Conley Woods
1/1/2013 10:01:00 AM
Welcome my friends, you made it! You made it through another presidency, through another Magic Block, and through the end of the Mayan calendar. I think it's safe to call you a survivor. With a new year comes a chance to shed the skin of old and emerge, an older and better you. Now, obviously you can and probably should be doing this all of the time, but a New Year lets everyone be involved and provides a bit of momentum for change.

In order to go through this process though, of becoming better at whatever it is you have set yourself to doing, you need to make improvements. Improvements do not just come about as random chance either. In order to improve, you make a mistake or doing something poorly, you learn, and you begin doing it better. Necessary in improving then, is not just looking forward to your goal, but looking back at the stepping stones along the way, to know which stones to use and which to avoid.

Obviously, the same can be, and often is, true of Magic. Players are always wanting to get better, often asking how to do so, when they have no idea where they are lacking. It is a tricky thing to be able to analyze your play and assess what you need to be improving. It takes a lot of effort and bravery, but it is often the only route to improving.

In honor of the new year, I decided to take a look back and 2012 in search of the things I need to improve going forward and turn them sort of into resolutions. Sam Stoddard introduced a similar idea a few years back where a player would list all of their weaknesses as a player, as a way of calling them out to be improved. This concept is similar, but it is tied a little more directly with the year in passing. I am sure I can find examples of every individual fault ten times over, but these are moments or situations that resonate with me that I intend on working on going forward.

Obviously my list is likely to be unique to me, but any individual example might be something to watch out for in your own game. Making your own list can be a good way to draw attention to these areas too. Even a single improvement throughout the year as a result is more than worth the time.


Adapt to the Situation

So, I list this one first because it happened so recently, but it was embarrassing enough, yet has come up multiple times now, that I need to take more than a Mental Note of it. In the Top 8 of GP San Antonio earlier this year, I played a Clifftop Retreat tapped when it should have entered played untapped due to a Mountain.

Obviously a blunder, but the story goes a little bit deeper than that. You see, the Top 8 area was in the same place that feature matches had been all weekend. The area was intentionally darker to help with the camera glare. The dark nature caused many issues over the weekend and I knew this, having played there 3 or 4 times thus far.

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Now, all of the participants were under the same conditions, so it was not unfair to me in any way, I had simply failed to adapt to the situation. I took a glance down at my row of lands like I always do, concluded no Mountains or Plains, and then played the Clifftop Retreat tapped, staring at the Huntmaster that would have gotten me back into the game this turn after my mulligan to 4. What if I had taken the time to read each individual land in play though? Do you think I would have still punted?

Probably not. But you see, I didn't do that because it wasn't my normal routine and I failed to recognize that I needed to change what my routine was to be successful. I am not sure if this is because I brushed off the impact it had on me, or because I simply didn't think of it, but it would eventually come back to bite me.

In 2013, I want to be aware of when I need to change to stay on top of my situation. Whether that is to an environmental situation like the lighting, or the pressure of being in a Top 8, there are a lot of states while playing Magic that might distract. You cannot avoid the situations, so you need to change how you handle them. Step 1 is recognizing that I am in the situation and then assessing things from there. Wish me luck.


The Power through the Trees

So, one of the reasons why my brews tend to get a bit of attention, is that I am not afraid to use bad or awkward cards. Usually, I figure out a use for said card and try to take advantages of whatever strengths it has, but it always looks strange. One issue that I ran into this year though was realizing that I only give that fighting chance to the B squad, but not the A.

So for example, I might be willing to try something like Hatching Plans in Modern despite the card being written off. However, when it comes to two good cards competing, I think I tend to be too biased. As another example, earlier this year I had to make a choice as to the three drop that I would be running in my midrange deck. I knew the power of Lingering Souls, so I decided to go with it. Despite Lingering Souls never impressing me during testing, I still prepared to show up to the tournament and play it.

Meanwhile, someone knocked some sense into me and got me to move Loxodon Smiter to the main deck instead. Smiter was a good card, I had recognized that, but I was unwilling to use it as a defensive tool in my midrange deck because it was a good card that already had a use. I was using it for that use out of the board even. Meanwhile, it was the perfect fit the whole time.

I basically need to be more willing to move around established cards the way that I am non-established cards. Give them more purpose and give them a fair shot at making a deck rather than being biased to some other good card. This is a hard one to measure, but with each new list, I'll know, and that's what counts.


Slow your Roll

This has been an issue with my play since day 1 and something I constantly tell myself to do, but have not caught on apparently. The speed at which I play is too often fast. I play fast, which is fine, and I slow down for critical moments, which is good, but I don't think I slow down for enough moments. I need to broaden the range at which I feel comfortable slowing down and assessing things better.

My natural play style is a fast one and I have come to adapt to that for the most part, but there are plenty of moments where it comes back to bite me. Earlier this year at a Legacy Grand Prix, I had set up a complex come-back scenario involving multiple Deathrite Shamans keeping me alive until I could hit the Batterskull in my hand. My opponent had a Giant Solifuge and a 1/1 token in play and I was at 5 life. Only one Deathrite Shaman was active.

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My opponent drew to add to his previously empty hand and cast another Giant Solifuge. It hit play and attacked, forcing me to block with both Shamans and activate to not die, but I promptly did the next turn without drawing a land for Batterskull. At the end of the game, I stared down at a Mana Leak in my hand and the 5 mana my opponent had in play. Mana Leak had no shot at being cast for the first 10 turns it was in my hand then became dead against all of his removal. I knew I had it there, but I just let that Giant Solifuge resolve and kill me anyway. Just a play that developed from moving too fast and not assessing a single thing before making a decision.

Perhaps the reason this one has never stuck is that I have never had a real plan for how to catch myself and slow down. I play fast because it is comfortable, so I rarely notice in-game that I should be going slower until the damage has been done. I think that with that problem tackled this is definitely an issue I need to work on.


Picnic Planning

One thing I have always been terrible of, but not aware of until recently, is planning out my food before a tournament. I basically show up, hope they have some good food options in or around the site, and that's it. I never bring things from the supermarket, or stop at a gas station in the morning. Four or Five rounds in, when there is no food or your only choice is a hot dog, you begin to regret things.

At GP Orlando, day 2 was taking a little longer than usual. Because there are no byes, I ended up skipping breakfast in favor of a Yogurt, but it was now round 5 and I had nothing else to end my hunger. The concession stand had closed after round 4 apparently and I was left hanging. With Top 8 in the balance, being hungry felt like I was just sabotaging myself.

Luckily, to save the day I was paired against a teammate, PV, and he was able to concede to me. This allowed me the time to actually head a few blocks away for food and Refresh for the top 8. The effect that being hungry can have on your play is huge and avoiding that should be a real concern.

I am really bad about packing snacks and drinks, but even something like stocking up on a few granola bars from Starbucks in the morning is a very solid idea. Magic tournaments go long and they only have the chance to go even longer when things mess up, so I need to be better prepared and I plan on doing so in the future. Like I said, it is hard to travel with food, but stocking up once I arrive in a city seems feasible and will likely just save me time in the future. Hopefully I can commit to that in 2013.


Wrap Up

In general, I think 2012 was really good for Magic. We saw coverage of events jump to new heights and really set up the future well. Streaming became a regular thing that will hopefully help the game continue to grow and reach new players. The changes to high level play ended up working out after all with a little bit of give and take from all parties. And the Grand Prix scene has been bigger than ever.

Obviously Magic can always improve, and likely always will, but I am mostly focused on what I need to be doing better because while 2012 was a pretty good year for Magic for me, it was not the year I wanted, so I need to hit the gym again and keep working until it is. I'm ready for the challenge though. As always, thank you for reading. I hope everyone had a fun and safe entry into the New Year. Take some time to think about what you can be doing better in 2013, you never know where it might get ya. Until next week.

--Conley Woods--