Edison, New Jersey - Three weeks ago, Dave Aminzade was at the top of his game. After breezing through a JSS qualifier and then cruising to a PTQ win, Aminzade was being hailed as the next big thing on the Pro Tour. All that changed, however, when a well-meaning friend boldly predicted that Aminzade's continued success would lead to him being 'the next Zvi Mowshowitz'. Despite the seemingly harmless nature of the remark, the result was a three-week descent into madness and self-loathing that eventually ended with Aminzade taking his own life.

"I remember we were joking around with Dave after the PTQ," recalled friend Tim Lee. "We were talking about what a savage miser he was, and then [friend Ryan Kleman] mentioned Zvi. I don't think Ryan meant anything by it, but Dave suddenly got real quiet and serious. Later on, he asked us if we thought he smelled bad, or if he needed a haircut. I didn't know what he was talking about, but then he just sort of wandered away, looking mortified."

Aminzade's suicide occurred just three weeks later, but even more troubling is the excruciating manner he chose for his demise. While investigators would not comment on the specifics of the grisly scene, they indicated that Aminzade clawed out his own eyeballs and carved out chunks of his own flesh in nonvital areas, thereby prolonging his misery. An anonymous source confirmed that the victim had repeatedly scrawled phrases like "Shock. Take two damage" and "There's no Zvi in Aminzade" in blood across the walls. Authorities also confirmed the existence of a suicide note, which said, among other things, "I cannot live with the fate that awaits me. If death is my only salvation, it is acceptable losses. It only costs four mana and a random discard… My God, what have I become?"

Grieving friends recalled the last few days of Aminzade's life at a memorial service on Monday. "I remember one weekend when I came over to [Aminzade's] house to playtest," said schoolmate Shane Gerhen. "At first I thought he wasn't home, but then I found him in the bathroom taking a shower and frantically screaming 'I can't get clean! I can't get clean!' Turns out he had been in the shower for three straight days."

Aminzade's death comes on the heels of another Magic related tragedy last month, when upcoming internet writer Alan Townsend slit his wrists two days after being likened to internet mainstays Sean McKeown and Jarrod Bright.

Discuss this article in the Magic: the Gathering Forums!

Edison, New Jersey - Three weeks ago, Dave Aminzade was at the top of his game. After breezing through a JSS qualifier and then cruising to a PTQ win, Aminzade was being hailed as the next big thing on the Pro Tour. All that changed, however, when a well-meaning friend boldly predicted that Aminzade's continued success would lead to him being 'the next Zvi Mowshowitz'. Despite the seemingly harmless nature of the remark, the result was a three-week descent into madness and self-loathing that eventually ended with Aminzade taking his own life.

"I remember we were joking around with Dave after the PTQ," recalled friend Tim Lee. "We were talking about what a savage miser he was, and then [friend Ryan Kleman] mentioned Zvi. I don't think Ryan meant anything by it, but Dave suddenly got real quiet and serious. Later on, he asked us if we thought he smelled bad, or if he needed a haircut. I didn't know what he was talking about, but then he just sort of wandered away, looking mortified."

Aminzade's suicide occurred just three weeks later, but even more troubling is the excruciating manner he chose for his demise. While investigators would not comment on the specifics of the grisly scene, they indicated that Aminzade clawed out his own eyeballs and carved out chunks of his own flesh in nonvital areas, thereby prolonging his misery. An anonymous source confirmed that the victim had repeatedly scrawled phrases like "Shock. Take two damage" and "There's no Zvi in Aminzade" in blood across the walls. Authorities also confirmed the existence of a suicide note, which said, among other things, "I cannot live with the fate that awaits me. If death is my only salvation, it is acceptable losses. It only costs four mana and a random discard… My God, what have I become?"

Grieving friends recalled the last few days of Aminzade's life at a memorial service on Monday. "I remember one weekend when I came over to [Aminzade's] house to playtest," said schoolmate Shane Gerhen. "At first I thought he wasn't home, but then I found him in the bathroom taking a shower and frantically screaming 'I can't get clean! I can't get clean!' Turns out he had been in the shower for three straight days."

Aminzade's death comes on the heels of another Magic related tragedy last month, when upcoming internet writer Alan Townsend slit his wrists two days after being likened to internet mainstays Sean McKeown and Jarrod Bright.

Discuss this article in the Magic: the Gathering Forums!