Magic is a fun and exciting game, for both new and experienced players. For many of us, fun often means winning. While that may be true, magic is a very complex game and it takes time become as dominant as the likes of Kai And Finkel. Many of us watch to learn, and have questions about a deck or how to play better. These are some of my key tips for learning the game.
A quick background about me. My name is Matt Kay and I hail from Cleveland, Ohio. I am by no means a Pro Player, however, I am definitely a student of the game. I’m also an athletic coach and thoroughly enjoy helping others improve their abilities at whatever they are seeking to do. Personally, I try to read, watch, and listen to as much magic content as possible to better my game play. I asked Lincoln, the creator of TopDecked, for the opportunity to write an article about how new players and less experienced players can start to increase their play level, and well, here I am.
Tip #1 – Don’t Fix What Ain’t Broke
Less experienced players often try to build a deck that uses a mechanic or concept that they think is “cool”. They bring their brew to battle at FNM and it does not get the results they had hoped for. They get frustrated and often discouraged.
The reason for this is usually pretty simple, many other players bring tuned “tier-1” (extremely competitive) decks that have recently put up results in a major tournament. Johnny’s random “centaur tribal” brew can’t possibly stand up to Spike’s “Grixis Death’s Shadow” list that he pulled from the top 8 of last week’s Grand Prix. This can be frustrating for Johnny who thinks that there is something inherently dishonest about netdecking. However, netdecking is a vital tool in learning the ins and outs of good deck-building.
To improve your own game, the first piece of advice I can give is take one of these top decks and battle with it. Doing so will allow you to get repetitions in with an optimally built deck. You will learn new lines of play, and start to understand why certain cards are better than others. This doesn’t mean you should stop brewing your Centaur deck — quite the opposite — you can take your understanding of these other decks and then tune your homebrew to be better against the tier decks. Keep brewing, but also learn from what’s out there already. (Tips on improving your brew will be coming in a future article.)
Card evaluation is one of the hardest skills to acquire in Magic: The Gathering. You will also start to see what ratios of lands, creatures, and spells the initial designer thought was most optimal.
If you do not have the financial means to build the deck, ask some friends if you can borrow the cards you are missing or if they would be willing to let you use playtest cards to get a feel for the deck before you commit to purchasing it. The magic community as a whole, is one of the most inviting I’ve been associated with and players are generally willing to loan cards to one another to play a tournament.
Once you have a deck built, practice playing to get used to the cards and interactions. A lot of people will try to change cards here or there before they have ever piloted the deck. Wait until you understand why a card is in the deck before switching it for another. If you cannot explain why the card was in a winning list that probably means you don’t understand the list well enough to make changes to it. Going back to title of Tip #1, Don’t fix what ain’t broke.
Tip #2 – Play Against Better Players
While everyone enjoys winning games of Magic, it’s very hard to take away lessons when we win. Our first reaction is, if I do that every time, I have a better chance to win. The difficult part about that is that we don’t often know what exactly it is that allowed us to win. As many professional athletes say, you learn more from losing than you do from winning. Challenging yourself will allow you to think differently and in turn, increase your level of play by increasing your in-game awareness.
At your local game store, find someone that you feel is better than you and ask them to jam a few games. During and after these games, win or lose, ask them for thoughts on what you could have done better as well as what they thought you did well. Be prepared for criticism and use it as a point of emphasis for the next game. If you are unsure of who these “better players” are, ask around the store. Most stores have regulars that know the skill level of the other players and can point you in the right direction.
During these games, take notes on a your life pad or on scratch paper so that you can go over it when you’re done playing. It’s similar to taking notes in school and reviewing them at a later time. If you start to see the same notes being made time and time again, that will point out a specific point of emphasis for you to focus on in the future. In addition, do not take back poor plays. The best way to learn not to do something is to lose because of it.
Tip #3 – Play Games “Hand Revealed”
While many people feel that practice should be done in game situations, 1v1, playing with one hands revealed allows both players to talk through possible lines of play. While there may be a disagreement of which is the best play, talking through the scenario with someone else allows for discussion.
Often times, both players’ opinions may have merit , however there might be a specific reason why one line of play is better than another. The best line may even be one that neither person comes up with originally, but through conversation and discussion, both players decide on another option that is best.
This discussion will also allow the player with their hand revealed to discuss the possible plays the opponent may have. Since, you are not able to do this during a tournament, (you could but I doubt your opponent would help) this allows you to start to understand how the other deck may play in regards to what you are doing. This leads into my next point…
Tip #4 – Play with the Other Deck
Players tend to only want to play their deck with the thought that it is the best way to learn its intricacies. While this is helpful, another approach is to play against your own deck. Being able to see it from the opponent’s perspective allows you to now see what the opponent is likely to do in certain situations.
A large part of playing at a higher level is knowing what other decks are trying to do. Understanding not just your own game plan, but knowing your opponent’s gives you a leg up because you are now thinking a few steps ahead (i.e. If I play this, they are likely to do this). If you have some idea of what your opponent may do, you can make a better decision when it relates to your most optimal line of play.
Tip #5 – Do the Research
This is a quick and easy key to better play. In any field, when a person wants to become more knowledgeable or better at any given topic or skill, they will do research on the topic at hand. In today’s day and age, we no longer have to wait for the newest issue of Inquest Magazine or SCRYE. We can peruse the internet for information which is right at our fingertips. Videos, articles, podcasts and live twitch streams can be invaluable to players wanting to learn more about the game.
No matter your format of choice, articles are posted daily on numerous websites (like ours) and are available for free. I can not emphasize this point enough, this is the best way to learn more about this game we love to play. Hall of Famers the world over write articles that have great tips and tricks that they use to get an extra edge in game play.
Conclusion
Throughout the MTG community, players around the world look to gain a competitive advantage. In short, people want to win more often. To do so, they look to find ways to increase their level of play. Many people will tell you that it comes with time; while that is true, that time can be spent more effectively when you have specific tools.
I hope the 5 key tips I discussed today will help you increase your win percentage, even if just a fraction of a percentage point. I believe you will start to see a difference over time. Continue to hone your card-slinging skills and maybe one day you too can hoist a trophy (or at least an undefeated FNM outing).
Thanks for reading, and check back again for more “Learning Magic” articles by me and other members of Team TopDecked!
“Perfection is not attainable, but if we chase perfection we can catch excellence.” -Vince Lombardi
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