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 Kelvin Chew(@KelvinCh3w).

Kelvin Chew is a Pro Player from Singapore. He was a recognized player in Asia, but after he reached 4th place at World Championship 2017, he became one of the world best for everybody.

Interview

Profile

First Name: Kelvin

Last Name: Chew

Age: 31

Nationality: Singapore

Sponsor: MTG Mint Card

lifetime ProPoints: 203

Pro Level 2017/2018: Platinum

Occupation / Hobbies outside MTG:

Cardstore Manager (Games Haven). I enjoy watching Chinese drama and swimming.

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

It was when Lorwyn was around. My friends in the army introduce me to the game.

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

Actually, no one in this case. I remember my friends in the army asked if I wanted to join a major event in Singapore and went with them. There, I placed 22nd in a 85 players tournament which got me started playing in PTQ, Nationals, and Grand Prix.

Previous Achievements

PT TOP 8: 1 Top 8

GP TOP 8: 5 Top 8

Others: World Championship 2017 – 4th

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

Tomoharu Saito.

He is a very friendly guy and we both like to brew decks.

Favorite MTG Format and why:

My favorite format is Modern, The format rewards you for knowing your deck well.

Favorite limited archetype in the current draft format and why:

My favorite decks in Rivals of Ixalan draft is UG Merfolk. A good Merfolk deck allows you to go 3-0 easily in your draft pod. Overall good synergistic creatures with tempo spell like 《Crashing Tide》 to push through blockers.

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

I don’t have preferences but I tend to stay away from complicated combo deck as I am bad at it.

Favorite MTG Decks:

Modern: Bant Knightfall

Standard: UB Control

Legacy: None at this time. I only played Legacy once a few years ago which was with Infect.

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

I love playing with Bant Company with 《Jace, the Mind Sculptor》 at the moment. This has been my pet deck in Modern. It has game against any deck in Modern and had no very bad matchup which is why I like the deck.

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

My pick is 《Impale》.

I would pick 《Impale》 as there are two great red cards in the pack (《Etali, Primal Storm》 and 《Bombard》) and likely set the two people on my left taking the red card and playing red.

Few month ago, you participate to the World Championship and reach an amazing semi finals. How was this experience? What player impressed you the most during this event?

It was definitely an amazing experience competing with the best and learning from them. Re-Qualifying for the 2018 world championship is one of my goal this season.

Left to Right: Christian Calcano, Javier Dominguez, Marcio Carvalho, Kelvin Chew, Lee Shi Tian
Image Copyright : Wizards of the Coast

Although I never played against Marcio Carvalho in the event, he impressed me the most during testing for this event. Watching him play was a treat. He is able to figure out the best line of play within a complicated board in a short span of time.

You are the most famous player in Singapore. How is Magic: the Gathering community there? How difficult it is for you to travel to events and practice for tournaments?

The community in Singapore is pretty big considering Singapore as a small country. We have 180+ people for last Singapore Nationals and more people have been starting to play competitively and travelling to RPTQ and Grand Prix. We have a total of 9 Singaporean qualifiers for Pro Tour Rivals of Ixalan and two of them went 11-5.

Image Copyright : Wizards of the Coast

Travelling to events are very convenient in Singapore as we have around 20 stores in a small country and have events on every day. Normally I just practice on magic online as it allows me to get the most repetition.

Recently 《Jace, the Mind Sculptor》 and 《Bloodbraid Elf》 were unbanned in Modern. Which card is exiting you the most and how do you will use it in the future?

《Jace, the Mind Sculptor》 excite me the most as I remember qualifying for my first big event, World Championship 2011, with it. I will probably use it in decks that are able to cast it on turn 3 or a deck with early disruption like Grixis control.

What do you think about the new pro point system? As an Asian player, how it impacts your professional life?

I think the system is very bad for Asian players as we have limited GP to play which means I have to do well in the one I play in. It is easier for players to reach bronze and silver level but harder to maintain Gold/Platinum. I currently have 35 Pro Points but 28 were in cycle one and if I did badly in the next 2 Pro Tour, I would likely fall off the train after grinding for 1 years. I would probably start playing less if I did badly.

You are part of MTG Mint Card for Pro Tour testing which is one of the most successful team in the world during Pro Tour (Andrea Mengucci and Javier Dominguez reached Pro Tour Rivals of Ixalan top8) . How can you explain these amazing results?

I guess that besides being a team, we are also good friends and we listen and trust each other’s opinion.

Image Copyright : Wizards of the Coast

We also have different people working on their strong area from limited analysis, constructed testing and deckbuilding, which helps a lot when preparing for Pro Tour.