MAG Interviews: VC's znignflo72

The first participant of our new forum interviews was none other than Headshot Extraordinaire znignflo72 of Valor Coalition. Read our interview with him for  how VC was formed, who he'd like to match up with one-on-one and why he supports limiting Alts even though he's used them extensively.

1. So tell us a bit about yourself, MAG-wise.

   Well the first time I played MAG was October 11, 2009 after by brother found some beta codes that had been leaked. At first I hated MAG, probably because I was a little overwhelmed, but eventually my MAG addiction took over. At the start of MAG flonig23 and I rolled solo just having fun. Then we got in our first clan called Combat Killers [C-K] We stayed in there until around April 2010 when our numbers died down. Then we ended up randomly in a game with 18+ V-C. We sent them a message asking about joining. After that we did our tryouts and have been V-C since. Now I'm 1100+ hours in MAG and plan on staying in MAG for awhile.  

2. so explain your handle, what does znignflo72 mean?

   znignflo72 was kind of made in frustration after I got my ps3. Every name I came up with was taken, so I just ended up making a name similar to my brothers. The "z" is for my name Zach and the "flo" is for my city Florence, SC.

   

3. you're often mentioned as one of the elite players in all of MAG. You've been called THE headshot master, JLongshot described you as a top 5 MAG player and your clan leader, Kushmir called you the "Neo of MAG" so what's your secret?

   I have a couple of people in V-C that ask me this all the time. I just tell them it's the "blurggle" (goggles with no helmet and urban blur camo). We have recently made blurggle mandatory dress code in V-C, because it's so OP. lol. I would have to say, I was never really "The heashot master" until I went up against tonyTTT in AIR vs VL$, and seeing his HS% on the leaderboards. After that I always tried aiming for the head and now it's just my reaction. 

Your clan VC is popular for being for being one of Valor's Flagship clans, for your strategy and for spearheading the famous TTT Weekend with 6D9. How have you guys lasted so long in MAG?

   TTT weekend was the best weekend I've had in MAG. We had some people stay up all night playing until we had the contracts. V-C has been around so long, because of the tight group of loyal V-C we have. We have gone through some tough times, but we have a group of friends in V-C who would never drop there tags. Around three months ago we were at a low with 1-4 players on at a time, but we started recruiting again and had a 32 vs 32 with PPH.

4. Why haven't you moved on from MAG?

   I have tried new games, but none are as fun and fast-paced as MAG. I tried MoH, KZ3, CoD, and S4 and they all suck compared to MAG. I enjoy running around getting all of my kills with my AR and knife, no kill streak or aim assist bs. Also I enjoy the smaller community which allows you to ofter play against or with well known players or clans. I'll still be playing MAG until the servers shut down or MAG 2.

5. Why do so many MAG players come back after playing other games?

   Because the game play is one of a kind, and it's simply just a great game. It's an objective based game that fits anyones playing style, you can be a killer, medic, repairman, tactician or whatever your style is. For me I love killing, but I really enjoy the tactically aspect of MAG. MAG has its flaws, like any game, but it is still the number one shooter over a year after release in my opinion. 

6. There was a rumor that your alt was flonig23 (we knew better) but that's actually your brother, correct? How did you guys get so skilled at shooters?

   Yes, flonig23 is my brother. How we got skilled at shooters, I have no clue. We started with GoldenEye for the N64 and have been playing shooters since. The only other online shooters we've really been involved with is CoD4 and Battlefield 1943. 

7. Who is the best player you've played with?

   I've been group up with some of the best killers in MAG, but I look for more than just being a straight killer. They need to be able to work as a team, communicate, and medic people all while being able to kill. I know people will think my choices are biased, but these are the people I play with all the time I know can kill, communicate, and work as a team. That would be: flonig23, tonyTTT, Whiplash-88, X-Mosaic93, and Timarai. 

8. What's your most memorable MAG moment?

   I would have to say staying up all night during TTT weekend. I played around 30 games and only lost once to ~^~, and I played until around 3am. We had people like kushmir stay up until 6-7am when we finally had the contracts in hand. Really had some great victory's over some good clans. That was probably my best MAG moment, although V-C vs PPH is right behind it. Being platoon leader of 32 V-C  vs 32 PPH was epic!

9. Do you and your brother fight over the PS3? How do you decide who gets to lay first?

   My brother actually moved out of Florence a couple of years ago. I ended up buying a ps3 for a good price and planned on selling it on ebay, but some how I ended up giving him the ps3 for free...

10. Your clan is famous for decimating PPH in clan wars despite being an attacker. How did you pull it off?

   I think we were under estimated by a lot of people, since no one really knew our new roster. Organization is what really helped win the match, I literally lost sleep over planning the squads and strategy for the match. We assigned squad leaders who all new the plan and could lead there squad. Each player was placed in a specific squad based on skill, how well they work with others in their squad, and how well they communicate. If zipper would implement clan wars into MAG it would make the game huge. Leading 32 V-C into battle was epic, and I hope to do it again soon. 

11. What are the top three things you'd like to see in a MAG 2?

   CLAN WARS!!!!, more maps, and a much better training mode.

12. You've had rivalries with several notable clans in the past, which was the most challenging? the most fun?

   The argument with OSG on Bodymore's interview was the best one. After all of the trash talking, the next day we ran into OSG 8 v 8 and won. It was a lot of fun and I'm actually friends with a lot of the OSG now. I'd like to get a new rivalry started, I miss the old days of MAG. :) 

13. Give me one MAG player you'd love to match up with in a one-on-one.

  

   First would be flonig23, but right behind him would be my laggy British friend Whiplash-88. I would really like to have a 2 v 2, The flo bros vs the European lag bros (Whiplash and Moasaic). lol

14. Tell us some little-known facts about VC.

   

    V-C was a merger of a lot of smaller clans back in the early days of MAG. Out of all the people in the clan I think there's around 3 original members from the merge. Bodymore is currently the leader after kushmir gave up leadership when we made the 1.5 kdr requirement. Although V-C's decisions are not made by the leader, we have officer meetings where the officers decide what is best for V-C. 

15. How has the PSN Outage affected you?

    I really miss shooting people in the face, but I've been playing Minecraft and MafiaII for PC. We're currently working on building Raven's sabotage map in Minecraft. Once it is done we're going to post a video of it on the MAG forums! 

16. Who would you love to match-up with in clan wars?

    I really hate that V-C vs PFB didn't work out. I think it would have been a great match up, although it could still happen. I'm hoping to set up another clan match once the PSN is finally back. I'm curious to see what the other clan's numbers look like after the BRINK release. Maybe have a rematch with OSG for fun or whatever other clan is willing to play a match.

17. What's your favorite loadout?

    

    SCAR LW with suppressor, fore grip, and red dot. I normally have reinforced armor with a med kit, sensor jammer, and acoustic locator

18. Who's your MAG nemesis?

    I love going against Timarai, back when I vetted through Raven I played with his clan "The Wolfpack". Now I have a Raven alt still in his clan that I play on occasionally. He will randomly follow me in games, he beats me with his knife, but I beat him with the AR. :)

19. We mentioned a local server option in MAG 2,Yay or Nay?

    Yay.

20. "Alts killed MAG" is a popular saying. We mentioned how a MAG 2 could prevent this by using a per-disc validation code. What say you?

    Did alts kill MAG, NO. Although I like the idea of the validation code, because I'm a fan of clan loyalty. In the clan matches that have been going on I want to see all legit clan members, no alts even if they have been in the clan for a month. I know I've played in a lot of clan matches on my alts, so my actions and sayings are a little contradictory. lol. If they release a MAG 2 and they implement clan wars zipper should definitely add the per-disc validation code. This would remove the chance of a clan playing ringers in a clan match.