Magic the Gathering

Theory

The Elevator Pitch

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In today’s world of hot marketing, entrepreneuring and trying to hit the jackpot for any such idea, there is a thing called the “elevator pitch.” The elevator pitch is a short, concise, to the point, description of some concept, usually your business.

The origin of this is that every business, when broken down to its most simplistic meaning, can be described in 30 seconds. The time it usually takes to travel on an elevator, when the person you’re talking to can’t escape (at least, not easily.)

Why am I discussing an Entrepreneurial skill in my Magic article? Because you should know the elevator pitch of your deck. When someone asks what you’re playing, you should be able to, in a brief amount of time explain your deck and its plan.

Key points your deck elevator pitch needs to contain:

• The deck name (and creator if not you)
• The key cards
• The general strategy
• The bad matchups
• The really good matchups (I mean, the auto-wins)
• Should not contain the words: “kind of like”

Why do you need this? Because it means you have a clear understanding of your deck. A clear and complete understanding of your deck means you have the necessary information to make proper decisions during a match.

You hear writers and announcers discuss playing for the card you need to win. You have to know your deck well enough to be able to discern what cards in it can help you win and what you can do to up the likelihood of it happening.

If your opponent is at three life, you need to draw an Incinerate to kill them, but they have two islands and three cards in hand, how do you know one of them it isn’t a counter? You don’t. You do everything you can, either forcing him to tap his mana or to use the card in hand in the hopes that when you draw your card it will be the game winner.

That’s a fairly simple example, but even that simple example wouldn’t be doable if you weren’t sure that your deck had three Incinerates and not two, when two are in your graveyard. You need to know your deck so you know what remains in it during a game.

This isn’t just for standard either, it’s easier for Standard as numbers are usually regular. Draft and sealed are more difficult, but you need to remember the key cards and how many you have. Even your limited decks should have their own elevator pitch.

Ask me about my deck’s elevator pitch next time you see me.