In this instalment of Player Spotlight we will be talking to Rob Catton; based out of Wakefield Rob has been playing Magic for many years and has played on 5 Pro Tours and has recently joined Team Axion Now. He is a well known face in the Northern Magic scene and more widely in the UK for his success at larger events and especially Axion Mega events. A lover of Control strategies in all formats Rob is rarely happier than when he is getting to grind out a slow win with a grip full of counterspells.

Q: Can you tell us a little about your Magic playing history?

I started just after Lorwyn, which I remember because Morningtide was my first prerelease. I started playing because my friends who I played Warhammer with were in to it, so that was sort of my path into it. I played mainly at Bradford University as there wasn’t a huge scene in Leeds at the time, but that soon changed and I was drafting and playing standard every week. In the 10 years I’ve been playing I’ve qualified for the PT 5 times, and my best finish at a GP was 9th which was pretty gutting but I was still satisfied with that. As pretty much everybody who knows me in magic knows, I have a particularly affinity for control decks (regardless of if they are good or not) but not many people know that I really like combo decks too - Splinter Twin was great because it was basically both. I’m way more of a fan of Constructed than Limited, although I did win a Sealed PTQ back in the day by drafting 2 Jeskai Ascendancy, which lead to some games looking like I was playing a Constructed deck.

Q: What is your favourite Magic card of all time?

Squadron Hawk; it is a 2 mana Ancestral Recall!

Q: What is your favourite Magic memory?

Flying to Philadelphia at 18 years old to play my first Pro Tour. I didn’t do that well, but playing against Patrick Chapin in the Top 8 of a ‘win an iPad’ tournament was pretty cool.

Q: Which players comprise your playtesting group?

I talk a lot with Chris Vincent, we used to play the same 75 quite a lot but less so recently. I don’t currently test as much because I moved from Leeds to Wakefield, but should be testing more now that I’ve joined Team Axion Now.

Q: What was your record at last year’s English Nationals?

Can’t remember, but I did awfully.

Q: What are you most looking forward to for this year’s English Nationals?

Going 6-0 in the draft portion.

Q: How likely do you think you are to win English Nationals this year?

50/50.