Featured art: Predict by Rebecca Guay.

The purpose of the Premodern Magic Community Award is to acknowledge someone who has done something extra for the Premodern format and its community. I’m happy to announce that the 2024* award goes to Phil Nguyen from New York City in the US, for his contributions as a creator, inspirator and organizer.

Motivation

Phil is a local and a global community profile, content creator, tournament organizer, deck brewer, art enjoyer and inspirator. He’s a passionate ambassador for the Premodern format, always generous with advice and information to both old and new players. His impressive resume includes:

• Co-founder of the Order of the Sacred Torch, responsible for meetups and tournaments in New York City
• Author of Banding, a long-form newsletter with a Premodern focus on Substack
• Author of an appreciated and often-referenced-to introductory guide to Premodern
• Creator/curator of Big Apple Highlander, a 60-card singleton Premodern variant without banned cards (except Ante cards)
• Organizer of the Spice Paradise webcam league
• Premodern art “patron”, see e.g. Phil’s Rebecca Guay themed deck

Interview

I had a chat with Phil about his MTG journey, deck brewing, content tips and more. Give it a listen here:

Previous community awards

• 2018:  Matteo Caravatti
• 2019: Francisco José Cumplido Rica
• 2020: Andrew Walker
• 2022: Anton Glans
• 2023: Jared Doucette

* Yup, I still have a backlog.

All the best, and until next time!

–Martin