I’m a big fan of the 80s. Perhaps it’s just that I’m old or it might be that the song was probably in the 90s and I’m just senile. Who knows? Who cares? What the song does for me though, is gets me to thinking about how times change. How “men” like John Wayne, James Dean or Paul Newman have evolved to guys like Leo Dicaprio or James Marsden. On the flip side, how women these days need to be skinnier and it’s ok for guys to be fatter. I guess in my old age, I tend to think a lot about times a changing.

Anyone familiar with “old school” Magic might feel the same as I do on the balance of colors “back in the day”. I really felt like those days there were very few cards that couldn’t be easily countered. Yes, you had Ancestral Recall, but you also had Berserk, Lightning Bolt, Balance, and errr BLACK. As a result of such balance, you had Wiseman’s “The Deck” and on the flip side of that you had plays like Taiga/Kird Ape to really get a party started.

There have been eras such as Necro (the black) Summer and several Mono Blue or just Blue dominated formats. Which brings me to wonder, with all of WOTC R&D and the DCI’s brainiacs, why do we still have formats that are dominated by the same colors?

These days preceding the entry of a new set, I tend to think that constructed formats are well defined. You look at your friendly neighborhood FNM or GP and you’ll see what the cream of the crop is. Faeries, Doran, the Siege Tower, Merfolk, and Elves seem to dominate everywhere constructed is accepted. We get the message WOTC, you wanted creature formats and so that’s what we have. However, I find that the same colors are still dominating but doing so in a different form.

In the past, white had a lot to do with creatures. Turn 1 Savannah Lion, T2 White Knight and usually your opponent was dead or near death by turn 4. In the name of all that is Holy, white would summon it’s armies to bash the face of evil and do so in a manner that you could scoop up and go grab a burrito before the next round.

Then, there was the HEAT!!! Red also had quick creatures and the direct D to take an unprepared mage into the dead zone before one could even blink. If that didn’t work, there was always the route of Stone Rain. Not always a reliable path to victory, but one that could disrupt an opponent long enough to put something together for a win.

What am I saying? I’m not really sure.

What I believe is that Magic has NOT changed all that much. The same colors are dominating, but in a different way. Blue and Black seem to still be the catalyst for victory. In my mind, white hasn’t “dominated” on it’s own in a long time. It has had it’s supporting role, but really doesn’t work as it used to.

You don’t see blue in it’s old “draw go” or “counter go” styles, nor do you see black as “evil” as it once was. On the other hand, faerie variants are blue or blue splashing black for Bitterblossom. Black has some of the big “bomb” cards. Green has come of age with it’s resurgence of Elves and the “Best” creature in the format Tarmagoyf. Red is really seen more as a tool in combo decks recently or perhaps as support with green. Finally, we come to white… Nuff said.

My last article talked about winning in Magic and how people have a certain mindset that defines their play style. Is it because the “good” players tend to find control/blue as their color of choice? Therefore blue dominates magic. I mean in some theories, colors are balanced, but people tend to find blue and black more attractive. So dominance would be based primarily due to sheer numbers played not by the power of the cards.

In my mind, it’s not really too hard to see that Magic does change. I just don’t see it as “balanced” as many claim. Creatures, creatures, creatures, is where we’re at right now and it’s really quite boring. Maybe this upcoming PTQ season will reflect a bit more balance to the force ;) but I believe that Shadowmoor will have me continue to sing “Where have all the counterspells gone…”

– Lee Steht

Official Event Coverage

I love this game!

Even now I’m nervous about my up coming week in L.A. I’m headed to the West Coast for a Grand Prix and I’m nervously trying to pick the right deck to win with. I’ve played this game for over 14 years and I still get nervous! I love the pressure of playing and attempting to play perfectly, if that’s even possible.

I’ve won with decks that I’ve created and I’ve won with decks that I copied card for card off of the internet back before the internet made netdecking an every day occurrence. I loved the game as much then as I do the copy-cats today. I loved being one of the first people in the world to run Abeyance-Ophidian for a win in a PTQ at the annual Origins Convention that also ran several major Magic tourneys. All almost as much as I loved justifying my claim that Faeries is the best deck in Magic by achieving my first top 8 in a major tourney at G.P. Denver just last year.

Sometimes, I recall all of the women or loved ones that I’ve dragged along with me to some of the most boring times in their lives. I have been so lucky to have met women who care that much and so blessed to have such wonderful kids also. That’s right, I said LUCKY. Mr. I don’t believe in luck is LUCKY. Louise, Debbie, Pat, Karin, Kari, Little Lee, and Cynthia, I want to say “Thank You” so very much for everything. (If I forgot anyone, I probably didn’t love you that much!)

As you read this, maybe you have a special someone who doesn’t mind or might even enjoy coming with you to these tourneys. You should know that you ARE very lucky to have that support. I learned a lot about relationships because of Magic. The fact that the ULTIMATE partner is one who embraces you for who you are and WHAT you love. So, kiss or hug that loved one and thank them. Hopefully, you are equally as understanding and supportive in their hobbies. That truly is something to cherish.

Maybe I love this game for the friends I have or had. You may meet a lot of people throughout your lifetime, and I find that people do tend to come and go. Magic has that unique quality of dragging people back into it.

It is fun to meet fans of the show/website, I truly cherish your time and your praise. I’ve met some of the best of friends through Magic. Old friends like Daniel Mondragon and Jose Cintra are guys who I started with. To guys like Antonino De Rosa, Billy Postelthwait, Tim Brenner, Bill and Bob Stead, and Ben Stark who are guys I watched grow up and now the “Jimmy”s, my ManaNation host Patrick, Julian, Zack, and the Oliveros brothers who are hitting the “new school” scene. Even Ari Cores gets mentioned (for what I dont’ know). I don’t have enough space to mention everyone, but you know what I mean. Magic tourneys often times provide reason to reminisce and to look forward or possibly dread (if they tend to beat you) seeing a friend.

The Pro Tour allowed me to meet, mingle and play against some of the BEST players in the world. People who you normally just read about or watch online. I love playing the best players. I think that they make me better. In fact, I KNOW they make me better. When I see that I’m paired against some of today’s hottest players such as Guillaume Wafo-Tapa or Paulo Vitor Doma De Rosa it pushes me to play as well as I can. I enjoy putting myself through these tests and I believe a person can NEVER truly know themselves unless they test themselves. It’s my competitive nature that drives me and I love that about myself.

I know that many of you may be wondering, “when is he going to talk about Magic?” and hopefully you’ll see that I already have. I’ve tried to give some insight into why I love this game, why I’ll always love this game and why I bother trying to do well at this game.

Spend a few minutes thinking about how great this game has been for you personally. Whether it’s the 10 man FNM you play in every Friday or running into the person you see ONLY at the Pro Tour events. There are lots of memories you can create at any ONE of these events and many more you’ll have winning or losing at this game

Keep playing! Thanks for reading.

– Lee

Two weeks ago we explored two Shadowmoor/Eventide sealed decks and this week we bash them against each other. It’s forty-five minutes of gameplay between Lee and Trick as they take a three game series all the way down to an exciting finish.

Will Trick finally emerge victorious? Will Lee hold onto the trophy? You’ll have to see it to believe it!

This experience provided me with a tremendous boost in my playing abilities, as well as confirmation of what I had been saying all along “Faeries is THE best deck in the format.” Holding off on running Faeries has cost me quite a lot. I was ignoring what I preached was the truth. My rating going into Grand Prix Denver was 1747, the lowest it had been in several years. This also meant I was to start the 9 rounds of Swiss with ZERO byes. And on top of that, I didn’t have all of the cards I wanted. I knew I wanted to play faeries I just didn’t know what version. From the results of GP Kobe, I saw something that had interested me, obviously the winning deck.

I thought the deck was fantastic! However, I know myself and I know that many of the cards in the deck just don’t work for me:

1. Vivid Creek – I don’t know why a person would play a Vivid land in a deck that is only 2 colors. On top of that, I feel like I draw too many lands in 23-24 land decks and with Peppersmoke and Cryptic Command, I feel like 24 lands would be the peak of my land capacity.
2. Pestermite – As much as I like this card, I feel it’s very inferior to cards that actually do more than block bitterblossom tokens.
3. Sower of Temptation NEVER works for me. It always dies and I am left with a total feeling of betrayal. Without a Scion the Sower is an easy target for removal. If you are fortunate enough to have Sower and they do NOT have removal or you DO have Scion it’s MONEY. However, I like to gamble in casinos and NOT in MTG. At least most of the time ;)
4. Oona, Queen of the Fae I do enjoy opening an Oona in a draft, but at 6 mana she’s a pretty big mouth to feed. What also gets me is that she does NOTHING against the bigger Cloudthresher. Yes she can become a millstone and deck your opponent of useful weapons but ultimately she does NOTHING vs. 2 of the creatures that do the most harm vs. Faeries, Thresher and Colossus.
5. What’s with the 3 ofs?!?! Cryptic Command is awesome! Thoughtseize is awesome! The ONLY thing worse than running 3 of them, is running 2 or then again running 1. There is a reason why restricting a card was terrible when you wanted to play 4 of something, and you only played the 1 card because that was the ONLY option. Of course you do what you can and hope that 3 or 2 of a card balances things better, but I think those 2 cards are must be at 4.

So, here’s my little diddy:

If you hadn’t heard, Stillmoon Cavalier was the hottest card in the game on Friday and early Saturday of the Grand Prix. I had the chance to buy the last 4 available at our sponsor’s site Coolstuffinc.com for $4.99 and I thought that was a bit too much for what I felt was a mediocre card. Additionally, it would have been a 30 minute drive for me to go pick them up and that was just too much. So, I waited to get to Denver. Where I found that ALL of the dealers had sold out on Friday at $15 a pop! Then, Saturday morning found no success for me as everyone and their mother was buying this guy.

I met up with Magic Superstars Antonino De Rosa, Billy Postlethwait and David Irvine to write up my decklist and grab some always valuable advice. With 5 minutes before start time, Antonino told me that some guy just pulled out some Cavaliers for $20 each! I ran up and bought the last 4 that he had. So this tourney already had me in for $110. :(

Round 1 Kithkin

Game 1 – We started out racing! I drop a Turn 2 Bitterblossom and Turn 3 Thoughtseize reveals main deck Pollen Lullaby! Which is what I take and then take the game on two consecutive Scions for the win (I end at 3 life.) He made a mistake by not transforming his Figure of Destiny during his main phase and I’m able to respond with a Peppersmoke during my turn in response, this play added to his demise.

Game 2 – He comes at me very fast with T1, T2, T3 drops. I drop T3 and T4 Cavalier and it totally puts a halt to his offense. I realize that these guys might be pretty good for me. ;)

1-0 Matches :: 2-0 Games

Round 2 Kithkin/White Hybrid Red/Green

Game 1 – He played multiple Kitchen Finks but I’m able to kill them with Nameless Inversion + Peppersmoke combo. With 2 Finks in his yard and me dwindling in life (3) I play Puppeteer Clique and grab 4 life to win at 3.

Game 2 – I mulligan to 5, BUT I lay a turn 3 and turn 5 Cavalier which holds his entire army at bay. He hardly touched me and the Cavaliers brought home the victory with me at 10.

2-0 Matches :: 4-0 Games

Now, I believe that the first two rounds of a Grand Prix SHOULD be won relatively easily. Mainly, because the “better” players have 3 round byes. Your matchups get increasingly more difficult through the tournament.

Round 3 Faeries

Game 1 – He plays a turn 1 Thoughtseize on me taking my Bitterblossom, then follows it up with a turn 2 Bitterblossom of his own. My Mutavault does some damage, as I clear the path with Peppersmokes. This allowed me to regain some momentum as he is only drawing lands. I turn the game around by Thoughtseizing him. He dies to his own Bitterblossom.

Game 2 – He Thoughtseized me again on Turn 1 taking my Bitterblossom. However, I rip a turn 3 Bitterblossom despite his attempts to keep me from my destiny. I take his Scion with a Thoughtseize and that’s all that really takes place as he begins to flood for lands.

3-0 Matches :: 6-0 Games

Round 4 Doran

This matchup is a hard one for me. Not only because Doran and Colossus are so good, but I don’t draw the color of lands I need. He mulligan game one and I mulligan game 2.

3-1 Matches :: 6-2 Games

Round 5 Faeries

Game 1 – I Thoughtseize Turn 1 and view Cryptic Command, Nameless Inversion x 2, Mutavault, Swamp, Sunken Ruin. I take his Cryptic Command and play BB next turn. He keeps drawing removal killing my little Faeries and I keep taking damage. Around Turn 8 I Thoughtseize again, I view Sower, Sower and Spellstutter Sprite. He takes one of my tokens with Sower #1 and I run in with 3 tokens killing the Sower with a EOT Peppersmoke. I kill Sower #2 with my next EOT’s Peppersmoke. Spellstutter meets with a Peppersmoke when he tries to counter my Scion and he’s got 2 mutavaults in play. Note 3x Peppersmokes.

Game 2 – Once again, I turn 1 Thoughtseize, taking his Scion from the grip of Mistbind Clique x 2, Nameless Inversion, Peppersmoke and random lands. Bitterblossom turn 2 seals the deal. 13 life.

4-1 Matches :: 8-2 Games

Round 6 Faeries splashed White for Wispmare

Game 1 – Actually came down to us both being at 1 and both of us having Bitterblossoms. On my turn I Peppersmoke both of his blockers and swing with 2 tokens for the win. 1 life.

Game 2 – His hand was terrible Turn 1 I Thoughtseize and take his Wispmare. On turn 2 I lay my trademarked Bitterblossom. I didn’t know that he trademarked the ole top deck the wisp mare move and he killed my BB before I could get a counter. So, at this point I go into Mistbind beat down mode. 13 life.

5-1 Match :: 10-2 Games

Round 7 Faeries

Game 1 – I turn 1 Thoughtseize finding Peppersmoke x 2, Mistbind Clique, Cryptic Command. Turn 2 comes my BB and I win at 5.

Note: I found that a lot of players opted NOT to aggressively mulligan for either a T1 Thoughtseize or a T2 Bitterblossom. If I had not had it in my grip majority of the time (as indicated) I would have mulligan at least to 6.

Game 2 – This wasn’t very special as I had a very aggressive hand with NO Bitterblossom. I do see that he is running Broken Ambition, Cryptic Command, Peppersmoke, Mistbind Clique, so I take the Cryptic Command as I feel that is the only card in his grip that can push him back to parity. He did lay a Stillmoon Cavalier and tried to go aggressive on me. However, when he would try to pump to kill me, I would consign before damage. So, to summarize, I took 6 damage from the Cavalier instead of the intended 12 because I bounced him 3 times. 6 Life

NOTE: for this matchup, I sided in Consign to Dreams when I’m on the draw 2nd or 3rd game. You MUST keep in mind that Stillmoon Cavalier is VERY good vs. Faeries. IF I’m on the play for game 2 or 3 I might consider playing Cavalier.

6-1 Match :: 12-2 Games

Round 8 Kithkin

Game 1 – He mulligans. I come out with T2 BB and play 2 Scions to win this one easily.

Game 2 – It’s a little bit harder, NOT TRUE. It’s actually easier. T2 BB, T3 Cavalier, T4 Cavalier, 5 Life, Victory.

7-1 Match :: 14-2 Games

At this point, Antonino and company tell me to draw in no matter what, because you don’t want to take a chance of being 65th or higher. I don’t know what my standing is and I don’t want to look. So, I go into round 9 looking to draw.

Round 9 Mono Red

Ok so Mono Red is very good Vs Faeries, but pretty much bad vs. the other top decks. I offer the draw. My opponent says, “I heard our record from today carries over to tomorrow. So, I’m going to play.” I said you’re guaranteed to make it to day 2 if you draw or win, but you’re not if you lose. Any way, he kicked the crap out of me.

In case you’re interested, he plays Stigma Slasher every game and wrecked me.

So, I get upset, thinking I’m not going to be able to make day 2 I’ve been X-2 in my last 2 Grand Prix and have not been able to make day 2. I come to terms with not making it in because I had zero byes and I felt that I deserved to NOT make it because of that fact.

Day 1 record was 3-0 vs. Kithkin 4-0 vs. Faeries the 2 “best” decks in the format, and it was mainly because of the Cavaliers in the Kithkin matchup.

I’m gonna conclude this as Part 1 of the series.

1. If you ARE a good player, the “Best” deck will always result in a decent finish. I’ve procrastinated playing Faeries since Lorwyn came out. It has cost me 100s of DCI points and money for that matter.
2. If you identify a card or cards that help your deck win, there should be NO cost too high
3. If you do want to be a “serious” player, then you need to plan. Your rating will not get high enough if you think you can screw little kids during FNM. You have to do well at bigger local events such as PTQs, States or Regional contests.
4. Have faith. Just play as well as you can, your record will reward you for your effort. I ended up 53rd out of 64 to make day 2. In fact, I thought the money was for top 32 or higher. (It was for the top 64.)

– Lee

Discuss this episode

What does a person do when they open the WORST rare in the set? How does a person determine whether or not Merfolk is really the tribe to go after for their draft? Let’s see if we can answer that for all of us. I was recently in a draft where the person to my right took a Judge of Currents FIRST PICK over Austere Command!!! He forced Merfolk all draft and did actually end up getting a decent deck. However, 101% of the time, I’d say this is a bad move, unless you already have 23 Austere Commands and a Judge of Currents is really your ONLY win condition.

As there are a myriad of “powerful” cards, I will NOT be saying “look for these 20 cards” or “this card will win 73% of the time for you” as it’s just not possible to provide an accurate assessment of every situation. Thanks.

Let’s start with a general philosophy. For new players, I say take Creatures and things that Kill (or neutralize) Creatures, with a priority for Creature Removal. The reason for this is that in Limited formats removal is a true premium and usually disappears from drafts extremely quickly. Now with this theory (as well as all others) there are exceptions, you open a “Bomb” creature such as Shriekmaw (which is also removal), Mulldrifter, or Imperious Perfect. These cards tend to trump the majority of your Rares and must be noted when passing. In the majority of cases, you take removal early. Newbies will probably not be able to identify above average creatures that have abilities which truly impact the game, but you’ll learn those things with time.

Quick Picks:

Removal
Nameless Inversion
Eyeblight’s Ending
Weedstrangle
Tarfire
Lash Out
Oblivion Ring
Neck Snap

Creatures
Silvergill Douser
Stonybrook Angler
Cloudcrown Oak
Goldmeadow Harrier
Dreamspoiler Witches

This is just a few of the cards you may want to consider EARLY because they probably won’t table, which means you most likely won’t get them back.

Now, let’s say you’ve made your first pick. What’s next???

As an experienced drafter, my strategy is that I tend to always take the “Best” card regardless of color. I will probably do that until the pack is over. Then, in the second pack I can begin focusing on a theme and build on my color options. This can be good or bad, the good is that you gain a more powerful card pool or selection to base your 22-24 cards for your deck. The bad is that you may miss/pass cards that support the eventual or inevitable deck. With that being said, you must always consider your possible directions whether it be drafting Elves, Kithkin or drafting by color. Conversely, if the second pack doesn’t fit my color or Merfolk choice, drafting the “best” cards allows me to be more flexible and continue drafting the best card regardless of color.

Make note that many people LOSE drafts because they’re either ManaScrewed (the typical excuse) or they get lands of the wrong color. Since we already talked about color ratios in my last article, let’s address Manascrew or a lack of on color mana. Some people never pay attention to the CASTING COST of their cards. As you can imagine, picking 10 cards that cost 4 or more will have an impact on your deck’s performance. You didn’t get manascewed from your deck, you screwed yourself. There’s an old saying “Speed Kills” and Magic is NO different. You can win matches through sheer speed alone. A great example is Jon Finkel’s draft, (which we discussed in a recent episode here at ManaNation.com) where he decided to go Kithkin early. This obviously worked for him and can work easily for you. Typically, Goblins, Merfolk, Kithkin are the cheaper Clans to play with MOST of the players being 3cc or less. With Treefolk and Giants being the most expensive, I recommend you pass these guys, with the exception of opening a good Rare. So the message here is mind your casting costs and Keep It Cheap! If you don’t get removal, you will probably be overrun by bigger creatures so keep that in mind as well.

Let’s look at some Uncommon or Common reasons why you’d choose a certain Race or Clan in your draft:

Merfolk:
Summon the School
Merrow Reejery

Elves:
Lys Alana Huntmaster

Kithkin:
Wizened Cenn

Faeries:
Peppersmoke
Spellstutter Sprite

Elementals:
Smokebraider

Giants:
Stinkdrinker Daredevil

Treefolk:
Thorntooth Witch

You may say where’s this card? Where’s that card? What I’m trying to do is simplify your choices and allow you to make yourself more flexible for mistakes as well as choices. The cards mentioned are cards that depend on other cards of that same Clan to really provide benefit to you and are NOT Rare. Sure Pestermite is a good card, but you don’t HAVE to have other Faeries to make it good, unlike Thorntooth Witch which is terrible without the help of other Treefolk.

So let’s summarize what you’ve learned.

1. Pick Removal
2. Pick “High” quality cards
3. Pick cheap cost cards
4. Pick cards of your clan or race

When you DON’T have a bomb rare, these 5 rules will surely help you with your pursuit of victory. Wait here’s rule 5 for those of you going to the Shadowmor prerelease:

5. Pick the RARE

I can hear you all laughing. However, I am dead serious and here’s the reason why. During prereleases, you will find many people who play MTG for many different reasons. Some are competitive, some play for fun, some just want to see cards and others want to build sets. Even the MOST skilled players can’t always identify tomorrow’s best card. Nor do they often pick the right “High Dollar” cards for you to hurry and get. If you pick the rare (whether that be Rule 1 or Rule 5) you may either have someone’s missing card for their SET or Constructed’s next Tarmagoyf, and this can NET you some cash. I won’t lie to you; during prereleases even I tend to pick the Gold Symbol much earlier than I do after the product is released. Merely to use as a trade item for cards I KNOW I need or something that can recoup costs for my expensive addiction 99% of the time, I draft to win and so should you. But, in this case I can forgive you.

– Lee

Do you think you would show better results? Let’s face it, the majority of people who draft, draft the same way. Usually, they pick the same cards and go with the same strategy. Too many times, I see people draft based on some random “Pro’s” advice and lose because that strategy doesn’t or didn’t work for them.

One of the FANTASTIC reasons to come to ManaNation.com is to view ACTUAL drafts by some of the best in the business. We do this NOT to make you draft like Finkel or Herzog or Paulo or Nassif, but to understand their strategies in drafting so you can understand what you may or may not be doing wrong.

I’m writing this article in multiple parts to allow for discussion on more specific details within our Forums. And, I’ve kind of written this backwards due to the complexities of card choices. So, let’s look at some drafting deck building strategies or theories and I’ll try to provide a holistic view of the plus and minus of each:

1. How many cards in the deck

The first part of this is to do whatever you can to stick to 40 cards! I mentioned in one of my previous articles that Magic is about statistical probabilities. If you have only one card in your deck, then that card will be more likely to show up in your hand if you have fewer cards in your deck. With that fact being said, try your best to be at 40 cards. HOWEVER, I often find myself playing 41 and it’s only because I’m comfortable with my ratios in building a 41 card deck. The larger the deck, the less likely it will be that you draw any specific card. And you want it to be more likely, thus a smaller deck.

2. Average Casting Cost Base 3

Now let’s look at what I call “average casting cost base3”. This is a theory of mine that tries to simplify the math and help you “cut land”. To me you should NEVER go below 16 lands, nor should you ever go above 18. So the question is what and when?

Take all spells that cost less than 3 and all cards that cost more than 3. (At this point you have three groups <3, 3s, >3) You take the 0 cc and place them 1:1 (or couple them) with the 6 cc, the 1cc with the 5 cc, the 2 cc with the 4 cc. If all of your cards are paired (or close) run 17 lands. If you have an excess of >3 you run 18 lands or <3 you run 16 lands.

3. Mana Split

There are lots of Ifs for this part. This doesn’t account for mana fixers or dual lands, so recognize that.

After you’ve determined 16, 17 or 18 now you must choose exact “color” or land/mana ratio. Mono colored decks are easy, if all of your cards are white then you play 16, 17 or 18 plains!

However, let’s say they’re not. I count 1 mana symbol of any color as “1″ and any additional mana symbol on that card as a &half;. If you have a multicolored card, you judge the same way GW = 1 forest + 1 plains. If 12 of your 23 cards are blue and 11 are white (with single mana symbols on each card) then you simply go 9 islands 8 plains.

Let’s say though you’re running 4 different colors of equal presence. Then, I’d run 22 cards and 18 lands and split 18 lands equally but high on the 2 “cheapest” colors. Meaning if your blue and white spells are the cheapest overall, then play +1 for both Plains and Islands.

I count mana sources that ARE NOT lands as ½ as well (Springleaf Drum, Fertile Ground, etc). This works even BEYOND the land count you’ve determined. I’m NOT counting creatures that can tap for mana as they count as “Creatures”. Here’s where it gets tricky. If you’re working the <3, then go up to +2 for non land sources of mana (dependent upon what sources you have you can even go 15 lands), conversely if you’re at >3 then go up to +3 for mana sources with 17 lands. Going any higher will often cause a flood!

This is about building, at this point, more so than… Oops! See you next week! Hehe!

– Lee

Well, ok then! Now I’m going to provide you with a reversed view of what I wrote last week. I know you can’t wait! This really is just an expansion of what I said, and it should make things perfectly clear that 99% of us have a lot to work on – So, let’s go!!!

#1 I know the cards better than you

This one has no exception. Knowledge is power, and unfortunately some people process information better or “differently” than others do. This is why they appear to be better at certain things than others, which often looks like it is effortless. One of the ways I try to compensate for that is to study up the day before a big tournament. Find out what your deck’s weaknesses are, and be prepared.

For Prereleases, check the spoilers to see what might sound interesting or “broken” so that you know what you might be up against. Don’t be the guy who over-extends on playing creatures only to find that Wizards featured a new Wrath of God card a week ago.

#2 I know my chance of winning are better than YOURS!

There’s an old saying “I’d rather be lucky than good” and Magic is no different. Sometimes you have to go with your gut. Only hindsight will tell you what the right answer was or might have been. However, don’t be too hard headed to listen to what that “right answer” is.

Trick has a great quote from the Legendary Jon Finkle which is: “If there is a good play and a better play, then the good play is actually a bad play.” This is so true with MTG, in fact I’d say it’s rather true in life. Once you’ve drawn that keep-able hand of 7 cards, you may believe that your options are limitless. However, there are statistical probabilities which fit within the legal rules of the game and the laws of the land and these are considered “right plays”. For example, having a 2 land hand and laying the “come into play tapped” land on turn 2 rather than on turn 1 when you have a 2 casting cost card in hand. Is this play a mistake? Usually. Does it happen? You know it does.

#3 I just play better than YOU!

It’s very easy to be intimidated by a guy who’s won a Pro Tour or perhaps even a jokester who co-hosts a weekly podcast, but ultimately the guy who makes the fewest mistakes is usually going to win. Even if you don’t know everything, have faith in what you do know. Tell yourself, ”Untap, Upkeep, Draw” every time you begin your turn. Start thinking about basics and work your way up to the advanced levels. Don’t give up because you make lots of mistakes; iron them all out by starting at the beginning. Most of all HAVE FUN! Just remember that winning is twice is fun as losing.

#4 I’m a WINNER and you are a loser!

Just play, let the end result speak for itself. You are going to win some and lose some, but what will truly make that difference in you is asking the “Why” and “How”. Sometimes you’ll encounter a jerk that doesn’t want to talk about the match or talks trash about the match. Don’t complain about manascrew, but acknowledge it by shuffling better or rethinking your land ratio in your deck. Don’t blame the deck, blame yourself. You shuffled it. You decided to copy the deck from some crappy brainless website without properly testing it.

You can’t win if you aren’t willing to lose. Play your cards, and play them whenever you think is best. Win or lose, ask yourself, ask your opponents or ask some random Asian guy if there was something else that could have been done to be better.

Now, here are some of the more vague items that you can REALLY turn around for yourself:

#1 I’m not THAT “OLD”

It’s true what I said; young people do win at this game. However, no matter what age you are, you can certainly find this game fun. And, if you choose to be competitive, you can do that too! It really is about dedication and finding support in your test group as well as from your loved ones.

#2 Baggage

I’ve been very fortunate to have loved ones who support me and my love/addiction to this game. Being a single father of 2 children, I know it can be tough juggling life’s responsibilities, work, etc. I could NEVER say enough of my family who continue to show me love and my friends who put up with my constant nonsense. Without their support, I would be just some old guy with a higher than average rating and talking about the days of true Magic.

Make sure you reward those who support you, share your love and appreciation and sometimes share your packs. If you playtest with a group of players who really do know what they’re doing, hook them up with some loot. My old team, the GoodFellas, worked up a split for each and every event we played in together. This kept us focused and supportive of each other, as everyone’s entry fee contributed to the spoils of victory. Unfortunately, this can also cause turmoil, which it did for that team during their “golden years.”

#3 Money

This one is actually easy. There are a lot of people who share card pools. In fact, many pros do not even own huge collections of cards, rather they depend on sponsors or “teams” to gather and create the decks that win. This helps with expenses and doesn’t keep money lying around. Now I’m not saying you should sell those Tarmogoyfs now, because Uncle Lee will lend them to you next weekend. What I am saying is that your end may justify your means, and if selling cards helps pay for a plane ticket or a tank of gas, your selling those cards could result in a tournament victory or a run in with someone who might be your best friend for life.

There are others who are “professional” traders, and when not involved with matches are usually in the trading area picking up cards to sell to the highest bidder. I refer to these folks as “Bounty Hunters.” Being successful at this takes a lot of work and energy, but can be very fruitful in the money you can make and the collection you can accrue. Our sponsors at Coolstuffinc.com ALWAYS have cards that they’re buying and I believe their prices for them are very competitive. I know of people who buy 15 rares for $1 and sell them at 5 for a $1 to dealers. And, occasionally stumble on a card that might sell for $1 by itself. You may not think that that can make much, but what if you do that 100 times or even 1000 times. Nuff said!

Sponsorships are another way to save some $$$ and in some cases make money. There are many people willing to sponsor noble causes. Take NASCAR for instance, they wear outfits plastered with labels and advertisers everywhere! Not sure that I want to have a Preparation H label on my bum, but if it pays, then I’m willing! I believe the future has some VERY large sponsors for “smart” business minded Magic players, we’re just not asking the right questions or giving the right answers. “What will sponsoring a player do for me?” will be the first question they ask and what will your answer be? “I will wear a cool shirt with your name on it while I spend your profits,” may not be what they’re looking for. However, if NIKE hears that I support their product in sports of the Mind and Body, then maybe they might listen. If they learn that the benefits of their clothes or shoes have helped me win X number of tournaments, well now we’re talking. It really is about your business model and whether you believe in yourself and your sport.

#4 Friends! How many of us have them?

You don’t really have to have friends to succeed in this game. You merely have to work hard. Having a team just shares the load among you all. There are many times that I want to write an article or state something totally out from left field because I believe it really does help me play this game better. What stops me is that I’m not sure if anyone would understand. So, I just internalize it and wait for a better moment. With so many different opportunities to shuffle cards, you can achieve some very effective playtesting without obligating yourself to others. Simply log in to MTGO or head to a nearby Friday Night Magic session. It’s convenient and easy.

Before the internet made a huge impact on MTG I took pride in my metagame skills and would build decks that I knew would dominate the current “top” decks in the format. This earned me the title of “Best Sunday Player” by many of my friends, because I couldn’t win a Saturday PTQ but would win the Sunday cash or prize tournament with ease. On that thought, the internet is a tremendous tool for all types of information and Magic decks are NOT an exception. If you don’t know by know, Faeries and Reveillark, are the 2 most commonly played decks in the world at this time, but that can change in an instant. If you don’t tune in to this Monday’s episode, you might miss what deck is next.

SUMMARY

Some people have what it takes to be good naturally, but I’m a firm believer in hard work and I believe that anyone can be great on any given day with the proper preparation. The Hall of Fame is a decent measure of consistency on the Pro Tour but we’re talking about winning and if I can get you to win once, I feel I’ve done my job. But winning consistently will take much more work from you.

The rules are the only thing that is presented on a consistent and fair playing field. No one is above the rules. If you cannot understand the reasoning behind the current Reveillark combo stack (not necessarily verbalizing it, in Tricks case as you’ll see in Monday’s episode) then, you need to work on your understanding of the rules. You may not need to know it for casual games, but indeed you do need to know it for competitive play.

Next, check your attitude. More on that in the future.

Bluffing is something someone asked about recently on the forums and all I can say is I may or may NOT know anything about bluffing. Seriously though, we will talk about that in a future discussion or article.

As I mentioned, this article is meant to be for those individuals who read it first and then find that something within it which pertains to them.

What does it take to win? Well why don’t you tell me? – Let me know in the forums what you think it takes. If you mention luck though, I’m going to vomit.

– Lee

Beating a world champion or “Big Time” player in a side draft or small tournament and then losing to that same person in the main event. The occurrence would happen so often that I would ponder the myriad of different scenarios and outcomes as well as everything in between for days. I’d look at the winning deck list of some random tournament and get so frustrated because it was the exact deck that had I played.

Now I’m obviously NOT a big name or a member of the Pro Tour Hall of Fame, but I have played my share of competitive Magic. I was once the 21^st overall composite player in the world and one of the top 5 players in the world for matches played. With this, I did find relative success and some $$$ here and there. On top of this bit of Magic “success”, I used to be a “professional” gambler as well as a Pool and Billiards player.

You might be wondering what the relevance of all this jibber-jabber is to you or to anyone (other than me). Here’s what I’m trying to say, “I know what it takes to make YOU a better player!” I’m not saying that everything you’re about to read pertains to you, but I would guarantee there is something.

<disclaimer> I’m writing this as if I were talking to you first person and it may sound a bit harsh. Please understand for the sake of this article that I’m merely trying to voice a point or opinion.</disclaimer>

Let’s start with the ones you probably already know:

#1 I know the cards better than YOU!

I have spent a majority of my days understanding the cards and how they work. Not only do I know every card in Magic, but I know EVERY deck in the format “card for card”. Why is this important? Because it’s important to know every weapon in an arsenal! NEVER should an opponent surprise you with a card from their deck. You may not think it should be there and you may not think it should be played against you, but it’s there and you SHOULD expect it.

#2 I know my chances of winning are better than YOURS!

If you’re playing poker (like Texas Hold ‘Em), you NEED to know every possible out with every card in the hand! This leads me to say that you should be aware of the odds during any tournament or encounter. What odds you ask?

What are the odds of losing any given encounter, Faeries vs. Elves? What are the odds of drawing a certain card from your deck to win a match, Land or Shriekmaw? What are the odds of you getting into day 2 or the Top 8 in a tournament with an X-2 record? In the end, this game is more about statistics and probabilities than anything else. Which is all FACT! Weighing the options or answers before they come is truly a gift that not many players have. Sun Tzu mentions in ‘The Art of War’ the rewards of anticipation many times. In theory, we can both be playing the same deck and the results of our 10 games would be a draw 5-5. However, the person who can anticipate the next play better than the other will often win more. If you can’t anticipate me or my moves, you can’t possibly beat me!

#3 I just play better than YOU!

Did you know, that back in the old days, activating lands for mana was once an activated ability and could be stopped or prevented by cards like Orim’s Chant and Abeyance? Do you remember when you could play instants during your opponents End Step and have their effects continue through your turn (Waylay)? Today’s Magic hasn’t really changed all that much, because though the mechanics have changed they are STILL a major factor in successful play.

Now just watching people cast ALL of their sorceries in Main Phase 1 rather than attacking first and casting during Main Phase 2, doesn’t indicate their NOOB-ness. However, most “Pros” recommend waiting to play (Non-Haste) creatures or sorceries ’til Main Phase 2. One of my favorites is the person playing a Goblin deck (with average casting cost of 3) and emptying their hand by laying land #7 down without any reason. They should hold the land until it is needed for something.

Believe it or not, many of the matches you lost could have ended in a victory and I don’t mean that you could have won IF you had drawn a random card. I mean that you may have provided too much information, played too aggressively, played too defensively or just played too damn bad.

Having bad habits or playing mechanics poorly in Magic is NO different than having a slice in your golf swing or a bad arc in your free throw. They cause you to lose, period. Some things are caused by habits others are a result of not knowing. If you are going to win, you NEED to know what can and can’t be done.

#4 I’m a winner and YOU are a loser!

Have you ever been victim to a Wrath of God just after casting your last creature and having 2 already on the table where your opponent has none? Sucks don’t it.

Have you lost because a Turn 1 or Turn 2 creature took half of your life while you waited too long to kill it?

Have you kept questionable opening hands with the wrong mana, too much or too little?

Now you could have said “yes” to any of the questions above and said, ”but this is why” and you know what? It really doesn’t matter. It’s just an example of poor judgment. Much like “fishing” the river card in poker or attempting a “bank shot” in pool, they are very low percentage options and often result in a loss. The pros don’t take chances they don’t have to and they really do think about what will happen next.

In Pro Tour Hawaii, my opponent tried to Repeal an artifact I had with X and X casting cost (which I had set to 5) by tapping 11 mana. He was at 9 life and I was at 5. Now the interesting thing about this play was it was at the end of my turn and he had untapped, but the judge allowed him to take it back. Thankfully, I still won! Two of the matches I won during that tournament were due to my opponents making technical mistakes, which propelled me to finish in the top 40 of the tournament.

Can you hear me now?

Hopefully, you’re not too tired. This next section I’d like to talk about some things that you may NOT be able to change or modify. In fact they are things that you may not consider to affect your game play:

#1 Yep, you’re too OLD!

Believe it or not, Magic is a young person’s game. I’m not saying that you can’t be too old to “play” MTG, but if you’re older than 30 it’s not in your favor to win a competitive Magic tourney. Think about it, how many 30+ MTG players do you know who have won a Tournament? As in many “athletic” sports, a person’s prime is usually 27 to 35, this sport (yes I believe it’s a sport) does NOT seem to find its rewards within the “older” generation. Whether it’s your inability to conceive new decks, strategize, or learn new tricks, you’d better think about retirement after age 30.

#2 Baggage

Do you have a significant other who argues with you before or during tournament days? Is there someone in your life who’s ill? Perhaps you’re an alcoholic or taking some form of medication. Magic is a mental game, and takes its toll out of people in many different ways. As in the aforementioned “too old” topic, baggage can weigh heavily on you and really distract from your true abilities. ALL of those higher paid athletes get paid that way to make sure they have ALL of their needs looked after so that they may “work” on what they really need to worry about, which is their game. Your mental state really does have an effect on your performance.

#3 Which leads me to…

Money! I like it and I believe most people do too. However, the odds are completely against you if you cannot afford the cards, the travel, or (in some people’s opinion) to play online. This game costs money and playing competitively is even MORE expensive. Very few people make money at playing this game, and the ones who DO win are probably not worrying about a mortgage, a car payment or kids. I know that the DCI doesn’t report a person’s current income or employment information, but I’d say majority of our Pro Tour winners have been college individuals who had/have little worries of “mature” life. This also goes back to the baggage issues I referred to in #2 above.

When I played pool, one of my favorite lines was, ”It’s not how much money we’re playing for, it’s just about playing.” Which is essentially true, it doesn’t really matter what you play for, because if you’re Tiger Woods, Michael Jordan, or Jon Finkel, there’s a good chance you will win. So, why wouldn’t you bet the farm on those guys? Although, I’m not so sure I’d bet the farm on you… There’s a saying when it comes to gambling, “Do NOT play with ’scared’ money”. This means gambling with money which is supposed to be for the rent or for baby’s shoes, it can and WILL effect how you play. If you are planning on traveling to a Grand Prix because you want to win a couple thousand dollars, using your next two month’s rent that you worked 60 hours the last to months to earn, you should probably reconsider.

Grand Prix Philadelphia had almost 1000 people in it. Only 128 participants made day 2 which is barely 10% and only half of those are the ones who got prize money. That’s a little over 5% of the entire field! When you consider travel, food and lodging, I probably would have lost money had I won the entire event.

#4 No friends equal No wins!

Magic has really become a team sport. Even though it is recognized as an individual accomplishment when someone wins; I would have a hard time believing that anyone and EVERYONE that has won a major event didn’t ahve 5, 10, even 50 people supporting them in testing, finding cards, or finding cash. Especially when it comes to testing, more resources to test is a MUST. This is quite different from tournament magic ten years ago, some random guy could come in with some random deck and win. However, these days, people are smarter, they share ideas online and test it during FNM or online 8 man queues. So go make some friends!!!

I could go on and on with my theories on success in Magic. In the near future, I’d like to provide you with solutions to all of the items above. I hope you enjoyed this! The thing I enjoy most about learning all of this is that the “Richie Rich” kids can’t afford the school where they teach these things — If you would like to enroll in this school please check out the website at SchoolofHardKnocks.com. Hehe!

Lee

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