Prior to the Wolf Pack’s formation, Ian Shaffer, Timothy Bunn, and Zach Bunn were testing with the infamous Arsenal Pass testing group. However, on the fateful day of March 20, 2022, seeds were sown which would result in the rise of the Wolf Pack.
We were having dinner after the Calling Indianapolis when Brendan Patrick of Arsenal Pass commented that some changes were coming to the Arsenal Pass testing schedule. Little did we realize at the time the full extent of those changes. During the same conversation, Brendan also asked for our opinions on Michael Hamilton (who won that Calling just an hour or two later) and mentioned that he was going to try to bring him into the Arsenal Pass testing group.
About a week later, Arsenal Pass breaks the news to Dante, Ian, Tim, and Zach that the team was changing its testing times and so would be breaking up the previous testing group. Thus, on March 27, 2022, the Wolf Pack was officially founded by Ian, Tim, and Zach, and expanded to a six-member team later that day – adding Dante Delfico, Mike Caronchia, and myself (Matt Kohls). Steven Wooley was soon added as a part-time limited specialist.
Zach broke the news of the split with the Arsenal Pass testing group and the creation of the Wolf Pack team during the Team Covenant live stream later that week. A legendary rivalry between Arsenal Pass and the Wolf Pack is born.
The OG Wolves
Pro Tour New Jersey
On April 7, 2022, we added Bryan Knecht, a local player and friend of mine, to the team in time to help us prepare for the first Pro Tour. A few weeks later, on May 13-15, 2022, we competed in our first major event since the team’s formation. Mike finished 20th earning a PTI, and Zach finished 33rd, just one spot out of the PTI prizing. Meanwhile in the Calling, Tim finished in the top 64. The Wolf Pack also played in a team draft against Arsenal Pass and won 5-4.
Also, important to note is the Kano-gate incident that occurred during the weekend which would ultimately lead to new team members joining the Wolf Pack a month later.
The Wolf Pack in New Jersey
Expanding the Pack
In June 2022, we added FIVE more members to the pack to bring our roster size up to 12. Eric Wainright joined the team on June 4, 2022 as a limited specialist, but he quickly became fully ingrained in the constructed formats as well. Shortly after returning from Vegas, where Steven, Zach, and I competed in the team Calling, we added more great players: Andrew Rothermel and Jon Magnuson on June 19, 2022, and Michael Hamilton and Roger Bodee on June 30, 2022.
The expanded team competed in ProQuest and Road to Nationals events throughout the season. By the end of the season, Andrew, Dante, Jon, Michael, Zach, and Roger had qualified for Pro Tour #2. Further, all twelve members of the team qualified for nationals.
Pro Tour Lille
On August 26-28, 2022, six members of the Pack traveled overseas to compete in the second Pro Tour. The team had considerable success during the weekend with Andrew, Jon, and Michael placing in the top 16 of the event, and Dante in the top 32. Later that weekend Michael won the Battle Hardened Lille event, adding another notch to his FaB accomplishments belt.
The Wolf Pack at Pro Tour Lille
Nationals Season
Shortly after the conclusion of the second Pro Tour, on August 31, 2022, the team added another fantastic player (and another Michael), Michael Feng.
Mike C and Dante competed in Canadian Nationals where Mike made top 8, earning himself another PTI and gold cold foil legendary, while Dante just missed top 8. The rest of the team competed in US Nationals on September 23-25, 2022 with tremendous results, including five players in the top 64 and four in the top 32. Bryan and Jon finished 9th and 10th. Eric made top 32 and Andrew top 64. Meanwhile, Michael Hamilton not only made the top 8 but went on to win the US National Championship!
The team also had success in the other events that weekend with Roger making top 8 of the Calling Charlotte, Tim making top 32 of the Calling, and Andrew and Jon making top 8 of Battle Hardened Charlotte. The elusive triple crown (winning a Championship, Calling, and Battle Hardened at the same event) was SOOOO close for the Pack!
The Wolf Pack at US Nationals Charlotte
Battle Hardened Season
After nationals, the team was gearing up for the World Championship. Several members of the team attended Battle Hardened events. On October 1, 2022, Michael Feng and Jon both made top 8 at Battle Hardened Minneapolis. Michael would go on to win the event, adding Battle Hardened Champion to his previous Calling Champion title. Just one week later, on October 8, 2022, Michael Feng would make the top 8 again at Battle Hardened Dallas. Two weeks later, on October 22, 2022, Bryan, Roger, both Michaels, and I competed in Battle Hardened Columbus, but we failed to get any of us into the top 8 this time.
Leaving the Pack
Just a month before the World Championship, on October 5, 2022, two Wolf Pack members, Dante Delfico and Mike Caronchia, became former Wolf Pack members as they announced that they were leaving the team to join our rivals, Arsenal Pass. The next day on October 6, 2022 Luke Magnuson joined the team just in time to prepare for Worlds.
Mike and Dante plotting their move to Arsenal Pass (probably)
The World Championship
The first ever World Championship for FaB was an event not to be missed! The Wolf Pack was represented by eight players competing in Worlds, including Andrew, Eric, Ian, Luke, Michael F., Michael H., Zach, and myself. The highlight for the team, of course, was Michael Hamilton taking down the World Championship and cementing himself as the top FaB player in 2022. Two other team members finished in the top 64 – Andrew at 20th and Michael Feng at 42nd. Meanwhile, I made top 8 at the Calling San Jose!
The Wolf Pack Celebrating Michael’s World Championship in San Jose
Rounding Out the Team and Preparing for 2023
We took a much-needed break after the World Championship, but we added a couple new members to close out the year. On November 25, 2022, the wunderkind Brodie Spurlock joined the pack, followed by Nathan Lapham on December 30, 2022. We are now gearing up for the ProQuest season 3 to be held in January 2023 and, of course, throughout 2023 we will be chasing the triple crown again at all the big events.
2022 by the Numbers:
9 ProQuest Champions
9 Road to National Champions
12 Battle Hardened Top 8 finishes
3 Battle Hardened Champions
3 Calling Top 8 finishes
1 Calling Champion
2 Nationals Top 8 finishes
1 National Champion
1 World Champion