Ok, so we all know that luck exists, chance is a part of magic, so what am I getting at here?

Well let me ask you this: if two new players start at the same time and one believes that luck is a big factor in their wins/losses and the other does not believe in luck at all who will be more likely to confidently take down FNM’s and drafts a few months or year later? In this clear cut example its obvious that the one who doesn’t believe in luck will get better much faster because they will analyse all of their decisions during the match rather than thinking ’Oh, I was so unlucky I drew 10 land...’ or ‘You were so lucky, you only won because you had X’.

As you may have guessed, this article is about the ideas and behaviours I’ve seen some of the better players I know use to up their game. While I know we are not LSV or Jon Finkel, our group has enjoyed a lot of PTQ top 8’s (under the old system), a few who played on the pro tour and a lot of strong Grand Prix finishes. This article is just some of the things I have noticed and wish people had been there to tell me when I first started getting into tournament magic.

Assume luck doesn’t exist

So, if the FNM example is the case (assuming we want to get better at tournament magic) then lets all do ourselves a big favour and just act like luck doesn’t exist. One of the main things that seem to tie a lot of the ‘better players’ together is that none of them blame luck for their defeats. They all seem to analyse the specific reasons they won or lost the match and the turning points or key cards.

Judge for yourself

Now, a lot of people will look at a card and say it’s good or bad without considering other options. One of the things I have noticed is the better players usually don’t care about this negative card talk and play and make decks with all the cards to actually try them out. Maybe a card looks weak at first glance but in reality is a game winning all-star. You never find this sort of thing out if you just rule everything as bad.

The best way I can explain this is through the example of fresh newbies to the game. When we are new, a lot of us think that basic lands are the best lands we can play because they don’t do us damage and tap for coloured mana etc… then as we get better we learn that non basics are actually insanely overpowered in some cases. If everyone just went with the consensus and never tried the ‘bad pain lands’ we would all still be playing mono green decks with 24 forests. So don’t dismiss a card just because someone else says its bad.

Try to learn from mistakes

I’ve heard multiple stories about pro-players actually writing down their mistakes in a note pad after the match. Now, while this may seem extreme it clearly helped those players to up their game and i’m up for giving it a try. Writing things down can help information and lessons stick with you easier. Another thing I have done is make a list of thing to get better at and then try to work through them.

Play a lot!

The best way to get good at something is to do it over and over again and learn the good old fashioned way. The reason why a lot of the pros are so skilled with certain decks is that they have literally played 1000’s of games with that deck and seen every possible situation. A wise person once said ‘If you fail to prepare then you prepare to fail. Play a lot but play smart too because 1000 games of making bad plays will just make you worse not better, if you are not sure about what the good or bad play is then make one and the second time it happens make a different one etc.

Have fun and keep at it!

As always the key ingredient to getting better at any thing is to enjoy it!