#017 - Damon Whitby on Dredge, Virginia Legacy, and great Magic moments

“The most important lesson I’ve learned is letting that which truly does not matter, go.” Damon Whitby, also known as “Parcher” on The Source, is one of the elder statesman of the Legacy format. He’s been advancing the format for over a decade. These days he can usually be found terrorizing opponents with his Dredge deck, although he has played a wide range of archetypes over the years. This episode is filled with Damon’s experiences and musings on life. Never one to hold back, he talks about his rough childhood and what lies beneath his gruff exterior. Damon also talks about the mid-Atlantic Magic scene and some of the best players he’s interacted with. In many instances, the discussions verged into personal and life-related observations. The honesty really came through in this conversation. As someone who grew up with The Source, I hope that I have done Damon justice in representing his views and that you will enjoy this recording. Time stamps: [4:33] Introduction [7:01] Early childhood // family history // Seattle memories [12:00] Hanging out with the punks [14:57] Hooked on wargames [19:58] Joining the army [20:40] Games Workshop in Maryland [22:47] Magic first impressions [27:24] Breaking out of casual play with Pros-Bloom [30:59] Meeting top local players and pros: Matt Linde, Kyle Rose, Brock Parker [36:10] How “Huey” Jensen got his nickname [38:06] Building the White Weenie deck that Linde won Nationals with [39:47] Mike Long and Tongo Nation [41:22] The greatest match ever played in Rochester draft [43:50] Success at ’98 Regionals [45:59] Transitioning to Extended and Legacy // First contact with The Source [48:32] The Virginia crew: Anwar Ahmad, The Hatfields, David Gearhart, Dan Signorini, Dave Price, and Jesse Krieger [53:25] Virginia vs. Syracuse rivalry [54:27] Perceptions of Legacy and its legitimacy [58:06] Alix Hatfield: the best deck builder [1:02:20] Mental preparation and honing one’s deck over time [1:05:31] The importance of format knowledge [1:08:43] The luckiest man in the world with Cabal Therapy? [1:10:39] “Where other people have decision trees, I see my job as pruning the trees.” [1:14:32] Dredge puts the fear into opponents // Letting opponents beat themselves [1:20:12] Team Dredge goes on a tear // Keeping things fresh [1:25:39] “I am my [tournament] record” — a fallacy [1:27:53] Learning to let go of things that don’t matter [1:29:23] On being direct [1:31:47] Perceptions people have of Damon [1:24:16] On legitimately disliking some people [1:36:22] “You don’t break somebody else’s rice bowl to refill your own.” [1:38:04] Origins of the name Parcher [1:39:22] Dan Signorini [1:45:32] Helping Dan prepare for PT Honolulu // Shaheen Soorani // Alex Majlaton [1:47:32] From one generation to the next [1:48:54] Ben Friedman’s rapid growth as a person [1:52:10] Jarvis Yu [1:55:14] “At his heart, Dan is a gigantic nerd” // judging a book by its cover [1:59:44] Why BBD is a great player [2:04:50] The power of listening // Signal to noise in the online community [2:07:10] Generalizing Magic lessons to life [2:12:50] How has the game been detrimental to Damon? [2:17:03] Shoutout to the mid-Atlantic area