
CL: Why is Death’s Shadow your deck of choice in Modern?
TT: I have been playing Death’s Shadow in Modern for almost a year now, and I like it because it is so interesting to play. I started with the Death’s Shadow Aggro deck that I played up until the Gitaxian Probe banning, and I have been playing the more midrangey version of the deck since then. These decks are so interesting because trying to balance your life total to a spot where Death’s Shadow is a large threat and you aren’t in danger of dying can be pretty difficult, and (that balance) is different in every matchup.
CL: There are a number of different builds of Death’s Shadow decks. What is it about yours that made you feel it is the best choice of the different variations?
TT: BUG Death’s Shadow is the best variation because it is the best Stubborn Denial deck. Stubborn Denial is so good because it doubles as disruption against the combo decks and protection for all your creatures against the fair decks. That, and this version gets to play Death’s Shadow, Tarmogoyf, Tasigur, and Gurmag Angler, all of which turn on the Ferocious of Stubborn Denial.
CL: What would have to change in the Modern metagame to make you play something other than Death’s Shadow?
TT: Probably just Death’s Shadow getting banned.
CL: You ended up playing in last year’s Championship on short notice due to unforeseen circumstances, which meant you really didn’t have time to prepare. How difficult was it to try to figure things out on the fly instead of having some time to think through what the metagame might be and what deck choices you might make?
TT: So this ended up being a big situation last year. I was in the top 8 of the last CT before the Championship playing against Will Hochman. Since he was at the top of the leaderboard, he was going to concede, locking me into the Championship; however, we were told that I was already locked because Alex Javed supposedly couldn’t make it. So, we played, and I lost. About a week and a half later, I got a call saying Javed was now able to go, and I was out of the Championship. Luckily Matt Hoey decided not to show up, and I still got to play.
Since I was in the tournament for about a week, I had already started to prepare and test, and even after I was out, I continued to help Peter (Tragos) and Dakota (Clark) playtest. I didn’t get as many reps in with the decks that I ended up playing; however, since I had been playing the rest of the decks in our predicted metagame, I didn’t feel that unprepared.
CL: Finally, what are your thoughts on the series right now and the recently announced changes?
TT: The series is great, and it has been awesome playing in all of these events and watching the series grow. The recently announced changes are also fantastic, and I expect the competition to start getting really tough as more and more people start to come out to these events, trying to secure a spot in the Championship. A $10,000 prize pool and a potential pro tour invite is a huge deal, and hopefully I will continue to do well and get a chance to compete in the Championship, this year and next.
Tommy Tomsovic was a participant in the inaugural NRG Championship and won a Modern CTQ in May of 2017. Casey Laughman is editor of Nerd Rage Gaming. Email comments and questions to claughman@gmail.com.
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