A New Beginning: Introducing Team Troll Trader

Hi everyone,  I’d like to introduce myself, I am George Worsnop, some of you may know me from various Magic events which I regularly attend, primarily in the south east of England. I also travel to as many European Grand Prixs as I can.  Today I am excited to be able to introduce you to the new Team Troll Trader.

As some of you may be aware the last couple of years has seen increasing organisation by players in the UK magic community, with the formation of various teams. Following on from this I decided that I wanted to contribute to that by forming another team. I quickly recruited some of the best young Magic players in the UK, with the goal of us being a major presence in the game for a long time to come. We also included some members that regularly do well on the UK scene and produce consistent good finishes at GP level.  We have 12 strong members in our team, who each contribute something different to the team, and as such we hope our team will continue to improve.  Many of our members have appearances at the Pro Tour and strong finishes at GPs. This is a trend we want to continue. By working as a group and testing together, we hope it will enable us to move from just being well known names on the PPTQ circuit to regularly attending Pro Tours.

Starting today, we will not just be operating alone as a team, but will be proudly sponsored by Troll Trader. As many of you know, there are multiple teams and groups associated with Magic across the UK all looking to achieve the best results for themselves, but working with Troll Trader we are looking to offer more than that.  Team Troll Trader will be producing regular articles on a variety of Magic related topics, all with the aim to share our knowledge of the game.  You can learn with us as we test for large events, break down the metagame and get to grips with limited archetypes and strategy.  With the help of our talented team of UK Magic players, these articles will aim to provide a foundation for you to improve your ability at Magic and will hopefully result in improvement not only for the team, but for the whole UK Magic community.

Meanwhile, you will no doubt see familiar faces sporting Troll Trader shirts at both national and international level, as we continue our aim of Pro Tour glory.  We will be testing as a team, tweaking our decks to the metagame and battling it out at the top tables of events near you! Members of Team Troll Trader are located all around the UK and you may recognise some names, but let me introduce you to all of our members.

GEORGE WORSNOP

Located in Brighton, George is currently playing PPTQs throughout England almost every weekend, as well as most European GPs.  He plays paper events as often as possible and when this is not possible plays those on Magic Online, even if the limited events are bad EV… He has qualified for 4 RPTQs so far and is always looking to qualify, as long as it doesn’t clash with a GP! His favourite format is limited and he works to establish limited ratings for the team when new sets are released.  He is also constantly looking to improve and develop not just himself but the team and others in as many ways as possible.

MATTHEW POPE

Currently located in North London, Matt qualified for Pro Tour Hour of Devastation by finishing second at Grand Prix Barcelona earlier this year.  Matt has also recently won one of the large Axion Mega GPTs and earned flights to GP Vegas, where he enjoyed playing both Magic and poker.  Matt regularly attends paper events every weekend and plays Magic Online when he is not playing in paper.  He travels to as many GPs as he can get off from work and his preferred format is draft.

SAM ROLPH

Currently located in Cardiff, Sam plays mostly on Magic Online during the week and has an impressive repertoire of achievements online, including a MOCS top 8, fourteen PTQ top 8s and during his time playing he has won three, qualifying for three Pro Tours.  Sam does not play exclusively online though, at the weekends he attends paper events winning six PPTQs and placing in the top 16 at two GPs.  Sam mostly enjoys playing limited events and has played every European GP this season.

PETE WARD

Also located in Cardiff, Pete attended the most recent World Magic Cup representing England alongside fellow teammate Aaron Burns Lees.  Pete also qualified for Pro Tour Aether Revolt where he finished with an impressive 10-6 record, narrowly missing out on an invitation to Pro Tour Amonkhet.  Pete currently attends as many GPs as he possibly can and regularly plays on Magic Online to constantly improve his game.

MATT FOULKES

The final member of the Cardiff house and undoubtedly the loudest, Matt considers himself one of the most active players in the UK and his recently results prove this.  In his short time playing Magic, Matt has qualified for four RPTQs, one of which he came in the top 8.  He came 13th at Grand Prix London last year and has made the top 8 of the Super Sunday Series twice.  He plays all European GPs and plays Standard tournaments as often as he can, including Magic Online PTQs with two top 8’s to his name.

CHARLES ELIATAMBY

Currently located in Croydon, Charles qualified for Pro Tour Kaladesh through finishing top 4 in an RPTQ. He achieved an 8-2 record in the standard portion of the event earning his deck a spot on the Pro Tour Gauntlet on Magic Online.  Charles recently won a second RPTQ and qualified for Pro Tour Amonkhet.  Charles has attended five GPs this season and is currently looking at attending at least two more in aid of his goal of achieving Silver.  Charles’ preferred format is standard which he plays mainly in paper.

AARON BURNS LEES

Currently located in Brighton, Aaron is the youngest member of our team and is our go to expert for all things Modern related.  This was also the case when he was a member of the English World Magic Cup team alongside teammate Pete Ward after winning a Modern WMCQ last year, shortly after winning the London MKM series event with the same Dredge deck.  Aaron loves to try out experimental decks and trying to ‘break’ modern, which, combined with an enjoyment of writing articles and primers for decks, is a great combination.

DOM HARVEY

Currently located in Bristol, Dom has played one Pro Tour since the introduction of PPTQs and RPTQs, through winning one of the several RPTQs he has qualified for.  Before then he had come close to qualifying, coming top 8 in five old school PTQs.  Dom is most comfortable playing modern and has a recent WMCQ top 8 playing the format, as well as recent strong results such at tournaments held across the UK.  Dom plays regularly online and plays paper events every weekend as well as attending every European GP he can.

BEN JONES

Currently located just outside Cardiff and our Welsh representative for the team, Ben has represented his country twice at the World Magic Cup and is currently in the running to be captain again next year.  Ben has qualified for the RPTQ 5 times, coming top 16 twice.  He regularly plays Magic Online due to ease, but travels to as many GPs as he can fit in his schedule as a student.  Ben’s preferred format is modern and came 25th in GP Bologna last year.  Ben has previously worked with Troll Trader and has had experience writing numerous articles.

LUKE PALMER

Currently located in the Midlands, Luke won the recent Mega GPT for Las Vegas alongside teammate Matthew Pope.  Luke also attends multiple GPs per year including both GPs that are held in the UK.  Luke has qualified for 2 RPTQs and practices regularly on Magic Online.  Luke particularly enjoys brewing and creating new decks.  He is constantly trying to find a new way to attack the metagame and beat the current ‘best deck’.

NICK BALL

Located in Lincoln, Nick narrowly missed out on the top 8 of GP Manchester in 2016, but this result did allow him to qualify for the subsequent Pro Tour.  The deck Nick played at this Pro Tour featured in the Pro Tour Gauntlet shortly after on Magic Online due to his great Standard record in the tournament.  Nick also boasts 6 PPTQ wins and a WMCQ top 8.  Nick plays mainly in paper every weekend and it is no surprise his favourite format is standard.

PATXI SANCHEZ

Currently located in London, Patxi has qualified for two Pro Tours during his time playing Magic.  Patxi attends as many European GPs as possible and his most recent performances at GPs have been strong; boasting a 12-3 record two times in the past year and finishing 16th in Warsaw last November.  Patxi also plays regularly online, including two MOCS Top 8s.  He is a fan of eternal formats, in particular Legacy.

And that is Team Troll Trader!  We are excited to be working with such a great company in the UK Magic scene.  Please make sure to say hi if you see one of our members in a Troll Trader shirt at your next event and feel free to give us suggestions for content in the comment section!  We hope to see you at PPTQs, GPs and Pro Tours alike very soon!

By George Worsnop
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