Today, I’m going to discuss how to do well in large tournaments and some of the common mistakes that people make at these events. I’m not going to be talking about Magic strategy; this article is going to be about preparing for the tournament and how to stay focused during the event.

Rule 1 – Know the Format!

Magic Online has lots of data as well. There are tournaments on Magic Online twenty-four hours a day. MTGStats.com is a great website that collects all of the data from these tournaments so that you can see the popular archetypes and percentages for a given format.

If the format is brand new and there is no data out there—such as Standard after a major set rotation—the best thing to do is to look at the Block decks that did well from the last Block Pro Tour or Block decks that made the Top 8 of premier events on Magic Online.

I attended an Extended Pro Tour Qualifier a while back after taking a few months off from competitive Magic. For those of you who don’t know what Extended was, it was a format that used cards from the past four years of sets. The format wasn’t very popular among competitive players, so Wizards scrapped the format and replaced it with Modern.

I sat down across from my Round 1 opponent, and after a few turns of play, it appeared that he was playing the same deck. No problem for me—I played a lot of Faeries mirrors back when the deck was in Standard. I had a Bitterblossom on turn two and was feeling pretty good about the match. Then, he played the new trump card: Sword of Feast and Famine. My Faerie tokens and my removal were all black, so the card quickly overwhelmed me, and I lost the match.

The next round, my opponent was on Caw-Blade with Sword of Feast and Famine. Caw-Blade was the top Standard deck, and I didn’t even think that the deck could also be played in Extended. After my quick 0–2 drop from the tournament, I learned my lesson: Know the format before playing in a tournament.

Rule 2 – Know Your Deck!

Deciding what deck to play is something that players agonize over all the time. Some players even wait until the last minute to decide what deck to play. My rule for choosing a deck is simple. I always play the deck that I know inside and out.

I played R/W/U planeswalker control in a lot of PTQs that season, and I was putting up a lot of Top 16 finishes, but the deck just wasn’t giving me the results I wanted. For the last PTQ of the season, I decided to just play Jund. I had never played the deck before, but it seemed pretty straightforward. I mean, it won practically every Standard tournament, so it had to be good.

The PTQ ended up being a disaster. I never cascaded into what I needed to, I drew all of my spells at the wrong times, and I never drew the right lands. I learned that picking up a deck that I’ve never played before was a huge mistake, and just playing the deck that I had a lot of practice with would have been much better for me.

Rule 3 – Playtest Effectively!

Playtesting is crucial if you want to win a PTQ. There is no better way to not only learn the ins and outs of the format but to also learn how to play the deck that you want to play. One common mistake that people make when playtesting is commonly known as inbred playtesting.

In the end, we all ended up playing either the Esper control deck or an aggro deck that could only beat Esper control. Needless to say, most of us did not make Day 2 of the Pro Tour, and our teammates who did well at the Pro Tour actually ignored our test results and just played one of the top decks of the format.

The lesson learned is this: Do not ignore the top decks of the format. It’s fine to try new things, but be sure to test them against all of the top decks.

Rule 4 – Get Enough Sleep Before the Tournament!

Some people combat this feeling with energy drinks and coffee. Those things provide a quick burst of energy, but after an hour or two, you will feel a crash and be even more tired than you were before! I guess you can just drink more energy drinks and coffee as soon as you feel tired, right? Wrong! Too much caffeine will make you very jittery and shaky, and you won’t be able to focus during the event. Getting enough sleep is really the only way to be awake and focused during the PTQ.

By the time we found a place without a long wait and were seated, it was nearly midnight. Needless to say, I didn’t leave the restaurant until 1:30 A.M., and then I had to walk twenty minutes back to my hotel room. I had such a hard time falling asleep, and when I finally did, I was woken up by my roommates returning to the room after a night out. I got roughly three hours of sleep that night, and I performed poorly in Day 2 of the Grand Prix.

After that night, I learned the very important lesson of how important it is to get enough sleep before a tournament. If I attend a PTQ that is more than two hours away from me, I get a hotel room near the site the night before. I also don’t room with people who like to party the night before the tournament (partying after the tournament is fine, of course).

Rule 5 – Stay Hydrated and Well Fed

First, I am always sure to eat a good breakfast. Eating before a tournament gives you the energy you need to keep your mind sharp all day. I try to stay away from caffeine and high-sugar drinks. These drinks, as I said before, will cause you to crash during the tournament. You won’t be able to stay focused and play good Magic. I like to only drink water before and during tournaments.

At a PTQ I attended a while back, I was playing a control deck and went to time almost every round. I was never able to leave the venue to get food. I was pretty hungry, and one of my friends was nice enough to go out and get lunch for me. As I was playing my match, my friend returned and put the food right next to where I was playing. I was starving, so that food was all I could think about during my match. I was unable to focus on my game, and I lost because of it.

The lesson I learned was to always bring some food from home so I never reach the point that I am so hungry that I can’t focus on my match. Even if I play a deck that goes to time every round, I can still eat a granola bar or some trail mix to stay energized.

Rule 6 – Stay Focused!

I hear this story from a lot of people. The story is usually of how someone started off 5–0 at the PTQ, just needed one more win to draw into the Top 8, and then promptly lost the next two matches. This usually happens due to the player’s lack of focus.

One thing that helps me is to go for a walk after every round. Even if it is just a five-minute walk, it helps me clear my head and stay concentrated on the tournament. Another thing that helps is to play a quick game on my phone, such as Angry Birds. That helps me to keep my mind sharp so when the next round starts, I’m ready to battle.

What I don’t recommend is to draft or play Magic in between rounds. I used to always do Team Drafts in between rounds of PTQs, and it never helped me do well in the main event. Most of the time, the round will start in between a game you are in, and you will have to find someone to watch your cards for you or you’ll have to memorize the board state, your hand, and life totals. You will be thinking too much about that and not be able to think about your match. Now I won’t team draft until after I have dropped from the tournament.

Rule 7 – Get Lucky!

Magic is a game of skill, but there is also a randomness factor involved. If you follow Rules 1 through 6 and play your best, you will be favored to win the tournament, but you will not be guaranteed to win every time. You will have to have a bit of luck on your side. Maybe your will draw the one-outer you need to win the match, or maybe your opponent will make a crucial mistake against you. You do need some amount of luck to win a PTQ. However, playing well and following these six rules will give you the best chance possible to get lucky.

Most people say that players create their own luck. I think this is true. If you have a poor attitude and play badly, you will never get lucky. However, if you put yourself in situations where you make the best play every turn, you will get lucky more often than not. You will draw your one-outer. Your opponent may become overwhelmed and make a stupid mistake, handing you the match. Playing the best you can will help you to create your own luck.

I’ve had a lot of success by following these rules in tournaments, and if you choose to follow them, I hope you have success as well. I wish you the best of luck in any tournament you play in, and as always, thanks for reading! Be sure to follow me on Twitter@AllWeDoIsWinMTG!