Jason Opalka has had a storied past in the game of Magic: the Gathering. Back in 1996 he was named T2K, short for Type Two King. Jason wore this mantle proudly and carries a hint of the name even today. Most often referred to as “King” Jason has had many nicknames including “Opie”, “Oomap Loompa”, “Cartman”, “The Human Sphere”, “That Really Fat Short Kid”, “Giant Bag”, you name it.

King has always been one of the most loved fixtures on the PT. Most often found in the company of Speds and East Coast Assassins, he always had a smile and a bleak outlook on life. These two incredibly endearing traits are rarely found in the same body, but King wears them well.

While in the world of Magic, King is probably most famous for the invention of the High Tide deck that debuted in PT Rome piloted by both of the above mentioned teams. King is also famous for achieving a goal we all aspire to. King was able to train his mother to get him White Castle fast food at 2 in the morning. I don’t know about the rest of you, but I wish I had a small portion of this man’s abilities.

My fondest memory of King, however, is when he had just had enough of one of the true legends in this game. The top 8 of the last PTQ Brian Kibler would ever play in was going on. King had entered into a money draft and was being watched by Thomas Guevin himself. Thomas was commenting on the match as only Tight Tommy could, and it resulted in King chasing him out of the PTQ with a chair. Kibler went on to win that PTQ and swing with giant men.

Tragedy struck sometime later. I watched a man play a match of Magic for a full 5 minutes at GP Vegas. This was odd for 2 reasons. First off I am not a fan of watching Magic. Second of all it was not until 5 minutes in that I realized I was watching Jason Opalka. Opalka had shed a near metric ton of weight and looked far more like Nate Clarke than the Opalka of old. As much as I liked the spherical Opalka I was proud of him, and this weight loss was certainly not the tragedy. As I mentioned King is famous for his grim look at life and he has the bad luck to prove it. In Las Vegas, one of the best men to ever grace a Pro Tour was mugged on the streets of Sin City.

He recovered nicely, and is currently contemplating a return to the game with an appearance at GP Cleveland, a local PTQ and a possible trip to GP New Orleans.

For all he has done for the game, and for keeping his mam on a short leash I award Jason “The King” Opalka Good Man of the Week!

Discuss this article in the Magic: the Gathering Forums!

Jason Opalka has had a storied past in the game of Magic: the Gathering. Back in 1996 he was named T2K, short for Type Two King. Jason wore this mantle proudly and carries a hint of the name even today. Most often referred to as “King” Jason has had many nicknames including “Opie”, “Oomap Loompa”, “Cartman”, “The Human Sphere”, “That Really Fat Short Kid”, “Giant Bag”, you name it.

King has always been one of the most loved fixtures on the PT. Most often found in the company of Speds and East Coast Assassins, he always had a smile and a bleak outlook on life. These two incredibly endearing traits are rarely found in the same body, but King wears them well.

While in the world of Magic, King is probably most famous for the invention of the High Tide deck that debuted in PT Rome piloted by both of the above mentioned teams. King is also famous for achieving a goal we all aspire to. King was able to train his mother to get him White Castle fast food at 2 in the morning. I don’t know about the rest of you, but I wish I had a small portion of this man’s abilities.

My fondest memory of King, however, is when he had just had enough of one of the true legends in this game. The top 8 of the last PTQ Brian Kibler would ever play in was going on. King had entered into a money draft and was being watched by Thomas Guevin himself. Thomas was commenting on the match as only Tight Tommy could, and it resulted in King chasing him out of the PTQ with a chair. Kibler went on to win that PTQ and swing with giant men.

Tragedy struck sometime later. I watched a man play a match of Magic for a full 5 minutes at GP Vegas. This was odd for 2 reasons. First off I am not a fan of watching Magic. Second of all it was not until 5 minutes in that I realized I was watching Jason Opalka. Opalka had shed a near metric ton of weight and looked far more like Nate Clarke than the Opalka of old. As much as I liked the spherical Opalka I was proud of him, and this weight loss was certainly not the tragedy. As I mentioned King is famous for his grim look at life and he has the bad luck to prove it. In Las Vegas, one of the best men to ever grace a Pro Tour was mugged on the streets of Sin City.

He recovered nicely, and is currently contemplating a return to the game with an appearance at GP Cleveland, a local PTQ and a possible trip to GP New Orleans.

For all he has done for the game, and for keeping his mam on a short leash I award Jason “The King” Opalka Good Man of the Week!

Discuss this article in the Magic: the Gathering Forums!