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By: gamemaster32, Keya Saleh
Apr 30 2012 10:51am
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After playing magic for what seems like my entire life, it is interesting to try and figure out what is it that allows some players to find success. I have seen people play push themselves for years to try and reach the next level and never get there, and others who seems to make the transition without breaking a sweat. But, watching people play is only the tip of the iceberg. The real secret to success is what lies beneath the surface: all the time put in practicing before you sit down at the tournament.

In talking and working with people who have had their hard work pay off, these are the things I have seen done differently that may be what could make the difference for you.

1. They read...a lot

I hate to break it to you kids, but G.I. Joe lied to you: knowing is NOT half the battle.. These days it is more like 80% of the battle. We live in an age of unprecedented access to information, and that applies to Magic just like everything else.

Why did you lie to me, Joe?

The first great step you can make in preparing for a tournament is to learn about the format that you are going to be playing. There are a large number of magic strategy sites out there that offer articles (many of them free) about every subject in magic written by the top players in the game today. It is vital to get your finger on the pulse of the metagame, and one of the very first ways you can do that is by reading about what everyone else is thinking about the format. What are the prevailing decks? What is the speed of the format? Is the metagame stable or is it still developing? Reading as much as you can about a format is the first step someone should take when they are looking to get results at the next tourney.


2. They learn every card in the format

This is a huge piece of the puzzle that people often neglect. While this tip is mandatory for limited, it applies to constructed as well, because you have to know your options.

A lot of people, especially pro players, tend to play control decks because they feel that those style of decks create the most options, and therefore give them the greatest opportunity to use their superior play skills to make the best decisions and win. After all, more options is better right? Well, given that, it is muy importante that you KNOW all of your options before you go into a tournament. Whenever I am in the early testing process, I like to go through every single card that I can play in a given format and at least read through every card I don’t recognize, which mostly ends up being those wacky rares that you have completely forgotten about after they were in some casual preview article years ago. Sometimes, those bizarro rares can turn a formats next breakout star.

Flash Dark Depths Splinter Twin Ichorid
From trash to treasure



3. They practice...a lot


With all due respect to Mr. Iverson, you have got to put in a lot of playtesting hours if you want to move up the ranks and succeed. Games of magic are won by having good plans for every situation, and the best way to figure out those plans is to keep smashing your deck against other decks until you have a plan that works.

‘Outliers’, the book by sociologist Malcolm Gladwell, talks about the concept of 10,000 hours*. The idea is that most professionals at the pinnacle of their field have put in about 10,000 of work into whatever it is they are successful at. I don’t know about you, but that sounds like a lot more than the time I put into testing.

*An important feature of the 10,000 hours is that it is accompanied with constant feedback. Make sure you surround yourself with others who comment on your play honestly. And be honest with yourself. It’s not always the shufflers fault.

When I look back, I can find a specific period of Magic when I was running pretty hot. In about a year period, I was the Texas State Champion, got 2nd place at the Gulf Coast Regionals, and performed pretty consistently at PTQs, often being in the top of the standings deep in the tournament. When I try and figure out what I was doing that was so helpful, the most obvious thing that comes to mind is that I was playing magic about 25-30 hours a week.

Since I had qualified for Nationals that year, I went ahead and went to the tournament. I did terribly. How much did I test for Nats? Maybe 5-10 more matches. Not hours. Matches.

If you want the gold, you gotta put in the time to earn it.

4. They work with others who want to do well

Behind every successful tournament player is a crew of people who put in the hard work with him to get that W. Working well with others what can really help elevate a player to the next level. Throughout Magic’s history, we have seen players elevate themselves to success by becoming embedded in great teams (YMG, TOGIT, CFB, Starcity). Working in a wolfpack of one leaves you vulnerable to insular thinking that can cause you to plateau and be unable to figure out why you can’t make the jump to the next level. Surround yourself with people like you and different from you, as long as you are all working to get better.

Don't be this guy

5. They have a sidboard plan and they play sidboarded games.

This is probably one of the most overlooked aspects of successful playtesting in my experience. If there is only one thing that you take away from this article and put into practice it should be this: IF YOU WANT TO DO WELL IN A COMPETITIVE MAGIC TOURNAMENT, PLAYTEST SIDEBOARDED GAMES!!!

Sideboard are critically important to tournament play, especially in those inevitable unfavorable matchups. Having a clear plan of what you are taking out/putting in. It is also important that you playtest those games. I have seen many people run their decks against a standard gauntlet without ever so much as thinking about their SB. They feel like they accomplished something because they spent so much time preparing, but ultimately came up short on the day of the event. They often say ‘Work smart, not hard’ but I prefer ‘work smart AND hard’.

I will leave you with this last thought on the matter: In 99% of your tournaments, you will play more games post-board than pre-board.

6. They take some time away from testing

While this may seem counter to some of the other advice I have given up to this point, it is important for your personal well being that you step back from the game from time to time (at the very least to have a bite to eat and take a shower). It is important that you are focused and working hard, you have to be careful that you don’t become completely consumed by your work and develop tunnel vision.

In Prisoner of Trebekistan: A Decade in Jeopardy! by Bob Harris (sidenote: a very interesting and entertaining read for those interested in the show or the concepts of learning), Bob shares a funny anecdote. While preparing to the extreme for his appearance on the show, Bob ends up turning down many social engagements, including a movie outing to the see the movie Amistad. At the end of his run, the final Jeopardy category answer he misses is about which president traveled aboard.......you guessed it! The Amistad.

7. They DO NOT audible to a deck they have little to no experience with the night before a tournament

Barring weird exceptions where some new information has come to light (ie. White Lightning Nationals), DO NOT to some completely new or foreign deck at 2am the night before the tournament. You have spent a considerable amount of time learning your deck and how it interacts with other decks in the format. Unless there is some last minute discovery of a deck with some much raw power that it is worshipped by the Native peoples as a god, you are better off sticking with what you know. You do not need the best deck in the format to win a tournament, you just need the best deck that day.


And there you have it. These are the little nuggets of information that I have collected from great players and years of personal experience and observation. Hopefully you learned a little something along the way, or were at least entertained.

Keya Saleh
gamemaster32 on MTGO

3 Comments

Wow! by apaulogy at Mon, 04/30/2012 - 12:43
apaulogy's picture
5

I didn't know you knew how to write. I thought you only knew how to work sound editing/recording software.

Now all I have to do is learn how to read.

Great stuff.

Good thing you don't know how by gamemaster32 at Tue, 05/01/2012 - 09:10
gamemaster32's picture

Good thing you don't know how to read, otherwise there's no way I get 5 fireballs haha.

Thanks for the support man!

Oh, I fully support this by apaulogy at Tue, 05/01/2012 - 11:20
apaulogy's picture

And other life-altaring decisions :wink:

I made a pun. Can you see it?

Here is Iverson saying that stuff in auto-tune form:

I think other sports fans may appreciate this

Also, epic GI Joe Message and pic

We in heya talkin' about practicin'