Hello users of imtg, today I'm bring you 5 steps to becoming a better player. I've been meaning to write this earlier today, but I have not been feeling well today. So I'm going to give this article a go on my ipad! Bellow there is also a brief super iq rundown...
The 5 basic steps that can make you a better player:
1. Play, play and just play
2. Learn from your mistakes/take advice
3. Learn your deck, and every other one that exists.
4. Read your opponent
5. Be a good sport
The first step is simple. Very,very, simple. To become a better magic player you need to play. You will not just become a better magic player from reading this article, or watching Ivan Floch win with sheeps. I am very lucky that I live in a great city to play magic, Dallas. On Friday, I played at my local game store which had 180 people doing standard, and an additional sealed tournament with 40 people at last weeks fnm. I also live 5 minutes away from another store which has Wednesday night standard, Thursday night modern, Friday night standard, during the weekend more modern, legacy, standard, draft, etc. If you do not live next to a place where you can play, or you do not have the time for regular play, I recommend either investing in mtgo, or practicing on untap.in, or something like cockatrice. Play is crucial.
This brings us to the next step. Learning from mistakes is necessary. Even if you are playing a lot, if your making mistakes and NOT learning from them then its a waste of time. It is ok to make mistakes, but you need to recognize them. When I'm new to a deck I always ask my opponent how they think I played the game, or how I sbed, that's of course if they are a good player.
This step is also very important. You need master your deck if you expect to do well in a tournament besides fnm. This becomes more important when doing longer tournaments with 8-11 rounds. In eternal formats it is best to play the deck you are the best with, which may not always be the best deck. This can also be applied to standard,etc. Now the 2nd part of this step may seem strange. How can I know every other single deck??? To new players this may seem strange. There are 2 reasons why you need to know every single competitive deck in your desired format. 1, the best way of playing against a deck, is knowing the best way your opponent has to win vs you, and how to play around that. What he might have in hand when, etc. Now the more far fetched 2nd part: knowing every single teir 2 deck+ in standard/modern/legacy. Although this may seem strange I'm going to tell you why. Here are some examples:
-Modern burn/legacy
If you already knew how to play these decks, when the current standard version popped up, you would've already known how the deck works and could of easily picked it up.
-Modern American control
This deck is very very similar to how control decks run in standard, except it modern had better cards.
So pretty much its important to learn all of the main types of archetypes so when they might pop up in standard you already know them!
Read your opponent. There has been sooo many games vs Monoblack when an opponent has {thoughtseize}d me and given me as much information as he got from me. If you watch how they look at your hand, glance at there cards or at a certain card before they pick a card to take you can gain a lot of information. It gets to as simple as them picking your {searing blood} when playing the version of Monoblack when your only target for searing blood while playing boros burn is either pack rat, or {mutavault} which I knew he did not have after not playing a 4th land for several turns, and during his turn several times he "half tapped" for 2 mana before untaping them to play a {ultimate price} on a Chandra's Phoenix during my turn. After playing his his {thoughtseize} a knew he would have to play his pack rat to block my lethal board of elemental tokens from {young pyromancer} either this turn or the following turn, which he decided to hold it to make me think it was something else, although he had already given away what it is. This is just one minor example. Watch your opponent when he draws, see how he reacts to good draws and bad draws. Keep your play consistent so they can not do the same to you.
Now once you've mastered the game, don't be a jerk. This is a card game, and its important to still have fun. There are sooo many competitive, friendly, great people. I try to be friendly when playing a game of magic, but if my opponent wants to play like a rel2 tournament is a fnm, I'll go into all attention mode into game, with strict rules enforcement. Its important to still play well, without being a rude douche, although some people fail to do this.
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Now that we are done with it article im going to to touch on a local 108 man super iq I did last weekend. The tournament was 7 rounds of Swiss, and I chose to run Boros Burn.
Round 1 vs Monoblack: won 2-0 won
Round 2 vs Monoblack aggro 2-0 won
Round 3 vs UWx control 1-2 lost
Round 4 vs UWx control 1-2 lost
Round 5 vs rabble red 2-0 won
Round 6 vs monogreen devotion 2-0 won
Round 7 vs UWx control 1-2 lost
So I finished 4-3 Because I got pretty unlucky, although it does happen. I lost all 3 matches vs Azorius control for 1 reason. Well first off this matchup comes down to the dye unless a player makes a mistake, which none of us did. Well all 3 games I lost the die roll and it followed the pattern, he got first game, I got 2nd, long 3rd game he got because play advantage.
The best card of the tournament:
{Eidolons of the great revel} shuts down control on the play, amazing vs so many decks.
These guys are a 3 of sbed in my list and I will bump them up to 4 sbed. These guys should be a 4 of any modern/legacy mainboard of any red based burn deck. Modern they are bonkers, legacy they equal whenever a player castes a spell that is not jace the mindscuplter, they take 2 damage, and this is almost no joke. Play it, get your play sets before they become a staple.
-Thanks for reading! I'm sick right now and I'm only in eighth grade so this article is defiantly not up to teir or anything close to SCG quality!
Thank you!
8th grade? You write well for your age. I must thank you, and congratulate you, for such a good read.
Quote from: blackychan1 on August 23, 2014, 04:36:33 PM
8th grade? You write well for your age. I must thank you, and congratulate you, for such a good read.
Thanks man! I think I'm going to try to write another one once I settle down with school and try to put some time into the next one.
Quote from: Hunteroffire9 on August 23, 2014, 08:42:55 PM
Quote from: blackychan1 on August 23, 2014, 04:36:33 PM
8th grade? You write well for your age. I must thank you, and congratulate you, for such a good read.
Thanks man! I think I'm going to try to write another one once I settle down with school and try to put some time into the next one.
Always wanted to article but just haven't made time or a concept for it. But this was a good down to earth read that was pretty basic (like not describing the philosophy of magic or some weird nonsense.) but very informative. And I enjoyed it completely. A few minor spelling mistakes. But I mean...iPad...happens.
But still. Hope you get time for more articles.
Quote from: Destore117 on September 02, 2014, 12:37:36 AM
Quote from: Hunteroffire9 on August 23, 2014, 08:42:55 PM
Quote from: blackychan1 on August 23, 2014, 04:36:33 PM
8th grade? You write well for your age. I must thank you, and congratulate you, for such a good read.
Thanks man! I think I'm going to try to write another one once I settle down with school and try to put some time into the next one.
Always wanted to article but just haven't made time or a concept for it. But this was a good down to earth read that was pretty basic (like not describing the philosophy of magic or some weird nonsense.) but very informative. And I enjoyed it completely. A few minor spelling mistakes. But I mean...iPad...happens.
But still. Hope you get time for more articles.
I'll try, probabky not until a few weaks because we are leaving on a school trip..
Quote from: Hunteroffire9 on September 02, 2014, 05:25:11 PM
Quote from: Destore117 on September 02, 2014, 12:37:36 AM
Quote from: Hunteroffire9 on August 23, 2014, 08:42:55 PM
Quote from: blackychan1 on August 23, 2014, 04:36:33 PM
8th grade? You write well for your age. I must thank you, and congratulate you, for such a good read.
Thanks man! I think I'm going to try to write another one once I settle down with school and try to put some time into the next one.
Always wanted to article but just haven't made time or a concept for it. But this was a good down to earth read that was pretty basic (like not describing the philosophy of magic or some weird nonsense.) but very informative. And I enjoyed it completely. A few minor spelling mistakes. But I mean...iPad...happens.
But still. Hope you get time for more articles.
I'll try, probabky not until a few weaks because we are leaving on a school trip..
Well whatever you need lol. This was awesome.