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Figure Out What’s Important

GP Nashville finalist Todd Anderson talks about changes he’s been making in his life that he hopes will improve his Magic tournament results. He also highlights Brad Nelson and Christian Calcano’s Standard decks from GP Minneapolis.

The routine. Figuring out what it is each day that will make you a better, stronger person. Discovering something about yourself that you thought you’d lost. Waking up every morning next to someone who loves you for who you are and discarding everything that doesn’t matter. Placing priority on the things that matter rather than let the weight of the world hold you down.

So this is living.

To say that my state of mind has drastically altered in the last few weeks would be an understatement. After crashing and burning at the Pro Tour with a 7-1 opening record for Day 1, I couldn’t help but doubt myself. After figuring out that moping never helped anyone, I stepped out of the sadness-cocoon I had built for myself and decided to grow some wings. I didn’t decide to play more Magic. I didn’t go and build the best deck anyone has ever seen. I didn’t break any formats or win any tournaments (yet). I did something I haven’t done in a while.

I went to the gym.

I started working out. I started walking on the treadmill (I will run when I am in a little better shape!). I started lifting weights. And the burn feels gooooood.

When I was in high school, I played a lot of sports. I worked out in the school gym every other day, but I exercised every single day for hours and hours. That is something that my mind and body have both missed. I can’t even begin to describe what changed inside me. I just got sick of it. Sick of the backhanded comments. Sick of the clothes I couldn’t wear anymore. Sick of being lazy. I was sick of feeling sorry for myself, so I decided to do something about it.

But this is a Magic column. I’m not a personal trainer or anything. But I have a much better mindset about what I want to do and where I want to be in my life. I want to look good, and I want to be healthy.

Over the last few years, I’ve grown complacent when it comes to my health and my body, but a sound mind comes with a sound body attached. Being in shape helps you get a good night’s sleep. Exercising and eating (just a little bit) better will make you feel so much better than if you never do anything other than sit around and play games all the time.

I’m not quitting Magic. Oh, to the contrary. I’m going to play more Magic than I have before, but I’m going to play the type of Magic that matters. I don’t recommend grinding your way to the middle with Magic Online. Sure, Magic Online is a great tool that can help you get much better at Magic, but it has a ceiling. You learn the mechanics of game play. You learn the rules on an almost carnal level. You feel like the rules are ingrained in your bones. But you don’t learn any of the intangible things about Magic that can make you a better player and, eventually, a better person.

As someone who has played Magic Online since its original Beta, I can tell you stories. I can relate various topdecks, mana screws, almost-got-theres, and small victories. As someone who plays a lot of live Magic, I can tell you stories of innovation, camaraderie, and victory. Do you see the difference? While Magic Online can be the difference between someone who wins at FNM and someone who wins a PTQ, live Magic will be the difference between someone who wins a PTQ and someone who wins a Grand Prix or Pro Tour.

Human interaction is a big part of Magic, and it’s something that Magic Online tends to skim over. The most interaction I have with my friends on Magic Online is something akin to, "Can I borrow some Tarmogoyfs?" There is the occasional instant message from a "friend" who I’ve never met who wants to ask me all about whatever deck I played last week, but I just don’t want to talk about that. I am on Magic Online to play Magic, not to talk about it. And I think that is the mindset that a lot of people have while playing Magic Online, and it is not a healthy one.

Magic Online is an amazing tool for helping you get better at Magic, but you need human interaction to become truly great at Magic. Without someone around to constantly challenge you in some way, you will learn that beating bad players is really easy. Then you will want to start brewing random decks to see if those can beat the bad players. Then, when winning isn’t fun anymore, you’ll forget what it was ever like to beat someone who was great at the game.

Moving to Roanoke, Virginia has been an awesome experience for me. As a husband who gets to watch his wife go to work happy every morning and as a player who is trying to make a name for himself, I have everything I could ever want. But that doesn’t mean I’m ever satisfied.

Not with my performances. Not with my current level of play. Not with my state of mind. Not with my body.

Performances at tournaments can be tricky to translate. Losing at any point in a tournament should never be thought of as a failure but rather as a chance to learn and grow. Losing is a tool that many people fail to utilize because emotions can blind them. The trick is to always recount the events that happened and try to figure out if there was a path to victory, either clear or muddled. Once you can see all of your mistakes in your head, in slow-motion Matrix style, then you will learn to translate those losses into lessons learned. Until then, you will just keep blaming losses on variance.

Blame yourself first. Whether it is in deckbuilding, mulligan decisions, or gameplay, there is almost always something you could have done differently to create a different outcome. Sometimes your opponent just has the nuts and there isn’t a lot you can do. But there is usually something you could have done.

Victory, as opposed to defeat, is often congratulated blindly, even when it is not necessarily deserved. This is where we begin to see "results-oriented thinking." Just because someone won a tournament doesn’t necessarily mean they had the best 75-card deck or even the best-positioned archetype. Longshots can win at any time, and that’s one of the coolest things about Magic.

I can play a deck that is soft against 40% of the field, but if I only play against that 60% of the field where I’m favored, then I’m probably going to do well. Is every card in my maindeck correct? Are all of my sideboard cards being utilized properly? These are things people need to ask themselves, even after winning a tournament. You can always improve. You can always do better.

While victory is often congratulated blindly, it should be congratulated. Being too hard on yourself could just drive you crazy. When you win something, whether it is big or small, take a step back and reflect. All of your hard work has paid off in this moment, even if it is just something as small as winning at FNM. Grab a bite to eat with friends. Talk about this tournament. That is your real reward. Sure, the booster packs or money is awesome, but those things are fleeting. Remember what matters. Remember who matters, and you’ll be fine.

Last weekend, there were a few major Standard tournaments that gave us some interesting results. Apparently, one Mr. Nicholas Spagnolo brewed up quite the Grand Architect deck, putting Brad Nelson into the finals of Grand Prix Minneapolis and Lewis Laskin into the Semifinals of the SCG Standard Open in Orlando. While the two decks were fairly similar, we’re going to talk about Brad’s version since he needs some more good press. Congrats on your finish, buddy!


So what makes this deck good? That, my friends, is a tricky question. The engine of Grand Architect isn’t really being utilized to its fullest in this deck. Honestly, this just feels like an Illusions deck that is playing fewer creatures that die to Gut Shot. But maybe that really is where the format is moving? We’re getting big with a million Lords and Clones, not to mention this big guy:

Wurmcoil Engine hasn’t really seen all that much play lately, but it makes sense that he would come back in full force this weekend. With G/R Aggro on the rise, taking down a few tournaments over the last few months, Wurmcoil Engine seems well placed. They can’t race it, and they sure as hell can’t kill it without some weird maindeck configuration. And if you can ever Clone your Wurmcoil Engine against an opponent who couldn’t really deal with the first one, it is going to be quite difficult to lose.

Honestly, I’m surprised no one thought of this sooner. Wurmcoil Engine is just amazing against any deck that isn’t hellbent on playing Vapor Snag, and it isn’t even really that bad against them after sideboarding when you have access to Mental Misstep. And if you play against any deck without Vapor Snag, Wurmcoil Engine will likely dominate the board. He locks down Elesh Norn, most Titans, and can race small armies. Though likely irrelevant, you can even pump Wurmcoil Engine with Grand Architect’s ability!

One of my favorite additions to this deck is Snapcaster Mage, which few people have put into the Grand Architect shell. The card is quite solid, and the spells Brad decided to play are all staples for the Mono-Blue Aggro archetype. Get some Mutagenic Growths, Gut Shots, or Mental Missteps in there and I’ll be much happier about it, though!

I’m sure Brad will write an entire article about this deck, so I don’t want to step on his toes that much. I will just say that I don’t think Merfolk Looter is very good in any deck unless you are playing some cool reanimation spell. I think the deck could really benefit from playing more copies of Spellskite to protect Grand Architect and Wurmcoil Engine, but I haven’t had the opportunity to play with the deck yet so I’m not positive the change is correct.

The other interesting deck to come out of the Grand Prix was Christian Calcano’s trial by fire:


I don’t want to rag on Christian Calcano, because I think he’s an awesome guy. He gets down on himself a lot after losing, but just reading about his attitude this past weekend was inspiring. People told him to "just play a regular Delver deck," but he was having none of it. He obviously knew something that we didn’t, but I can’t help but double take at some of the cards in the deck. I would love for him to write an article about this deck detailing all of the card choices and sideboarding decisions, if only to hear his thought process about the whole thing.

The deck is pretty "sweet" in the same way that most brews are pretty sweet. The biggest problem I have with the deck is its inability to interact with Geist of Saint Traft, at least in the first game. He has two Bonfire of the Damned and a singleton Phantasmal Image to kill it and can’t really block it other than Snapcaster Mage or flipping Delver of Secrets.

If I were to play this deck going forward I would make some changes to it, but none of them should be considered "obvious." There is a reason for every card in this deck, and I wouldn’t go making drastic changes without first playing with the deck for a good 20 or so games. With so many singletons, it could take a while to figure out just how good some of them are and why they are necessary. Once you discover all of this for yourself, you’ll be able to figure out what changes you will want to make.

Christian is a good player, and I’m glad that he finally has a Grand Prix win under his belt. He’s been grinding for so long, and hopefully this is a sign that he’s ready to step up and take charge. Will this spark Christian’s run towards Gold? Platinum? We’ll see!

If you’ve checked the schedule lately, then you’ll know that there are a ton of events coming up over the next few months. I’m going to be battling nearly every single weekend during the summer, traveling with awesome friends and visiting some of the greatest cities in the United States. I’m really hoping that my new outlook on life helps my performances, but I’ll just be happy knowing that I’m trying to improve myself in other aspects. Magic is fun, but it isn’t everything. So keep an eye out for me in the coverage, because I’ll be the guy who’s smiling.

Todd Anderson 2-1 vs. Life

I guess I finally won one.

Thanks for reading.

Todd

strong sad on Magic Online

@strong_sad on Twitter