Hi. I'm Sam. I play, and now write and podcast about, Magic: The Gathering. Under my belt I have only a year of "competitive" play, largely at my local store in Norman, Oklahoma. If you're ever in the area you can find me slinging the spells most Wednesdays, Fridays, and Saturdays at Wizard's Asylum. I have managed such hi-jinks as Top 8ing the M12 Gameday while only winning one actual game in the Swiss rounds. However, I feel that there are enough Magic blogs that are chocked full of war stories so I will attempt to spare you most of the details of my actual play and instead focus on hi-lighting decks I want to be playing, and that you, dear reader, may desire to be playing. I also would like to share with you my opinions of sets, individual cards, and the Metagame as a whole.
This being my first post, I want it to be something that is unrelated to the current metagame and a solid post that players both new and old might be able to garner something from. Essentially, everything that follows should be timeless advice that I have collected on my road to being an ever so slightly better player than the person who brought Red/Green Kiln Fiend to the M11 Game Day.
1. Play a deck that fits you.
I know that this seems obvious, and if you missed the Standard that included the Zendikar and Scars of Mirrodin blocks you may not fully understand what exactly I mean, however the easiest way to put this is: if a control deck is dominating the format and you are not a control player, don't play that deck. Play your Tier 2 combo deck or your Tier 1.5 aggro list. Your comfort level with the deck will show through over the course of a long tournament. After 5 rounds of Magic, sitting down with a deck that feels fun and suits you compared to sitting down with a deck that grinds your mind and exhausts you can be the difference of making Day 2 of a tournament or wondering why you bothered to get that extra night at the hotel.
2. Think about your play.
Another seemingly obvious suggestion, two seconds before making plays can make all the difference in the world. When you look at your opening seven, count your cards even if it is a snap keep and think about the first few plays. Before making the obvious play, two seconds to see what else you could do can open up a better line of play. Even before dropping a land, make sure it plays to whatever you could draw the next turn. If you have double white cards you can draw and no turn one play, drop the plains. Next turn you can drop the mountain and play the (1)R dude in your hand without a problem. Rather than drop your mountain and bluff a burn spell then look at your hand in sadness with a superior WW dude off the top of your library.
3. Draft
If you desire to become a better player, go to your local store and spend $15 when you can, and draft. You will find interactions you will never see just looking at the cards in a visual spoiler or even in constructed Magic. Don't confuse these interactions as being constructed playable. Instead just realize that the more you get to think about cards, which draft lends itself to 100%, the better you understand the game of Magic and the better you will become as a player.
4. Losing happens
This can be especially hard to learn. Games you feel like you "should" win and lose because your opponent topdecks their single copy of whatever card blows you out of the game will happen. It will happen more than you feel is statistically likely. You will get land flooded and land lite more than you think you should. It doesn't matter. That is part of the game of Magic. Shuffle up your cards and go to the next game. Next time you sit down across from a player, just remember that anything can happen in your game and you should never be overconfident.
5. Magic is a community.
While this advice does not technically make you a better player, remembering this when you walk into your local store can have a huge impact on your game in the long term. Playing Magic with people you like, traveling to tournaments with people you like, and spending time with people you like makes the Magic experience worth whatever time you invest into it. You will make friends with people at the shop you frequent and they will often have more or different experiences with the game than you will. Listening to them and learning what you can has the potential to make you a better player. You should also remember that people will talk amongst themselves and if you super undercut someone on a trade or seem like you might be cheating in a round, many of the store regulars will know about it. Be a good person and play nice with others. That is the best advice I can give for Magic, and life.
If you have any questions or comments, feel free to leave them below and check out my next post which should cover the deck I think I should be playing after States, this coming Saturday. You can contact me on Twitter @samdavisboyhero and if you cannot wait until Monday, check out the most recent podcast of Planeswalker's Asylum over on Couch Pirate Radio.
Until next time, keep your sleeves clean and your hand full.
This being my first post, I want it to be something that is unrelated to the current metagame and a solid post that players both new and old might be able to garner something from. Essentially, everything that follows should be timeless advice that I have collected on my road to being an ever so slightly better player than the person who brought Red/Green Kiln Fiend to the M11 Game Day.
1. Play a deck that fits you.
I know that this seems obvious, and if you missed the Standard that included the Zendikar and Scars of Mirrodin blocks you may not fully understand what exactly I mean, however the easiest way to put this is: if a control deck is dominating the format and you are not a control player, don't play that deck. Play your Tier 2 combo deck or your Tier 1.5 aggro list. Your comfort level with the deck will show through over the course of a long tournament. After 5 rounds of Magic, sitting down with a deck that feels fun and suits you compared to sitting down with a deck that grinds your mind and exhausts you can be the difference of making Day 2 of a tournament or wondering why you bothered to get that extra night at the hotel.
2. Think about your play.
Another seemingly obvious suggestion, two seconds before making plays can make all the difference in the world. When you look at your opening seven, count your cards even if it is a snap keep and think about the first few plays. Before making the obvious play, two seconds to see what else you could do can open up a better line of play. Even before dropping a land, make sure it plays to whatever you could draw the next turn. If you have double white cards you can draw and no turn one play, drop the plains. Next turn you can drop the mountain and play the (1)R dude in your hand without a problem. Rather than drop your mountain and bluff a burn spell then look at your hand in sadness with a superior WW dude off the top of your library.
3. Draft
If you desire to become a better player, go to your local store and spend $15 when you can, and draft. You will find interactions you will never see just looking at the cards in a visual spoiler or even in constructed Magic. Don't confuse these interactions as being constructed playable. Instead just realize that the more you get to think about cards, which draft lends itself to 100%, the better you understand the game of Magic and the better you will become as a player.
4. Losing happens
This can be especially hard to learn. Games you feel like you "should" win and lose because your opponent topdecks their single copy of whatever card blows you out of the game will happen. It will happen more than you feel is statistically likely. You will get land flooded and land lite more than you think you should. It doesn't matter. That is part of the game of Magic. Shuffle up your cards and go to the next game. Next time you sit down across from a player, just remember that anything can happen in your game and you should never be overconfident.
5. Magic is a community.
While this advice does not technically make you a better player, remembering this when you walk into your local store can have a huge impact on your game in the long term. Playing Magic with people you like, traveling to tournaments with people you like, and spending time with people you like makes the Magic experience worth whatever time you invest into it. You will make friends with people at the shop you frequent and they will often have more or different experiences with the game than you will. Listening to them and learning what you can has the potential to make you a better player. You should also remember that people will talk amongst themselves and if you super undercut someone on a trade or seem like you might be cheating in a round, many of the store regulars will know about it. Be a good person and play nice with others. That is the best advice I can give for Magic, and life.
If you have any questions or comments, feel free to leave them below and check out my next post which should cover the deck I think I should be playing after States, this coming Saturday. You can contact me on Twitter @samdavisboyhero and if you cannot wait until Monday, check out the most recent podcast of Planeswalker's Asylum over on Couch Pirate Radio.
Until next time, keep your sleeves clean and your hand full.
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