Thursday, April 12, 2007
What I want to share with all the magic players today is an article I read on the net.CLICK HERE
The article talks about the four main aspects of the game you need to know to be a better player. And the best way to do it? Something I know many of you guys have already heard more than enough from me.
"Play more".
Go on, give it a read. Then come back here after you're done.
Back? There's another thing I wanted to add to the last pillar, Luck.
The article mentioned 2 important things to lookout before before blaming your own 'luck'. Magic in it's core is a game of mathematics and probabilities. Most don't really care because the numbers involves simply boggles one mind, but they exist. Hence, another factor when you're dealing with 'luck' that I felt the article left out was deck building skills. There's a very good reason why everyone needs to play four copies of their best card - this maximizes the probability of you drawing them in a game, because you WANT play them.
Another means is card drawing or tutors. Let's take the Dragonstorm deck for example. Remands, Compulsive Research, even Sleight of Hand lets the player cycle through the deck for the precious combo pieces you need to win. Most people who lose to the deck might lament the fact that the other player 'got lucky' and managed to pull off his Dragonstorm combo before they can kill the Dragonstorm player, but the fact is that the deck was built that way to maximize the chances of getting your the combo pieces out, hence, from a more mathematical point of view - a win with this deck has more to do with the deck design than plain ol' luck.
Another example are during Booster Drafts. There's a very good reason why people are encouraged to play 40 cards, the minimum number. The smaller the deck, the higher the probability you will be able to draw your best cards. Of course, there's more to this that makes drafts more skill intensive and challenging, like card evaluation and signaling, but we'll leave the more advanced topics to the pros or another day. Deck building skills play a part here as well as most players forget about many key principles, like the Mana Curve and Creature / Other spells ratio. A keen eye is needed to look out and maximize the synergies you can find while drafting to put into your pile of cards that you'll be building your deck out of.
Thus, sharp card evaluation + good drafting skills + good deck building skills = a powerful and 'lucky' deck.
Everyone has a hand in how 'lucky' one can be in their games. Always remember to non't be lazy, shuffle up properly, build more decks, draft more perhaps and most importantly, play more. That's how you become a better player, and that's how you can 'defeat' bad luck.
Randomness is all part of the game. The reason why Magic is so captivating and fun to me is how every game can be so different from the other. If you like a fair game where everyone gets the same cards and is allowed the same moves and find Magic unfair in it's 'luck' factor, go play chess. :)
Drafting is mostly skill if you ask me. There is a reason we see the same players in the top 8 over and over again. They know what they are doing. Luck will win you one draft, but multiple rounds in multiple tournaments? Thats skill.
I ended up writing alot more than I thought I had to say... Maybe I should start writing for Starcitygames.com... heh.
Leave your response