RIW is proud to bring the great competitive and friendly atmosphere of the store to Twitch with our new stream lineup. Not only will we continue to be streaming our $1k series and other special events, but you can also now see RIW players at least four days a week from anywhere that can access Twitch!
Monday we have Modern with Connor, Tuesday is Pauper with Russo, Wednesday the Pauper run continues with our weekly in-store play event featuring commentary from Ben Topping, and Steve plays whatever strikes him as interesting on Saturday.
Speaking of special events, RIW Hobbies will also be hosting and streaming our Pioneer RCQ Saturday May 11th.
We’ve got more details on the streamers and formats below, so dig into your favorite format or expand into a new one with one of our great content creators. Have a format of Magic you’d love to see covered but we don’t have listed? Let us know! We’re continuously looking for ways to improve the stream and build our community so don’t hesitate to reach out.
SATURDAY “?” STREAM WITH STEVE BOGGEMES, MAY 11 – 10:30PM EST
I have always been one to think outside the box. I find having an open mind and casting off assumptions helps to reframe the situation in ways you wouldn’t typically notice. This mental exercise helps to see the big picture, which is key for complex problem solving. I’ve been applying my outside the box perspective to playing Magic for almost 30 years and it has helped keep my passion for discovery in the game.
I love playing Maic, and I am always cooking up new ideas and innovations to play competivicely while having fun. Most recently on stream I was looking at new ideas for CeDH with a Satoru, the Infiltrator build.
Next week, as I turn my attention to the RIW PIONEER RCQ, I will be looking to shore up a spicy UB Vampires list I am to play this weekend. I hope you’ll come check it out on Saturday Night!
MONDAY MODERN WITH CONNOR MULLALY, MAY 13 – 6PM EST
This weekend, I’ll be competing at NRG Indianapolis, featuring Modern and Team Constructed 10K tournaments. I plan to play UW Control in the Modern event and Pioneer Izzet Phoenix in Sunday’s team event.
My teammate Piper Powell will be playing Modern Hardened Scales, while Will Krueger will play Standard. This tournament is an opportunity to solidify my standing on the NRG leaderboard and cement a place in the 2024 Championship Event.
Monday’s stream will feature a recap of the tournament weekend, as well as a Modern Preliminary event where I will pilot one of UW Control or Hardened Scales – if I end up in Top 8 of either tournament, I’d like to showcase the deck that did it!
Connor began playing Magic during Theros block, and has spent the decade since pursuing competitive Magic wherever he can. He spent his college years trying his hand on the SCG Tour and competing on Magic Online. Today, he is a mainstay on the NRG Series, where he has accumulated 8 Top 8 finishes, one trophy, and the 2022 Player of the Year title. Although he’s come close many times, his biggest unmet goal in Magic remains to compete on the Pro Tour.
TUESDAY NIGHT PAUPER WITH MICHAEL RUSSO, MAY 14 – 7PM EST
On Tuesday, 05/07/24, I played 2 MTGO Pauper leagues.
First, I warmed up with Jeskai Glitters (since I have experience with the deck already) and topdecked a bolt to secure my first 3-2 on stream! Then after that exciting League, I played a deck that was going to make my brain melt, Tireless Tribe Combo!
The deck performed surprisingly well and I ended up securing another 3-2, my first time piloting the deck! Not only was I shocked at the result but also by how much I enjoyed piloting the deck. It was a BLAST!
Since I had so much fun playing Tireless Tribe Combo I am going to start the stream off by playing the deck again as it now may be a real contender for me to play at the upcoming Pauper 1K at RIW on 05/25/24. As for the rest of the stream, I want to leave that up to the audience. Is there a deck you want to see played? I will post to my Twitter/X & Facebook accounts on Friday 05/10/24 asking what my followers and viewers want to see so if you want to make a suggestion look out on my socials as well as RIW’s to comment what deck you want to see! Thanks and see you all for Pauper next Tuesday at 7pm EST!
Michael Russo (a.k.a MichaelArmando) began playing Magic in 2011 during Innistrad block and has been playing events at RIW since 2018. He plays a variety of formats and decks; with his favorite format being Pauper and preferred style of play aggro strategies. He’s known at RIW as a fun and knowledgeable opponent and all around good guy.
WEDNESDAY IN-STORE PAUPER TOURNAMENT, MAY 15 – 6PM EST
The chat was especially abuzz as our matches played out this week!
We had 16 players for our weekly event – impressive for a Wednesday – and while everyone is excited about the 1K in two weeks, we saw a lot of pet decks come out: Cycle-Storm, Mono Black Burn, and Green Stompy were all featured on camera at Table 1.
Of course, Glitters continues its rampage over the metagame; Russo carried over his Jeskai Glitters success online to paper, but lost to his own mana against Kuldotha in his second feature match.
Notably, non-Glitters blue decks, usually a mainstay of the local meta, have been scarce, to all the regulars’ notice. With so many pet and rogue decks being played only two weeks before the big one, I’m thrilled to see how many of these will be under the camera!
Benjamin Topping has been playing competitive Magic since 2010 and has been a local judge for over a decade. He typically prefers Limited formats, but his tournament experience has covered the entire breadth of Constructed formats. As a “theater kid,” he relishes the chance to ‘make the mic a stage’ and give our audience both insight and hopefully a few laughs too!
