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By: Paul Leicht, Paul Emerson Leicht
Dec 03 2010 3:44am
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Introduction:

Once upon a time in a galaxy not so far away...well really here...I wrote a column for Neutralground.net the website then owned and operated by Brian David-Marshall and his partners as an adjunct for their very successful magic shop/club Neutral Ground (in NYC). When I began doing that I perused other columns by upcoming and successful writers to see how things were being done elsewhere.

One writer's name I came across time and again is the subject of this article today. Joshua X. Claytor. When I started writing for puremtgo.com it was partially because I knew the name of it's editor/content manager from my previous incarnation as a mtg pundit and magic reader. I knew I would be doing OK writing articles for a site with him at it's helm.

After the first article in this series, interviewing the infamous AJ_Impy, I knew I had to find someone else to do this with. The process of finding the right questions and getting answers to them is exciting to me. I am hoping you readers agree that Mr. Claytor has something interesting to say about his illustrious past and present.

Citizen Josh:

Joshua has written columns and articles for a vast variety of magic sites including: puremtgo.com, starcitygames.com, tcplayer.com, 7towers.net and sideboard.com. He has attended several GPs and a Pro Tour as well as top 8 appearances at Kentucky States thrice, winning it outright once. Joshua is 30 (claims to be fighting his greys), has a son, Cassius (named for the boxer Muhammad Ali), and is newly divorced.

Here are the questions I asked of him and his replies (over emails mainly.):

Winter.Wolf: In your name, what does the X stand for?
JXClaytor: The X actually stands for nothing, it was a nickname I was given many many years ago while in high school and it has stuck since then. It had no real reason then, and I guess it has no real reason now!

Winter.Wolf: Where are you from?
JXClaytor: I was born in Columbus, Ohio, moved to a suburb of the Louisville metro area when I was five years old and ended up settling down in Vine Grove, Ky shortly there after. Outside of some time in Minnesota, Florida and other cities in the state of Kentucky, I've lived here most of my life.

Player Josh:

Winter.Wolf: When did you start playing magic?
JXClaytor: I started playing in 1994, it was my freshman year in high school and it was something that my friends were doing at the lunch tables. I actually never wanted to play magic, it was fun to watch them play and listen to their trash talk, but I was more of a comic book collector when I was growing up.

Winter.Wolf: What got you into it?
JXClaytor: A long time ago, Fallen Empires packs where included in comic books. I picked up the book (It was not that great) and was intrigued by the cards. I opened the pack, and really liked the art on cards like (Homarid), Havenwood Battleground and decided that I would like to learn how to play. Granted in 1994 no one really had any idea on how to play, and our group was extremely casual. We figured it out and since there there was no turning back.

Winter.Wolf: I am certain you are familiar with R&D's psychographics: (Timmy, Johnny, Spike, Vorthos and Melvin.) How would you rate/place yourself?
JXClaytor: I'm a Johnny/Spike. I want to win pretty much more than anything else, but I want to win and do it in cool ways.

Winter.Wolf: Do you enjoy the matching of skill vs skill more than anything?
JXClaytor: More than anything I still play magic because of the social interactions it gives me with my friends. This is a close second. I enjoy the strategy in the game. When I suck at a tournament I enjoy watching the good players in the room play, because I get to learn a bit and rail-birding is not the worst thing ever.


Winter.Wolf: How do you see the deck building?
JXClaytor: I used to be good at brewing/tuning a deck but that was when I was devoting 40-50 hours a week into magic, believe it or not local tournaments allowed me to live comfortable for a few years, but having more responsibilities means you have to a better money source, so I have quit building for the time being and rely on my friends or the internet for a deck.


Winter.Wolf: Tell me something about how you view the color wheel/deck building and collecting.
JXClaytor: I am a huge fan of Hornet Sting. It makes sense to me that Green would have direct damage. I mean if you're in a forest there are insects right? The color wheel makes a lot more sense now than it did years ago.

Deck building is an art, and it always has been. The brewers have gotten better over time, Conley Woods, Gerry T, Chapin, Zvi, Brian Kowel are all very good builders and I feel pretty good about playing matches if I am playing a deck that they created.

Collecting I do not really do for myself. I am getting one copy of each promo card for my son, It's been a pretty neat project and I hope as he gets older he will not only want to play but get his own promo cards. I'm not going to force magic on Cassius, he's his own person, but I would like my son to enjoy the game that has brought me much joy. I also want him to be a fan of Kentucky Basketball, but I'll love him and be proud of him no matter what he does.


Winter.Wolf: What about winning in cool ways?
JXClaytor: A win is a win no matter how it happens. You get three points rather you rip a burn spell off the top, go off on turn 1 with some crazy combo or counter everything your opponent plays.

(For those who aren't familiar with Tournament Magic rules, you gain 3 win points for winning a match of the best 2 out of 3 games. You gain 1 point for a drawn match and 0 points for a loss.)

Winter.Wolf: Are you interested in the cards themselves for their story/history/art?
JXClaytor: I used to be, but really the flavor text is what makes me enjoy cards now. I love puns!
Winter.Wolf: Me too. An under-appreciated artform if you ask me.

Winter.Wolf: Or is the game more of a mathematics and strategy thing for you?
JXClaytor:Strategy yes, Math no, mainly because I am terrible at math. I stay away from aggro decks for that reason. I mean I can count and stuff, but my mind does not see things in a mathematical way.


Writer Josh:
Winter.Wolf: You were a mtg writer back in the day when I was still doing articles for Neutral Ground. Where did you write?
JXClaytor: I had articles on a lot of sites over the past ten or so years. I think I had something on the Dojo, it may have just been a tournament report, but it was there! I wrote for Starcitygames.com, 7towers.net, tcgplayer.com (and brainburst), sideboard.com and I am sure I wrote for a few other sites that I am just not recalling now. I also wrote for Scrye Magazine and even though I left the magazine on poor terms, I was really saddened when it closed down shop. I did a few things for Beckett as well, which helped my realize a childhood dream of appearing in one of their price guides.

Winter.Wolf: Beckett?
JXClaytor: Beckett is a price guide magazine that is well respected in the sports card market. They had a short lived MTG mag and I had a feature where I interviewed players from across America in regards to FNM. It was a quick email interview, but the one I will never forget is an interview I did with a solider from Texas shortly after he came back from the Middle East. He sent me some pics that had not been shown to the media (and let's face it, I may get press credentials to GAMA and other game shows, but what I do is not journalistic work) and I was blown away by the aftermath.

Winter.Wolf: You mentioned Star City Games, would you write for them again?
JXClaytor: I would love to write for Starcity again. I have a high level of respect for Pete, Evan, Ben and the others behind the scenes at the site, and think they are all wonderful people. What Pete has done for the paper magic community (in the sense of the SCG Opens) is something that is wonderful for players that want a high level event, and it pays well. I also love how other organizers and replicating the events of SCG and am happy, it's like we have the pro tour, the grand prix circuit and then to use a nascar example, a Nationwide tour. It has to be good for magic!

Winter.Wolf: I should note that Steven Sadin is taking over the Content Manager job there and he's a very nice guy. Maybe you should think about contacting him. :) Or Steve, if you read this, drop Joshua a line eh?

Winter.Wolf: Are you planning any articles for Puremtgo?
JXClaytor: I am. I'm trying to work on some time to where I can start a weekly feature. I'm going to dig through Daily Event lists, find a deck that is underused or not known about and play the crap out of it. Probably going to be a video feature, as I would like the site to have more video content. I would do that now with BR vamps, but it has blown up since I started to play it personally, ( I am not the reason, the deck is just that good) so it may not be fun to do.

Winter.Wolf: Any special articles you remember fondly?
JXClaytor: The first coverage article I did for Grand Prix Detroit (IBC sealed) is something I look back on. I think most of the event coverage that I have done is fairly solid, and something I still enjoy reading.

Winter.Wolf: Any thing you wish you had not written about or covered differently?
JXClaytor: There was an article I wrote when I was a brash young 20 something. It was a tournament report, and I got ripped hard for it, Team Academy said my dad should have drowned me which I guess I deserved. (Of course no one really deserves to be wished with death but whatever.) I have an email from Jeff Cunningham in regards to that article, and if 30 year old Joshua could talk to Joshua from back then I'm pretty sure I'd smack myself. I did get lampooned in a few articles, but for anyone else who has ever thought about writing an article about a Grand Prix they attended and did ok in that's fine, I just recommend not leaving a list of people you finished higher in and looking like a whining child.

Winter.Wolf: OK Team Academy, not much with the rep for being the nicest guys around. But really for a list of people you bested they said you should not exist? A bit extreme if you ask me.
Of course now I have to ask...What GP? How DID you do? I can understand wanting to smack a younger self, What would you have done differently now?

JXClaytor: GP Minneapolis I think it was 2001 or 2002. It was invasion block constructed. I ended up in the top 40 I think won a ton of amateur money.

I would have still written the article, I would not have written it with the voice of a whiny brat, but I would have made it a better overall piece.

Winter.Wolf: Fair 'nuff.

Pro Josh:

Winter.Wolf: You were Kentucky state champ one year right?
JXClaytor: I was the champion in 2004, and had placed in the top eight in 2003 and 2005 as well.

Winter.Wolf: So what was that like?
JXClaytor: It was pretty awesome. For one day I played well, and was rewarded for all the hard work that I had put into the format. It was more of a pride thing than anything else though. My first event was in 1999, and it was Kentucky States. I played a UB bubbling muck bargain deck that I took out of an Inquest Magazine. It was the worst thing I've ever played in any event. However I told my friends that one day I would win the event, got laughed at and finally got there.

Winter.Wolf: What did you win with?
JXClaytor: I won with Death cloud.

View Josh's Kentucky States 2004 Winner

Deathcloud
by JxClaytor Winner - Kentucky States 2004
Creatures
4 Eternal Witness
4 Kokusho, the Evening Star
4 Sakura-Tribe Elder
12 cards

Other Spells
4 Barter in Blood
3 Death Cloud
4 Echoing Decay
4 Kodama's Reach
4 Oxidize
4 Plow Under
2 Sylvan Scrying
25 cards
Lands
1 Boseiju, Who Shelters All
12 Forest
10 Swamp
23 cards

Plow Under



Winter.Wolf: How did you come up with the deck you won with?
JXClaytor: Lots of playtesting. At the time most of my play group was young, not married, had no kids, and had good jobs. We played at a store called The Game, and since it was owned by my best friends father in law we hardly left before 6am each night. I was tired of playing affinity, loved Death Cloud and since Tribe Elder and Kokoshu had been printed it seemed like a good time to try to break the card.

Winter.Wolf: Who was in your playtest group?
JXClaytor:I had a close group at the time, Will Lutes (my best friend at the time, who split the finals with a UG Opposition deck that transformed into Madness in 2002 states) Jacob Beal (Who also top eighted with me in states the year I won) Andrew Nelms (who won in 2006 with Magnivore) and that was it.

Winter.Wolf: What was your worst match up?
JXClaytor: Anything with Arcbound Ravager and Disciple was really bad for me. However the worst match up was a deck that was not really real until after states which was UW control. No one played it during my run and I was able to fight through a sea of artifacts in the top eight. Affinity was just gross. Ravager and Disciple were still legal then, so you could have a lock on the game and then you're dead.

Winter.Wolf: Best?
JXClaytor: Tooth and Nail. I hated losing to that deck more than I hated losing to Affinity. The discard in Death Cloud made it hard for early versions of the deck to win with the namesake spell.


Winter.Wolf: So you ended up attending a PT. Which one?
JXClaytor: Pro Tour Tinker (New Orleans 2003) I actually found my shirt from this event a few days ago!

View Josh's Last Chance Qualifier Deck



Winter.Wolf: How did you do?
JXClaytor: I went 0-3 after I qualified for the event in the LCQ the night before. A long time friend of mine also qualified with Teen Girl Squad and he ended up playing the Tinker deck that we had built. I was with a Psychatog list and did not win a game. In fact my first match was against Craig Stevenson (the former editor of Starcity).

View Josh's Pro Tour "Tinker" Deck



Winter.Wolf: What was it like to be on the Pro Tour and be a contender?
JXClaytor: It was a lot of fun and nerve wracking for a guy that had no sleep. After the LCQ we got lost on the way back to the hotel (Seriously stay as close as you can to the tournament site) but I was running on adrenaline. It was exciting to show up in the morning and register. I still have the shirt and the deckbox from the event as keepsakes. I may not have played well, but it was a lot of fun and an eye opener in regards to the amount of learning I had to do still.
Winter.Wolf: How has that experience colored your magic experience since then?
JXClaytor: Playing with the best of the best was a wonderful experience. It filled a goal of playing on the tour, and was a great life experience. New Orleans is a wonderful city, and my memories of the time I spent there during the tour will never be replaced.

Winter.Wolf: Do you want to go back again?
JXClaytor: Yes I do. Playing on the tour is not the most important thing to me anymore, but it is a goal of mine to do so. I enjoy playing magic at high levels, and there really is no level higher.

Winter.Wolf: Any other accomplishments you are proud of?
JXClaytor: Watching my friends top eight and do well are their own accomplishments, but I love watching or hearing about them doing it. (Such as) ... Watching Andrew Nelms win states in 2006 was awesome. By that time, it was pretty much me and him remaining from my 2004 testing group, I had moved to Louisville to work on magic with Scott Schauf (four to the facehole on MTGO) Chris O' Bryant (He won the first seasons MOCS this year) Sadly the more recent stuff, I've been unable to participate in, I would hear about it from them second hand, because I decided to stay at home to be with the wife and kid instead of playing magic.
Winter.Wolf: What about personally?
JXClaytor: Like I have said before, I've done a lot of things in my life. In high school I was an accomplished tuba player. I've done some great things in my magic playing days, but nothing comes close to the pride I have for my son. Cassius is the reason I have been able to survive the divorce.

Winter.Wolf: What is the play community like in Kentucky?
JXClaytor: It is very fragmented, based on the city or metro area you live in and still kinda secretive. The players however, are getting much much better. Bobby Graves has been on the pro tour, we had a player top eight the legacy gp and we've been doing well in local SCG opens. I love the community though, because we all enjoy the game, and we all love having fun.
Winter.Wolf: The Legacy GP: for those of us who don't know is?
JXClaytor: In GP Columbus this year. Korey Age finished 7th (there).
(Winter.Wolf: I should note this refers to the format Legacy being played at the Grand Prix Columbus.)

Winter.Wolf: Do you judge or play?
JXClaytor: I do a little of both, but I do more organizing than anything else.

MTGO Josh:

Winter.Wolf: How'd you get involved in MTGO?
JXClaytor: When MTGO was first coming out I was the general manager of a store in Leitchfield, KY, The Gamestation. We got a shipment of discs, I installed MTGO on every computer that we had and I spent a lot of time on MTGO then. MTGO seems like the way of the future to me, and it's a lot easier to draft whenever I want to or build decks for testing it's just a fantastic tool!

Winter.Wolf:You were invited to Washington earlier this year to be a participant in the Community Cup Challenge. Sadly you were unable to attend. Care to tell us why?
JXClaytor: I have a fear of flying and was suffering from panic attacks because of it. I was asked by my doctor to not go via air travel and because of the short notice I was unable to drive or secure a bus ticket.

Winter.Wolf: Did you get anything out of the invite other than headaches?
JXClaytor: No, but the recognition for the hard work was very nice. I am sad that I missed the experience but I hold out hope that I will be invited again!

Winter.Wolf: What did you think of the preparation being done by the other Cup Challengers?
JXClaytor: I think having Gavin design the decks was a great move. Gavin is a hell of a player and an even better human being, so I was very happy that one of my friends was able to take my spot!

Pure Josh:
Winter.Wolf: How did you end up at Puremtgo.com?
JXClaytor: I hung out a lot in the puremtgo chat room talked with Heath about writing for the site wrote a few articles and volunteered to be editor and content manager when Heath needed a person to step up and fill a needed void.

Winter.Wolf: How is it to be the content manager for such a busy mtgo site?
JXClaytor: Busy, busy busy! I tend to spend about 2 hours reading submissions, making notes for writers and doing some very basic editing of articles that will be published.

Winter.Wolf: Any advice for would-be writers here? (Other than watch out for homonyms I mean.)
JXClaytor: Write more! I love reading other people's opinions about the game that we all love. Spell check stuff, do not switch tenses in tournament reports. A lot of the stuff that I get in my inbox gets sent back because of those two issues.

Winter.Wolf: Anything you would do differently given the chance?
JXClaytor: Speaking in terms of magic no, I've done of a lot of things traveled the world, made a lot of great friends, and have a ton of fantastic memories that no one will ever take back from me. Personally and this will seem like a magic related thing, but it's really not, I wish I had finished school long before now.


Last Words Josh:

Winter.Wolf: Given the chance is there anything you would like to see changed on MODO?
JXClaytor: (a bullet list follows:)

  • Take off the 75 card trade limit.
  • Make Classic a relevant format again.
  • Reprint Force of Will
  • Implement a WOW like trade system.
  • Really clean up the classifieds section.
  • Clan Chat!
  • Make the bar flash when MTGO is minimized.
  • Make it easier for the people that have little time to sit down for a tournament to earn Qps.
  • Make it easier to file for a refund
  • Make it easier to report a player for abuse



Winter.Wolf: Anything you want to say to the readers?
JXClaytor: Thank you all very much for coming and reading the site. Talk to me more at Magic events, it's a lot of fun to hear from you all, let me know what I am doing wrong. What would you all like to see? My email is joshua.claytor@gmail.com.


Winter.Wolf: Heath?
JXClaytor: Thanks to Heath for giving me the chance to represent his business interests. He's done more for me than I think he'd care to know.

Winter.Wolf: WotC?
JXClaytor: Thanks for the game, thanks for the invite to the community cup, and I hope in the future I will be selected to take part in it again.


Closing thoughts:
It was a different experience interviewing Joshua than interviewing AJ and some of my expectations were changed afterward. Josh is a hard working easy to get along with fellow who is sometimes a little too soft-spoken for his own good. He shows his class in his forthright responses and his gentle nature. His dedication to his son, and family don't surprise me at all though the depth of that feeling did a little. That he is a consumate magic player I had no doubt but our discussions illuminated this much more clearly to me.

It is not that often we get to glimpse the faces behind the names of the famous characters we know through Magic history. And when we do it is often someone so famous that we know them through hundreds of interviews, articles and other venues (video, etc). It is less seldom on MODO to find such open personal information on people who have such profound effects on us. I for one am grateful for both Josh's and his boss Heath's continued interest in Magic Online, magic writings, and all of us who have a home here at puremtgo.com both as readers and writers.

I hope to bring to you soon, the next article in my series of interviews of Modo Legends with with the man himself: Heath Newton. Until then may your holidays be merry and keep in mind that while it is easy to be blue this time of year it is hard to cast counterspells while drinking eggnog (even minus the liquor for us tee-totalers) and caroling or otherwise being sociable.


Until next time,
Magickally Yours,
Paul Emerson Leicht (proud member of puremtgo2)
AKA Winter.Wolf on Modo (email me at gandoDOTthebardATgmailDOTcom.)

PS: Dear Santa Lee, Please unban Moat in Tribal Wars Legacy for xmas/chanukkah/etc. Thanks.

PPS: If you can't manage that, a copy of Kings & Things* 2010 version would be acceptable too.

12 Comments

Very professional article. by Nagarjuna at Fri, 12/03/2010 - 05:25
Nagarjuna's picture
5

Very professional article. formating, organization etc.

The interview itself is very interesting with unique details.

Thx for doing it guys!

CRT :) by Etriol at Fri, 12/03/2010 - 10:40
Etriol's picture

Nice article, nice interview.
Have not seen CRT monitors for years.

heh, that picture is a few by JXClaytor at Fri, 12/03/2010 - 15:19
JXClaytor's picture

heh, that picture is a few years old.

I really enjoy this series by Drbenwayy at Fri, 12/03/2010 - 12:06
Drbenwayy's picture
5

I really enjoy this series and I'm glad you're going to continue publishing these articles. Looking forward to the next one with Heath as anything about running a business is interesting to me. When it's speaking about Magic and business, it becomes doubly so.

Josh came across as a very respectable and devoted family man and I have much admiration for this. I like the "soft spoken" nature more than the outrageous persona that some of these players have. There were also a few characteristics of Josh that I could relate to in my own life. The fear of flying (the wife is dreaming of a family vacation to Disney but I keep pushing it back because I'm deathly scared of it) and especially the grey hairs at a young age (under 30 here :(. Good work, enjoyable read!

Nice article, I enjoyed it by Westane at Fri, 12/03/2010 - 12:11
Westane's picture
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Nice article, I enjoyed it very much :) Only thing though, MTGO does flash when it's minimized, at least for me on Windows 7. Whenever it's my turn, or I get a PM or anything it'll flash... Ah well!

Oh and Josh, if you play WoW you know the LAST thing we want in MTGO is /trade chat XD

I just came back to WoW after by Drbenwayy at Fri, 12/03/2010 - 12:33
Drbenwayy's picture

I just came back to WoW after a few months hiatus and boy did i miss trade chat!! Magic flashes but it be great if you could set it to make an alarm sound if certain criteria are met like if someone sends you a message, a draft fires, or a new rounds starts in a tournament. Then I wouldn't have to sit here and stare at the screen or waste time surfing the web while waiting for certain things to happen in game.

This is a very nice series of by ArchGenius at Fri, 12/03/2010 - 13:11
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This is a very nice series of articles. Keep up the good work. It's very interesting to see how other players live and dream inside and outside of this crazy little game.

Very nice series Paul, I by Lord Erman at Fri, 12/03/2010 - 13:58
Lord Erman's picture
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Very nice series Paul, I truly enjoy reading about other fellow Magic players. Oh and I know I'm causing nothing but trouble to Josh (and he knows this is true) but I'd like to use this opportunity to say hi to him. So, uhm, hi Josh! :))

LE

Hey guys thank you for the by Paul Leicht at Fri, 12/03/2010 - 14:29
Paul Leicht's picture

Hey guys thank you for the comments. It was my pleasure to do these. @Westane yeah the client blinks for me usually but I think sometimes it fails to do so. The option to set it to blink for specific things would be nice. Which is what I think Josh meant. @DrBenwayy that would be good too. Sounds do play an important role. I remember draft used to make a sound when it started or when games started but since I have my sound options turned off (since I listen to internet radio) I don't know if it still does that.

Great stuff all round. My by Bazaar of Baghdad at Sun, 12/05/2010 - 00:18
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Great stuff all round. My only paper magic tournament was a Louisville unsanctioned event at some mall there. Trey van Cleave won it (shortly after his suspension). I won a scourge starter pack for third place with some horrible white weenie deck.

That was prolly by JXClaytor at Sun, 12/05/2010 - 14:06
JXClaytor's picture

something 2 do in the Oxmoor center. I can not remember any other place in Louisville that has you play in the food court. however, the store is in a different part of the mall now, and has it's own play space.

Great Article by Lythand at Mon, 12/06/2010 - 20:17
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Great article. Nice to see a little deeper into the personalities that we all are. Sorry, I am just reading this now as I was on vacation all week with my brother who I haven't seen in three years. Look forward to the next one.