Pat Hawkins is the owner of Josh & Pat’s MTG Bazaar, and has been a fixture of the Australian Magic Community for over 7 years now! If you’ve been to an event or convention in Australia that involves Magic, it’s likely that he’s crossed your path.

We asked Pat a few questions about his Magic Journey.

How were you first exposed to Magic: The Gathering, and what about it kept you coming back for more

I first got into Magic by wandering into a local hobby store in the late 90’s in my hometown. My group of friends would go down on Saturday afternoons and jam games, I recall thinking my Llanowar Elf into a turn 3 Emperor Crocodile or Blastoderm was unbeatable. I really got hooked though drafting during Invasion block, and it was in fact the first time I managed to win an old 8-4 draft which I was over the moon about. Just the concept of limited somehow made all the right parts of my brain pulse with excitement, and that’s definitely what hooked me.

There are so many different ways to play and enjoy Magic: The Gathering. Do you have a favourite format, and what about it appeals to you the most?

I’m a limited fiend, primarily draft over cube or sealed, but I’ll take it all. I used to trophy grind on MTGO and usually have my most fun when I could get 100+ drafts into a set and find the really nuanced value picks and eclectic draft decks. I think limited offers some of the best expressions of skill/creativity the game allows for where both the draft and play experience are littered with complicated decision trees as you eek out minor amounts of value to try to win.

Every play has one card in Magic that they have a special moment or affinity for. What’s that card for you, and can you share a bit as to why it holds this spot?

Shadowmage Infiltrator. It was the first card I recall investing USD$20USD per copy ($80 for the playset!) to play constructed with which at the time to me was lunacy. I still have a foil playset, and would like to get the man himself (Jon Finkel) to sign a playset at some point.

Outside of Magic: The Gathering and general gaming, what are some of your hobbies and interests? Do they complement your gaming passion, or are they complete worlds apart?

I’m a degenerate Philadelphia Eagles fan, enjoyer of live music when I get the chance (hardcore/metalcore/screamo), and boomer video game player (WoW Classic/Diablo 2). I find most my other interests don’t really have much relationship to Magic, although I do love talking sports nonsense with customers.

Running and hosting an event like The Mana Clash takes a lot of effort, passion, and fortitude. What was the main inspiration behind hosting this event and others, and how do you find it?

I recall being a bit unenamored with the events post COVID and finding myself quite critical of a lot of event organization I saw. After one chat on the state of things, a friend asked “… but what are you doing about it?”. So I chose to put my money where my mouth is and took the role of event organizing and giving this side of things a crack. As it turns out, I quite liked event organizing (and I’m not half bad at it).