100% WIN RATE – My Eternal Weekend Epiphany
(The Essential Nature of the Game Within the Legacy Of The North Community)

By Derek Gallacher, November 26th 2024

I had a 100% win rate in the largest ever Legacy open at Eternal Weekend North America, 2024.

You read that correctly. You didn’t see me in the finals? I was never on camera? It says I dropped after round 1? True, but I can promise you that I walked away from the event changed as a player, and perhaps the biggest winner on the day – let me explain.

Online, you can sometimes search me up as Emory Twist or even CheatyMacGee – my name is Derek. I traveled to Pittsburgh this past weekend with a Legacy Of The North crew for our annual pilgrimage to EW. We have rented the same house for the last couple of years. It’s perfect for EW. We are 10 diverse players running a variety of well positioned decks, with decades of experience. Our late night, drunken play testing at the LOTN manor went as expected. Jim Monolith demanded Total Recall on the TV, while Stefan negotiated effectively for an immersive viewing of Freddy Got Fingered. Play patterns were explored and the dinning room table churned out match after match, deep into the early morning.  Confidence was at an all time high amongst the 10 of us. Side bets were placed based on the crew’s records after day 1, then the house turned in for the night. Tested, tuned and ready to smash on Day 1… opponents were in for a treat. We were ready to crush dreams and take names.

I LOVE ELDRAZI
Full stop. 

They connect with me in the simplicity of their intent in the format and in the complexity of their interactions. Each Eldrazi should come with a warning that reads, “Deal With Me Now, Or Else”.  It was 8 years ago when I piloted the tentacles of doom in the unpowered vintage deck that went undefeated day 1, and ultimately a top 8 finish at my first ever Eternal Weekend. That was me. I got very lucky at times, and found a path through that field. I was immediately hooked on EW and would bring the spaghetti monsters back each year, but now with a dedicated focus on Legacy. I’ve lost time negotiating with dealers and players to construct the Eldrazi deck of my dreams. All expedition lands. All top end foil. Even my sideboard and spawn tokens oozed with shiny charm. An 8 year labour of love.

Over the years, the tentacles had fallen out of favour as the format warped around them and drifted past. I’ve tried a few fun combo builds and suffered with middling records (at best), but the Eldrazi was always on my mind. I came to this past Eternal Weekend with my absolute best deck, ever. No more 2 card monty – only the tentacles, and this year the Eldrazi were positioned extremely well in the field.

Round 1 pairings hit quickly in the morning. Nearly 1200 players and somehow Chris Ha drew the first round bye. LOTN had already claimed their first win of the tournament!

I was matched up against Psychic Frog-inator and crushed in 2 straight, with barely a scratched tentacle. Bring on the field. Prep my seat at the top tables. Let’s go get ’em, boys.

MY DECK WAS STOLEN AFTER I HAD CONCLUDED MY ROUND 1 MATCH

I had packed up my gear and realized too late that I had forgotten to include my play mat. I had pulled the gear back out, rolled and tucked the mat away, and then went off to talk about round 1 with the crew. I had left my deck box on the table.

I’ll own this.
I fucked up.

As I went to pull out my gear for the start of round 2 an immediate deadpan realization of “oh fuck,  what have I done” came over me. It wasn’t panic. It was a sinking feeling where I simply knew the deck just wasn’t going to be where I had left it. And it wasn’t.

Every box was then checked off:

• Judges were called.
• Tournament organizers were informed.
• Previous opponents and surrounding players from round 1 were interviewed by judges.
• Every lost and found was thoroughly checked.
• Each vendor was brought up to speed.
• Time stamped security footage was scoured.

All to no avail.

In all honesty, there was no anger. There was certainly disappointment – mostly at myself, but not anger. I had no focus for any anger. That’s a strange revelation – without a focussed target the anger never came. There was definitely a little flicker of hope that maybe, just maybe, the deck would be turned in.

As round 2 came to a close that hope dissipated. After round 3, it turned to acceptance.

As word of my day made the rounds, all of the LOTN players checked in with me to get a sense of what had happened. Nothing but sincere sympathy and in many cases relatable empathy, as similar thefts had happened to them or a friend they had traveled with, at other events. Players with whom I’d been matched in previous Eternal Weekends sought me out to see how I was faring and to share in the hope that the deck might find its way back.

We shared drinks and stories as we cruised the hall. A licensed event certainly helps at these times.

My day was spent checking in with lost and found, talking with the vendors, and watching the greatest Legacy players on earth weave lines of intricate play patterns across hundreds of tables. My gawd did we represent! Every table had LOTN colours on display. The camaraderie was evident whenever a LOTN player (or associated friend – hello Rochester Royals) was in a hard fought match. Bodies gathered. Bonds were strengthened. The respect and love for the Legacy game was clear.

Win or lose, ours was a community unlike any other in the hall.