By Jeremy Dezani

Welcome to “Player Focus”!

“Player Focus” is a short interview with one of the greatest MTG players in the world. The goal is to present the player and his MTG profile to Japanese and international communities. “Player Focus” will feature a different player each time.

This Time we have Pascal Maynard (@PascalMaynard) Canadian player who recently Top 8ed GP Kyoto.

He is a young player with a lot of big achievements and knows as the lucky guy who open a foil 《Tarmogoyf》 during a Modern Master draft in Grand Prix Las Vegas Top 8.

Interview

First Name: Pascal
Last Name: Maynard
Age: 24
Nationality: Canadian
Sponsor: ChannelFireball.com
Current / lifetime ProPoints: 211
Pro Level 2017/2018: Gold

Occupation / Hobbies outside MTG:

Party Expert.

When did you start MTG? Which set? How did you discover the game?

I started when Fifth Dawn came out and truly started playing tournaments during Champions of Kamigawa block. I was hanging out at this game store, tried a few different games, but only Magic spoke to me.

I loved that the community back then was mostly older than me, more mature and somehow, I got along better with these people.

What famous player influenced you the most to become a professional player?

Image Copyright: Wizards of the Coast

Antoine Ruel. I just remember the first time I went on the official Magic website, I could see Antoine holding a Pro Tour winning check in his hands and that just hooked me up.

Previous Achievements:

PT TOP 8: 1

GP TOP 8: 13 (2 wins)

Others: Canadian Nationals 2010 Top 8, Loves Foil 《Tarmogoyf》.

If you have one, who is your favourite Japanese Player and why:

Image Copyright: Wizards of the Coast

Shota Yasooka. He is to me the best technical player of all time. His ability to navigate a game at a fast pace and flawlessly blows my mind.

Honorable mention to Tomoharu Saito and Kenji Tsumura for being party animals!

Favourite MTG Format and why:

Draft. I’m lacking a little bit when it comes to technical play, so when I’m playing a format that favors preparation and deckbuilding, I really excel.

Favourite limited archetype in the current draft format and why:

Blue/Red. It’s just really fun to play and also the best archetype. I’m open to draft anything though, I think this limited format is unbelievably healthy.

Favourite MTG Deck:

Standard: Ramp
Modern: Affinity
Legacy: Temur Delver

Do you prefer to play aggressive, control, midrange or combo deck? Why?

Aggressive. I just really like having the option of casting all my spells, so I generally favor decks with cheap spells.

What is your favourite deck to play at the moment? Any format;

Faeries in Modern.

I don’t think it’s particularly that good, but it beats 《Death's Shadow》 and the deck is really fun to play.

I think Yuta Takahashi did a really good job at making a good list of it.

What is your First Pick, First Pack in this booster and why?

《Fervent Paincaster》. I think the card is fantastic and I also really like Red/White, an archetype where that card is great because you always play cards like 《Dauntless Aven》 and 《Act of Heroism》.

You recently top 8 Grand Prix Kyoto. What do you think about Japanese players you played against and tournaments in Japan?

I was actually very impressed. I played four total I believe.

I remember a match where my opponent played around 《Open Fire》 very well. I also remember thinking that they were playing awesomely tight, playing around the right things at the right moment, making great attacks, etc.

Image Copyright: Wizards of the Coast

I also had an insane match against a guy with 《No Mercy》 in his deck and I enchanted him with 《Overwhelming Splendor》, it was pretty great.