Welcome to TLK!

Reintroducing: Team Logic Knot!

Team Logic Knot has kind of existed for a while, but this year we’re taking things a bit more seriously and dedicating more time to content creation, competitive magic, and whatever RCQ format happens to be around at the time.

My name is Kazi Baker. In 2017, myself and my good friend Eli Rosenthal started a brand named The Logic Knot while attending the University of Arizona, which we basically created for fun, and to fill a need for dedicated competitive content in the Magic: The Gathering space. Frankly, this isn’t really a profitable endeavor, and we never really started with that attitude. We really just love the game, and want to see the competitive scene flourish alongside the overall esports scene. Since we founded this organization, we have been in and out of school, started our lives, and The Logic Knot took a backseat, especially with the advent of the pandemic and the changes to competitive organized play. However, after a year back on the grind, really getting back into MTG, and even making my first Pro Tour, I have been taking the game more seriously and figure it’s time to take the brand a bit more seriously too.

Competitive play is not the “life-blood” of Magic: The Gathering. Far from it. We understand that sales for the game are largely driven by the more casual formats, such as Commander, or in the purchase of sealed product by people who just want to collect cards and crack boosters. But we believe that even if competitive Magic may not drive the product itself, the competitive scene has lacked support and visibility to the larger Magic: The Gathering community. Looking at other larger esports, even those with player bases significantly smaller than Magic, competitive play often is at the center of conversation, with micro-celebrities and competitive strategy driving even casual play. Because of that, and the fact that I love my friends, most of the team is made up of not only good players, but also people I think are really nice, and are excellent representations of who our community can be and should be at a competitive level.

Right now, we have two teams. TLK Blue consists of our traveling squad of players, who you will probably see at the upcoming United States Regional Championships representing The Logic Knot. Usually, this will be a rotating group of people who are on the larger team, but happen to have qualified for or specialize in the current RC format. You will see the following members at RC Denver 2024:

Kazi Baker

GP Vegas 2019 - 44th place
RC Atlanta 2022
RC Dallas 2023 - 23rd place
Pro Tour LOTR
RC Atlanta 2023
RC Denver 2024
Favorite Format: Modern
Fun Fact: Qualified for the PT, but can’t crack the top 16 in his local tournament circuit.

Adam Fischer

GP New Jersey 2002 - 3rd
PT Nice 2002 - Top 48
PT Houston 2002
PT Venice 2003
1-1 against PTHOF member William “Huey” Jensen
Favorite Format: Excel Spreadsheet
Fun Fact: Used to shuffle for Dana Fischer (since laid off), spreadsheet guru

Dana Fischer

Youngest player to ever:
 Day 2 a GP (8 years old)
 Cash a GP (9 years old)
 Achieve mythic in MTG Arena (10 years old)
 Qualify for a Regional Championship (12 years old)
MTG Summit 2022 $5k - 1st place
RC Dallas 2023
Favorite Format: Modern
Fun Fact: Professional Gummy Eater and Lover of Slurpees

Jacob Heybl

RC San Diego 2023
RC Denver 2024
Favorite Format: Legacy
Fun Fact: Jesus is King was such a bad album it caused Jacob’s car to break down in the middle of a desert.

“Playoff” Prez Kuhnke

Peak Arena Rank: #87 (limited)
RC Atlanta 2022
RC Dallas 2023 - Top 64
RC Atlanta 2023
RC Denver 2024
Favorite Format: Pioneer
Fun Fact: Owns all the basketball jerseys

Truong Nguyen

RC Dallas 2023
RC Denver 2024
Favorite Format: Standard (he was not paid by WOTC to say this)
Fun Fact: Truong's photo has fewer pixels than he has cards in his Denver list.

Alex Soderberg

RC Denver 2024
Favorite Format: Modern
Fun Fact: Nationally ranked fencer.  

TLK White, our testing team, is made up of another larger group of very good players who often specialize in specific formats or simply don’t have the taste for competitive Magic on that larger stage that I do. You’ll still see a lot of these guys regularly at competitive tournaments in Southern California, especially in their specific formats of choice. They will also routinely rotate to the “Blue” team when qualified for large events, and occasionally write articles here as well. If you would like to join TLK White or submit an article (or an idea for one you'd like to see), feel free to dm me (@LogicKnotBlog), we love new blood.

TLK White: Eli Rosenthal (Modern), Joe Vetti (Legacy, Modern), Grant Strom (Flesh & Blood), Devin Fong (Modern, Pioneer), Kris Jones (Pioneer), Hoang Huynh (Legacy, Modern), Darragh Hettrick (Modern)

We also have a streaming schedule! While subject to change, for now, Kazi Baker (and others) will be streaming on TheLogicKnot’s Twitch Channel (at twitch.tv/thelogicknot) Mondays, Tuesdays, and Thursdays from 4pm-8pm PST, both in preparation for Denver and the standard season! The intrigue and suspense will be unmatched! How many points can he shave off of his win rate with misclicks? Will he ever learn how yields work properly? Has he figured out how triggers work? The world may never know (unless you tune in)...

-Kazi Baker