This is about as "bloggish" as any of my blogs will sound, but I just felt like writing this. This is about everything in Magic that is beyond actually sitting down across from someone and playing in a tournament. This is an expression of my beliefs and opinions on these topics.
Preparation: You hear everyone say that playtesting is a major part of tournament success. For me, it's about finding that sweet spot where I've prepared just enough. I think that there is a point where you have done too much preparation. I think that you start to overthink things. Personally, I don't do much testing compared to most other people I know. A lot of my opinions on how a match should be played are made through generalizations in my head. I will play a few matches to see if there are any glaring errors in these ideas and then go from there. One thing that is important though that not enough players do is knowing a sideboard plan before a tournament, especially when it is not obvious with your deck. Sideboarding should be automatic versus known decks and that is something I have down in my head before any event.
Demeanor: I read Mr. Bressler's latest blog and he mentions that how you look will affect how your opponents think of you as a player. I couldn't disagree more. I'll dress how I normally do: jeans and a sweatshirt. I guess this gives a very unassuming appearance and may not be striking fear into my opponents hearts, but I don't look at how someone dresses and associate it with playskill. I've played against some ridiculously dressed people, and the only thing I've thought is 'What the hell is this guy wearing?' I don't think you can judge how good a person is at Magic by seeing how they dress or look, and I make a conscious effort not to do that because I don't want to think that I have a false advantage or disadvantage before we start playing.
Something that does affect how I think of a player is how they talk. I try to stay quiet and if someone tries to talk to me I'll make conversation. During the match I'll try to get information by asking them certain things about their deck or if they have a certain card in their hand. I will not, however try to talk trash or act like an arrogant ass. Those are the players I think of as being worse. They are ridiculously confident and sometimes too much so. I will think that they are full of themselves and this can be seen in how they play. I know a guy who thinks he is amazing. His blind confidence in his "amazing" play make him make idiotic decisions that he refuses to believe are wrong. Confidence is a VERY important aspect of playing in a tournament, but I think people need to realize that it is not something that needs to be shown.
PS: Another way the Japanese are better than Americans: They are humble. Some of the best players in the world are also the nicest and best sports: Kenji, Shuhei, Tsuyoshi, and many, many others. Magic isn't this ridiculous competition outside of actually playing. They help each other out and try to make everyone better. Here, it's this ridiculous competition, even in forums. Someone says something bad about someone's deck and it starts riduculous and childish arguments and fights. People need to take criticism a little better.
Decks and Play Strengths: I think that choosing the "correct deck" is important, especially now where there is no "best deck." Correct deck means the deck that is the best for you and your play style. There are obvious exceptions, like a new deck that no one knows about that is powerful, or one that is easily the best deck in the format. Generally, I see control decks as being the "best" decks in any given environment. But I will rarely play one because my mind was made for aggro decks. I think that this idea is something that new players should try to grasp very quickly if they want to be competitive on any level. In an open field, you matter more than your deck (most of the time), and you need to make sure you can play your deck optimally.
Mental Aspects: My mind is where most of my games are lost, whether it is laziness or playing myself out of a game. I think that there is a fine line between being prepared and playing on autopilot. One of the hardest things for me to do during a tournament is actually pay attention to evey second of every match. I start thinking ahead of myself and mess up in the turns in between. I miss small interactions and put things on the stack incorrectly. INow, I try to think everything through in my head very quickly as a mental check to see if it is right or not. I count mana twice and say everything in my head before I announce it. Working it through in my head forces me to focus and then think about every little thing. Because I don't playtest extensively, this is important for my game. The other aspect is bluffing and mind tricks. A lot of people say that you should play like they always have CARDNAME in their hand. I don't follow that. Yes, there are certain situations where playing prudently is in order because of the stakes, but, especially for certain decks, you should be playing to win, not to lose. I am a gambling man and have been known to make "stupid" plays because I quickly do the odds in my head and decide that it's worth the risk. My gambling works a little more than half the time. There are two things that are very important to me in this decision. I have seen people let people back into games because they played too cautiously too many times to count. Secondly, I like to be in a dominant position during games. Playing the odds and being right puts in an extremely good position.
Magic and Fun: Yes, there are two different realms of Magic: competitive and casual. I would call myself a competitive player. I look at the latest decklists and try to be prepared for the current formats. When I sit down, the first thing I think about is winning, and then having fun. But playing Magic is also a social activity for me. Some of my best friends have come through Magic. I enjoy sitting and talking during FNMs. I like seeing people during PTQs. Playing is still fun for me as well. There are times when I get bored of playing, but I always end up falling in love with the game over and over.
