Michael Long is a former professional

Magic: The Gathering ''Magic: The Gathering'' (colloquially known as ''Magic'' or ''MTG'') is a Tabletop game, tabletop and Digital collectible card game, digital Collectible card game, collectable card game created by Richard Garfield. Released in 1993 by Wizards ...

player who was a high-profile figure on the Pro Tour in its formative years.

''Magic: The Gathering''

'' was released in 1993 and a Pro Tour launched the following year. Long proved to be an early celebrity champion. He was known for his charismatic persona, and often presented as a "villain" in the ''Magic'' tournaments. Long's first individual tournament win was at the

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Pro Tour during the Magic: The Gathering Pro Tour season 1996–97. During the Paris tournament, Long debuted a " combination deck" called ''Prosperous Bloom'' that was notably the first successful combination deck in tournament-level play. During the last game of the finals, Long was playing against

Mark Justice Mark Justice (born ) is a former Magic: The Gathering pro player. He was considered by some to be the best player of the game in its earliest era of professional play. Justice was the second Magic: The Gathering US National Champion in 1995. He ...

and faced losing when Justice played Coercion to find out Long was holding the only Drain Life in his deck (and his only way to win). Despite this, Justice pulled Cadaverous Bloom instead, thinking Long could get the Drain Life back with Elven Cache if allowed to generate the "cadaverous mana" for a large Prosperity. Little did he know Long had sideboarded them out (as he pointed out before draining Justice's life for a total of 44 points), Justice then conceded when Long asked him "if he needed to go through the motions" instead of watching the combo play out and fizzle. At the 1998 U.S. Nationals, Long was the subject of controversy over his potential act of cheating when a key card from his combo deck was found on Long's chair during a game. The head judge issued a match loss to Long, who went on to finish second in the tournament. Long won that year's Magic Invitational. The award was the chance to create a new card and inclusion in the card's art. That card, , was printed in the Nemesis set. By his retirement, Long had won a Pro Tour, a Grand Prix, and an Invitational and held the record for being on the most winning national teams and was in the top lifetime money winners. Long's legacy also included one of the first player teams, created while he was still in college. He was responsible for several technical innovations; he designed a Vintage format combo deck, named "Long.dec" for him, that used to fetch out of the

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and set up a kill with . Subsequent Vintage combo decks that use tutoring to set up a Tendrils kill have retained the name although the original deck was rendered unplayable by restrictions. In 2005, former organizer

Mark Rosewater Mark Rosewater (born May 25, 1967) is the head designer for ''Magic: The Gathering'', a position he has held since 2003. Biography Rosewater grew up in Pepper Pike, Ohio. In his youth, he worked as a professional magician. Rosewater has descr ...

nominated Long for the Hall of Fame. This ignited debates over Long's impact on the game. Rosewater wrote, "He was an early pioneer in deck design and had an influence on how deck building technology evolved. He was a tournament organizer. He wrote about the game." Others felt Long did not qualify his entry due to the playing controversies. During the Pro Tour Los Angeles in 2000, Long had been given a warning for improperly shuffling his deck. Darwin Kastle made a further error when he cut Long's deck instead of

shuffling Shuffling is a procedure used to randomize a deck of playing cards to provide an element of chance in card games. Shuffling is often followed by a cut, to help ensure that the shuffler has not manipulated the outcome. __TOC__ Techniques Over ...

. During the US Nationals Draft Challenge held at United States Nationals in 2000, Long was disqualified without prize and given a one-month suspension for presenting a deck that was not sufficiently randomized.

''Magic: The Gathering'' professional appearances

Early life, education, and career

Long was born in Albany, New York and later lived in Gambrills,

Maryland Maryland ( ) is a state in the Mid-Atlantic region of the United States. It shares borders with Virginia, West Virginia, and the District of Columbia to its south and west; Pennsylvania to its north; and Delaware and the Atlantic Ocean to ...

where he attended the

Severn School Severn School was founded in 1914 by Roland M. Teel in Severna Park, Maryland, as a preparatory school for the United States Naval Academy. In 2013, Severn School merged with nearby Chesapeake Academy. Currently the school enrolls boys and girl ...

. He attended college at

James Madison University James Madison University (JMU, Madison, or James Madison) is a public research university in Harrisonburg, Virginia. Founded in 1908 as the State Normal and Industrial School for Women at Harrisonburg, the institution was renamed Madison Coll ...

in Harrisonburg,

Virginia Virginia, officially the Commonwealth of Virginia, is a state in the Mid-Atlantic and Southeastern regions of the United States, between the Atlantic Coast and the Appalachian Mountains. The geography and climate of the Commonwealth ar ...

. At James Madison, he was a varsity wrestler and played on the

James Madison Dukes football The James Madison Dukes football program represents James Madison University in the sport of American football. The Dukes compete in the NCAA Division I Football Bowl Subdivision (FBS) as a member of the Sun Belt Conference (SBC), beginning play ...

team. He began competing at ''

'' tournaments in 1995. After graduation, Long owned a game store called "The End" in

Charlottesville Charlottesville, colloquially known as C'ville, is an independent city in the Commonwealth of Virginia. It is the county seat of Albemarle County, which surrounds the city, though the two are separate legal entities. It is named after Queen Ch ...

and wrote strategy articles in addition to working on the professional tour. He began using

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for both his strategy articles and for card sales, and also started a

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business.

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Long, Mike Living people American Magic: The Gathering players 1974 births Internet marketing people Businesspeople from Albany, New York 21st-century American businesspeople People from Franklin, Tennessee James Madison University alumni James Madison Dukes football players