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Vault’s Denizens: Sebastian Belgica
By: Juan Miguel Salcedo
(reposted from July 2020)
“**** Sebs!”
“******* Sebs!”
“*********** Sebs!”
If you’ve played at Vault during the afternoon, you’ve probably heard these three lines (and its many variations). If you find a playgroup that includes the guy above, he’s the cause of all the frustration.
His name is Sebastian Belgica and you will learn to both love and hate him.
Hailed as the most prolific Simic player in the community, Sebastian “Sebs” Belgica is an easygoing, over-the-top personality. There is not a day where you won’t hear him shouting at the top of his lungs, begging for mercy as he pleads to be given one more turn…. because he has pulled so far ahead and has controlled the game so much that everyone has decided he’s the biggest threat and is one piece away from combo-ing off. This very behavior is what cemented his spot within the community. It also doesn’t help that his circle of friends are equally animated, creating one of the most raucous playgroups in Vault.
The interview covers his journey through playing MTG, and give more insight into the player everyone loves to hate.
Q: First things first, how did you become such a meme within the community?
A: Honestly? I’m not sure. Haha! I think I can blame it on all Joaquin because he always calls me out on my plays.
Q: And all that caught on?
A: Apparently so. Once they saw how I pilot my deck, they finally understood why he’s the way he is towards me.
Q: Alright. Let’s go back a bit. How did you get started in Magic: the Gathering?
A: I was in 5th grade back then, so around 2012. We didn’t even know what the rules were so we played MTG with Yu-Gi-Oh! rules. About two years later, I started taking the game seriously. And by seriously, I mean buying cards left and right just because they looked cool. I remember having five Charging Badgers in my deck at one point!
Q: Gotta respect the most aggressive 1/1 in the game.
A: I always attached every aura I could on that guy. Haha!
Q: Speaking of attachment, did you have any pet cards?
A: It’s definitely Vorel of the Hull Clade. I remember Perez giving me that card the first time I went to Neutral Grounds. I always played him alongside Elusive Krasis. We didn’t play much removal back then, so my opponent usually takes enough damage to carry over to the next three games. Nowadays, I have him stashed away somewhere because I can’t quite fit him in my deck these days.
Q: Going back, what format were you playing?
A: It was Modern, I think. I was playing an older, super budget variant of Simic Stompy. I didn’t even know what a Breeding Pool was since all I had in the deck were basic lands. I didn’t like playing budget dual lands back then.
Q: Why so?
A: I thought because my curve was so low, I didn’t think I’d need dual lands. My strategy was to land either Experiment One or Cloudfin Raptor on the first turn, followed by Young Wolf and Strangleroot Geist, then leave mana up for a Pongify.
Q: From there, how did you come across EDH?
A: I actually just came back to MTG around Guilds of Ravnica since I focused on League of Legends and my girlfriend for a few years. Joaquin has been bugging me to play the format for 3 years before then, so I told him I’ll consider coming back since Ravnica is my favorite expansion. The rest is history.
Q: I’m actually curious about something. Why Simic?
A: It’s actually a lot simpler than it seems.
Q: How so?
A: Back in Junior High School, my circle of friends picked a guild they would represent. I was the last one to join in on the fun. Guess which color combination was left.
Q: It seems you were fated to play the colors.
A: I believe so, yeah.
Q: Have you considered playing other color combinations?
A: No. I love playing midrange too much that I don’t see myself playing anything else. Simic offers the best of both worlds: playing big, dumb beaters while having control elements to keep the rest of the table off my back.
Q: Lastly, if MTG wasn’t part of your life, what would you be doing?
A: I’d probably have less friends than I do now. I also won’t be as outgoing since I picked up most of my conversation skills from politicking in EDH.
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