Grand Prix: Seattle is this week. They say Seattle, but it’s in Tacoma, which conveniently is closer to me. It will be well attended by pros and semipros who could give me half their Planeswalker Points and still have more than I have—even though that’s mathematically impossible. So, is my decision to attend the Grand Prix nothing more than dumping my bank account into WotC’s till?

Nope. I hold out reasonable hope for a strong finish, and why not? There’s more overlap between casual and professional than normally is discussed, and you don’t have to be a Spike to flourish at a big event. This year’s tournament focus is upping the number of GPs, so there’s more likely to be one close to you this year than in 2011.

There are a ton of articles from pros on how to succeed in a tournament; the gap between a good casual player and a pro is more in hours practiced than theory learned—there’s so much you can read to shore up the latter. But even as I’ve learned plenty from following competitive Magic for most of the last decade, my ingrained lessons are from casual, and I’ve parlayed them to good effect. Here’s what you can take from your kitchen to your store or convention center that can make a difference.

Enforcing the Rules on Yourself Makes Everything Easier

The takeback is a staple of casual Magic. “Oh, I didn’t see you had a blocker/know you cast that spell/pay any attention since I started eating that pizza,” is normal in the trenches of kitchen warfare. Takebacks work okay at FNMs with smaller stores and nice people, but it’s a dangerous habit to fall into because you’re likely to want a takeback at a key moment—and not get one. Tough board states and opponents up the odds you’ll make a mistake, and doing things too hastily can turn that mistake into a loss.

There’s no reason to deny your friends’ requests for takebacks, but if you stick to your game actions, you’ll be in the habit of thinking before you act in Round 1 Game 1, instead of Round 1 Game 2 with a silly loss. (“Silly Losses go on your permanent record.” – A writer for GatheringMagic who I heard say that a few seconds ago) Playing my Radha, Heir to Keld deck in Commander last week, I swung Radha at a guy with one token so I could make the to sacrifice a temporarily stolen Taurean Mauler to its own ability granted by a Victual Sliver. I forgot Mr. One Token had a Necrogenesis to become Mr. Two Tokens, and he blocked to kill Radha. I could have swung at somebody else, but instead, I just lost my Commander for no reason.

I might have obtained a takeback if I had asked for it, but it’s better if I remember to check for an enchantment like Necrogenesis on the board before I swing at somebody. Practicing focus when it doesn’t matter helps you focus easily when it does, and you can get that from any form of Magic if you want it.

Good Card Is Good

The principles that make a card good in the abstract or in a particular deck don’t change by format as much as people think. The biggest differences involve having four or more players in a game. You can make alliances, encourage an opponent to attack a different opponent, and buy more time for your slow combo in a way you can’t in a duel. But many multiplayer games can’t sustain those actions either—an Emperor lieutenant can’t do too much more than what he or she would do in a duel; three-player games generally become two-on-one clashes; and so on.

Yes, plenty of cards affect each player or do something each upkeep and are therefore better in multiplayer, while some spot removal looks like a waste in multiplayer. That maybe changes a specific card’s evaluation (for counterpoint, see Sheoldred, Whispering One). At that point, though, it’s not about the card’s function as much as its mana cost. Blood Tithe isn’t a Standard card by any stretch, but Lightning Helix was pointed at faces plenty of times. Helix can hit creatures and is an instant, so it eclipses Blood Tithe anyway, but my point is that draining someone for 3 in a Constructed duel has a ton of precedent and isn’t a bad thing. It’s doing it, and only it, for that’s the problem.

Attacking versus leaving up blockers, overextending versus holding back, playing around counterspells, and developing a line of play that will snake around an opponent’s dastardly plans are just important in Magic, and not any particular format of it, and most cards that help in one format help in another. It could be just me, but it seems that most of the obvious multiplayer-certified cards from yore (Blatant Thievery) are only good in multiplayer, whereas newer multiplayer hits (Titans and Praetors) often are played in tournaments as well. To borrow from Anthony Alongi for a second, there are more gorillas and fewer plankton than before, and that difference has eased the transition from multiplayer to Constructed.

Good Brewing Also Is Good

If you’re the casual player who loves to build jank out of junk, half of tournaments—specifically, the Sealed and Draft tournaments—might be for you. Building a lot of decks doesn’t mean you’ll know the ins and outs of a given Limited format. But the pros know the format because they spend time and booster boxes on it—not because it’s obvious.

Building around a small collection, a weird rare, or a few booster packs in a time limit are fundamentally similar in their quests for value. A Limited deck normally isn’t smooth and amazing, but if every card does something worthwhile, it has a good shot. Plenty of pros played a Goblin Bangchuckers/Kite Shield combo in M12 Draft because it was repeatable removal. That was too bad for even me to stomach, but it got there enough times to be considered viable. Soliton/Heavy Arbalest was the same way in Scars of Mirrodin. You see these synergies more easily the more times you’ve built decks, and casual play can hone your skills in that area for cheaper and, in some aspects, better than regular tournaments, as more cards clash against each other and therefore create the corner cases that arise in Limited.

The principle extends to Constructed as well, although the benefits of casual are different to Constructed than Limited. Build casual decks out of cards legal in only one Constructed format and see what you like about them; if they win a lot, try translating the deck into a tournament deck. One of my favorite and reasonably competitive Standard decks was a Grixis take on Pyromancer Ascension. I have a basic fascination with getting multiple uses out of the Shards of Alara Ultimatums, and copying Cruel Ultimatum seemed awesome. The deck ran so well that I made a Standard version and won my fair share for the month the deck was legal. Give or take a few cards, this was the deck:

"Grixis Ascension"

• Creatures (6)
• 2 Sedraxis Specter
• 4 Vampire Nighthawk

• Spells (30)
• 4 Lightning Bolt
• 2 Cruel Ultimatum
• 4 Call to Mind
• 4 Ponder
• 4 Preordain
• 4 Slave of Bolas
• 4 Wretched Banquet
• 4 Pyromancer Ascension

• Lands (24)
• 1 Creeping Tar Pit
• 1 Lavaclaw Reaches
• 4 Crumbling Necropolis
• 4 Grixis Panorama
• 14 basic lands

Buy This Deck

I had no infinite combo like the U/R Ascension decks of that era, but I possessed a truckload of creature removal that could focus on mana dorks, which was crucial in the days of Joraga Treespeaker and Eldrazi Green. Getting to a copied Cruel Ultimatum wasn’t that difficult, and the game I copied Slave of Bolas on two Baneslayer Angels was as awesome as it sounds. But I didn’t know that this was viable from any article; I know of no Grixis-based Pyromancer Ascension decks in that era. I discovered its quality by building a version of it for casual and finding out that the main parts were fantastic.

I tend to build the midrangy decks that test well in the majority of multiplayer formats, but if you prefer building aggressive decks, try a three-player game, Two-Headed Giant, or Emperor as a lieutenant. Aggro normally has enough cards to kill approximately two people; smaller games don’t strain those decks the way multiplayer normally does, but facing two casual opponents can approximate facing one tournament opponent. You’ll also receive the bonus of facing multiple deck styles at a time. It’s not as good as regular tournament testing, but in my experience, it’s serviceable, which is more than most people give credit for.

What You Can’t Learn from Casual

This list is much shorter and is just a series of practical things. I haven’t yet been to a Grand Prix, but I went to StarCityGames Atlanta in 2011 as well as other endeavors where precision the first time is important (e.g. running a trial in which I got the plaintiff’s witnesses to admit my client wasn’t at fault which, as you might guess, is pretty sweet), so I’m bringing both Magic and other experience into this section.

First, after every play that would affect a life total, ask to confirm that it results in the life total you think it does. “I swing for 2, taking you to 18,” or, “I don’t block; that takes me to 14?” is good style. At major tournaments, you’re supposed to bring pen and paper for your life total so judges have a better record of events should you need to call one (and definitely call them if even halfway necessary), but it’s also for you to remember. Similarly, announce what step you’re doing something in before you do that thing. It’s not just good communication in that instance; it’s a way to prevent a slimy opponent from claiming you passed priority out of that step based on something he’s making up. For me, that precision helps me focus on the game over the infinite distractions at a tournament (e.g. adjacent games), so there’s added value.

Second, bring as little as is feasible to the tournament, pack it in one container if possible, and don’t bring a bag you don’t normally bring somewhere. In an unfamiliar surrounding where you’re trying to focus on a game, you might forget how many packages you brought and what types they are, which can make all the difference when you’re rushing to the other end of the room for your next match. It can be a frenzy to grab your deck/dice/play mat/drink/backpack in thirty seconds to hightail it somewhere, and you’re likely to forget the one you pick up the least in real life. Personal tournament logistics are a unique cross between taking an exam and traveling through an airport, and whatever good ideas you’ve had to manage both endeavors will work for you at a tournament.

And like an exam or an airplane, don’t consume anything irritable. The only competition fiercer than Magic is for bathrooms.

In Summary

Playing Magic at any level is a lot like playing an instrument; time commitment of any type is profitable as long as it’s not ensconcing bad habits. If casual play is jamming with friends, a tournament is the concert—knowing your material and learning how to focus on playing will go farther for you than you think. (Like performing a concert, I get nervous adrenaline before a big tournament as well. It doesn’t help either one.)

One of my casual friends back in Alabama won our store’s M12 release, Innistrad prerelease, and Innistrad release tournaments in Sealed events of about fifty people. He doesn’t even like tournaments that much, but he’s built a lot of decks, knows his strengths, and is adept in combat. None of that takes going to a tournament, but it helps all the same. You can have similar results if you set the right habits at your kitchen table.

If any of you are going to Grand Prix: Seattle on March 3, find me and say, “Hey.” I don’t normally have the Fu Manchu of my author picture, but I maintain the Dickensian sideburns with vim and Vigor (if damage would be dealt to another part of my face, it gets +1/+1 counters instead). If you don’t find me from my picture, look for my black-and-white play mat of Wormfang Turtle.¹ Wherever you are, don’t be intimidated at a tournament; playing casual is a preference, not a relegation. I’m not even close to a great player, but years of playing with friends have taught me loads of stuff that’s helped me win some prizes, and there’s no reason it can’t be the same for you.

¹Yes, I commissioned John Avon to redraw his art on a blank mat for me. Yes, @realjohnavon and his agent @johnavonart are awesome. Yes, this is a swag brag. No, it isn’t humble.