Glorycon III

Peering over the crest of the hill from the safety of his cover, the Union Soldier could see the sun rising from the east, revealing a dark, cloudy sky overhead and a mist hanging in the air, creating a dense grey fog in the distant lower valley. It was so quiet that the only sound the soldier could hear was the grass crunching under the weight of his body as he crawled back down into his holding position to brief the platoon of his observations. “Nothing, absolutely nothing, but us out here. Looks like Confederates finally came to their right mind and called it quits, sir.” Briefing his superior. “Good, prepare the men to march east; let’s go get to your feet, soldiers!” A faint drum roll could be heard in the far-off fog of the valley below with the sound of heavy footsteps. The soldier hastefully crawled back to the top of the hill, looking out towards where the ever-growing drum roll was coming from.

Gazing outward, he could see silhouettes forming in the fog across the field as the sound of the drums was now palpable. The soldier turned and shouted below, “Ready yourselves, men, prepare the cannons and–” But before he could finish, the deafening sound of a war trumpet blew. He snapped his gaze back to the now silent valley. It was so quiet; all he could hear was the sound of his warm breath against the cold morning air. The fog revealed two silhouettes: one, the size of a modern-day man in stature, and the second, a silhouette towering over the other in height and pure mass.

The first of the two stepped out into view, revealing a Confederate General. The Union soldier turned shouting quietly, “It’s Lee, it’s Robert E. Lee!” looking back to the field, he steadied his rifle, hoping to claim such a shot. He pushed the butte of the riffle firmly into the crook of his shoulder, focused his aim on the front sight until Lee blurred into the background, and slowly squeezed the trigger as he let out his breath. Right then, the second figure stepped out into view, catching his eye. The Union Soldier’s blood ran cold as his eyes now focused on what stood next to Lee. He turned, screaming this time, “ORC! IRONCLAW OR–.” The soldier was abruptly silenced as he was struck in the head with a long-distance archery arrow, pinning his head into the ground, instantly killing him.

The Union Soldiers scuttled to a position where they could view the opposition and ready their weapons. As they neared the tops of the hills, their eyes were met with an unimaginable horror. -To be continued.

Glorycon is held every other year in Gettysburg, Pennsylvania. The home of the turning point battle in the American Civil War that lasted from April 12, 1861 – May 26, 1865, between the United States and the Confederate States over the status of Slavery expanding into the western territories. Well, that’s the summed-up version. My Trip to Glorycon started a little early as I accidentally booked a flight for the day before I was supposed to leave. So, I booked an additional hotel room, packed my bags, and quickly built a 93/94 deck for the main event.

The flight to BWI airport was very smooth and enjoyable as I decided to download Oppenheimer to my phone the night before. (If you haven’t watched it, do yourself a favor and see it). Once on the ground, I caught a Lyft, checked into my hotel, and looked where to grab some good pizza and beer. I found a little spot called “Pie in the Sky.” About a half-mile walk from my hotel. The pizza was good, and they had Yuengling on tap! Something I have never had in my entire life being from the West Coast. Afterward, I returned to my hotel, caught a couple-hour nap, and then went back out for some food and drinks at an Irish Pub around the corner before calling it a night with some Netflix and snacks from the CVS pharmacy down the street.

The following day, I met up with DFB, Shawn Sullivan, Jared Doucette, and Scott Bradley at LP Steamers for an afternoon of smashing crabs with little wooden hammers, talking about future events, and more Yuengling! I wondered if I would see Shawn at lunch or even the event this weekend. As his original flight had been canceled due to a structural integrity error found on a series of Boeing Max 9 planes: nothing major, just the possibility of the emergency exit door blowing off at 35,000 feet in a pressurized cabin, potentially sucking you out at 500 mph. Lucky Shawn made it after a night of flight switches and layovers. Unfortunately, Jacob Brothers didn’t make it. (Not because he’s dead due to being sucked out of an airlock like the Alien Queen, he couldn’t get a flight out with the short notice of cancelation at a reasonable price). Jacob, hopefully, I’ll see you soon. I still have Chalice V swag for you. The meal was great, the company was even better, and it was nice to put some faces with the names in person finally.

After lunch, we parted ways, and Shawn drove me back to my hotel, where I waited for Brian Vegso to meet me with our rental car to make our drive into Gettysburg. (We were supposed to fly together but remember, I messed up my flight). The drive was fun, and most of the drive was me pointing out suspected haunted houses (basically every house on the way) Except one house I liked, and we all know what that means; “that house was probably the most fucked of all of them and was calling to me for a good ole Amityville Horror weekend.”

We arrived in Gettysburg a little after 6 pm, checked into our hotel, and headed down to “The Upper Crust” for a night of drinks, food, Magic: The Gathering, Sorcery, and Skee-Ball! I spent most of the night sitting around talking with Drew Tucker about projects we were both working on over a few beers (Drew Tucker, in my opinion, is one of the greatest Magic: The Gathering artist ever to live, and if you’re up for a 93/94 passion project Drew, I’d love to talk to you about it).

The following day, I decided to sleep in while Brain, Jared, and Pat went to get breakfast. I woke up about 45 minutes before registration began for Glorycon III and got ready, and we walked to the Dobbin House, about 10 minutes away. We were greeted by Mike Frantz at the door and checked in to the event. This being my first East Coast event, I didn’t know what to expect for the meta, so I built Power Monolith.

My round-one opponent was Ben Katz, who was on UB Merfolk. Ben etched out a 2-1 victory with Derelors. I was able to win game two by Braingysering him to death. In round two, I was wrecked 0-2 by Pat Hlafcsak on Mono Black. I was getting hit by triple Hymn game one and double Hypnotic Specter in game two early, which made it impossible to assemble the pieces I needed. Dan White, my round three opponent, was on Atog, and well, I got 0-2 ran over with the mainboard Disenchants and the boarded in Divine Offerings.

Round four was much of the same. Ivan Bari was on Mono Red Power Surge and Blood Moon strategy, and with the lack of Mishra’s factories, I had no outlet to sink Mana into dealing with Power Surge. I lost 1-2. In round five, I was going for the “Last Place” award and informed my opponent, Ryan Keach, who played Guardian Beast Rocket Launcher, that he better beat me. I won 2-0. Round 6 was another Mono Black matchup with some spice, but fast Hippies are hard for Power Monolith. I lost 1-2. This was my worst-ever record since I started playing Magic: The Gathering, but I had a great time sitting at the bottom table since everyone was having fun and didn’t care about their records anymore.

After Dobbin House, we headed down the street for the top 8 to duke it out at Fourscore Beer Co. Ty Thomason reigned victor after casting Recall to return Wheel of Fortune, ripping, “THREE!” Twiddles from the seven-card draw to win the game. The night ended with some more beers and hanging out with good friends.

As always, 93/94 weekends are a great time, and I’m grateful to be a part of such a remarkable community. Thank you to Mike Frantz and Levi Baumgardner for the hospitality and the smoothly run event. It did not go unnoticed. As for Old School, I’ll see you all in Portland for the War of the Roses II in April; it happens to be on my birthday this year!

For the Old Order Old School official club tournament report, visit