Dies to Airblade (2nd, Australian West Nats)

Listen:

Sydney Luke has come unstuck in time.

The five hour flight takes three hours. It's 2017 Sydney time and you're up late after Nationals talking to someone about game design, but it's 2023 Perth time and you and @Anzekay are failing to recognise each other. You have a beard now and they have hair to their shoulders, you haven't actually seen each other in person since. But then you hug, and it's fine. It's 2018 Adelaide time, on your Dead Game Regional Tour, and you're drinking with some Perth guys, and then it's 2023 Perth time and you're fairly sure these are the same guys. It's hard to be sure, because of the time difference. And the drinking, obviously.

Your old Sydney bud @grombatmole is on Perth time permanently now, but their dog meta picks are on point. They're kind enough to put you up when you get in at 11pm (or is it 1am?). You put on the 2018 Sydney shirt and play the Bad Deck, because someone has to play the heel. The solid state meat of your brain has used up too many write cycles. You point at people vaguely familiar. Have we met before? No? Several times actually? It's Chris, right? Sorry, David, I was very close though. No, you're the other Luke, unless they meant you, in which case the other Luke is the other one.

You play a new guy who dies to an Anansi facecheck. You play him again and he plays like a veteran. You play him again and he plays like a National Champion. With Airblade, somehow.

You lose your mat with all the signatures from 2018 Roseville time so you start a new one. What's the worst that could happen? A Clearinghouse? Is DNA Tracker still a card? What's the play cost for Punitive again? You wait for your hot wings for an hour then immediately regret it. The tournament hype, however, is worth it.

The five hour flight back will take seven hours. You look up from your four counter Keeling and try to warn people: I'm afraid that time is a factor. I have to remind you that time is a factor.