Translated by Kohei Kido

Let’s Look Back on the Planeswalker Points!

If you have took part in any Magic tournaments, you would know about the “Planeswalker Points”(PWP for short in rest of the article).

We earned PWP by taking part in tournaments and by winning in matches, and were able to check how much PWP we had achieved by inputting our DCI number (the 5-10 digits number that we registered at tournaments) at the PWP website. Many of us went to a lot of tournaments to collect PWP in order to get a Bye or Byes in GP.

However, PWP has become abolished from May 27, 2020 and we can no longer view the PWP website. We will talk about topics surrounding the PWP in this article.

Who Reached “Level 50” from the Hareruya Pros/Hareruya Hopes?

Image Copyright: MAGIC: THE GATHERING
PWP website for 2012

This is a picture of the old PWP website. There was a “Lifetime PWP” category to the PWP, which showed the total PWP you collected from the very first tournament you competed in. By collecting this PWP your “level” rose, and you needed 50,000 points to reach the highest “Level 50”. Within the numerous worldwide Magic players, only 120 players reached this level and it proved that they were masters of Magic.

Let’ take a look at Hareruya Pros/Hareruya Hopes that reached Level 50.

Tomoharu Saito: 101,422 Points

Tomoharu Saito had the most PWP from the Hareruya Pros. He was actually second place in the world! He won The Finals’99 after starting Magic a few months before, and participated actively in the tournament scenes, achieving 5 Pro Tour top8s and 26 Grand Prix top8s. He represents the CEO of Hareruya Inc. and is also acting as a Youtuber “Tomohappy” to make the world of Magic more exciting.

Raphael Levy: 100,125 Points

4th place of “Lifetime PWP” in the world. He is the honored Magic Pro Tour Hall of the Famer. The first Pro Tour for him was in 1997, and had played in the Pro Tours for 91 times in a row until the Pro Tour “Ixalan”!

We had Levy to look back to some of his history!

Special Interview: Raphael Levy

Q1. What are your frank thoughts on your own PWP history?

Levy “My PWP history takes into account every single sanctioned tournament I played in my life and tells the story of where I was in the world at a given time. Looking at it reignites memories of what I played, how I did, who I traveled with.”

Q2. At the tournament where you get your first PWP, what decks did you use and what are your memories?

Levy “I got my DCI number (144958) at Regionals in ’96. I played a Red Green deck with 《Tinder Wall》s, 《Mana Vault》s, 《Erhnam Djinn》s and 《Orgg》s.”

Levy “Top 8 would qualify as well as the first ranked “Junior” player (under 16 years old). I was tied with another player of my age and we had to play a tie breaker match. I won and ended up qualifying for nationals that year.”

Q3. About your first PT and Grand Prix. What decks did you use at the time and what are your memories?

Levy “I played my first PT in Paris in April 97′. The format was Mirage-Visions block Constructed and I played Mono Black. Not quite the best deck when 《Prosperity》 decks were around!”

Levy “I had no one to prepare with at home, so I was just happy I played at the Pro Tour. Then I played Grand Prix Barcelona on the same year (in Mirage-Visions Limited) and I finished 12. Barcelona was at driving distance from home (Toulouse) so we were 3 friends going there, driven by one of our moms. Good times.”

Q4. Please tell us about the tournament that left a lasting impression on you.

Levy “GP Lyon in February ’98 was my first big success. I was just a kid (16 years old) but I had come prepared. People didn’t know me and wouldn’t bet a dime on me. I just wanted to prove them wrong!”

Q5. Who do you feel is the strongest player you’ve played against in the past?

Levy “If you look into my play history, I played against Kai Budde 10 times. The only time I won was in Kobe in 2004, I lost the other 9 times. Oftentimes, when I would travel back home and my mom asked me how the tournament went, I said “Kai beat me again :(“. She hated him :D”

Marcio Carvalho: 60,239 Points

Carvalho is a MPL player from Portugal. He is an expert in the Limited format, and was invited to the 2016 World Championship as the Draft Master. He is of course skilled in constructed formats too, and was second place in both the 2016 World Championship and the 2019 World Championship.

Javier Dominguez: 52,181 Points

He would be the one we would name if we were to name a player that came to the very front line of the professional scenes in the recent years of Magic. He became second place in the 2017 World Championship and gained momentum, to become the World Champion in the 2018 World Championship. He achieved good results constantly and was chosen to become a MPL player. He is a star player of Spain and the whole world of Magic.

We interviewed the striking figure of Magic, Javier Dominguez too!

Special Interview: Javier Dominguez

Q1: What are your frank thoughts on your own PWP history?

Javier “I enjoyed being able to remember all my Magic history, since my very first tournament, so I think there is value there.”

Q2: At the tournament where you get your first PWP, what decks did you use and what are your memories?

Javier “It was a Standard Friday Night Magic just before the Odyssey Pre-Release, where I played U/W control, since a friend of my cousin lent me 4 《Wrath of God》! It didn’t go very well, but the day after I got 2nd in a more or less 40-50 player Standard tournament with the same deck with a sideboard full of Circle of Protection from all the colors! Turns out the old 《Fires of Yavimaya》 deck wasn’t very good against Circles of protection 😎”

Q3: About your first PT and Grand Prix. What decks did you use at the time and what are your memories?

Javier “My First Grand Prix was GP Barcelona Odyssey sealed, where I had 3 byes thanks to winning a trial but still failed to make day 2. My first PT was PT New Orleans 2003 “PT 《Tinker》“ where I played 《Hermit Druid》 combo, which wasn’t very good since it didn’t play 《Tinker》! I have a lot of memories of that trip ^^”

Q4: Please tell us about the tournament that left a lasting impression on you.

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Javier “Worlds 2017 was maybe the tournament that impressed me the most.”

Q5: Who do you feel is the strongest player you’ve played against in the past?

Image Copyright: MAGIC: THE GATHERING

Javier “Back in the day, Kenji Tsumura!”

Petr Sochurek: 51,894 Points

Not all of the PWP level 50 players are old players of Magic. The Czech Magic player, Petr is still 26 years old but has achieved 9 Grad Prix top8s including 4 1st places. He works now in Japan and plays in the “Hareruya channel” on Youtube too.

Who Got the Most Competitive PWP Each Season in Japan?

We will look at the PWP situation in Japan for the next topic. We will show who got the most PWP each season.

2018-2019 Season and 2019-2020 Season: Tatsuumi Kobayashi

Tatsuumi from Hareruya Hopes was 1st place for 2 seasons. He got 6956 PWP during the 2018-2019 season and 5091 PWP during the 2019-2020 season, which is a great number. He is well-known by those who know as a master of Miracle in the Legacy format. He is not only skilled in Legacy, but he has been good in other formats such as winning in the RPTQ of Pro Tour Guilds of Ravnica which was held in the Standard format.

2017-2018 Season: Kazutaka Naide

The top of 2017-2018 season was Kazutaka who is also from Hareruya Hopes. He got 6349 PWP mostly earned by going frequently to Grand Prixes abroad for more than 15 times! He was for sure the player that most devoted himself to Magic in Japan this year.

2016-2017 Season: Takumi Utsunomiya

Takumi who was not yet a Hareruya Hopes player got 6244 points this season which was the largest number among Japanese players. His enthusiasm to Magic is strong, and has become a skilled player achieving 3 Grand Prix top8s. His continuous efforts from this season must have leaded him to the results.

We have an interview about the young rising player Takumi!

Special Interview: Takumi Utsunomiya

Q1. What are your frank thoughts on your own PWP history?

Takumi “I remember playing hard in tournaments until I got to play in the Pro Tour. I only got the most PWP in Japan for 1 season, but it is a pleasant memory of mine.”

Q2. At the tournament where you get your first PWP, what decks did you use and what are your memories?

Takumi “I don’t remember about the details, but it was a Friday Night Magic at the BIG MAGIC store on Ikebukuro. I probably used an U/R Ensoul deck. I liked the sound of artifact so I chose a deck that is themed of artifacts from the famous decks those days.”

Q3. About your first PT and Grand Prix. What decks did you use at the time and what are your memories?

Takumi “My first Grand Prix experience was the Grand Prix Kobe 2015 that Takuma Morofuji won. I was a new face those days and wasn’t skilled, and used Atarka Red partly because it was an inexpensive deck. I’ve talked about it in interviews before, but I think I am the player I am now because I lost the last match and couldn’t make it to day2 because of a regretful misunderstanding of rule.”

Takumi “My first Pro Tour was the Pro Tour Dominaria in 2018. I was using U/W 《God-Pharaoh’s Gift》 a lot those days, but I lost 3 matchups in a row that I thought to be better for my deck against top pros at the Grand Prix Toronto, so I switched to B/R Aggro just before the Pro Tour. Thanks to my decision of switching to another deck, I made it to the situation that if I win the last match, I would get a seat in the next Pro Tours. I lost the harsh match against Kenji Tsumura though.”

Q4. Please tell us about the tournament that left a lasting impression on you.

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Takumi “The best is the Grad Prix Hong Kong 2018 that I was 2nd place. I couldn’t make it to the next Pro Tour unless I become Silver Level, and this tournament was the last chance. I had to be 2nd place or above and a large typhoon was coming, but I was miraculously 2nd place and got home in safety too.”

Q5. Who do you feel is the strongest player you’ve played against in the past?

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Takumi “It would be Brad Nelson. He was one of the players that I lost at Grand Prix Toronto. I was able to play the game by the plan that I was confident in until then, and he won perfectly. It was a match that I recognized the gap between myself and the top players.”

Who Got the Most Lifetime PWP in Each Region?

We will change the topic from Japan to the world, and will show you the players that got the most “Lifetime PWP” in each region. Every player is a great player and is representing their home country.

Asia: Shuhei Nakamura/119,503 PWP

Shuhei is a legend of Magic history and a Magic Pro Tour Hall of the Famer. He has been competing from the Pro Tour in 2002 when Japanese players was much fewer than now, and has got 6 Pro Tour top8s and additional 34 Grand Prix top8s. He represents the spirit of “Play the Game, See the World” as a player.

Europe: Martin Juza/100,469 PWP

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The top player of Europe is the “Magic Pro Tour Hall of the Famer” Martin Juza. He went around the world along with Shuhei and has piled up splendid results. The first Czech Hall of Famer was him too, and Czech has become a home country to excellent players like Stanislav Cifka, Ivan Floch, Ondrej Strasky and Petr Sochurek.

South America: Paulo Vitor Damo da Rosa/72,266 PWP

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If people would be asked “Who is the world’s most skilled player?” some would name him. The well-known PV, Paulo is from Brazil and has become a Magic Pro Tour Hall of the Famer on 2012. He won the 2010 Pro Tour San Juan and the Pro Tour “Hour of Devastation”, and has now become World Champion this year that are the greatest achievements for a Magic player.

North America: Sam Black/96,442 PWP

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The player that got the most PWP in USA, the homeland of Magic, was Sam. He has got 3 Pro Tour top8s, was top4 in the 2015 World Championship and won the 2008 World Championship as a team. He is known as a deck builder, and “The Aristocrats” deck that he made lead Tom Martell to the top of the Pro Tour “Gatecrash”.

Conclusion

We hope you liked the article. We introduced you many players that have walked with the Planeswalker Points. Looking back to the memories of great players that experienced, we feel how great a player they are.

It’s a pity the Planeswalker Points system ends, but let’s look forward for a new system of tournament records. It might be a good time to look back at your own PWP history.