Winning the Magi-Tsu World Championship – Magic The Gathering Meets Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu
I recently competed in — and won — the Magi-Tsu World Championship, a hybrid competition mixing Magic: The Gathering and Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu. As a Magic Pro Tour Hall of Famer and BJJ black belt, this was probably the most “me” event imaginable — strategy, competition, and a little bit of chaos. Here’s the full match report, from how the fight got organized to the rules, preparation and how I managed to bring the belt home.
Last year in spring, Albert Birckhead contacted me to appear as a guest on his YouTube channel the Tranquil Domain. We talked history of the game, key moments of my career as a Magic: the Gathering Pro Player and slowly started sharing about our favorite hobby outside of Magic: BJJ. He had been training for a long time as well and was to receive his Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu black belt shortly.
What is Magi-Tsu (Magic The Gathering + Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu Hybrid Sport)?
Magi-Tsu is a hybrid competition combining Magic: The Gathering matches and Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu rounds, similar in spirit to chess boxing but mixing strategic gameplay with grappling.
How the Match Happened
Fast forward to the summer. Albert came up with the concept of Magi-tsu asked me if I was up for the challenge. Who am I to turn down something like this? Magic-BJJ crossover was something I had been joking about for a long time with training partners and even fellow card players, but no one really was a good contender for a match. Until that day. With him living in the US, and me not traveling as much as I used to, we agreed that the next time I’d travel to the PT, we’d try to make it happen.
End of 2025, the PT’s are announced. Richmond early February, Vegas in the spring and Amsterdam. I was pretty much convinced I was going to skip this whole season. Maybe use my Hall of Fame invite for the European stop. Until I got another message from Albert.
“It’s on. You and me, in Richmond. I got the gym and everything.”
Huh, ok. That didn’t quite fit my plans…
“I got you covered.”
Only a couple of minutes later, Albert’s plan to make this match happen became a reality. Dice City Games and Maryland TCG came forward to sponsor the event, cover my expenses and help me out with cards. Nelson from Inverted Gear got involved too, providing two signature Panda Gi’s and the Championship belt.
My Preparation
As soon as I was done with the Marathon (new PB! 4h09!) in November, it was back to the mats to train again. In sports, one of the main drives that keeps you training is competition. I guess I kinda needed that. A Pro Tour to play, a fight to prepare for. Let’s go.
Rules were set: format would be Lorwyn Eclipsed sealed, best of 3. Before each game, we’d fight a 3-minute BJJ round. Each point scored would mean one more or less life point in the Magic game. A submission would mean one more or less card.
Coming into the fight, I felt good physically although I had spent most of the week prior testing for the PT (which would help for the Magic part), and I had a slight weight disadvantage. I did train specifically against heavier guys to get used to it. Not like I really have the option, but I looked for partners about his size/weight. And overall, I thought that even if I lost, I’d make it up in the Magic game. I knew it would end up being a YouTube video, so the idea of not having him wipe the floor with my face was some extra motivation!
Richmond BJJ welcomed the competition. Jonathan, the gym owner, Magic afficionado as well, would be the referee.
My sealed pool was bonkers and I was confident I was going to have a huge advantage there. As for the Jiu-Jitsu fights…
The Jiu-Jitsu Rounds
They went according to my plans. Half-guard pull, top position, then work to pass guard and land a sub if possible. The 3 minutes went by quickly. Albert used a Lockdown to try to sweep/submit me. Fortunately for me, that’s something I work on a lot at home. I managed to defend and stay solid on top while applying maximum pressure on his face to soften the tension in his legs. I attempted an arm triangle for most of the fight, that would have had a good chance to succeed had I had a minute or two extra, especially after I managed to free my leg, and get the 7 points (3 for guard pass and 4 for mount).
In the second fight, the strategy I used was very much the same. I knew he mostly trained nogi, so the only thing I was really focusing on was to not leave my legs and feet behind (as nogi players have a tendency to be foot fetishists!). That time, after I pulled half-guard again, I went for the underhook to grab the lapel and score two points from the sweep. Once on top, same idea, but since his arms were busy trying to make some space, I attempted an Ezekiel choke (I think that one was also super close). I wasn’t aware of how much time had passed until I heard the “15-second” call. I had to leave the sub that I wouldn’t land and go for the points with the back take (4 points), and once I got them, transition to mount (4 more, which were… maybe a little generous since you need to maintain the position for 3 seconds to get the points).
The Magic Games (Magic: The Gathering Sealed Match Report)
The Magic portion of the Magi-Tsu match followed a best-of-three sealed format, with life totals impacted by the Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu rounds.
I opened one of these sealed decks that ask for a build-around. I had just played the Pro Tour with Grixis Elementals and my packs offered both Vibrance and Sunderflock, in addiction to a Spinerock Tyrant. Along with that, I got a solid Blue-Red elemental shell that allowed a very smooth curve and a way to get to my bombs reliably: two Flaring Cinders, Eclipsed Flamekin, Kulrath Zealot. Depending on if I started with more or less life, I could play either an aggro game or a long game with my rares to close.
Twinflame Travelers would synergize perfectly with the forementioned hybrid creatures, as well as with Shinestriker, Rimeskin Recluse and two Enraged Flamecaster.
Game 1 had me start at 27 life, which game me time to set up the long game. With Sunderflock in my opener, I would avoid all the trades, using my life as a ressource until I got to cast my 5/5 flyer, bounce all of Albert’s creatures and take the win.
For game 2, I knew that Albert had a Maralen, Fae Ascendant in his deck. I hadn’t seen it in game 1, but him saying his deck was good and splashing an Island, I didn’t really see anything else he could have. Starting with even more life, the rare was really the only thing I was worried about. He mulliganed a pair of times, skyrocketing my odds of winning that match through the roof. I took quite a lot of damage early until he played the Faerie, that actually didn’t do that much (except being a huge presence on the board).
Twinflame Travelers did a lot of work, drawing me 3 extra cards with Shinestriker and dealing a fair share of damage with Enraged Flamecaster. Once I had the board stabilized and amassed massive card advantage, I could finally move on and go for the kill.
I’m the new MAGI-TSU World Champion baby!
Final Thoughts
Magi-Tsu might be a niche crossover sport today, but it perfectly combines competitive Magic: The Gathering and Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu — two passions that shaped my competitive career.
That was a fantastic experience. Everyone in the room was excited, Brian Weissman (one of the OG’s) made the trip to be the fight caller, Patrick Chapin came to see if he could still count on me in a bar fight (if anything, I’d rather not get involved!). Albert was a really good sport, and I’m super grateful for the opportunity.
Shoutout to Filipe and Joana for their live support as they spent their last few hours in icy Richmond supporting me.
If you’re into both Magic and BJJ and want to give it a try, let Albert know and maybe you’ll get a shot at the belt one day!
Huge thanks Dice City Games and Maryland TCG for covering for my trip and cards, Nelson of Inverted Gear for the awesome comp gi (if you’re a BJJ gi, go check his stuff. He’s also a fantastic guy!) and Richmond BJJ for the warm welcome. Go visit them when you have the chance and show your support as well!
