I think it would be interesting to get a take on what people think it takes to become a better player.
So what makes a good player? Feel free to discuss here.
Here are just a couple of thoughts from me:
Learn from better players.
Surrounding yourself with good players is very important to becoming better. Better players can see better plays, criticize more proficiently, and have a better understanding of magic theories. While we may be best friends with Bob, if Bob sucks at magic he isn't going to help us at all. You need to find people at a higher skill level than you are, so that you can get up to the next level. While "barning" is often used as a derogatory phrase, being a "barn" can help players to rapidly improve.
I feel that if you admit your mistakes and figure out why you made that mistake, you can only improve. On the contrary, whining and complaining about your opponent "sacking" isn't going to get you anywhere. After losing a match, rather than assuming it was bad luck, analyze the match you just lost. Could you have played it better? If you had, would it have effected the outcome? How can I avoid repeating this mistake in the future? You will be more likely to not repeat those mistakes in the future if you ask yourselves those questions. It helps a lot if you can get another player to watch your matches and see what you do wrong. At the recent MSS Champs I played in, I tried to have someone watching my matches as often as possible, to see if I could have played them any better.
Playtest Extensively. If you want to do well at a tournament, the most important thing you can do is test for it. Decide what decks you think will be most prominent at the tournament, and test against those decks like crazy. Find ways that the match can be won. Test different SB options, and decide which will help you the most. After each game, analyze why the match played out as it did. If a match seems "unwinnable", then it might be a good idea to take a different approach to the match, and attempt to win it in another way. Also, it is important to playtest with good players. If you expect to be at the top tables of a tournament, you can expect to be playing against good players. Playing against an incompetent player will often skew results and make you unprepared for when you play against people who are better than you. And a couple games don't count as real testing, be sure to know what cards are needed to win a match, what hands you need to mulligan (even if you have an appropriate amount of land), and exactly how to SB against them. For the record, don't test on MWS. Testing on MTGO is okay, but generally, if you want the best testing, real life paper magic will give you the best results.
Don't Show Emotion If you wear your heart on your sleeve, your opponent is going to take full advantage of it. Even if you don't know it, a simple facial expression can be the difference between a game win or game loss. If you show too much emotion, a good player is going to read you like a book. A simple sigh might be good enough for someone to read that you don't have a Damnation in your hand. You can bluff an emotion at times, but be sure that you be careful, because being too obvious can backfire on you. Alternatively, look at your opponent and see how he/she acts. Look at their face, their posture, whether or not their hands are steady. Using this information, you can get a general gauge of the confidence of your opponent, and you'd be surprised on how often this helps you determine your next play.
There a lot more, but I don't want to take up too much space. I'd be interested in hearing everybody's tips on becoming a better player.
I agree with playtesting, but would also suggest simply 'playing'. Not necessarily playing the best decks, nor the decks you're going to use, but simply to play. To make mistakes, to learn interactions and to experience the game. The more you play, the more intricacies you pick up on, and the more situations you experience and have to resolve.
Read up on Magic. The internet is here, it's huge and it's full of thousands of Mtg players giving their opinions. Feel free to contribute, but also read up on the hundreds of top articles provided on many sites within the Magic internet world.
Play with friends - Join a group. Playing within a group extends on the concept of playtesting, and joining a group which caters to your specific needs (whether that be Limited, Type 1 or Casual) will help you become a better player in the long run. All aspects of becoming a good player mentioned above can be found within a good group - Playtesting, information exchange, learning of others and learning to restrict emotion. Not to mention the pool of cards within a group typically means better chances of playtesting against a wider type of decks.
This one may be controversial - but play Magic Online. I find that since it is international, you can always find a game on Mtgo. Since you are no longer restricted by geographical means (meaning if you live in some far-off country town, you're in luck!), you can play against top players from around the world. Play with the best, learn from the best, become like the best. It may cost some money, but the advantage of a global program with the availability of all formats is enticing indeed.
If you don't play Magic Online, get Magic Workstation or Apprentice. Though they won't necessarily make you a better player through themselves, they will open you up to a larger community of players, and thus to a larger range of decks. Preparation for real life events can be aided greatly through playtesting on MWS or Apprentice, due to being able to change a deck on a whim, and being able to play against any deck you can imagine. Although you may bump into a view idiots amongst fellow gamers, rest assured that this is not restricted to these programs, and fools will likely be fools no matter where they are found.
Anyways, just some stuff that was on my mind. Feel free to pick it apart.
I feel that if you admit your mistakes and figure out why you made that mistake, you can only improve...After losing a match... analyze the match you just lost. Could you have played it better? If you had, would it have effected the outcome? How can I avoid repeating this mistake in the future? You will be more likely to not repeat those mistakes in the future if you ask yourselves those questions.
I think this is perhaps the most important item as far as improving your level of play...analyzing how/why you played a certain way and what might've happened if you had played it differently.
Don't discount cards or strategies. The biggest gap between a good player and a bad player is often the chosen ignorance of certain cards and strategies. If you cannoy with card X, at least be smart enough to learn how to play against it and be prepared. Saying; "Counters are lame", "Discard is lame", "Combo X is lame", "Jitte is lame" does not help you if you aren't at least prepared to face it. People do not beat you because they played a Jitte, they beat you because you didn't prepare to face Jitte.
And for those that use money as an excuse to not play certain cards, winning tournaments helps you aford the good cards. It is easy to play competitively and rarely if ever have to spend a dime if you actually put the effort into it. Money is only a barrier if you let it. I know people who spend a fortune on Comics, Action Figures, Anime, Etc but refuse to spend anything on Magic if they can aford it. Often I will ask them which hobby they like the most, and Magic often comes up higher on the list than most of their other hobbies. If hobby A is more enjoyable to you than hobby B, why are you spending more money on hobby B? This shows up the most on Magic Online, where most casual players refuse to spend any actual money on the game. We spend fortunes on our hobbies.
To be a good player, you need to have the right tools. Do not be afraid to spend the money. I learned this lesson myself when I bought my first Dual Lands and my set of Force of Wills. Suddenly the game became so much more dynamic and enjoyable. These cards are worth money for a reason. You would be amazed how many more deck options become available with the right cards and thus how much more fun the game actually becomes whether competitive or casual. It is awfull when you have a deck idea and you can't make it consistant enough to actually do what it is supposed to because a limited mana base makes it hard to match the colors up. I remember a discussion I had with someone concerning Duals with the comes into play tapped lands. Even if you take the loss of tempo of a land coming into play tapped out of it, Duals are simply better because of their interaction with Fetchlands such as Polluted Delta. This means you have a much higher chance of getting the right colors early and consistantly.
Another thing to concider when trying to become a better player, and is one of the hardest obstacles for new players. Learn to keep your deck to 60 cards. Also, not every card needs to be a four-of. Check some of the winning decklists, alot of cards are 2 or 3 ofs instead. Cards which are 4 ofs are generally cards you are more likely to want in your openning hand or which are so good that drawing multiples or drawing it early on before you truly need it is not such a bad thing.
Surround yourself with the best players. I understand that in most areas this isn't easy today, but into talent rich regions find the best players, befriend them, and play with them reguarly. Owning up to mistakes doesn't do all that much if you don't know that you're making them.
So what makes a good player? Feel free to discuss here.
Here are just a couple of thoughts from me:
Learn from better players.
Surrounding yourself with good players is very important to becoming better. Better players can see better plays, criticize more proficiently, and have a better understanding of magic theories. While we may be best friends with Bob, if Bob sucks at magic he isn't going to help us at all. You need to find people at a higher skill level than you are, so that you can get up to the next level. While "barning" is often used as a derogatory phrase, being a "barn" can help players to rapidly improve.
Own up to your mistakes.
I discussed it in this thread: http://forums.mtgsalvation.com/showthread.php?t=87357
I feel that if you admit your mistakes and figure out why you made that mistake, you can only improve. On the contrary, whining and complaining about your opponent "sacking" isn't going to get you anywhere. After losing a match, rather than assuming it was bad luck, analyze the match you just lost. Could you have played it better? If you had, would it have effected the outcome? How can I avoid repeating this mistake in the future? You will be more likely to not repeat those mistakes in the future if you ask yourselves those questions. It helps a lot if you can get another player to watch your matches and see what you do wrong. At the recent MSS Champs I played in, I tried to have someone watching my matches as often as possible, to see if I could have played them any better.
Playtest Extensively.
If you want to do well at a tournament, the most important thing you can do is test for it. Decide what decks you think will be most prominent at the tournament, and test against those decks like crazy. Find ways that the match can be won. Test different SB options, and decide which will help you the most. After each game, analyze why the match played out as it did. If a match seems "unwinnable", then it might be a good idea to take a different approach to the match, and attempt to win it in another way. Also, it is important to playtest with good players. If you expect to be at the top tables of a tournament, you can expect to be playing against good players. Playing against an incompetent player will often skew results and make you unprepared for when you play against people who are better than you. And a couple games don't count as real testing, be sure to know what cards are needed to win a match, what hands you need to mulligan (even if you have an appropriate amount of land), and exactly how to SB against them. For the record, don't test on MWS. Testing on MTGO is okay, but generally, if you want the best testing, real life paper magic will give you the best results.
Don't Show Emotion
If you wear your heart on your sleeve, your opponent is going to take full advantage of it. Even if you don't know it, a simple facial expression can be the difference between a game win or game loss. If you show too much emotion, a good player is going to read you like a book. A simple sigh might be good enough for someone to read that you don't have a Damnation in your hand. You can bluff an emotion at times, but be sure that you be careful, because being too obvious can backfire on you. Alternatively, look at your opponent and see how he/she acts. Look at their face, their posture, whether or not their hands are steady. Using this information, you can get a general gauge of the confidence of your opponent, and you'd be surprised on how often this helps you determine your next play.
There a lot more, but I don't want to take up too much space. I'd be interested in hearing everybody's tips on becoming a better player.
Jotun Grunt dies if you draw. Don't just say sorry and re-do it in playtesting (in tournies... different story.)
Good tips there too.
I think this is perhaps the most important item as far as improving your level of play...analyzing how/why you played a certain way and what might've happened if you had played it differently.
And for those that use money as an excuse to not play certain cards, winning tournaments helps you aford the good cards. It is easy to play competitively and rarely if ever have to spend a dime if you actually put the effort into it. Money is only a barrier if you let it. I know people who spend a fortune on Comics, Action Figures, Anime, Etc but refuse to spend anything on Magic if they can aford it. Often I will ask them which hobby they like the most, and Magic often comes up higher on the list than most of their other hobbies. If hobby A is more enjoyable to you than hobby B, why are you spending more money on hobby B? This shows up the most on Magic Online, where most casual players refuse to spend any actual money on the game. We spend fortunes on our hobbies.
To be a good player, you need to have the right tools. Do not be afraid to spend the money. I learned this lesson myself when I bought my first Dual Lands and my set of Force of Wills. Suddenly the game became so much more dynamic and enjoyable. These cards are worth money for a reason. You would be amazed how many more deck options become available with the right cards and thus how much more fun the game actually becomes whether competitive or casual. It is awfull when you have a deck idea and you can't make it consistant enough to actually do what it is supposed to because a limited mana base makes it hard to match the colors up. I remember a discussion I had with someone concerning Duals with the comes into play tapped lands. Even if you take the loss of tempo of a land coming into play tapped out of it, Duals are simply better because of their interaction with Fetchlands such as Polluted Delta. This means you have a much higher chance of getting the right colors early and consistantly.
Another thing to concider when trying to become a better player, and is one of the hardest obstacles for new players. Learn to keep your deck to 60 cards. Also, not every card needs to be a four-of. Check some of the winning decklists, alot of cards are 2 or 3 ofs instead. Cards which are 4 ofs are generally cards you are more likely to want in your openning hand or which are so good that drawing multiples or drawing it early on before you truly need it is not such a bad thing.