The RISK 2023

April might be one of the best months of the year, but I might also be a tad biased when saying that. One, it is my birth month, and two, as a desert dweller, April means the deserts turn a gold hue from large clusters of poppies if the rainy season is good to us during the winter. This winter was the wettest in Nevada history, and this is proof as I look out the window from the coffee shop and see Lee Canyon covered with over 265 inches of accumulated snow from this season.

Since joining Old School, I have had another reason to love April; the Risk! Located in Palm Springs California, at Margaritaville, hosted by the SoCal Deep Spawners. Friday morning, my wife and I loaded up the car, dropped our son off at School, and made the 295-mile trek through the Mojave Desert. Now like I said, I am biased when it comes to driving through the desert landscape. Maybe it is because that is all I know, the smell of sage after the rain or singing this line over; and over in School as a child.

Home means Nevada,
Home means the hills,
Home means the sage and the pine.
Out by the Truckee’s silvery rills,
Out where the sun always shines,
There is the land that I love the best,
Fairer than all I can see,
Right in the heart of the golden west.

But one thing I do know, I feel relaxed and more at Home driving through it. And the closer and closer I got to Palm Spring. The more the landscape turned from specs of green, orange, and purple to a road of gold from the poppies carpeting the sides of the freeway as I followed the golden bloom road to the 2023 Risk.

Once I arrived, I was met by Chris Pepin and Preach as they jammed games in the front mezzanine, welcoming all the not-so-weary travelers looking to check in, sleeve up, grab a drink and start turning cardboard sideways. Once I got my very innovative wristband room key, Kelly and I found our room and got unpacked. I headed out to grab food and a drink as she wanted to nap from the drive. Upon entering the restaurant, I ran into William Norris and his family. We pushed two tables together and then pushed a third table in as Danny Dunaway, his sister Terri and Mark Brothers joined. The Risk was kicking off, and there was no doubt we were taking over the resort this weekend.

Once we finished lunch, I headed back to my room and picked up Kelly. We returned to the patio for the Friday evening event on the patio and Chris Pepin’s baby Scribble Ante. 60-cards unsleeved and Posca markers ready. I was about to let my opponents draw more cards than they could imagine as I was playing black/red Dreams. Unfortunately, two copies of my Underworld Dreams did not make it, and I had to substitute them with some less useful black cards I found in my backpack. Games were lost games were won, and ink was laid down on both sides. My most notable game was against 14-year-old Rikki Norris, who will undoubtedly be one of our successors in 93/94. Rikki was packing mono-green thallids. A similar deck to the one I played at mono green in the woods at the 2022 Chalice weekend. It was a close game as she swung in with an army of 1/1 elves and thalids casting double Giant Growth on a Llanowar elf. I eventually won the match with Contract from Below, backed by Underworld Dreams, passing the turn to Black Vice damage. All in all, it was a great first night. I called it a night around 1 am and headed to my room.

Day two started with an 8 am wake-up and Kelly and me scrounging for coffee before running into Nicholas Aiello and hearing how his coffee machine exploded in his room at 4 am that morning and he had to go to 7-ELEVEN. If you have not met Nick, He is one of my favorite storytellers about anything. The guy is hilarious and can tell a story with an unmatched; level of enthusiasm. (there is a second part of his story we will get to after dinner).

The Risk kicked off as all events do; check-in, get swag, walk around, meet and greet, and listen to the event meeting. I was on Power Monolith for this event, like I did at Battle of the Roses in Portland at the beginning of March. My first match and most memorable of the day was against Charlie Peterson, who was playing UW Stasis. It was a fight! In round one, Charlie had out triple Black Vise, and I was down to 1 life. After multiple turns of not having any lands, Charlie was unable to pay the Stasis cost allowing me to retrieve a fireball to complete the combo off a Sylvan Library draw. I won this match 2-0. As they say, “It is better to be lucky than good” I ended the day 3-3 and played Mark Brothers in my last match. the match started and being we were at the bottom of the tables, I noticed I did not have a drink. I promptly hopped up walked to the bar and waved hi to Mark as I waited for my Jack and Coke. When I got back, we arm wrestled for who went first while both sporting Pit Vipers (we are about to start a trend, so get yours now). Mark won the initiative, but I won the match, pulling off a quick 2-0. I need to be better about documenting my rounds and the decks I play against. because let’s be real, drinking during a tournament does not help my memory.

Afterward, we had a dinner reservation for everyone in attendance at Billy Reed’s. Billy Reed’s is a traditional American restaurant housing décor that was probably still from when it was constructed in 1975. The food was delicious, and the drinks were great, but the company was better. Kelly and I sat with Nick Aiello and his wife, Becca. While leaving the restaurant, Nick retold us how after his coffee pot exploded, he went to 7-ELEVEN to get a coffee. And how a lady working there came bursting out the back room screaming, “How can I help you? Some lady just asked me to smoke crack with her in the back”. To nicks reply, did you? We all laughed and walked our wives back to our rooms as it was time to go party after the big event, as they had no interest in the late-night Old School shenanigans’.

Fast forward past two failed bar experiences that were not ready for our group, and we walked a mile and a half back to the hotel, With Drew Tucker, who; was slightly buzzed after stealing Brian Urbano’s drink unknowingly. We ended up hanging out in the hotel’s front lobby bar after a quick stop at the liquor store down the street because you know Margaritaville’s bar closed at 11 pm on a Saturday… 5 o’clock somewhere, my ass Jimmy Buffet you are a liar! Half the group played the Desert Twisters Old School Trivia, and the rest of us kept on drinking. I picked Drew Tucker’s brain on Dandân as it is my favorite art He has done, and I do this with every artist I come across. I stumbled back to my room around 130 am and called it a night.

On the final day of the Risk weekend, Chris and Denni Pepin had us over for a day of Magic, barbecue, and swimming at their beautiful home just a quick drive away from the event location. It was a great day to unwind. Or so I thought. Because occasionally, a flying Butzen was soaring through the air and crashing into the pool. I jammed a bunch of 93 / 94 games with PJ Melies, William Norris, Brian Urbano, and Dave H aka Gomcse#5502 on Discord. After a few more drinks made from Chris Pepin’s Grapefruit tree in his backyard (I need that recipe, Chris). I decided to cannonball into the pool myself and spent the next few hours sipping whiskey poolside with the homiez. Danny Dunaway drove me back to the hotel, and we shared some great conversations along the way back about our lives and how we ended up where we are today. It was a great weekend with great friends, and I would not change the experiences with these people for the world.