I want to become a good Magic player. What makes a good Magic player?
It’s the sum of many things. Some little, some big. Good habits contribute a lot, things like dedication to the game, practice, following good advice, a
calm disposition, and focus. Good players learn from their mistakes. They tend to make the right moves because they know what matters based on experience.
They have the desire to win. They plan ahead.
You’ve probably heard all these answers and more.
Often finding the right question to ask can solve a problem. Just by asking the question, “What makes a good Magic player?” it’s easy to generate a bunch
of good answers. You already know the answers, it’s just a matter of paying attention to those answers. You know good Magic players don’t tilt
that often, but does that help you tilt less? You know good Magic players practice a lot, but maybe you still don’t practice much.
I want to tilt less. Why do you tilt?
I feel embarrassed when I lose. I’m unhappy with myself. I feel I should be winning. I feel the need to show the world that the hand I have been dealt just
isn’t fair. Maybe instead I should try and focus on the positives like the fact that I’m fortunate enough to get to play an awesome game like Magic at all.
I want to practice more and get good. Why aren’t you practicing as much as you want to be?
I don’t have time. I don’t need much practice to be good, I’m better than that. Even when I put my heart, soul, blood, sweat, and tears into preparation, I
still lose. Perhaps I haven’t been practicing in a way that is helping me improve quickly or now isn’t a good time for me to be focusing on Magic.
I’m sure the answers to those questions will be different for everyone. Those were just two examples of how you can dig up answers to questions you have.
All you need to do is ask. Each answer will lead to another question until you find a solution to, or at least the root of, your problem. You’d be
surprised just how many answers you already have that you’re ignoring or haven’t even bothered to ask the right question.
Answers are easy. Finding the right questions, or thinking to ask them, isn’t always so simple. Usually we are running on autopilot, which works, but it
works slowly. Asking the wrong questions can even help since they’ll help lead you to the right ones. Asking anything at all means that you are consciously
trying to improve. Noticing you want something and knowing that you can improve yourself to get it is the hard part.
When it comes to preparing for a Magic tournament it often helps to have some pre-set questions you ask yourself at certain points while preparing. They
act as checkpoints to keep you on track, heading in the right direction. Here are some of the best questions I ask myself. Remember that the hard part is
actually managing to ask the question in the first place.
What Matters in this Format?
There are many points you should be asking yourself this question, but it is usually something you try and figure out early on.
– During spoiler season. You might be trying to figure out how new cards will impact the existing format.
– While playtesting. Notice what decks are successful and which decks you are winning with and enjoy playing.
– After tournament results, like from Pro Tours, or once a new deck or strategy is discovered or becomes popular.
– While developing an overall draft strategy.
Have I Got Enough Games In?
Getting in games helps you in learning the format. To a lesser extent, so does studying the spoiler of a new set. Just getting reps in with a deck, any
deck, prepares and tunes your spidey senses. It’ll help you during games when fringe case scenarios and unexpected cards show up if you’ve seen them before
or thought about situations they’d be good in. You become a better Magic player every time you play Magic and level up your intuition. This is especially
important before a Pro Tour when there are a bunch of new cards.
You want to explore the format before locking in your deck. Develop your idea of what decks beat what and what the individually most powerful cards in the
format are.
Once you’re locked in it’s about getting good vs the rest of the format. I like to lock in my deck early. Once you’ve settled on a deck the games you play
from then on out are going to be helping you the most since you’ll be thinking about things from the perspective of your specific deck, which will help you
tune and play it better. Make sure you play a lot of games with your deck!
Magic Online is especially useful for this. It forces you to play sideboarded games and matches you up against people who might have wildly different takes
on the format you can learn from. Unfortunately, Magic Online can’t be relied upon entirely, now more than ever, and new sets only release a week before
Pro Tours, so it’s good to have alternative testing methods available.
Which Direction is the Format Headed?
Also known as metagaming, this is the level 2 question you should be asking once you’ve identified what you think matters.
They know that I know, and I know that they know, and we all know that we all know… You know? It’s easy to fall down the metagame rabbit hole and never
come out. Best to not worry too much beyond what the best obvious strategies are and how to beat them.
There are questions you can ask that are useful though like, how will the success of a deck one week cause the format react? Usually people will play more
of the successful deck and decks that they think will beat the successful deck.
Again, it’s easy to get too bogged down and running in circles. If you don’t have a clear idea of how you think the metagame will move, throw everything
out the window and play something simple, obvious, and powerful, aka The Best Deck.
What Is The Best Deck For Me? Why Am I Playing This Deck?
Once you have a good amount of playtesting, you’ll know in your gut what the correct deck to play is.
It’s possible you aren’t always right, but you’ll know what you think is right. It’s easy to talk yourself out of it or ignore this feeling completely. I
know I have, but doing so is usually motivated by fear and rarely works out.
You will hopefully be able to answer the questions of what is the expected metagame, good matchups, bad matchups, and sideboard plans for my deck. You will
hopefully (in an ideal situation) find a deck that you believe is the best deck, know how to pilot it well, your opponents won’t expect it, and have many
good matchups.
If you ask yourself why you’re playing your deck early on before the tournament starts you hopefully won’t be asking yourself, “Why the *bleep* am I
playing this deck?” during the tournament.
I’ll usually ask one final question before locking in my deck choice: Can I imagine myself winning the tournament with this deck? If the answer is no, it
might be a good idea to change decks or alter the strategy.
What Is My Plan?
The steps to take while preparing for a tournament and what you are doing while playing are very different creatures. This is a question you can ask before
and during a tournament. Many people imagine pros are super humans planning turns in advance, but usually they will have a general plan for each matchup
and figure things out as they go.
Each format’s plans are a little different.
Legacy –
Short-term planning is very important in Legacy. Games are short, and since it is easy to die in the earlygame, go slow! This is a format where just making
your land drop can be a difficult decision. You should basically act as though you need a logical statement prepared for each play you make that is going
to be carefully examined by the Council of Magicians Who Are Good at Legacy. Any excuse is better than nothing.
“I was playing around Wasteland because I expected it from his archetype.”
Or
“I wasn’t playing around Wasteland because I wasn’t expecting it from his archetype.”
Both these answers get an acceptable pass even if they aren’t very deep. It’s less important that you be right than that you have a reason behind it.
If they’re running blue cards (or it’s turn 1 and you don’t know what they’re on), Force of Will and other countermagic like Daze, should always be on your
mind. Usually there isn’t too much you can do about it, but when you can, you notice because your brain had it queued up in the back of your awareness.
Is my opponent capable of casting Treasure Cruise next turn? Are they likely to have Treasure Cruise next turn? Is there anything I can do to stop them
from casting Treasure Cruise next turn? These are all questions you will have to ask yourself at Grand Prix New Jersey this weekend.
Mulligan slow, play your lands slow, cast your spells slow. Not intentionally slow without reason, just think before you act: “What are they likely to have
that is going to get me?”
Modern and Standard –
These formats are more about understanding each deck’s role in the game and how to metagame. Am I trying to play the long game or finish my opponent off
before they can assemble their plan?
Sealed –
Most Sealed formats are slow and are about long-term planning. What is my decks goal in the endgame?
In Sealed, short-term questions like, “Am I going to be tapping out next turn?” are less important. You can deal with them as they come since you usually
have a smaller amount of play choices to make.
Asking questions that might prevent disaster from a Duneblast, End Hostilities, Arc Lightning, Abzan Guide, or Efreet Weaponsmaster are very important.
Recognizing the correct gameplan is especially important during sideboarding since you have a deep pool of cards to choose from.
What Is My Opponent Going To Do Next Turn?
This is a question you ask yourself during a game of Magic. It is a very important question you can ask yourself and a skill all good Magic players use
even if it isn’t conscious. They look at least one turn ahead. Naturally you should also be thinking things like, “What am I going to do next turn?” or
“What is my opponent going to do if I cast this spell?” especially if they passed the turn with a grip full of cards after doing nothing. These are things
that are much easier to think about, and we are forced to think about them, but it’s easy to miss thinking about what your opponent’s next play might be
because you can’t see their hand and there isn’t any obvious signal to what they might be doing.
The point isn’t to be guessing everything your opponent will do with 95% accuracy. That’s impossible. It’s more about thinking over the possible or likely
plays they might make. Knowing the format and stock decklists will help you guess what their curve or removal suite might look like. You can also make many
deductions based on how past turns have played out. For example, if they are playing a deck you suspect has Hero’s Downfall in the list, but you already
have a planeswalker out that’s been going to town, you can be pretty certain they don’t have Downfall in hand.
It also isn’t about picking up tells (although that can help). Having a lot of experience playing online, I’ve learned to trust patterns in play,
probabilities, cards I expect them to have, and my intuition.
Once you start doing this, you’ll be surprised at how accurate you become and how it well help shape your plays to successfully maneuver through theirs.
Channel the heart of the Gitaxian Probe. Be the Peek. Thoughtseize their mind directly. Use the force, Garruk.
Is My Body Relaxed and Am I Feeling Good?
This a question you should be asking during a tournament when you’re not playing. If you’re hungry, thirsty, or have a headache, take care of it. Come
prepared.
Your body will distract your precious brain if it isn’t happy. Your willpower is limited, and if it’s spent fighting off hunger to stay focused and keep
your eyes open you’ll have trouble processing complex boardstates and making decisions about the game. Jet lag or lack of sleep will also kill your game.
If all else fails, you always have the ability to take a few deep breaths, which should be good for a mini boost of focus and calm.
What Did I Do Right? What Did I Do Wrong?
This is a question for after the tournament. It doesn’t have to be a comprehensive breakdown of everything you did, just a few key points that you can
remember. It can be something as simple and general as playing too quickly or not preparing enough. Eliminate the bad and keep the good.
What Do I Want? How Do I Get it?
Identify you have a problem that needs solving or a desire that needs fulfilling. Ask questions and break down the steps you need to do to get it.
We all do stupid things that we know are stupid. Ask yourself: Is this helpful? Is this what I want? No. These are things we do that push us further away
from our goals. Try to notice when you do them and cut back on when you do them. Simple advice, but it works if you follow it.
If there’s one question for you to take away from this article and implement into your game, I recommend it be, “What’s My Opponent Going To Do Next Turn?”
Magic is a complicated game and even a little bit of short-term planning can go a long way to making you a better player.
There are plenty of other good questions to ask yourself. Essentially any question that you think of is a good one to ask. Look for good questions.
Answering them usually isn’t all that hard if you’re honest with yourself.