Appearing in the annals of Pro Magic history, is this one man.
World Championship 2005 Champion, World Championship 2006 team runner-up, 4 Grand Prix wins(3 of them from team formats) continuously aiming for the top of the Magic world!
He’s known in the Japanese magic community as “The Emperor”.
Katsuhiro Mori (Tokyo).
This legendary player now joining the Hareruya Pros is none other than Katsuhiro Mori!
Who is Katsuhiro Mori really? Find out more about him and why he decided to join the Hareruya pros in the following interview:
■ Introduction
――「Could you tell us about how you got into magic, and what impact magic has had on your life so far?」
Mori「Back in the day when I went to Chicago to study, I quickly fell in love with NBA cards and at the store I used to get my NBA cards at I saw some MTG Revised packs and I eventually bought 3 of them.
Then I ended up coming back to Japan and got into Pokemon cards, but my decks were all too powerful so I ended up having no one to play and that’s when Magic was introduced to me.
An especially memorable experience was during the final round of the “The Finals99” tournament where I faced down Tomoharu Saito and we went for an ID. That also happened to be my first ever ID. (Laughs)」
――「You won 【the World Championship back in 2005】, tell us about some of the preparations you made to achieve that result.」
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| Source of photo: 【MAGIC: THE GATHERING】 |
Mori「I was constantly surrounded by other excellent players such as Oiso, Morita, Tsumura, Asahara & Kaji, and I probably practiced more than just about anyone else.
I did around 4 drafts a day on MTGO adding up to 200 or so games over the space of 2 months.
Thanks in part to my preparation I managed to go 2-0 in all my games and went 6-0 in the draft portion.
[Full names of the previously mentioned players: Masashi Oiso, Masahiko Morita, Kenji Tsumura, Akira Asahara & Tomohiro Kaji]」
――「You have an impressive 16 Grand Prix Top 8’s, how do you usually go about preparing for these events?」
Mori「I construct my deck and then carefully swap cards 1 by 1 until I find the right build.
Like most people I select sideboard cards based on which cards would allow my deck to improve the odds of beating a bad match-up.
I spend a lot of time on my sideboard, sometimes as much as 3 days on just the last card.」
――「Could you tell us about your magic community and the players that are part of it?」
Mori「Given a quick thought the 3 players that come to mind is Tomoharu Saito, Kenji Tsumura & Yusuke Osaka.
Tsumura with his elaborate plays & perfect grasp on rules & interactions is truly befitting a pro.
Saito on the other hand inspires me through his constant hard-work and his love of the game. I could definitely learn a thing or 2 from them.」
■ What kind of player are you?
――「Which format is your specialty and could you tell us why?」
Mori「Definitely Limited, since I practice so much that I get the feeling I can’t lose, even on the Pro Tour my average draft record is 5-1. On the other hand my constructed results are far more lackluster, so from now on it would be great if I could improve upon my constructed skills.」
――「Is there something you always keep in mind while playing magic?」
Mori「Not making mistakes because of being tilted or other factors outside of the game.
Rather than win or lose, making the correct play every time regardless of outcome is more important.
That’s definitely a bit different then how I was back in the day where I used to not be the most pleasant person to play against including playing very sloppily and I believe I left a bad impression more than once.
I aim to change that and I will play more earnestly like how Tsumura does, to be able to leave with my opponents respect, win or lose.」
――「What is the most memorable moment you’ve had in a game of magic up until now?」
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| Source of photo: 【MAGIC: THE GATHERING】 |
Mori「My most memorable game was definitely the final round in the Swiss portion of the World Magic Championship.
I was on Scepter control with my opponent playing Boros.
I was dead if my opponent drew burn or a land for 2 turns straight, but miraculously he didn’t draw either and I turned it around for an incredible come-back.
It was a game that taught me the value of never giving up no matter how bad it might look.」
――「Do you have any favorite cards or decks you could share with us?」
Mori「The Mind’s Desire deck I made.
The strongest deck I ever put together, it even helped put Masashi Oiso in the Top 8 and Tsumura in the top 24 of that Pro Tour.」
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――「In the final game of the Swiss portion of Pro Tour: Shadows over Innistrad you we’re about to draw with your teammate Andrea Mengucci but instead decided to concede, could you elaborate on what led you to make this decision?」
Mori「If only we had more time…… I was about to stop his dragonlord with Jace & aim to finish him off with the Jace ultimate, while the boardstate looked in his favor in reality it was actually an incredibly even battle.
However, because nothing good comes from the both of us getting a draw I decided to take one for the team and concede and at least put one of us in the top8. Going to time in such a pivotal match was truly an awful feeling.」
■ The history you intend to write as a member of the Hareruya Pros
――「What got you interested in joining the Hareruya Pros?」
Mori「I wasn’t quite sure if it was appropriate considering I also run an online mtg shop called Kateruya. Then it was decided that the team of me, Saito & Lee Shi Tian would play together at GP Kyoto, and I’m usually practicing with them either way so I figured it was probably for the best, and I joined them as a proper team member instead.」
――「What type of activity will you be participating in as a part of the Hareruya Pros?」
Mori「I would love to do tournament commentary if they’d have me.
Of course also write magic-related articles and tournament reports.
I also regularly stream on Nico Nico live, so if I could do something like Kenjis live streaming as a part of Hareruya that would be great.」
――「What goals do you have as a magic player going forward?」
Mori「Winning the Pro Tour!
I also hope to get inducted into the Pro Tour Hall of Fame together with Saito!」
A man with a long history of excelling in the magic world and now joining the Hareruya Pros, we hope you’ll support Katsuhiro Mori who is ready to shape magic history anew.
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