Parker Willard recently made day two and cashed Grand Prix Pittsburgh playing Merfolk. He’s an average Joe grinder hoping to work his way to the Pro Tour. Parker lives in Michigan.
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Return to Ravnica
Return to Ravnica
Snapcaster Mage
While there isn't an abundance of competitive players directly where Parker lives, a short drive to Detroit offers a healthy Magic atmosphere.
After a series of concussions from wrestling in high school, and a car accident, Parker found that Magic easily filled the competitive gap in his life left by the sport.
Not only that, but Magic aided tremendously in his recovery process. The mental workout of playing kept his brain engaged and got him back up to speed in school.
Parker attributes this success to the multitude of mental tasks Magic makes a player take on all at once. Doing combat math, trying to figure out what's in his opponent's hand, remembering what cards are in their deck, and evaluating the board state are all aspects that helped in his recovery.
Parker finds it important to double check your calculations. Did you misread your opponent’s creature? Did you check to see if your opponent has lands open? Sometimes he will simply do the math itself over again to make sure he did it correctly the first time.
Card evaluation was a skill that impeded Parker when he first started. He didn’t know what any cards did, so he was easily blown out by simple combat tricks and removal spells.
Understanding what made one creature good in comparison to another was something he learned to do by playing Limited. This helped him understand not only what cards did in gameplay, but which ones were good relative to others.
Parker’s greatest period of growth came by taking a break from Magic. He found himself grinding in the game, playing every opportunity he could, thinking that’s what he needed to do to get better.
During his break he realized that he had been getting a lot of practice, but not competitive practice. When he came back to the game after 3 months he started playing Magic Online and attending one competitive Magic event a week. He found that attending the one competitive event helped him more than an entire week of casual magic.
Making Day 2 at Grand Prix Pittsburgh stands out to Parker as it was a hard won victory.
He had to overcome an opponent that played mental games with him over several rounds to try and put Parker on tilt going into his final round. Parker managed to work through the frustration and use his opponent's slow roll tactic against him during his last round, which let him push through to Day 2.
Parker can't single out a single moment, but points to a streak of losses which lead to him taking a 3 month break. After two months of getting crushed at every event he attended he finally decided he needed to take a break, something he had to do with Poker as well.
Parker admits that it can be hard to get feedback from online matches. One way he was able to get valuable feedback was by streaming on Twitch. People in the stream's chat always called out his missteps and whether or not he was making a good play.
Modern
Not remembering information that's given is a common error Parker finds players making. He will write down cards if his opponent has to show their hand, this way he doesn't have to exert mental energy remembering or risk the chance of forgetting. If his opponent takes a long pause or gives pause at a card Parker plays he will make note of that as well.
Parker finds that if a deck isn't performing as it should he has to analyze the pillars of the format he's playing in. By looking at the main decks used in the format he can start to see if his deck is being exposed by any of them.
Listening to podcasts and reading articles often hints at what decks make for bad matchups in any given format as well.
Grand Prix Pittsburgh: Parker played between 1-2 tournaments a day on Magic Online leading up to the Grand Prix. He also made sure to attend a competitive Modern event every Saturday for several weeks before the tournament, familiarizing himself with the deck he would use at the Grand Prix.
Main tournament deck
A deck for side events
Binder if you like to trade
Snacks
Parker believes the key to improving in Magic is getting better practice. Don't be afraid to move beyond Friday Night Magic and seek out Grand Prix trials and more competitive events.
Twitter: @thewhiteweenie
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Gaby Spartz streams Magic: The Gathering on Twitch by night and by day she’s the co-founder and VP of Content at Dose, the Chicago-based media company behind Dose.com and OMGFacts.com. Gaby lives in the windy city of Chicago.
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M12
Khans of Tarkir
Ambush Viper
The constant push to learn and improve is a major draw for Gaby. Similar to how she took an entrepreneurial plunge with Dose, Gaby knows Magic’s learning curve is incredibly steep.
She likes the fact that no one ever stops learning Magic and that there’s something to take away from every match played.
When Gaby started drafting it was difficult for her to understand what her deck was trying to do. By picking up cards here and there her deck had no cohesion or game plan.
Not being able to tell the difference between defensive and offensive cards was a hurdle she had to overcome. Listening to podcasts and getting input from better players helped Gaby understand the nuances of her own deck and come up with a strategy for the games she played.
A crucial component to Gaby’s Magic progression was sticking to linear decks when first getting into a format.
Having a deck with a game plan that’s repetitive and the same from game to game helped her hone specific skills and familiarize herself with the deck. This made it easier for her to think about her deck outside of matches without the pressure of having to make decisions in the moment.
She thought about her deck in relation to others in order to construct a better sideboard. By writing down her sideboard plan and going over it with more advanced players she was able to Top 8 her second PTQ while still being a fairly new player.
Winning the Standard Super League is a moment that sticks out for Gaby.
She went in simply trying to not place last. She understood that the other players had more experience than her, so she wanted to overcompensate by picking an unconventional deck to play.
She chose a high variance deck (Goblins with Obelisk of Urd) and was able to go undefeated through the group stage which got her a bye into the playoffs.
Moment 1: For a while Gaby couldn’t draft to save her life. She found herself trying to draft decks that didn’t make sense, and ended up losing so much that she felt incredibly demoralized. When playing stopped being fun for her she ended up taking a break from Limited.
Moment 2: While playing a team sealed event Gaby beat her male opponent, who after the match expressed that he couldn’t believe he had lost to a girl.
Her opponent couldn’t seem to grasp that she had beat him because she had played better, prepared better, and exercised her Magic skill set more precisely.
Having skill attributed to gender is something that Gaby is working hard to fade from the competitive Magic scene, and will allow all who love the game to be evenly recognized for their accomplishments.
Playing Constructed helps you see not only what your deck is trying to do, but what it’s trying to do in relation to your opponent’s deck.
Understanding your sideboard is critical for this. A player needs to be able to figure out how to thwart their opponent’s plan to take control of the game, or see that there’s nothing they can do against their opponent’s card and act accordingly.
Focusing too much on the results of a match is a pitfall Gaby finds a lot of players in. If a player makes 5 mistakes in a game and wins they have a tendency to overlook what went wrong.
There are other times when a player might play perfectly, but still lose. Dwelling excessively on these results can stagnate progression.
Gaby believes if you’re not trying to learn from your wins and losses then you’re not going to be happy in Magic. Finding take-aways from both your wins, and losses, is how to improve as a player. Managing losses by not beating yourself up over them is crucial for this.
Remember, you shouldn’t let one match loss beat you twice.
Playing with better players is something Gaby can't emphasize enough.
When you play with better players it can blow your mind to see how they play and understand why they make the decisions they do. More advanced players can help walk you through all the possible scenarios and outcomes for any given situation you may encounter while playing.
6 Things You Can Do To Get More Women Into Magic
Twitter: @GabySpartz
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Whitney Otteson is an avid Magic: The Gathering player and game store owner from Walla Walla, Washington. She has taken recent interest in the competitive scene by making and achieving a goal to make day 2 of Grand Prix Oakland 2015. This accomplishment has motivated her to set her sights even higher.
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Innistrad
Innistrad
Avacyn, Angel of Hope
Whitney is competitive when it comes to games and the level of critical thinking required to play Magic is a major draw for her. When she works hard at Magic she feels like she has accomplished a great goal, and it inspires her to push her skill further.
When Whitney first started playing she found herself wrapped up in the board’s current state. Looking ahead to future turns was a skill that took time for her to develop.
She talked to players that were better than her about her deck and sideboard, then studied the choices they made when they played. When she realized that they were playing with future turns in mind she made the mental shift to incorporate that practice into her own play style.
Winning two local Radcon tournaments for two consecutive years helped Whitney believe she could progress beyond just playing Friday Night Magic.
She went to GP Seattle with the mindset to just have fun with Legacy, but she entered some Standard side events and did really well. These three moments helped her decide to buckle down and reassess how serious she was going to take her progression.
The month of hardcore preparation that went into her making Day 2 at GP Oakland stands out as Whitney's proudest moment.
GP Oakland: Whitney completely immersed herself in magic a whole month before the tournament. She got a Magic Online account and played at least one League every night, basically playing 5 rounds of Magic a day.
She watched Magic streams, read articles and deck lists, and talked to players that were better than her to help her analyze what she needed to do.
Whitney wanted to set a goal that was attainable for her; she didn't want to set the bar for her so high that she was constantly disappointed. This led her to setting a goal that was realistic, but would be a real challenge to obtain.
For GP Oakland, Whitney played around with several decks and landed on an Abzan deck. She thought about what decks would be at the tournament and then worked, especially on her sideboard, to alter her deck in a way that it could exploit other decks at the tournament.
A common mistake Whitney sees players making is the way they view their sideboards.
She has a written a sideboard guide to help her make decisions in heated match ups instead of just making choices on the fly. Putting a lot of weight into your sideboard, and viewing your deck as a whole 75 instead of 60 and 15 is something she believes helps strengthen how you play your deck.
Sealed: Read through primers online and apply that information when you're looking at the set. Learning how to take advice from better players and apply it in the moment can be key.
Draft: Being able to recognize when a card is good is something that takes putting in a lot of reps, talking to other players at your store, and trying to learn how to read other's signals.
Gum
Granola & Crackers
Pen & Paper
Whitney finds that she learns the most from match ups she loses.
Taking a loss makes her sit down and talk out what she could have done differently with her opponent.
She has friends that will sit next to her in matches and help point out the mistakes she makes mid-game, which helps her think out decisions in the heat of play.
Have fun!
Whitney knows it’s easy to get wrapped up in Magic’s serious aspects, but at the end of the day you should leave a tournament feeling like you had a great time and a great experience.
Facebook: Whitney Otteson
Twitter: @whitneyriffic
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Pierre Dagen is a 28 year old French entrepreneur who has been playing Magic: The Gathering since about 2006. His first Pro Tour was Paris 2011, and since then he has scored 3 Grand Prix Top 8s and a Pro Tour Top 8, as well as making it to the Top 4 of the World Magic Cup in 2015 as the captain of team France. Formerly a founding member of team Revolution, he is now part of team EUreka.
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Kamigawa
With about 90% of French pro players living in Paris the scene is very competitive.
Gifts Ungiven
While Pierre likes chess and sees the similarities to Magic, he felt that chess could be a bit mechanical. The complexity, strategy, and need to enter your opponent’s head are major draws that keep him playing Magic. Pierre notes how Magic has allowed him to travel a lot more than he usually would, which has allowed him to meet a ton of great people.
Pierre had trouble building his decks early on. He tried to do this on his own without consulting friends or any other players. At some point Pierre says he humbled himself, and asked for help and feedback from other teams.
Pierre attributes a major level up in his game to the first time he joined a team. This allowed him to playtest twice a week in sets of 10-20 matches with teammates that were better than him. The team helped his Magic mindset evolve from just wanting to have fun, to playing each turn as if he was solving a puzzle and finding a solution to the match.
This came for Pierre at the World Magic Cup in Barcelona where Team France made it to the Top 4. Pierre only knew one player on his team, and had just met the other two. This led them to think that they wouldn’t do that great, but they were all surprised at how well they were able to perform together.
Pro Tour Montreal: Pierre was invited for coming close to qualifying. He entered the tournament stressed out, believing he needed to prove himself worthy of being there. His bad memories of the tournament stem from him not believing he was a good player and losing a lot. He forgot that his first goal should have been to have fun, so after he lost his last match all he wanted to do was go back to France.
Over the course of Pierre’s Magic career he learned that he can have a lazy approach to playing. When he first started, he would go into matches just to have fun and ride out games instead of trying his hardest. He thought that you needed to be a genius to be great at Magic. But when others asked him for advice he found that if thought about it hard enough he could usually figure out a solution to their problem. This led to him trying his hardest on every turn and let him see that anyone can be really good at Magic if they put the effort in.
Sealed
Pierre sees a good number of players that are overly optimistic about their deck. They only think of the good things that will happen with their cards, and don’t consider the situations where everything falls apart on the next turn, or 3-4 turns out. Player should always be thinking about how the match will go wrong in order to prepare for when things go right.
Draft: Pierre thinks it’s important to remember that you need a bit of everything in your deck. It needs to be coherent while not focusing on one specific area that might end up sinking your deck.
Sealed: One of the keys to sealed is balancing power and consistency. Deciding if you are leaning towards one end of that spectrum or the other should be a constant thought.
Have a deck that you like and play it a lot—don’t try to come up with one the day before a tournament. Remember, there’s no surefire way to prepare against every player’s deck. Playing one deck, playing it a lot, and playing it against lots of other decks is a good way to get comfortable with tournament play.
Pens
Pad
Snacks
Water
Deck
Pierre’s play tests usually consist of two deck groups: a group of decks everyone on the team likes to play, and a group of decks that are known to be at a specific event. They will play matches with all combinations from both deck groups, compare results, and revamp their decks.
Pierre wants to hammer home that a Magic player shouldn’t be lazy. You should treat Magic in such a way that every turn is a puzzle, and it doesn’t matter if you win or lose, but you should always be trying to solve the succession of puzzles to the best of your ability.
Twitter: @ElPruno_Dagen
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Woodrow Engle is a dual Magic and poker player from Seattle, WA. He broke into the upper tier of tournament play by making his first Grand Prix Top 8 at Grand Prix Oakland 2016.
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Ice Age
Rise of the Eldrazi
Lhurgoyf
Woodrow got started as a young kid playing Ice Age, just throwing decks together with his friends and loosely playing by the rules.
After Weatherlight, he stopped playing all the way through college. While working at a game development studio Woodrow was invited to a poker game where he met Ryan Spain and Marshall Sutcliffe, who ended up getting him hooked on Magic again.
From there he quickly went from re-learning the rules to implementing high-end Magic thought processes.
Woodrow likes the competitive aspect and how Magic can feel a bit like poker with more skills and variation.
He enjoys how he gets to meet so many people with varying experience levels, and how sometimes he has no idea how good the person playing across from him might be.
The toughest aspect of Magic for Woodrow when he started out was card evaluation.
It took him a long time to wrap his head around when a card was worth a slot in his hand.
Understanding the opportunity cost of not drawing another card in any given situation is a high level concept that takes time to develop.
In his first PTQ Woodrow placed 9th and knew from then on that he wanted to really step up and crush tournaments.
This was around the time the Jund deck took over the Standard scene, and Woodrow set out to brew decks to take it down. Then at the advent of the PPTQ system he managed to win one and made it to a regional Pro Tour qualifier, which he Top 8’d, but missed the qualification by one match.
When Woodrow felt like he was caught in the grind he took breaks.
Eventually though, he learned to manage his tilt by being mindful and staying positive about his performance.
He reminded himself that a single tournament didn’t define him as a Magic player. This made it more fun for Woodrow to play, as it’s tough to do well in a tournament if you take an early loss and then shut down.
He discovered that ranting about his losses to friends was not only uninteresting for them to hear, but stopped him from identifying his mistakes and pushing forward.
Limited
Woodrow admits it’s difficult to stay focused when you know you’re going to lose a few turns out, but contemplating your outs and staying focused is critical for developing skill.
Players should mentally construct their winning scenario even when they may seem down for the count. This kind of mental fortitude is the mindset all Platinum Pros have when they play, and it’s how a player levels up their own game.
Being results oriented instead of decision oriented is the crux Woodrow believes most new players face.
As you go through life you want to make sure the decisions you make are sound, even if the end results don’t reflect them. When in this mindset you can realize that sure, you lost a game, but you did everything in your power to try and win it.
Woodrow won a game against Josh Utter-Leyton, but a huge mistake he made in an early turn haunted him afterwards despite the win.
He considers those kind of mistakes to be huge learning opportunities that make him less likely to repeat his blunders.
Woodrow believes that Magic remaps your brain when a player gets really competitive. This has bled over into his normal life, changing how he makes everyday decisions. Trying to get maximum value from limited time with the best decisions possible is an important crossover skill for him.
Sealed: Card evaluation is crucial in sealed. Players need to be able to analyze not only the best case scenario for any given card, but also the middle and worst case scenarios as well. This helps a player decide whether a card is worth a slot in their deck.
Draft: Don’t get married to your early picks. Being able to read other player’s signals and what your seat is open to is incredibly important.
For GP Oakland: Woodrow ended up being talked into attending the tournament at the last minute while apartment hunting in the area.
Ryan Spain let him borrow a deck, but 90 percent of the cards were in a foreign language. With preparations rushed Woodrow had to strip cards out of his deck at random as he headed into the Grand Prix.
While it felt like he was going in blind, practicing for other tournaments had left him with a strong understanding of what he needed to do.
Like muscle memory, practicing across formats and staying well rounded can help steady your hand when you get thrown into less than ideal situations.
Deck box
Pad
Pen
Dice
Tokens
Surrounding yourself with people who are smart, supportive, and have a similar mindset to how you want to approach Magic will help you develop as a player.
This applies to life in general, as meeting and interacting with positive, analytical people will help you have more success in all your endeavors.
GP Oakland: Woodrow Engle vs. Josh Utter-Leyton
Twitter: @Woodrodius
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Ondrej Strasky is 20 years old and is already a Platinum Pro! He was the 2015 Czech World Magic Cup captain and has 1 Grand Prix Top 8 at Grand Prix Brussels 2015, and 2 Pro Tour Top 8s at Pro Tour Honolulu and Pro Tour Brussels. Ondrej lives in the Czech Republic.
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Time Spiral
Khans of Tarkir
Daze
Prague is the only city where Ondrej can play Magic a lot in the Czech Republic, which is about a 2 hour bus ride away for him. Because of this he mainly plays Magic Online.
While Ondrej tries not to place too much focus on winning or losing, playing in tournaments and the competitive aspect is what keeps him playing Magic. Since there is no one in his town that plays he doesn’t get to play much casual Magic.
The hurdle that tripped Ondrej up the most starting out was his play speed. He played too fast and missed critical card interactions because he didn’t pause to think them through. An additional 5 seconds helps Ondrej avoid stupid blunders. While addressing the way you play is a hard thing to do, the best way to improve is to just take a little extra time.
Ondrej grew the most in 2015 after landing in the Top 8 at his first Pro Tour. At the start of the year he moved in with 3 of the best Czech players and he wholly surrounded himself with Magic. They all streamed Magic, talked Magic, and of course played as much as they could, and Ondrej credits their skill with helping push him to the next level.
Ondrej’s proudest moment came when he finished 9th in a London Grand Prix. He was super prepared and an article in Star City Games by Brian Braun-Duin helped him find an amazing deck. While he didn’t take down the whole tournament, Ondrej is proud of how prepared he was and feels like he played the best out of everyone there.
If a tournament is on the horizon Ondrej wakes up and plays Magic until he passes out, and he might squeeze in a bite to eat somewhere in between. During the holidays he slacks off a bit, but now he’s busy learning archetypes and trying out decks.
He plays best in Standard, but he loves how fun Legacy is even though it’s not his best format.
Since the meta game shifts quickly in Standard, Ondrej tries to stay on top by playing Magic Online and seeing how others shift decks from week to week. In regards to setting up a sideboard, Ondrej tries to build it with his main deck in mind as a 75 card deck so he can pick the best positioned 60 to roll with.
Ondrej thinks players shouldn’t blame luck for their losses, but they shouldn’t beat themselves up when there wasn’t much they could do in a match to win.
Handling loss better can help a player see what they did wrong and learn from their mistakes.
Sealed: Ondrej doesn’t go to pre-releases too often, but he usually looks for cards that pop out to him instantly.
Draft: Ondrej finds the best three archetypes and tries to draft them. He talks to other people who drafted and find what cards are most important to each one.
Ondrej thinks you can prepare mostly by yourself for a Grand Prix, but definitely not a Pro Tour. He has a team of 15 and sometimes thinks that’s not even enough.
They will look at what decks are being played after the first Star City Open. Then they start playing and will ask Frank Karsten about deck matchups and post results in forums to help figure out what decks were best.
Pen
Deck
Deck box for Limited portion
Water Bottle: Ondrej says he stays insanely hydrated throughout a tournament.
A new player can start by building a Pauper deck and playing Magic Online, as decks super cheap.
Ondrej reads articles written by Brad Nelson and looks at decklist postings from recent tournaments. He thinks reading solid content and playing as much as possible is the best way to improve.
If you enjoy Magic play it a lot, and the best thing you can do is buy a lot of packs, watch coverage, and spread the word of how great a game Magic is.
Twitter: @OndrejStrasky
Facebook: Ondrej Strasky
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Brian Eason has 2 Grand Prix Top 8s and has played in multiple Pro Tours. He is a former Poker pro, and an aspiring HearthStone professional. He hopes to win a Grand Prix and Pro Tour one day. Brian lives in Atlanta, GA.
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Ravnica
Shards of Alara
Brian got started playing Yu-Gi-Oh! and found it a natural progression to make the move to Magic. The complexity and more mature, professional player base drew him in despite doing poorly at his first sealed events.
Bitterblossom
When Brian started to get competitive Bitterblossom played to his creative sensibilities.
The first thing for Brian is the competitive aspect. Big tournaments, Star City opens, Grand Prixs and the possibility of hitting a Pro Tour—basically the challenge of playing amongst the best. The second thing is the ability to be creative in deck building. This creativity and competitiveness make Magic Brian’s favorite game.
Brian admits he was terrible at Limited when he started. It took watching better players for him to realize he was behind and needed to up his game.
A lot of big stores in Atlanta have fostered play for about 20 solid players, but they’re scattered around the area. Brian finds smaller groups playing at local stores on the weekends.
Most of Brian’s growth happened when he first started playing. He played around people that were way out of his league, but being able to team draft with them gave him invaluable feedback. Brain thinks limited is the key to becoming a better Magic player, as the skills needed translate over to different formats.
In his first Grand Prix Brian made it to the second day but went 0-4 and lost against weaker players. This loss helped him realize his skill level and pushed him back to the drawing board. Brian analyzed the winning player’s strategy at the same Grand Prix to figure out what he was doing wrong.
Brian doesn’t have a specific, glorified moment that sticks out to him. What comes to mind for him is was placing second after his first time hitting the top eight at a Grand Prix. While bittersweet, he still is proud of how all his hard work and confidence materialize into a 2nd place finish.
Being a full time student and playing Hearthstone cuts into his Magic play, but Brian still tends to play one Magic Online draft a day. His playing incentives are driven by how fun the format is and what he gets if he wins.
Brian had a tendency to be impulsive and get caught up in the moment. Having a friend point out how he unnecessarily went all out early in a match helped him slow down.
Limited
If you want to have a good time with a descent finish, playing with a stock list with one of the better decks is the way to go. If you want to take down the whole tournament you have to do something that sets you apart—something like a tweaked deck or extra tech, and figuring that out comes from exposing yourself to different deck archetypes. Brian likes to do this to discover ways to exploit certain decks’ weaknesses.
“When you play Magic it’s a bloodbath…take every small edge you can.” Brian can confidentially say that giving away tells during a match is something newer players don’t take into consideration. Looking frustrated and throwing your hands up in the air is a surefire way to throw away a game. Make it hard for your opponent to know what you have in your hand, and better yet, use your tells to mislead them.
Sealed: Brian believes the key in Sealed is to focus on the long game, play greedy, don’t focus too much on synergy, and make sure every card in your deck is a good standalone. Don’t ignore the early game, but understand what your deck wants to do.
Putting too much emphasis on results can ramp up nerves, but going in with an experimental mindset to learn can make the experience a lot more fun. Talking with friends and getting feedback from a small group is invaluable when it comes to theory crafting and polishing your deck. Online forums are a great source too if you are a local player and don’t have any in-town connections.
Brian likes to travel light to conserve energy during a long tournament day:
Deck
Notebook
Pen
Dice
Water bottle
Snacks
Brian thinks that playtesting can be hindered by trying to jam as many games into one session as possible. Fast games can feel inorganic as it’s not comparable to how you will play outside the test. Going through deck lists with a group of friends and theory crafting while arguing back and forth about what should and shouldn’t be in the deck helps get to the root of your deck.
Magic is about creativity and flexibility, and when you build a Cube out of commons you can start a lot of discussion about deck building and have fun playing whatever version of Magic you can. Put yourself to the test and develop your skills.
If you’re a new player aiming for the competitive sphere it’s easy to get wrapped up in playtesting and not getting results. So whatever you do make sure you have fun with it, and remember, there’s no shame in taking a break if the fun fades.
Twitter: @bloodyfaceHS
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Aryeh Wiznitzer is a teacher and Magic grinder from Houston, Texas. After years of near misses, he has recently reached the professional level of play with Top-8 finishes at GP Dallas and GP Atlanta 2015.
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Tempest
Rise of the Eldrazi
Fire Covenant
Aryeh loves grinding tournaments. Traveling all over and competing in tournaments is one of Aryeh's favorite parts of Magic. He feels fulfilled when he gets to see the fruits of his labors.
Aryeh recognizes that sometimes he tries to be too creative. He used to try to play a cool deck and make the cool play instead of playing to win.
Winning more and more at his local store is when Aryeh realized that he could hang with the big dogs.
Top 8 Grand Prix Dallas 2015
Limited (at the moment)
Constructed: Deck choice and side boarding. People bring in the wrong cards in the wrong match ups and lose a lot of win equity.
Draft: Towards the beginning of a format take the rares and uncommons and see if they are good. Then you'll know which ones are worth getting later on when people know more.
Find others who as invested in the event as you are. If you play with someone who has the same goal as you then you can save hours of play testing, especially if they are better than you.
Deck
Playmat
Pen
Life pad
Swiss draft on Magic Online - even if you lose the first round you still have a chance to make back some of your investment.
Borrow cards.
Play aggressive decks. They are usually cheaper.
Grand Prix Atlanta 2015 - Check out Aryeh's amazing sealed pool.
Pat's Games in Austin Texas
Adrian Sullivan articles
Sam Black articles
Twitch.tv (Paul Cheon)
Twitter: @urafevermodo
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Lukas Blohon has an impressive Magic: The Gathering record with 5 Grand Prix Top 8s, including a win at Grand Prix Brussels 2015, and 2 Pro Tour Top 16s including a Top 8 finish at Pro Tour Dark Ascension. Lukas lives in Prague.
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Tempest
Ravnica: City of Guilds
Vendilion Clique
Limited.
Lukas is good at playing one deck over and over again and getting very familiar with it. Limited was his weak spot early on.
Training with Channel Fireball helped Lukas grow a lot because he was able to play with some of the best players in the world. This culminated in Lukas making the Top 8 of a Pro Tour.
Top 8 of Pro Tour Dark Ascension
Standard
Play all the big decks and see which works for you. Then play that one over and over again.
Mentally checking out. Whether you're winning or losing, stay engaged in the game and consider what you need to do to win.
Sealed: Synergies are always strong, but in Sealed you don't always get enough of what you need to make the synergy work. In that case, play cards that affect the board
Draft: Keep track of what's going on by noting the next picks behind yours. This gives you an idea of what the people to your left are doing. However, it's more important to track what's going on to your right. Do this by noting what is and is not being passed to you.
Use Magic Online to play anytime. You can put a few hours to good use without wasting time in transit.
Play the same deck as a trusted friend and share the insights.
Water
Snacks (Bananas)
Deck
Pen
Notepad
Constructed: Build a tier 2 deck (or whatever you can afford) and play over and over again. Also, find someone who has a similar goal as you and work together to improve and advance.
Star City Games
Channel Fireball
(The best people write for these sites.)
Twitter: @LukasBlohon
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Nicolas Beland is making a name for himself at the Pro Tour and has so far Top 32’d Star City Games Open Worcester, made the Top 8 at Grand Prix Quebec City and competed in Pro Tour Theros. He lives in Canada.
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Ravnica: City of Guilds
Ravnica: City of Guilds
Siege Rhino
Interaction with other people. Going to Grand Prix and competing with others is a huge draw for Nicolas.
Forgetting triggers. It wasn't until Nicolas started playing competitively that he learned the hard way to remember his triggers.
After his first Pro Tour, Nicolas had a bit of a big head, but he humbled himself and learned from others and experienced the most growth at this time.
Top 8 at Grand Prix Quebec 2015
Modern
Start with a style you already know and watch streams on the internet to learn how that deck plays out.
Playing the deck that won last week's tournament is a big mistake. Everyone will be gunning for that deck and will be ready for it.
Lands define a set. Pay attention to what the mana base can support. Also, familiarize yourself with the removal.
Separate creatures and spells and then organize them by converted mana cost to see what's playable.
Sealed is about tempo. Curve out and have removal to push through to the end.
Draft: Don't be afraid to switch colors if you are cut off. It's hard to recognize sometimes but important to know you can and should switch if the colors aren't coming.
Play all the big decks, pick the one you feel the best with and practice, practice, practice.
Proxying is a great way to do this.
Take one deck with you and do the best you can with that deck.
Clothes
Deck
Make friends and share card pools. Don't be afraid to submit a deck that is similar to the big decks but has substitute cards for the cards you don't have.
Daily MTG (Wizards of the Coasts)
Twitter: @NicolasBeland11
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Jarvis Yu enjoys formats with deeper card pools (especially Legacy). Having made one Grand Prix Top 8 in Legacy, as well as going 13-2 in Grand Prix New Jersey, he has also managed to win his only Top 8. Jarvis lives outside Washington.
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Revised (this is not the official symbol as set symbols were not around at this time)
Ravnica City of Guilds
Rishadan Port
Infinite diversity.
Starting out, Jarvis thought that a 1/2 for one mana was good - because it was "more efficient" than a 1/1 for one. He quickly learned that cards with abilities, like Eternal Witness, even though they don't have the best power/toughness/mana ratio are much better.
Zigging when everyone else zagged helped Jarvis grow. He saw (with the help of a friend) a strategy that wasn't explicitly supported in Ravnica City of Guilds. This opened his eyes to how to look at future sets.
Winning Grand Prix Seattle Tacoma 2015.
Legacy
Mulliganing when they shouldn't or not mulliganing when they should.
Know the match up and what you need to be effective in the early game. If you don't have that in your opening hand then ship it back.
Sealed: Jarvis runs 18 lands and looks for card advantage, big creatures and removal.
Play different decks, then settle on one and play against a lot of decks.
Extra cards
Snacks
Water
Pens
Paper
Build and play a pauper cube.
Jarvis mentioned a [card]Battle of Wits[/card] deck from Grand Prix Milwaukee 2002.
Twitter: @jkyu06
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Florian Reiter is a writer and editor from Munich, Germany. He has been writing articles about Magic for various German Magic sites has been active in the tournament scene since 2009. He has one Grand Prix Top 8 from GP Lyon 2015.
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Urza'a Saga
Time Spiral
Horned Turtle
Cryptic Command
The diversity of cards and strategies and the mental challenge.
The people he's meet and the friends he's made have kept Florian around.
Combat.
Concentrating and keeping track of combat tricks was hard at first. Practice slowing down and thinking through each combat phase is how to improve.
Florian improved the most when he surrounded himself with a group of really motivated Magic players, all striving to get better. If everyone is trying to win a Grand Prix then the collective knowledge will raise everyone's level.
Grand Prix Prague 2015 (Standard). Even though Florian only got Top 64 he feels like he really executed his game plan well. He approached the meta game from a different angle and brought an unknown deck that performed well.
Standard - Lower power level means more cards are playable
Not being introspective enough. Talking about luck is not a useful way to spend your time. Focus on what you can control and how you can play better.
If you really focus your energy on Magic you will improve.
Sealed: Sort out the unplayables. Lay out the rest by color. Determine what your really good cards are and build combinations that take advantage of the strengths
Watch streams and listen to podcasts. Magic content is largely free, so consume as much as you can.
There is no substitute for playing but there are lots of free things you can do to get better.
Florian's articles can be found on MTG Mint Card
Twitter: @HandsomeMUC
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Magnus Lantto is an online grinder turned pro. He’s a member of the European pro team Team Eureka. Magnus finished 5th place in the 2015 Magic World Championship, is the MOCS 2014 champion, and has 3 Grand Prix Top 8s which include 1 win in Grand Prix Milan. To top it off, Magnus Lantto has the distinguished honor of being the first guest on MTG Pro Tutor in 2016! He lives in Sweden.
Click to Tweet: I got a ton of value from Magnus Lantto when he shared his story on #MTGProTutor today! Click here: http://bit.ly/mtgprotutor-ep57
Fourth Edition (This set did not have an official symbol.)
Magnus feels Magic gets better and better every year. His favorite set is the most recent one.
Survival of the Fittest
Birthing Pod
Magnus has never seen a game that is as intricate as Magic. It changes every year and he loves how it stays fresh. There is a lot to think about. He loves how deep it is.
Magnus was really bad at the start of tournaments. The first round of an event he has made really bad mistakes. By focusing on the psychological aspect of the game you can identify problems and adjust. Magnus learned to slow down at the beginning of tournaments so he could improve on this weakness.
Playing Magic Online has really upped Magnus' game.
Winning Grand Prix Milan.
Modern
Rely on team mates to test and identify the best decks.
Blaming losses on bad luck. YOU did something wrong. Slow down and think about what you did through out the game. If you make a mistake in the middle of a game, don't give up. Stay focused and bounce back. Adjust your plan accordingly and stay in it.
Look for cards that create new archetypes. Is there a new mechanic that can be built around?
Sealed: Identify a clear win condition that exists in you pool.
Draft: What your being passed is more important than what you're passing. Prepare ahead of time by reading what others think about cards. Set reviews are a great way to do this.
Deck construction, specifically mana curve, is very important in draft.
Play regularly leading up to the event. Play with a group so you can get feedback. Join groups on FB and ask questions.
Deck
New sleeves (Dragon Shield or from MTG Mint Card)
Deck box
Find a way you can contribute to your friends / team. Be the driver, take people out, be a friend. You can make good connections and if you are helpful you can borrow cards or a deck.
LSV set reviews on Channel Fireball
Twitter - track what Magnus and others in the Magic community are up to
Twitter: @MagnusLantto
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Alejandro is starting to make a name for himself in the Magic community of South America by making it to the Top 4 of one Grand Prix.
Click to Tweet: I got a ton of value from Alejandro Cesa when he shared his story on #MTGProTutor today! Click here: http://bit.ly/mtgprotutor-ep56
Mercadian Masques
Invasion
Oath of Druids
Learning the phases of each turn. Magic Online has helped Alejandro get a good understanding of each turn and when he can do what.
Top 4 of Grand Prix Porto Alegre
Modern
Focus on one deck. Learn it in side and out and then learn what the other decks are trying to do so you know how they work and how to beat them.
Sequencing fetch lands and shock lands incorrectly against a burn deck. Too many players don't understand that every point of damage matters and they are careless when shocking themselves. Burn will punish you for that.
Practice on Magic Online, be part of several groups and borrow cards you don't have.
Deck
Pen
Start playing with friends and if you like Magic you can move up to a new group if your friends only want to play for fun.
Facebook: Alejandro Cesa
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Marcos Paulo de Jesus Freitas is a Brazilian player with 2 Grand Prix Top 8s; one in Buenos Aires 2015 as a Finalist and the other in Porto Alegre 2015 as the Champion.
Click to Tweet: I got a ton of value from Marcos Paulo when he shared his story on #MTGProTutor today! Listen here: http://bit.ly/mtgprotutor-ep55
Onslaught
Onslaught (Constructed)
Innistrad (Limited)
Jareth, Leonine Titan
The art is amazing, the card design is well done, the story is so great.
Marcos also loves how he's met great people and made amazing friends through travel. He also loves traveling because he didn't do much before.
Marcos didn't know how to mulligan at all. In fact, at his first Grand Prix, he was in a feature match and realized that he had to apply aggressive pressure on his opponent to win. However, he still kept the hand and then lost miserably. He learned from this and made learning how to mulligan better a priority.
Marcos LOVES Conspiracy draft.
At his first Pro Tour, Marcos recognized he knew nothing about the format. So he attached himself to a player who was much better and soaked every lesson up like a sponge.
Marcos has a lot of cool growth stories from his first Pro Tour. He was able to beat one of the best Limited and one of the best Constructed players in the world at the time.
Winning Grand Prix Porto Alegre!
Standard - It's not that big and you can prepare for it.
Not taking into account the things you did wrong in a match. Marcos hears people complain about being mana flooded or mana screwed when in reality they could identify turns where they messed up.
By play testing with a team Marcos hones his evaluation skills.
Reading articles and relying on his team is Marcos' go-to method.
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Chris VanMeter (CVM) provides content for Star City Games in the form of articles and videos and also Streams. Chris has had great success on the Star City Games Open Series with 14 Open Top 8's and an Invitational Finals. Having played Magic for almost 20 years, CVM enjoys his role in helping the game grow by bringing content to everyone. Chris VanMeter lives in Seattle WA.
Click to Tweet: I got a ton of value from Chris VanMeter when he shared his story on #MTGProTutor today! Click here: http://bit.ly/mtgprotutor-ep54
Tempest
Innistrad
Tradewind Rider
During the Zendikar Standard period Chris grew a lot. He put up some great results and got on the map as a high level player.
Top 8 of Star City Games Season Two Open Invitational.
Legacy (favorite)
Identify what decks you will see at the next Standard event by reviewing the top decks from the last tournament. All the decks will have a slight edge over the others that you can pick any of those big decks and do well. With practice and solid side boarding you can do very well.
Mulligans!
Most players are afraid to mulligan. With the new mulligan rule the mental barrier against tossing a hand should be much lower.
Especially in games 2 and 3, after you've seen your opponent's deck, mulliganing to a better hand is a tactic that many can improve on.
Are there cards that fit in an existing archetype or "build around me" cards? A good example of a "build around me" card is [card]Bring to Light[/card]. It did not fit in any existing decks but obviously has some power so it's a "build around me".
Play a bunch of games with the deck you are going to take. Pay special attention to the side board.
Deck
Playmat
Pad
Pen
Water
Snacks
Consume as much Magic content as you can. (Streams, articles, podcasts.)
Ask questions. Don't think that the big names are unapproachable. Reach out to them on social media and ask questions.
Twitter: @Chris_VanMeter
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Patrick Dickmann is a 25 year old student at Cologne University in Germany studying Economics. His Magic record includes being the Champion of Grand Prix Antwerp in 2013 and making the Top 4 of Pro Tour Valencia in 2014. He is heralded as the best Modern Splinter Twin player in the world.
Click to Tweet: I got a ton of value from Patrick Dickmann when he shared his story on #MTGProTutor today! Click here: http://bit.ly/mtgprotutor-ep53
Stronghold
Innistrad (story)
New Mirrodin block because of his drafting success.
Dark Confidant
Snapcaster Mage
Human Wizards and cards with options.
Off and on, Patrick has enjoyed attacking the competitive scene.
Dealing with loses.
Loses used to upset Patrick a lot. To combat this he became more analytical and would review his matches to see what he could have done better.
Winning GP Antwerp
Modern - It gives you the most options without being too powerful.
Being star struck.
Players sometimes let the fact that they are playing a "big name" get in their head.
Also, people tilt and give up early. Stay focused and stay in the game. You can sometimes come back if you don't give up before the game is over. (See GP Richmond Round 9 specifically Game 2.)
Sealed: People tend to over value the rares that were hyped up during the spoiler. Don't feel like you have to play your spoiler rare if the rest of that color stinks.
Look at deck lists that did well at the last big event. Get some testing in but most importantly test your side board
Water
Deck box
Platinum Promos
Money
You don't have to play exclusively on MTGO. Test out Cockatrice to cheaply test and play Magic.
Twitter: @0fe1ia
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Will Erker started playing magic when New Phyrexia came out after a few friends taught him how to draft and play. His first Pro Tour was Pro Tour Origins and then he made it to the Top 16 at Pro Tour Battle for Zendikar playing Abzan Midrange. Will lives in St. Louis Missouri.
Click to Tweet: I got a ton of value from Will Erker when he shared his story on #MTGProTutor today! Click here: http://bit.ly/mtgprotutor-ep52
New Phyrexia
Innistrad
M14
Read the Bones
Sign In Blood
Resource management / grindy cards.
Also...
Brago King Eternal
The variance.
While it can be stressful, variance is what makes the game great. We aren't playing chess.
Building Constructed decks, specifically aggressive decks.
Reading articles and watching coverage and deck techs has helped Will improve his deck building skills.
Top 16 at Pro Tour Battle for Zendikar
Standard
Identify the style of deck you like (control, aggro, mid-range, etc...) borrow or proxy that deck and practice with. If you really do like it then roll with it.
Not being realistic when you lose. People need to pay attention to the mistakes they make and learn from them.
People blame mana flood, mana screw or variance instead of identifying what was in their control to change.
Draft: Look at your cards between packs, put your creatures in front and sorted by mana cost so you know where your holes are.
Will uses Magic Online to grind out reps and then plays with friends to round out the experience.
Water
Trail Mix
Deck
There are several sites that post "budget" decks that players can build for cheap.
Yeti Gaming is Will Erker's local store
Twitter: @WillErker
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Scott Kirkwood broke on to the upper levels of competitive Magic by making the Top 4 at Grad Prix Indianapolis in 2015 with RG Landfall. He lives in Illinois.
Click to Tweet: I got a ton of value from Scott Kirkwood when he shared his story on #MTGProTutor today! Click here: http://bit.ly/mtgprotutor-ep51
Return to Ravnica
Khans of Tarkir
Gifts Ungiven
Jeskai Ascendancy
Playing casually and having fun doing silly stuff.
Scott's EDH deck is Zedruu the Greathearted, which is one of those goof off and have fun commanders.
He also enjoys competitive constructed formats. Scott loves that there are so many options and you can do whatever you want in Magic.
Scott really likes when two people are trying their best to improve and face off.
Taking the time to think if he should do something as supposed to just doing it because he could.
He learned to slow down and assess the situation every time.
Making it to the Pro Tour has really validated Scott's efforts and shown him that he has grown and has what it takes.
Brad Nelson's article on how to approach Magic really helped Scott improve.
Making Top 4 at Grand Prix Indianapolis. (It's still sinking in how big of a deal this is.)
Modern
Vintage (Favorite)
Scott likes to play the decks that people say "I can beat anything except that deck". So he'll roll in to a Modern or Standard event with a red deck because so many decks have bad match up against red.
Approach the game as just a game. Don't over stress it and psyche yourself out.
Assess every situation. Don't make snap decisions without thinking through various lines. "What's the Play?" articles are great practice for this.
Scott admits that he is not the best at evaluating cards. It's fun to speculate but when it comes down to it he relies on the opinions of others via set reviews.
Pre release: Scott approaches a pre release with the intent to have fun. Try new cards and weird combos just to see how it works. Have fun! Pre releases are great places to play just for FUN!
Play a real deck.
A lot of people love to brew (Scott is the same way) but if you are trying to win, play a proven deck.
Jam games with friends so you know the interactions and lines of play.
Pen
Pad
Playmat
Deck
Dice
Extra cards
Proxy cards before you invest in a deck.
Facebook: Scott Kirkwood
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Ashraf Abou Omar is 26 years old and is lives in Kiel, Germany. He started playing competitive Magic at Grand Prix Strasbourg in 2007. Once he qualified for Pro Tour Kuala Lumpur in 2008, he started traveling a lot in Germany and UK to compete in PTQ. He has one GP Top 8 in Madrid 2015.
Click to Tweet: I got a ton of value from Ashraf Omar when he shared his story on #MTGProTutor today! Click here: http://bit.ly/mtgprotutor-ep50
Portal
Return to Ravnica
Martyr of Sands
The community. Traveling, playing and partying with friends.
Understanding the rules is a great way to improve. If you understand the rules better you can win more games.
Magic Online really helps you understand the phases and when you can respond and when you have to announce triggers. Understanding this will level up your skill.
By spending a lot of time playing Ash has noticed a big improvement. There is no substitute for practice.
Qualifying for his first Pro Tour is Ash's proudest moment.
Limited
Watch streams and draft with others to get better.
Ash drafts every Friday at his flat after Friday Night Magic.
They always analyze their picks and think critically about the draft to help them improve.
Ash likes to take under the radar decks to Standard tournaments so he brews with friends to try and beat the big decks. Then he play tests on Magic Online.
Not managing their life total and not understanding combat math. You can win on 1 life.
Don't draw any conclusion until the entire set is released.
Draft: Identify a strategy early on and stick to it. Ash even forces colors a bit as he tries to construct a 3-0 deck.
Magic Online is a great way to prepare for big events. However, it's much better to play in real life so you can talk about mulligans and card decisions
GP Deck Box
Sleeves
Pen
Paper
Watching others play and interacting with them is a great way to improve on the cheap. There are many great streams to learn from.
Twitter: @Ashraf_HH
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Mark Litvak has just broken into the upper Magic scene by making his first Grand Prix Top 8 at GP Lyon October 2015. He is constantly seeking to improve himself and is looking forward to his first Pro Tour. He lives among the beautiful hills of Austria.
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Onslaught
Dragons of Tarkir
Meddling Mage
Giving up too soon. Mark learned to stay mentally in the game and play to his outs.
Don't give up the fight.
Top 8 of GP Lyon 2015.
Limited
Modern (Splinter Twin)
Look at popular decks and look at the mirror matches and choose a deck that is well positioned against them.
Observe matches using the deck you are considering and monitor how it plays out. This will help you decide if it's the deck you want to play.
People underestimate the combat. It is very complicated if you want to do it well.
Many people sit back to see "what happens" in combat. You need to put the brain power behind combat and figure it out ahead of time.
Expect your opponent to play well and don't be worried about showing them something you don't think they've seen.
Mark doesn't like how the spoiler is released but understands it from a marketing perspective.
Sealed: Separate each color into three piles; cards you want to play, cards you don't want to play, and on the fence cards. Next sort each pile by converted mana cost. Determine your colors by identifying which colors have a clear plan to success.
Draft: Learn something from every game. Make it count by writing down results, talking to opponents, whatever you need to do to get that extra information you need to improve.
"Don't tilt and always strive for better." ~Mark Litvak
Follow players you respect and read their articles. (Players usually post when they have an article go live.)
Twitter: @LorwyMtG
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Fabrizio Anteri has 7 Grand Prix Top 8s with 3 Wins!! He is one of 31 players in the history of Magic: The Gathering to have 3 Grand Prix wins. Fabrizio lives in London and has been the captain of the English Magic Team for two years in a row.
Click to Tweet: I got a ton of value from Fabrizio Anteri when he shared his story on MTG Pro Tutor today! Click here: http://bit.ly/mtgprotutor-ep48
Odyssey
Eight-and-a-Half-Tails
Fabrizio loves that Magic is so complicated and that you never get good enough before it changes.
Tuning a deck for the meta is not Fabrizio's strong suit but playing 10-20 games against a certain match up sheds light on how to tweak.
Fabrizio is really proud of his solid run in the 2015 season that gives him a chance to go to the Magic World Championship.
His run includes a Grand Prix win, a Pro Tour top 16 and a Grand Prix second place... all within three weekends.
Limited
Play a lessor known, under the radar deck.
When you're winning think "How could I possibly lose this game?" and hedge against it.
Think the flipside when you're losing.
Always consider your plays and be mindful of your outs and your opponent's outs.
Fabrizio waits for the whole set to be released before evaluating new cards.
Sealed: Lay out the cards so you can see them all. Separate them into "bomb", "playable" and "unplayable" piles. Then look for synergies within your pool.
Draft: A good memory is an advantage when drafting.
Make sure you consider mana curve, removal and creature count. This will lead to better picks for you even if the card isn't the most powerful in the pack.
Be willing to invest time and money if you are serious about Magic.
However, to start out, build a deck and play with friends and start playing so you can understand the basics.
Star City Games Premium articles
Twitter: @Anteri_F
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Javier Dominguez is the Champion of Grand Prix Paris 2014 (Legacy) and took 2nd place at another Grand Prix. He also has 3 Pro Tour Top 16s (one Worlds). He likes making decks and playing Legacy. Javier lives in Spain.
Click to Tweet: I got a ton of value from Javier Dominguez when he shared his story on #MTG Pro Tutor today! Click here: http://bit.ly/mtgprotutor-ep47
Odyssey
Mirrodin
Eternal Witness
Meloku the Clouded Mirror
The people Javier has met has made Magic really fun and sustainable.
Drafting. To overcome this weakness, Javier would write down his picks and then ask people if they would make the same ones. That post-game discussion and feedback really helped him improve.
When Javier started playing regularly (daily) with his friends and playing all decks against all deck he noticed he really started to improve.
Building a Legacy deck and then seeing several team members perform so well in a Pro Tour really meant a lot to Javier.
Tasigur, the Golden Fang
Legacy
Play blue. From there you can identify your style and move from there.
Consider what has been doing well, pick a deck, then play it a lot so you know it backwards and forwards.
Not talking to people enough about the game. Also, keep your mind focused. If you are there to win then focus on winning 100% of the time. It's okay that you miss a land drop or make a misplay, just recalibrate and keep your mind on winning.
You can train yourself to focus by playing against someone while visualizing you are playing for the Top 8 of a Grand Prix. Practice focusing and you'll get better at focusing.
Javier looks for enablers when a set is released. He will compare new cards to ones that he's used to. This gives him a baseline.
Sealed: Make three piles: Wow cards, solid fillers, all the rest. Remember, anything not in your deck is your sideboard.
Draft: When there are two cards that are close, take the bigger one because they are generally better.
Know color combinations and archetypes for the set you're drafting.
Link up with other players (find a good group at your local FNM) and practice with them.
It's important to have someone to talk about the meta game with and make critical decisions with.
Cereal Bar
Nuts
Water
Eat and drink at least every 2 hours. If you are hungry or thirsty then you've waited too long.
To break into the competitive scene there is always a cheap deck. (Usually red.) Start with this deck.
No matter what you choose, make sure you stick with it and practice a lot.
Frank Karsten articles (on Channel Fireball)
Twitter: @Thalaiet
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Raphaël Lévy is a Magic Player from Toulouse, France. He was inducted into the Hall of Fame in November 2006. He has 3 Pro Tour Top 8's and 20 Grand Prix Top 8's with 5 wins to his name and led the French team to victory in the 2013 World Magic Cup.
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Arabian Nights
Antiquities
Innistrad
Llanowar Elves
Elvish Mystic
Raphael is very competitive and the challenge has kept him hooked. Even when going through stale periods Raphael stuck around because he loves winning.
Raphael joined an international team called Legion in 1997. He did this by qualifying for the Pro Tour by winning a Grand Prix in Djon which was 8 hours away.
Hall of Fame ceremony in his home country of France. All of Raphael's family attended. With them there, along with his countrymen, he felt very honored and proud.
Limited (Draft and Sealed)
Raphael knows his play style and picks a deck that is competitive and that he can pilot well.
Raphael really understands the combat phase and therefore does not play control decks. Choose a deck that fits your style.
The biggest mistake Raphael sees is in the combat step. Players don't think about it enough.
People don't realize that missing one point of damage in a combat step can lose then the game.
Watch, talk and analyze Magic
Raphael waits for the whole set to come out before evaluating cards.
Experiment with Limited yourself. Draft lots of color combinations and you will get a feel for what works and what doesn't.
Read, listen and watch others but always apply what you learn by drafting yourself.
Raphael mentions his draft at GP Madison 2015.
Deck box
Sleeves
Tokens
Dice
Pens
Paper
Banana - healthiest snack you can have (not too heavy and full of nutrients)
Water
Limited: Buy 6-12 packs, mark the packs and then after you build your deck (draft, sealed, team) you can rebuild the packs, switch around the rares and then play again.
To be a better Magic player you need to not play Magic. This will help you avoid burnout, avoid automatic plays and put yourself in a different mindset for tournaments.
Don't play your cards as they come. Stop and think.
TCG Player - Raphael's articles
Twitter: @hahamoud
Twitch: twitch.tv/raphaellevy
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"There's no such thing as a difficult thing. It's either possible or impossible." ~Raphael Levy
Chester Swords has 1 Grand Prix Top 8 and has been to 4 Pro Tours! In addition to his Grand Prix Sydney Top 8 his notable achievements in Magic are winning a Japanese Pro Tour Qualifier in Chiba while being there on holiday and going 9-1 in constructed at Pro Tour Dragons of Tarkir! He lives in Sydney, Australia.
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Lorwyn
Innistrad
Cryptic Command
The competitive aspect and friends you make along the way.
Limited is Chester's weak point.
Talking to those who are better has been Chester's best way to improve. Other than jamming a bunch of Limited games.
Shifting to Magic Online and primarily playing there. This lead to his first PTQ win in 2011.
Making Top 8 at Grand Prix Sydney 2015.
Constructed. Chester likes seeing your win rate go up as you practice with a certain deck (in Modern or Standard).
When you're first learning a format, pick a deck and stick with it. After you have a feel for the format you can switch decks.
Knowing your own play style is key to picking a deck. By playing Magic with different decks and against different decks you will learn what you like.
Build the popular version of that deck and then tweak it as you continue playing.
Keeping really loose keeps is a big mistake players are making. Especially with the new mulligan rule players should be keeping a lot fewer hands than they are.
You have to be familiar with your deck and the match up to make the optimal keep or mulligan decision.
Don't show up unprepared. Take snacks and water and get sleep.
Compare new cards to similar cards in older formats, then consider how good that card was in the old format and use it as a baseline for how good the new card is.
Sealed: Sort cards by color and then take out the unplayables. Next see which colors are playable by identifying if your pool can support a certain archetype.
In Battle for Zendikar you want a fast or bomb-centric deck.
Removal is key in any Limited format.
Drafting: Look at content online before you dive in to a format. By having an idea of what the archetypes in a format are ahead of time you'll be better prepared to draft than if you just showed up and sat down. Read articles and watch videos.
Drafting two or three times a day is how Chester prepares for a Limited Grand Prix. Then he will talk about his decisions with others.
For a Constructed Grand Prix he will get in reps with his deck so he can identify lines of play and become more familiar with his deck.
The red deck of any given format is usually pretty good. Starting with that deck is a great place to start.
Surround yourself with people who are better than you so you can improve.
Twitter: @2Plowshares
Facebook: Chester Swords
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Brian Braun-Duin produces strategy articles and video content for StarCityGames.com. He has Top 8'd four Grand Prix and won two: Grand Prix Louisville and Grand Prix New Jersey. Brian lives in Virginia.
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Time Spiral
Time Spiral
Innistrad
Phyrexian Arena
Brian loves solving puzzles and Magic feels like a puzzle to him.
What deck should you play at a tournament? What sequence do you need to play to win? These questions fuel Brian's love of Magic.
Tunnel vision. Brian was so focused on card advantage and getting small, incremental advantages that he would miss the big picture.
There is always a card that can unravel your carefully laid plans so keep your eye on the big picture. Winning is better than card advantage.
Winning Grand Prix Louisville
Legacy
Review the top 3-5 decks using tournament reports and choose a deck that's well positioned against those.
Not having a plan.
Brian is constantly thinking "How do I win from here?" He sequences and makes plays that gives him the best chance to win.
Compare new cards to older similar cards. This will form the base line.
Make three piles per color.
Next look at what your two best colors are. Consider your mana base and whether the format can support splashing of building a three color deck.
Drafting: Take into consideration your first pick, but more importantly track what's being passed to you so you can see what's opened.
Always give yourself a couple of questions to answer during a play test session.
"Is this card good in this match up?"
"Is my side board plan good in a certain match up?"
By answering questions you will get the most out of your play sessions.
Go to your game store and network with the other players.
Ask questions, play, borrow, lend and be a friend. The social side of Magic: The Gathering is great
Twitter: @BraunDuinIt
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Alexander Hayne is a Magic: The Gathering Platinum Pro Player with 8 Grand Prix Top 8s including 4 Grand Prix wins! He is the Champion of Pro Tour Avacyn Restored and was the 2012 Rookie of the Year. He lives in Montreal, Canada.
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Ravnica: City of Guilds
Ravnica: City of Guilds
Sphinx's Revelation
The challenge of perfecting your game and working on yourself. The game is always changing and keeps the experience fresh.
Alexander thought he was better than he was when he first started but specifically struggled with combat. Having a plan, looking ahead and doing combat math is a crucial skill that every player needs to develop.
Think ahead five turns and work backwards. Practice this to improve your mind for combat.
Ask for advice from better players.
Winning Pro Tour Avacyn Restored in Barcelona 2012.
Cube Draft
See what did well at the last tournament and assume people will being playing something that will beat that. Attack the meta from that angle.
Playing by instinct too much. When a line of play presents itself many people react on auto pilot and make a good play when there is a better one available.
Wait for the whole set to be released and look for interactions between new cards.
Try to stick to two colors in Sealed unless you have really good mana fixing. Look for solid power level cards and removal.
At the beginning of a draft format feel free to take rares more often than you would later so you can test them and see what they have to offer in Limited.
Draft cards that affect the board with a good curve, good removal and good tricks. Also, keep your eye out for card advantage as well.
Play with good people or watch people play.
Drafting cube is an economical way to get experience.
Be an aggressive trader.
Read a lot of articles.
Twitter: @InsayneHayne
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"A wizard who reads a thousand books is powerful. A wizard who memorizes a thousand books is insane." ~Battle of Wits
The Professor YouTubes at the Tolarian Community College and specializes in Magic: The Gathering product reviews, as well as introductory and in-depth guides to the many aspects of game play.
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Revised
Innistrad
Urza's Tower
Urza's Power Plant
Urza's Mine
When the Professor returned to Magic he was strongly opposed to net decking. His next level moment was realizing that living in isolation is not a way to increase your knowledge and skill.
First Friday Night Magic he won.
First Game Day he won.
First Game Day his wife won. (Gatecrash Game Day when she was 5 months pregnant!)
Modern
At the Tolarian Community College the Professor reviews Magic: The Gathering products.
He was instrumental in bringing the FOUR by DeckTutor to the United States. In fact, because of the feedback from his audience Deck Tutor modified the design of the binder to fit cards that have been sleeved in a perfect fit.
Max Protection sleeves are the worst the Professor has ever reviewed and their deck boxes literally stink.
Stubbornness. Out right refusing to play different decks just to learn limits growth. Even if you don't like/want to play a certain type of deck competitively you should at least play them a few times in practice so you understand how the deck works.
The Professor is a self admitted crank during spoiler season. He wants reprints and to return to sets that are unpopular. LOL.
Printing proxies and making sample booster packs to build sealed decks and draft before the pre-release.
Reading articles and being familiar with the current sets is a great way to break into Magic.
Mono Red for constructed (Standard, Modern and Legacy) is a great starting point.
First Commanders:
Krenko, Mob Boss
Anowon, the Ruin Sage
Most played Commanders:
Teysa, Orzhov Scion
Sapling of Colfenor
Sen Triplets
Art that the Professor feels embodies him:
Redirect
Twitter: @TolarianCollege
YouTube: Tolarian Community College
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Kenji Egashira is an enthusiast of 40 card formats, and has been playing Magic since he was 10 years old. Perhaps best known for his Twitch.tv stream where he goes by NumotTheNummy, he is a full-time "internet-preneur" broadcasting his games and entertaining viewers. Kenji lives in Washington.
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Tempest
Invasion block
Sliver Queen
**Kenji's first commander was Numot, the Devastator. Which is where he derived his screen name from.**
Numot, the Devastator
Always changing. New sets and story lines keep the game fresh.
Not focusing on getting better. Early on Kenji would just play the game and not think about the outcome. He would blame losses to luck. Now he thinks, "what did I do wrong and how can I get better?"
When Kenji started streaming he started to improve because he had input from his audience that helped change his perspective.
Playing Magic full-time.
Also, 9th at Grand Prix Vancouver.
Draft
Many players play not to lose, instead of playing to win. Keep track of your thought process and note when you fall into this trap.
Kenji looks for synergies between cards and determines if they will be good in draft.
Now Kenji waits until he streams a new set to see the cards. This gives his audience a fresh perspective on the cards. When he does this he has to recognize if a card is good by itself rather than if it fits into a strategy because he doesn't know the synergies yet. He figures that out as he drafts several times.
Sealed: Sort out bombs, then colors and look at how many playables you have. Curve, playables, bombs; the makings of a well managed Sealed deck.
Draft: Once you've drafted the set a few times you can ear mark cards that are worth remembering. Kenji notes the first 5-6 picks in a pack so he has an idea of what other colors will be taken at the table.
Repetitions + decompression. Playing a bunch of games in the format you're preparing for and then critically thinking about each game afterwards is a great way to prepare.
Even when you win you should consider what you could have done better.
Repack booster packs so you can draft and build sealed pools without buying new product.
Draft videos
Magic streams
Twitter: @NumotTheNummy
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Sam Pardee is a Grand Prix superstar. So far he’s grabbed 7 Grand Prix top 8s, with wins in Detroit (team) and Portland (Modern). Sam lives in Berkeley California.
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Ice Age
Invasion
Rise of the Eldrazi
Gideon Jura
Gavony Township
Side boards - Sam would just copy a side board and not think why the cards are there or pick 15 cards that weren't really good.
Rigorously going through each match up and thinking which cards you need in the match up with others really help.
Right after Worlds 2012 Sam played Tempered Steel, which was out of his comfort zone, twice a day on MTGO. He learned the deck inside out, including how to side board, and feels this period really boosted his skills.
Pro Tour Born of the Gods. Sam's team, Face to Face Games, did really well and he loved being part of that moment.
Modern - You get such an edge knowing your deck inside out.
(Currently playing Splinter Twin.)
Consider what was visible from the most recent tournaments and play decks that come from a different angle. For example if Dromoka's Command is really popular, don't play a card that gets blown out by it (like an enchantment based deck).
Not advancing your own game because you ascribe too much to your opponent's plays.
Sam takes a hard look at new lands, especially when a rotation is going to happen, because the mana base will have a huge impact on the direction of the format.
When evaluating cards for eternal formats, the casting cost is very important because the barrier to entry is very high.
Sealed: Sam looks at his bombs, answers to bombs, and cards that are resilient to removal.
Draft: Through practice (repetition) you get a better feel for reading the draft and managing your curve. Find the time to draft regularly and you'll see improvement.
Sam drafts 10-20 times to get a feel for the format and then uses that information to do well.
Putting together a group of people you like and have similar goals is the basis of a team.
A minimum of 8 players is kind of the standard so you can hold a draft but 10-12 is better in case a member has to step out for something.
When you have your core group and come up short for the Pro Tour then bring people on through a trial period. If things work out, keep them, if not then you can part way cordially.
Find a group of people who have similar goals to you and that you like hanging out with and play a lot.
Use proxies to play test and then invest in the deck you really like before your event.
Twitter: @Smdster
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Hannes Kerem is an up and coming Magic: The Gathering star who has 2 Grand Prix top 8s and 1 Pro Tour top 8 on his record. Hannes' expertise is in Limited and he is from Estonia!
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Onslaught
Lorwyn / Morningtide
I need your help! I was a poor host on this one and didn't actually catch the card Hannes mentioned. If you figure it out please tell me.
The competitive scene and draft.
Deck construction.
Going 6-0 in Limited at his second Pro Tour Qualifier is when Hannes noticed his skill had improved.
Winning Nationals in 2008.
Limited
Hannes trusted the advice of his friends and then tested.
If you aren't confident in choosing a deck, ask someone who is more knowledgeable then you.
People don't stick to 40 card Limited decks.
Keep your emotions in check. Don't say "Oh my gosh I drew a land again!!"
Emotions betray your hand and intentions. Stay stone faced and gain a slight edge.
Compare new cards against ones you've encountered before.
Always play 40 cards.
Sealed: Look at your cool rares and build your deck around them.
Draft: You only get one pack from the left. Don't worry too much about screwing up their draft.
Hannes puts more weight on his first pick then most players and tries to stick with it.
Play a lot of Magic. In person or online, it doesn't matter, as long as you play a lot.
You need to know your deck inside and out so you give yourself the best chance of winning.
Keep detailed notes. Who went first, who won, etc...
Mono red is always a deck and often times good. It's a great way to break into Standard. Once it's built, just stick with it.
Twitter: @Hanneskerem
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Lee Shi Tian has 5 Grand Prix Top 8s and is the Champion of Grand Prix Birmingham (2008) he has also made the Top 8 at 4 Pro Tours. He lives in, and joins us from, the tallest city in the world, Hong Kong, China.
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Odessey
Shards of Alara
Vendilion Clique
Shi Tian love that there are lots of interaction and synergy between cards and that the games is refreshed every time a set comes out.
He also enjoys the people reading part of Magic too. Looking for tells when playing against an opponent is fun for him.
Being a Professional gamer is not highly regarded in Hong Kong so Shi Tian was constantly asked "When are you going to get a real job?" from those around him. Until he made Platinum it was a constant challenge standing up to the pressures.
After Shi Tian's first Pro Tour Top 8 Wizards unbanned Valakut, the Molten Pinnacle which allowed Shi Tian to play the Scapeshift deck.
Shi Tian also joined with Taiwanese player Kuo Tzu-Ching, who was on the winning team of first ever World Magic Cup, to form the team MTG Mint Card.
This period of his career was full of growth and level ups for him.
Top 8 at Pro Tour Honolulu.
The Pro Tour was during a tumultuous time for Hong Kong and Lee Shi Tian was proud to bring attention to the issues his countrymen were facing.
Draft & Modern
Players at Grand Prix are much more diverse so Shi Tian plays the safest deck. The one with the best results.
For Pro Tours he tries to surprise the field because the format is relatively undiscovered by that point.
Limited: You should know your game plan and always track the game tempo. Know your role for the match up. Are you the aggro player or the player with inevitability?
Review the spoiler several times and identify supported archetypes.
Evasion is Shi Tian's secret.
Get lots of cards with flying.
Draft: Remember the 3 best cards in the pack. Do that with every pack to get a feel of what color people are in.
To "read the draft" you should identify the best commons in each color. You see commons more and it's easier to pick up on what is open if you track the commons.
Always draft a good curve.
Teams are great because when you're going solo you don't have time to play every deck. Team mates help round out your knowledge.
Know your meta game. What's going on locally and how can you beat it. As you scale up change your side board accordingly.
Watch videos online to pick up on the latest strategies.
Read articles.
Twitter: @leearson
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Joel Larsson keeps busy working as a Pro Magic player, writing articles, streaming and traveling. He has 3 Pro Tour top 16s, 1 Pro Tour win, 1 Pro Tour 2nd, 5 Grand Prix Top 8s, and many Grand Prix Top 16s. Joel has been the Swedish Captain 3 times and was on the Nationals Team under the old system. He is 23 years old and lives in Stockholm with his lady, Sandra.
Click to Tweet: I got a ton of value from Joel Larsson when he shared his story on MTG Pro Tutor today! Click here: http://bit.ly/mtgprotutor-ep37
Saviours of Kamigawa
Time Spiral
Innistrad
Teferi, Mage of Zhalfir
The social aspect kept Joel around in the early days but now it's the thrill of the competition.
Joel had to get to the point where he could trust his gut about cards. He only got to that point by putting in a lot of time and playing on MTGO, testing decks and honing his skills.
Joel's breakthrough in Paris 2011 took him to the next level
Winning Pro Tour Magic Origins
Commander (1v1. Not multiplayer.)
Tasigur, the Golden Fang is Joel's Commander.
Check out Joel's article, Competitive EDH is Awesome, on MTG Mint Card.
Joel follows the progression of the meta game and thinks about what will beat what just did well, and then plays a deck that beat that.
Side boarding: Think of your deck as a 75 card deck. Then take out the 15 cards to be your side board.
Grinding just to grind and losing the fun of Magic. Also, playing with the same people and not reaching out to play with people better than you.
The first thing Joel does is compare new cards to cards that are already printed. For example, [card]Ruinous Path[/card] and [card]Heroes Downfall[/card].
Joel will also consider older cards that haven't seen much play and if they are relevant now that a new set is out.
Sealed: Joel looks for removal and what colors give him 14-16 creatures.
Drafting: Draft a lot and form your own ideas about the format. This will help guide your draft. Focus on your curve and prioritize removal.
Look at the last tournament in the format that you will be playing and look online for MTGO results and get a feel for the field. Then build a deck that beats those.
Proxying cards is a great way to inexpensively practice.
Twitter: @JoelLarsson1991
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Ross Merriam is a writer for Starcitygames.com and is a Silver Level Pro with 2 Grand Prix Top 8s, 2 Star City Games Invitational Top 8s and 3 Star City Games Open Wins. Ross lives in Connecticut.
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Odessey
Time Spiral
Vendilion Clique
The competitive scene and the people.
Being a rather competitive person Ross enjoys the challenge of tournaments and consistently placing in big events. He also appreciates that he's met so many cool people through Magic: The Gathering.
Not understanding what cards were good in a competitive setting versus when playing with your friends at home was tough for Ross at first. People at his local game store took him under their wing and taught him the ropes.
The growth and changes he experienced at college greatly contributed to Ross' Magic abilities.
Specifically he developed his analytical skills, communication skills and humility.
Going 13-2 with an Elves deck at a Legacy Grand Prix in New Jersey. He navigated a field of decks that should have beaten Elves and got back on the Pro Tour.
Pauper Cube
How your opponent plays is one of the least relevant factors when determining how to sideboard. Ross considers the match up and what their list looks like.
Ross has an idea of 2-3 cards he will side board against each match up.
Holding lands as a bluff.
If you're holding a card in your hand for several turns your opponent will know it's nothing special. Balance the bluff with the benefit of having the card on the field.
For a fall set that initiates a rotation, keep in mind the powerful shells from the previous format and rebuild your understanding from scratch.
When evaluating a set that come out in the middle of a format, look for cards that push existing archetypes.
Sealed: Do cards have more tactical or strategic synergy? Look for cards that lead to an overall goal.
Avoid even numbers in your mana base because it causes the most variance in your draws.
Have friends with similar goals. If your friends want to get cards signed their focus is vastly different than if they want to make a run for day two of the GP.
Always take time to decompress and talk about your play session at the end of the day. Discussion
Reading articles and talking about them with others is a great way to improve on a budget, as is watching coverage.
Play test on cockatrice.
Paulo Vitor articles
Reid Duke articles
Luis Scott-Vargas articles
Twitter: @RossMBoss
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Andrea Mengucci is a cultured Italian man who has made it to the Top 16 in one Grand Prix as well as the Top 16 and Top 8 in two Pro Tours. We will definitely see more of him in the years to come.
Click to Tweet: I learned how to mulligan from Andrea Mengucci when he shared his story on MTG Pro Tutor today! Click here: http://bit.ly/mtgprotutor-ep35
Champions of Kamigawa
Innistrad
Bloodbraid Elf
You always have changing formats. From tournament to tournament the decks change drastically even though the cards in the set are the same.
Keeping bad hands was Andrea's early challenge. Just because you have a good spell, if you have one land you can't keep the hand.
Learn how to mulligan to overcome this. In Limited your hand is the main concern in whether you mulligan or not. In Constructed, the match up is the main factor in your mulligan decision.
Finding someone who was at the next level and playing with him constantly helped Andrea improve.
He also watched tons of videos and learned from the pros and won a PTQ because of it.
Making it to the Top 8 of Pro Tour Atlanta.
Andrea took control of the situation and asked Mike Sigrist if he could room with and practice with him for the Pro Tour. This friendship has helped Andrea grow.
Standard.
The best results go to the player who practices the most. Follow the decks every week to stay ahead of what's going on.
Look at the decks that performed well recently and brainstorm their weaknesses. Consider what deck is best positioned to exploit those weekends.
Not knowing when to mulligan.
Showing up with the wrong deck.
Watch your opponent. Do they think a lot during combat? That could mean a combat trick. Likewise, even if you don't have a trick you should take a few seconds before passing priority so your opponent thinks you have a trick.
First, lay out your decks and identify which cards can be strictly replaced by new cards. (This applies to all formats; Standard, Modern etc...)
Then identify powerful cards in the new set that are build arounds and build every Standard deck around that card that you can.
Pre-release: At a pre-release play your rares, even if they aren't that amazing, so you can try them out and see what they do. The pre-release is not a big tournament that Andrea says "I need to win". He just wants to test new cards.
Draft: Don't pass a great card just because there are other good cards in that color. In fact, if you do that and that color doesn't come back that means that you know how many other players at the table are in that color.
Take the best card regardless of color but lean more towards the color of your first pick.
Know your opponent's deck list and play around what they have. Track deck lists and identify the cards that always appear in a certain archetype and know them cold.
Playing with people in real life is better than playing online. When possible, go to your local game store and draft with real people.
When you're first getting in, pick a deck and stick with it. As new sets come out just get the pieces you need in your colors.
Andrea Mengucci's Mana Base Article
Twitter: @Mengu09
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Zvi Mowshowitz has 9 Grand Prix top 8s including winning Grand Prix New Orleans. He has 4 Pro Tour top 8s including being the champion of Pro Tour Tokoyo in 2001. He was inducted into the Magic: The Gathering Hall of Fame in 2007. Zvi was born and raised in New York City.
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Revised
The Dark (first booster pack)
Limited: Innistrad
Jayemdae Tome
The people he's met and the friends he's made. Zvi met his best friend through Magic as well as a business partner for one of his ventures.
Zvi also loves that Magic is constantly changing.
Age and travel distance were an obstacle for Zvi early on. Thankfully his parents trusted a fellow player (who was older) and allow him to take Zvi to tournaments that were further away.
Zvi's first Pro Tour (during Tempest block) where he realized he was actually good and could swing it with the big guys is when Zvi started taking his training seriously.
Winning Grand Prix New Orleans
Block Constructed
If you want to dominate your local scene, stick with one deck. If you want to really improve, play with a lot of different decks so you learn how they play and how to beat them.
Always play to win.
HOWEVER, don't ever feel like your time and energy was wasted if you lose.
Walk away from every event asking two questions: Did I learn something? Did I enjoy it?
Have a growth mindset. Say "today will not be a waste, and in order for it to not be a waste I have to learn something."
Failure to identify the key resources in any given game is the biggest mistake Zvi sees players make.
Who has inevitability? A lot of people just play and don't have a plan and don't track who has inevitability to win?
Mid-level players often play around things that they either can't play around or shouldn't play around.
Wait until the full spoiler comes out before evaluating the set for Limited.
Sealed: What are your amazing cards? Focus on having a good curve of good cards. Generally you want two colors with early drops and a reasonable curve.
Avoid the devil's mana base. (6/6/6 lands)
Draft: If what you pass to your left is not a bomb, just remember the color and don't waste brain space on memorizing the exact card.
Find people that you get along well with and test with them.
Travel together and split a room (for cost reasons).
Watch others draft. Have others watch you and give you feedback. Proxy up decks. Play online for repetitions.
Star City Games - Great tournament circuit
Twitter: @TheZvi
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Justin Cohen is the 2015 Rookie of the Year and has started topping the charts by making it into one Pro Tour top 8.
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Fourth Edition
(This set had no symbol)
Modern Masters
Limited is Justin's favorite format so Modern Masters was his favorite because it had a very deep Limited format.
Gaea's Cradle
Drafting. Plain and simple, Justin LOVES to draft.
Finding others to play with was hard as a young player. On top of that he had to find players better than himself so he could improve. Whenever Justin identified someone he could learn from he would gravitate towards them and soak in all he could.
From Theros to Khans was Justin's biggest growth spurt. He avidly consumed content and by knowing more he made better decisions.
Making Top 8 at Pro Tour Fate Reforged in 2015.
Draft.
Take up a deck that minimizes your opponents advantage. Justin will likely play a fast deck because Standard is not his strength and limiting the time a superior Standard player has to gain control is advantageous for him.
Getting their priorities mixed up. People say they want to improve but then default to protecting their ego. Too many people ascribe luck to their loses instead of internalizing what they did wrong.
Justin needs the whole picture and waits for most of the cards to be released before he sifts through them.
He looks for trends in the size of creatures and trends in removal quality. Justin also will consider the archetypes being supported.
Sealed: Justin looks for flexibility. Try to construct multiple decks with your pool. Register your best deck but constantly reevaluate and sideboard aggressively to combat your opponents strategy.
Too make this work you should sleeve your entire pool and pay close attention to what you take out and put in.
Draft: Remember 2 things: what you expect to be taken for the 3-4 picks after you, then look at the next set of good cards so you know what's likely to come back.
Keep a mental tally of your mana curve.
You want people who are not afraid to be wrong and who aren't afraid to throw out ideas. Surround people who complement your skill set.
Build a set specific cube to learn the interactions between cards and for a way to practice that's easy on the wallet.
Twitter: @trippdup
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Frank Karsten was inducted into the Magic: The Gathering Pro Tour Hall of Fame in 2009 after putting up impressive results and contributing greatly to the Magic community. He has 3 Pro Tour top 8s and 6 Grand Prix Top 8s! He is a writer for ChannelFireball, has a PhD in stochastic operations research and game theory and is a member of the EU Grand Prix coverage team. He lives in Eindhoven Netherlands.
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Tempest
Kamigawa block
(because the Kamigawa block constructed was great)
Gifts Ungiven
Frank loves the creative and puzzle solving outlet Magic provides as well the opportunity to travel the world and make wonderful friends.
Frank had to convince his parents and teachers as a 16 year old that going to his first Pro Tour in New York City was a good idea. He successfully did this.
One year later, as a 17 year old, he was back in New York City on September 11, 2001! Thankfully he had a friend that he made through Magic that he could stay with as he waited for the airports to open again.
Grasping the concept of tempo opened Frank's mind to a new way of playing Magic.
Tempo is using less mana than your opponent to affect the board. Killing a creature with a cheaper costing removal spell is a good tempo play.
Damage clocks also plays into tempo.
Being inducted into the Magic: The Gathering Hall of Fame
Block Constructed is a pet favorite of Frank's but today his best format is Limited.
Aggro decks are Frank's go to as of late, but he started out as a control player.
Too many players blame luck for their losses instead of considering their misplays.
Also, too many players don't have a plan. They just make random plays.
Frank has seen so many players build their deck with terrible mana bases. It's an easy fix. Talk to people better than you and browse the internet for good resources.
Frank evaluates a new set once all of it has been released.
He compares new cards to similar, base line cards from previous sets to see if they are good for Limited.
Baseline: 2/2 creature for 2 mana; 3/2 or 2/3 creature for 3 mana; 4/3 or 3/4 creature for 4 mana. If stats are worse than this you should expect some kind of upside. If they fall short and don't have upside then the card is probably not good.
Four mana or less removal spells are really good in Limited.
Cards that cost 3 mana or less and lands see the most play in Constructed.
Sealed: Two color decks do better in Sealed because you will have a more consistent mana curve. A good rule of thumb is to have four 2 drops, five 3 drops, three 4 drops, three 5 drops, 8 spells and 17 lands.
Look for two colors that will get you close to this mix.
Drafting: Frank developed the first pick order list and still makes one today for each new set. It serves as a starting guide line when he's drafting.
Beginner Draft Tip: Pick you colors early and stick with those throughout the draft.
Communicate with teammates. Build in time for discussion so everyone can benefit and improve.
To get better at Magic you should expect to invest some amount of Magic. Like tennis, where you need a racket to play, you have to have cards to play at a tournament.
You can have a friend over and play online and then discuss the game so you can get better.
Active discussion is key no matter what format you are studying.
Magic: The Gathering Online (MTGO)
Twitter: @karsten_frank
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Doc streams late night limited on Twitch. He began playing Magic: The Gathering at age 6, in Mirage, and has been honing his game since. He gets his fix of paper magic through a Team Draft League in Brooklyn, and he represented the Community at the 2015 Community Cup.
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Doc only looks at the spoiler after the full set has been spoiled.
Having the full picture allows you to see the magic number of the set.
Almost every set has "magic numbers". It might be 3 where there are a lor of 3 drops and a a lot of 3 power creatures, or it could be another number. You won't get a good feel until the whole set is released.
Focus on remembering / ear marking the three cards you think will be taken after your own pick. This will give you a good idea of what half the table is in.
Find people you like playing with and hammer out sessions.
For Limited, grinding is a good way to prepare. Absorb as many understandings of the format as you can.
Consume as much of other people's content as you can if you can't draft as much as you would like.
Twitch: SGDoc
Twitter: @MtgoDoc
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Doc streams late night limited on Twitch. He began playing Magic: The Gathering at age 6, in Mirage, and has been honing his game since. He gets his fix of paper magic through a Team Draft League in Brooklyn, and he represented the Community at the 2015 Community Cup.
Mirage
Lorwyn
Birds of Paradise
Doc has fun when he really has to use his brain. Magic affords him plenty of opportunities to use his brain.
More than that, Doc loves streaming and loves the interaction with his community.
Being closed minded and narrow. Doc would form an opinion of a format or card and if anyone said something different he would dismiss it. Chris Manning broke through the blinders and helped Doc improve.
Being elected to represent the Magic community at large at the 2015 Magic Community Cup.
Draft
#1 Draft Tip: BREAD - Bombs, Removal, Evasive, Aggressive, Duds
Pick cards in this order as a general guideline to draft.
Esper Dragons
Limited: Deck building is where people make the most mistakes. Know the set and what you need to survive. In Magic Origins for example you need several relevant plays (creatures) before turn three.
Know how fast the format is and know how to keep your opponent off tempo.
Twitch: SGDoc
Twitter: @MtgoDoc
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Paul Rietzl was born in Boston, MA and currently lives in Scottsdale, AZ working as an Executive Recruiter. He has 12 Grand Prix top 8s, including 2 wins, and 4 Pro Tour top 8s including winning Pro Tour Amsterdam in 2010. Paul is a member of Team UltraPro and writes for ChannelFireball.com. He is a member of Magic: The Gathering's Hall of Fame Class of 2014.
Paul recognizes his strength is not in deck building. He leans on the deck building abilities of those he trusts and then tweaks from there, sharing his insights along the way.
Sealed: Check out your Mythics and Rares first. Note any removal. Bring with you an idea of the format, is it fast, slow or tempo based.
Missing land drops is usually bad in slower formats, make sure your mana base is solid.
Draft: Keep in mind the colors those around you are in by noting what the next most powerful cards are after you pick.
Don't commit yourself to colors too early.
The best drafters keep it simple. When there is a bomb they draft it. They stick to Limited 101
Look at deck lists online, copy them, plat test a lot and tweak.
Magic: The Gathering is an expensive hobby but it increases it's rewards exponentially the more you put into it.
Identify what level you want to perform at and then have fun and understand there is a resource commitment associated with each level. If kitchen table Magic is your thing, that's awesome. If you want to dominate the Pro Tour, go for it! The money required for those two levels is vastly different.
Keep your body healthy. Regular exercise gets oxygen to the brain and has helped Paul keep his edge.
Huey Jensen articles
Reid Duke articles
Chris Fennel articles
Patrick Chapin articles
Magic: The Gathering main website
Twitter: @paulrietzl
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Paul Rietzl was born in Boston, MA and currently lives in Scottsdale, AZ working as an Executive Recruiter. He has 12 Grand Prix top 8s, including 2 wins, and 4 Pro Tour top 8s including winning Pro Tour Amsterdam in 2010. Paul is a member of Team UltraPro and writes for ChannelFireball.com. He is a member of Magic: The Gathering's Hall of Fame Class of 2014.
The Dark
Rise of the Eldrazi
Steppe Lynx
Depending on where he is in life different aspects of Magic appeal to him. Early on it was the travel, sometimes is the thrill of challenge, but overall it's the life long friends and the connections with people that keep Paul coming back.
Not doing well at tournaments made Paul do some soul searching and decide that he will start to prepare the heck out of tournament so he can show up prepared.
Winning the Team Grand Prix in San Jose (2012) with Matt Sperling and David Williams
Team Rochester Draft
Sealed Deck
Everyone has experienced being blown out. While blow out losses are not fun, many people shut down when there are lot of little things you could be doing to gain incremental edges.
Know the sequence you and your opponent need to go through for you to come back and play to that. Assume your opponent will make mistakes.
Consider what factors outside of the game are affecting your loss. Is your mana base built right? Did you sideboard correctly?
Don't shut down. There is a lot to be learned from a blow out loss.
Twitter: @paulrietzl
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Jamie Parke has 3 major top 8s, including Worlds 1999, Worlds 2008 and PT ATL 2014. He also has 4 GP Top 8s and as you can tell by the dates is one of a very small group of players with a top 8 in 3 different decades. He currently lives in Philadelphia and trades equity options.
Look at cards and compare them with the other cards being spoiled. Look for synergies like Subterranean Scout + Nantuko Husk.
Reading the draft: Don't focus on this skill too early. First focus on learning the cards and becoming familiar with what's good and isn't. Identify the really good commons. When one of these picks come late than you can start reading the draft.
Find others who are strong where you are weak but more importantly you need people who you are friends with. It's imperative that you get along with each other.
A week play-testing with the Pantheon looks like people playing what ever deck they want against other decks and having an organized draft a few times a day.
Look up rules. Ask rules questions. A deeper understanding of the rules will lead to more victories.
Twitter: @JamieParke
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Jamie Parke has 3 major top 8s, including Worlds 1999, Worlds 2008 and PT ATL 2014. He also has 4 GP Top 8s and as you can tell by the dates is one of a very small group of players with a top 8 in 3 different decades. He currently lives in Philadelphia and trades equity options.
Revised
Tempest block (for its Limited game play)
Ancestral Recall
The challenge of competing at the highest levels.
Finding people who wanted to play as much as Jamie did was an early challenge for him.
Magic is a game of probabilities. Identifying that there is a correct play based on probability and realizing that you could make the correct play and still lose helped Jamie improve early on. It helped him let go of unnecessary pressure.
Limited
It's so easy to throw together a draft where all people have to do is invest 3 hours of their time.
Hangarback Abzan
1) Don't go to a big tournament too early.
Play during the week. Play at FNM. Participate in online trainings like LSVs "What's the play?"
2) Don't give away too much imformation.
Hold cards in hand you don't need to play so your opponent knows as little as possible.
Twitter: @JamieParke
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Check to see if new cards fill holes in existing decks.
Check if powerful cards that weren't played before now have synergy and are playable with the new cards.
Sealed: Sealed is bomb-centric, so removal is very important. Stand alone cards that are good on their are will perform better than synergy decks.
Draft: Draft cards that work well on their own and if the synergy comes it's a bonus. Draft a lot to hone your evaluation eye. Group discussion is also crucial to improving.
Build a team with people you trust. You need to trust each others opinions and track record.
Consume as much content as you can. There's so much free content out there.
Channel Fireball - Josh's weekly video
jmcclain2007@hotmail.com
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Josh McClain has 4 Grand Prix top 8s including winning Grand Prix Detroit in 2013 (Modern format). He also has one Pro Tour top 16 and a TCG Invitational win.
Odyssey
Rise of the Eldrazi
Gavony Township
Orzhov Pontiff
The tournament scene and the competitive aspect. Putting in a lot of work and seeing results.
Grinding Pro Tour Qualifiers for several years was a struggle. Josh felt he had plateaued. By playing a lot (on MTGO and in person) he became familiar with his deck and the matchups.
Realizing that all the big players are just people and he could achieve the same results through practice.
Winning Grand Prix Detroit.
Modern (Amulet Bloom Deck)
Blue/Red Thopters for Pro Tour Vancouver 2015
Not thinking of what your opponent could have. Overlooking the counter trick when you have one in hand.
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Valentin Mackl top 8’d his first Grand Prix in the summer of 2014 in Miami. Since then he has top 8’d four more Grand Prix and top 16’d at least 11 others! He’s been the Austrian World Magic Cup Captain for two consecutive years (2014, 2015) and is currently a Gold Level Pro.
Evaluation Tips
Try playing in a pre release without looking at the spoiler first. You'll have a fun and challenging experience.
Sealed: Don't always look at your rares. Look at the number of playables you have outside the rares.
Draft: Make a mental note of the good cards in the pack and try and peg the players on your left in certain colors.
A team for the Pro Tour is extremely important to assimilate all the knowledge that is out there.
Structure your play testing time. At certain times you play certain formats then build in time to analyze and share the information afterwards.
Proxy decks to play test before you invest in the one you're taking to a big tournament.
Make friends with someone who has a large collection so you can borrow cards instead of buying.
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Saviors of Kamigawa
Innistrad
Momentary Blink
The competition of big tournaments and traveling are fun. Winning feels nice. :)
Playing crappy decks early on lead to many losses. Mackl improved his analytical skills with age and started playing top tier decks.
Going to big competitions consistently helped Mackl improve because the caliber of players he was playing against was really good.
First Grand Prix top 8 in Miami.
Standard
Legacy
Whenever you make a decision you should think, "why am I doing this right now?"
Jeskai
Take your time when you play. Fast decisions when you're not experienced are most of the time wrong. Try to play absolutely correctly.
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Evaluation Tips
In every Limited format there are archetypes. During spoiler season look for archetypes and keywords that support/synergize with those archetypes. However, nothing beats actually playing with the cards.
Sealed: Look for creatures, cards that kill creatures and card advantage. Stick with two colors if at all possible for a stable mana base. Avoid more than 4 mana sources in a third color. Power level is slightly more important than mana curve but doing something productive every turn is key.
Draft: Take the best card and then identify what the second best card was so you can ear mark what color the next player is. Then know that the color is probably closed and avoid those colors moving forward.
The more you draft a set the more you will recognize synergies between cards.
Spending fewer resources than your opponent (when it comes to tricks) is to your advantage.
Don't commit fully to colors based on your first few picks. Understand you might be moved off those colors.
Beginner Tip: Draft two colors. Take the best card in two colors and stick with those.
Healthy living is important. Getting enough sleep is critical. Loading your body with healthy food and avoiding drinking and drugs before the event gives you the best chance possible. You are playing against the best out there and you have to focused and on your game.
Get a team.
Friendship and mutual respect come first and foremost. Then look for people with different strengths. If you are a good deck builder, look for a good sideboarder.
Organization and focus are important. Have a plan of action. Define the environment, build decks that represent the environment and then play against those.
Find what color(s) resonate with you and just focus on that deck.
jgarywise1@hotmail.com - email him article ideas for his Star City Games column
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First Set
Revised (1995)
Good tempo based set that lend themselves to exploitable Limited formats.
Urza's Saga
Brainstorm
Upheaval
Chaos Orb
Contract From Below
Cheatyface
Upheaval for 13 is fun! ;)
Having a $2000 deck stolen was a huge set back. However, this opened Gary up to exploring other formats like Limited.
Making friends with the top player in Canada and playing with his group led to huge improvements in Gary's game.
Making top 8 at the Worlds tournament in Japan.
Being inducted into the Hall of Fame.
Limited
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