Competitive Play Tips for MTG Tournaments

I've written a lot of tournament reports over my Magic writing career. What I haven't written about as much is how to actually prepare for competitive MTG tournaments. There are so many tips and tricks you can learn for approaching competitive tournament Magic, but this article will focus on important lessons to learn so you can crush the next tournament weekend you're attending. Whether it be a local RCQ or the next MagicCon, here are my top competitive play tips from MTG tournaments.

One Game, One Match at a Time

One of the biggest holes in my game when I first started attending competitive Magic events in college was that I failed to recognize my mistakes, and learn from them. I was an okay player in my days at NYU, around the 2014-2018 era. I remember playing in multiple PPTQ seasons where I'd make top 8 of countless events, but fail to secure the invite. I don't think I won an invite until my junior year.

I think my failure to achieve victory stemmed from a few key issues.

Issue #1 - I Was "Happy" to Make Top 8

In How to Win a PTQ, Mike Flores explains one key mindset to have while playing competitive Magic events. "You will fall short, and often. The trick, mentally, is to never be satisfied falling short." Too many times I would make Top 8 and prematurely celebrate it as some kind of big accomplishment. While my first Top 8 or two was definitely a milestone in my Magic career, I got used to the idea of making Top 8 but never closing the tournament out. If you truly want to succeed, you have to strive for victory. However, I think there's an interesting balance to strike with this concept. While I believe you should adhere to Mike's lesson, you shouldn't be unhappy if you don't win the event either. You can be dissatisfied, sure. But take each Top 8 loss as a way to grow and improve. Look at what you can change in your play or approach so next time you're in that position in Top 8 you'll make the right calls. Which leads me to my next point...

Issue #2 - Ego

I had waaaaaaay too big of an ego in my early years of competitive Magic. I remember I was at a local Grand Prix trial. It was a Wednesday night at The Uncommons, a board game cafe right around the corner from NYU. As I got knocked into the 0-2 bracket I sheepishly made my way over to where Limited Grand Prix Champion Andrew Longo was standing. I had befriended Longo through the New York team draft league, and as a fellow member of the league I had definitely gained a chip on my shoulder. I was mad at my 0-2 and blamed my losses to luck. "I keep losing to fish!" I exclaimed (fish being a derogatory term for Magic players I considered "less good") - to which Longo replied: "Roman, you're the fish."

I had never had someone so blatantly tell me I was bad - to my face even! While at first I felt that Longo had slighted me, I soon realized that his statement actually kept me in check. I was not as good as I thought I was. I was salting off for no good reason, and had insulted my opponents in turn. If I was to be as good as Longo I had to work not just on my play, but my attitude toward my fellow players. It definitely took me time to unlearn some of the competitive toxicity I carried, but it's ultimately thanks to people like Longo that I was able to.

Issue #3 - Failure to Look at Isolated Games and Matches

To go off of my last point, one of the aspects of my gameplay I failed to notice due to my ego was that I was missing basic percentage points due solely to poor play. I actually teamed up with Longo for a season of team draft league (after the "fish" incident), and I was able to advance my game in a short amount of time just due to the fact that I had someone better watching my games pointing out my mistakes. In competitive Magic one of the ways you can truly learn from your gameplay and decision making is by analyzing individual games of Magic. It's important not only at the times you made a bad play, but to celebrate when you found a line in a complicated game or made a right judgment call.

Whenever you lose before you aim the blame at mana screw/flood or your opponent's lucky draws, instead focus on what you had control over. Did you draft perfectly? Sequence correctly? Mulligan correctly? The answer will be most likely no. While no one may ever play a perfect game of Magic, do your best to - if you fall short, there's always a lesson to be learned.

Magic Tournaments Exhaust Your Physical and Mental Energy

One of the greatest tournament reports I've ever read was by none other than Pro Tour Phyrexia All Will Be One finalist, Benton Madsen. In his article titled "Why I Could Not Coach You" he discusses his approach for preparing for that Pro Tour and why he was able to do so well - but he mentions next to nothing about play-testing, deck choice, and how to sideboard. Rather, Benton focuses on things such as meal-prepping, and how to maximize your self-care at these kinds of events. This could not be more truthful.

At the Regional Championship in Atlanta last fall I went 10-4 for my first RC day two and best performance I've had at a large event in years. However, I did barely any play-testing for the event - I don't think I even played a game of Pioneer two or three months prior. Rather I focused on maximizing my self-care and happiness during the event. I chose a deck that I liked playing and knew well, regardless if it was a correct choice for the event. I also made sure to book a hotel with one of my LA friends to make sure I could get as much rest as possible while also being within budget. I packed a water bottle and snacks for the event to make sure I always had energy when needed. Lastly, I made sure to remove myself from the tournament hall whenever possible, just to get a break from the crowded room.

You have to treat these events as competitions that challenge not just your mind, but your body as well. I think I've been able to vastly improve my game over the last few years due to the fact that I just eat better, pack food and water, and try to protect my mental health. You might have the best deck in the room, the best sideboard guide, and hours upon hours of play-testing practice. However, that all means nothing if you fail to get enough rest or eat poorly.

Avoid Basic Mistakes

The last piece of advice I can give you for approaching tournament Magic is just to not make any boneheaded mistakes. These include but are not limited to:

• Making deck registration errors
• Being late to your event
• Using sleeves that are worn and can be counted as marked
• Putting foils into your deck that can easily be spotted by a judge
• Not understanding breaker math and drawing yourself out of a Top 8
• Having some cards double-sleeved in your deck and others not
• Not checking the clock during your match that inevitably goes to time
• Not calling a judge when you think something is wrong in your match

The list goes on and on. I don't want to harp on these points too much, but the gist is make sure you use your common sense. I can't tell you how embarrassing it is to travel a weekend away from home for a tournament, only to lose a match to a decklist registration error. I've been on the other end of this as well, where an opponent got a game loss during a deck check for having double-faced cards in sleeves that were not opaque. While you don't want to obsess over all these little things make sure that you leave no room for silly errors that can cause you your entire tournament.

Judges are also a hugely important resource for these events. Always talk to a judge if you have a question about a card interaction, want to check your sleeves for wear, or feel uncomfortable at any time. The last thing you want your tournament to end is not understanding how two cards interact or your opponent getting away with making you uncomfortable. Judges are at tournaments for a reason, and always reach out to them if you're ever unsure.

Conclusion

Tournament Magic is by no means easy, especially if you're new to the competitive sphere of Magic: The Gathering. Ultimately you should treat these events as ways to improve your game while also having a good time. It's important to keep your mental and physical health in check, while also remaining focused and alert. While these events can be stressful at times, ultimately they're unique experiences that allow you to not only grow and change to be a better player, but to be a better person as well.

Competitive MTG is one of the best things to ever happen to my life, and I'm so grateful that I get to be involved in it.

-Roman Fusco