Name: Jan-Moritz Merkel
Age: 17
Hometown: Hamburg
Occupation: Student
Number of Times Playing on the Pro Tour: 1
How did you qualify for Pro Tour-Kobe?
PTQ
Number of GP/PT Top 8s: 0
Other Previous Magic accomplishments:
I won a PTQ to get here.
What was your record by draft pod:
1. 3-0 2. 1-2 3. 3-0 4. 3-0 5. 1-0-2
How did you prepare for the event? Who did you prepare with?
I did some test drafts with players from Hamburg.
What was the most exciting card from the timeshifted set that you played with this weekend?
Ghost Ship. I had it in all of my first three drafts.
What do you like the most about the Time Spiral Booster Draft format?
Everyone can win.
What was your draft strategy? Did you stick with it all weekend, or did you have to change it?
I drafted blue-green, blue-red splash black, blue-black, red-black, Slivers, and white-green beats. So, I have no strategy and I'm just going to take what comes my way.
Road to the Top 8
1. 2-1 Fuchs, Lucas
2. 2-1 Kawada, Chihiro
3. 2-0 van Medevoort, Robert
4. 0-2 Tomelitsch, Patrick
5. 1-2 Thompson, Mike
6. 2-1 Lewis, Aaron
7. 2-1 Jurkovic, Robert
8. 2-0 Hill, Zac
9. 2-1 Gräfensteiner, Tobias
10. 2-0 Pauling, Owen
11. 2-0 Galbiati, Tim
12. 2-1 Mitamura, Kazuya
13. 2-1 Saito, Tomoharu
14. 1-1 Snepvangers, Bram
15. ID Edel, Willy
Name: Bram Snepvangers
Age: 30
Hometown: Houten, The Netherlands
Occupation: legal secretary
Number of Times Playing on the Pro Tour: about 48
How did you qualify for Pro Tour-Kobe? Pro Players' Club
Number of GP/PT Top 8s: PT: 3 GP: 7
What was your record by draft pod:
1. 2-1 2. 2-1 3. 3-0 4. 3-0 5. 1-0-2
How did you prepare for the event? Who did you prepare with?
A lot of practice drafts with the other Dutch players.
What was the most exciting card from the timeshifted set that you played with this weekend?
Psionic Blast
What do you like the most about the Time Spiral Booster Draft format?
It's more diverse than other formats because of the timeshifted cards.
What was your draft strategy? Did you stick with it all weekend, or did you have to change it?
I prefer white in this format, but played other colors as well due to the good cards I opened in those colors.
Road to the Top 8 1. 1-2 Engelhardt, Efridge
2. 2-1 Fujita, Tsuyoshi
3. 2-1 Llamastario, Guillermo
4. 1-2 Perez, Walter
5. 2-0 Petkov, Kaloyan A.
6. 2-0 Au Yong, Wai Kin
7. 3 Bye
8. 2-0 Bohny, Nico
9. 2-1 Ewing, John
10. 2-1 Cornelissen, Kamiel
11. 2-1 Blumer, Yann
12. 2-0 Sienko, Piotr
13. 2-1 Chan, Tiago
14. 1-1 Merkel, Jan-Moritz
15. ID Perez, Bastien
Name: Thomas Didierjean
Age: 32
Hometown: Angers, France
Occupation: Auditor
Number of Times Playing on the Pro Tour: 1st Time
How did you qualify for Pro Tour-Kobe? I made Top 8 at Grand Prix-Toulouse
Number of GP/PT Top 8s: This makes one Grand Prix and one Pro Tour
Other Previous Magic accomplishments: 9th place at French Nats.
What was your record by draft pod:
1. 2-1 2. 3-0 3. 2-1 4. 2-1 5. 1-0-2
How did you prepare for the event? Who did you prepare with?
I played 6-7 drafts and learned the cards carefully. A store at my place helped me by giving me boosters so I could draft. Thanks to them.
What was the most exciting card from the timeshifted set that you played with this weekend?
Mystic Enforcer
What do you like the most about the Time Spiral Booster Draft format?
It's very versatile - drafts never go the same way. I've been drafting very different decks all weekend.
What was your draft strategy? Did you stick with it all weekend, or did you have to change it?
I don't have any. I just try to pick the best cards and usually focus on removal. I like aggressive strategies, but I don't mind playing control if I get the cards for it, like in the last draft of the event where I ended up with a very controlling black-green deck.
Road to the Top 8 1. 1-2 Higdon, Nigel
2. 1-0-1 Okuda, Masateru
3. 2-0 Rachid, Denniz
4. 2-0 Itou, Jun
5. 2-1 Mitamura, Kazuya
6. 2-0 Yeong, Chin Wei Lance
7. 2-0 Mihara, Makihito
8. 2-1 Martin, Quentin
9. 1-2 Edel, Willy
10. 2-1 Doise, Jan
11. 2-0 tenenbaum, amiel
12. 1-2 Coimbra, André
13. 2-0 Siron, Geoffrey
14. 2-0 Doise, Jan
15. 1-1 Hegstad, Brian
Name: Bastien Perez
Age: 19
Hometown: Paris, France
Occupation: Student
Number of Times Playing on the Pro Tour: 10
How did you qualify for Pro Tour-Kobe? PTQ
Number of GP/PT Top 8s: 1 GP
Other Previous Magic accomplishments:
GP Paris final. PT Nagoya Top 32
What was your record by draft pod:
1. 3-0 2. 2-1 3. 3-0 4. 3-0 5. 1-0-2
How did you prepare for the event? Who did you prepare with?
Drafts in Paris with other French pros like Julien Goron, Marc le Campion, and Sebastien Coppini.
What was the most exciting card from the timeshifted set that you played with this weekend?
Giant Oyster
What do you like the most about the Time Spiral Booster Draft format?
Almost every color combination can be good.
What was your draft strategy? Did you stick with it all weekend, or did you have to change it?
Three main strategies: Slivers, mono-blue, and the Empty the Warrens deck with suspend spells. I managed to draft one of those decks every draft, because cards like Empty the Warrens and Strength of Numbers are really underdrafted.
Road to the Top 8 1. 2-1 Dominguez, Javier
2. 2-1 Arita, Ryuuichi
3. 2-1 Jonsson, Anton
4. 2-1 Ziegler, Brian
5. 1-2 Herberholz, Mark
6. 2-1 Tomelitsch, Patrick
7. 2-0 Fennell, Chris A.
8. 2-0 Doise, Jan
9. 2-1 Chan, Tiago
10. 2-0 Felske, David
11. 2-1 Edel, Willy
12. 2-1 Ibamoto, Masami
13. 2-0 Ibamoto, Masami
14. ID Edel, Willy
15. ID Snepvangers, Bram
Name: Willy Edel
Age: 27
Hometown: Rio de Janeiro, Brazil
Occupation: Credit Analyst
Number of Times Playing on the Pro Tour: 5
How did you qualify for Pro Tour-Kobe? Top 2 PT Charleston
Number of GP/PT Top 8s: 2 PT
Other Previous Magic accomplishments: three-time Top 8 in Brazilian Nats
What was your record by draft pod:
1. 2-1 2. 3-0 3. 3-0 4. 2-1 5. 1-0-2
How did you prepare for the event? Who did you prepare with?
One draft in real life with players at my house. I then talked a lot about the format with other Brazilian pros.
What was the most exciting card from the timeshifted set that you played with this weekend?
Disintegrate
What do you like the most about the Time Spiral Booster Draft format?
All the decks seem pretty good. It is difficult to find a deck with lots of filler.
What was your draft strategy? Did you stick with it all weekend, or did you have to change it?
Always be red and avoid white. All five of my decks had red cards and not one had white.
Road to the Top 8 1. 2-0 Okuda, Masateru
2. 2-1 Rachid, Denniz
3. 0-2 Higdon, Nigel
4. 2-1 Sadeghpour, Johan
5. 2-1 Juza, Martin
6. 2-1 Mechler, Kyle D.
7. 2-0 Lebedowicz, Osyp
8. 2-1 Kurihara, Shingou
9. 2-1 Didierjean, Thomas
10. 2-0 Suzuki, Takahiro
11. 1-2 Perez, Bastien
12. 2-0 Herberholz, Mark
13. 2-0 Coimbra, André
14. ID Perez, Bastien
15. ID Merkel, Jan-Moritz
Name: Kenji Tsumura
Age: 20
Hometown: Hiroshima, Japan
Occupation: Pro Magic Player
Number of Times Playing on the Pro Tour: 15 maybe?
How did you qualify for Pro Tour-Kobe?
Pro Points
Number of GP/PT Top 8s: GP:8 PT: 4
Other Previous Magic accomplishments:
Player of the Year 2005
What was your record by draft pod:
1.2-1 2.2-1 3.2-1 4.3-0 5.3-0
How did you prepare for the event? Who did you prepare with?
Playing on the GP circuit. (Sydney and Greece)
What was the most exciting card from the timeshifted set that you played with this weekend?
Soul Collector
What do you like the most about the Time Spiral Booster Draft format?
1 on 1 :)
What was your draft strategy? Did you stick with it all weekend, or did you have to change it?
draft green :)
Road to the Top 8 1. 2-0 Mallamaci, Giacomo Alberto
2. 2-1 Davis, Robb W.
3. 1-2 Salas Dominguez, Camilo
4. 2-0 Fromm, Felix
5. 2-0 Fung, Gan
6. 1-2 Desprez, Kevin
7. 1-2 Chao, Peter
8. 2-0 Gan, Vincent
9. 2-1 Ishida, Itaru
10. 2-0 Miyaoka, Hiroyuki
11. 2-0 Thompson, Mike
12. 2-0 Ljungberg, William
13. 2-0 Mitamura, Kazuya
14. 2-0 Kitayama, Masaya
15. 2-1 Gundersen, Thomas F.
Name: Takahiro Suzuki
Age: 18
Hometown: Tokyo
Occupation: Muneo
Number of Times Playing on the Pro Tour:
2
Number of GP/PT Top 8s: 2
Other Previous Magic accomplishments:
Nationals Top 8
What was your record by draft pod:
1.3-0 2.2-1 3.3-0 4.1-1-1 5.2-1
How did you prepare for the event? Who did you prepare with?
8 drafts!
What was the most exciting card from the timeshifted set that you played with this weekend?
Mindless Automaton
Road to the Top 8 1. 2-0
Valori, Markus
2. 2-0 Hayrynen, Andrei
3. 2-0 Barbou, Leonard
4. 2-1 Dam, Lars
5. 1-2 tenenbaum, amiel
6. 2-1 Mori, Katsuhiro
7. 2-0 Vandover, Sean
8. 2-0 Desprez, Kevin
9. 2-0 Lybaert, Marijn
10. 0-2 Edel, Willy
11. 2-1 Higdon, Nigel
12. 0-0-99 Saito, Tomoharu
13. 2-1 Bernat, Michael
14. 1-2 Hegstad, Brian
15. 2-0 Felske, David
What was your draft strategy? Did you stick with it all weekend, or did you have to change it?
White Blue or White Green
Name: Tomoharu Saito
Age: 22
Hometown: Tokyo
Occupation: Pro card gamer
Number of Times Playing on the Pro Tour:
15 maybe?
How did you qualify for Pro Tour-Kobe?
Level 4 Pro Players club
Number of GP/PT Top 8s: GP:5 PT:3
Other Previous Magic accomplishments:
Pro Tour Champion
What was your record by draft pod:
1.3-0 2.3-0 3.3-0 4.0-2-1 5.2-1
How did you prepare for the event? Who did you prepare with?
At the home of Shuhei Nakamura before the PT, after GP-Athens, we practiced with Andre Coimbra, Tiago Chan, Ruud Warmenhoven, Tomohiro Kaji (of course my buddy), Wessel Oomens, and others.
What was the most exciting card from the timeshifted set that you played with this weekend?
I played Stormbind on the table but I had nothing in my hand. Then I topdecked Fiery Temper.
What do you like the most about the Time Spiral Booster Draft format?
The variation of the cards is the best thing.
What was your draft strategy? Did you stick with it all weekend, or did you have to change it?
I did a cooperative draft. I try to decide my main color early and then one more color to splash something. I never hate draft.