WARNING: This is only a semi serious thread, but I genuinely want to know how others do it.
Some background... I have a friend who attends college in Chicago and he is going to the GP Hartford coming up for Modern. He's a solid player, getting more well rounded, has friends who are great players , and is playing in his first GP. He has been talking to 2 of the most prominent Uw Turns players, including the guy who top 32ed the GP Phoenix. He is really busy with schooling, but wants me to play test Uw Turns at my LGS, probably since I play so often. I should be able to give some feedback then, previously only playing UG Turns twice and Mono Blue once before (years ago).
I have a close knit group of guys at the LGS that I go to. There are around 20-30 players. I feel like testing Uw Turns before the tournament with a friend that I pick up on the way to the LGS. But I don't want people to know on Friday that I could be on turns. People even notice when cards are bought and they're waiting in the line. Turns is really a deck that accels more at a GP level because for the first 1-4 turns, people think you're on UW Control. At an LGS, this "advantage" rarely occurs. It's to the point that sometimes I buy cards just to throw people off. I want at least 3 of my 4 opponents on Friday to believe in the early going that I'm on UW Control. Against something that is popular at my LGS like Humans, it can be super imperative, considering they could cast Meddling Mage (without the luxury of having Freebooter).
So, how do you do it? Do you playtest the deck on MTGO first? Do you go into the LGS without testing at all? Do you test before the tournament with people watching and mentally preparing themselves for the matchup? How do you go about playing a new deck at your LGS?
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Legacy - Sneak Show, BR Reanimator, Miracles, UW Stoneblade
Premodern - Trix, RecSur, Enchantress, Reanimator, Elves https://www.facebook.com/groups/PremodernUSA/ Modern - Neobrand, Hogaak Vine, Elves
Standard - Mono Red (6-2 and 5-3 in 2 McQ)
Draft - (I wish I had more time for limited...)
Commander - Norin the Wary, Grimgrin, Adun Oakenshield (taking forever to build) (dead format for me)
I like smaller shops that average 10 to 15 people a tournament. I try not to tell people what I'm playing and try to play something that has positive matchups against a good portion of the field. People usually play the same decks every week. As for my own deck I try to map out the sideboard and watch some videos online of gameplay. Lower tier decks are something you definitely want to play just once a month or so to keep the surprise factor.
I try not to go farther than that as there's no guarantee what you will get paired against or how you will draw. I want to try a grand prix someday but will probably never get the time off to do so.
Somewhat off subject but I don't like grinders who are too entrenched in tournament culture or don't make the time to play casual. The decks on the table cost significantly more than what you will win in prizes; and the prizes just consist of more magic cards anyways. Sometimes you get lucky and buy in low on a deck like storm, or treasure cruise delver and hit a hot streak of winning but this is usually the exception. Winning gets boring after a while too, and has too much prestige attached to it.
Playing online can help significantly.
I usually break even on entry fees, plus maybe a little extra, so I like to think I know what I'm doing.
Somewhat off subject but I don't like grinders who are too entrenched in tournament culture or don't make the time to play casual. The decks on the table cost significantly more than what you will win in prizes; and the prizes just consist of more magic cards anyways. Sometimes you get lucky and buy in low on a deck like storm, or treasure cruise delver and hit a hot streak of winning but this is usually the exception. Winning gets boring after a while too, and has too much prestige attached to it.
Playing online can help significantly.
I usually break even on entry fees, plus maybe a little extra, so I like to think I know what I'm doing.
This is opening up a whole new can of worms.
Magic is pretty much pay to play. If you're missing that $25 card and use a substitute, you WILL lose some portion of your matches because of it. I play at an LGS right now on Monday that gives around $25 store credit to first. So, here I pretty much play to have fun, although because there sometimes are really good players, it's good practice to run a strong deck. At another LGS that I go to on Wed and Fri, 4-0 is around $35, 3-0-1 $30, and 3-1 is around $20. This is a bit more, so I take it more seriously, as do most players here too. There's no point bringing a knife to a gunfight. This is most of the relevant LGS information that I have right now.
But at some tournaments, it's worth it to go all out. I won 1st at a 1K a few weeks ago, getting $400 for my effort. That's half way to a Modern deck! And it's more than double what I paid for most of the Modern decks that I have, considering I bought most of the staples in 2011 or before. I played in a 1K this past Saturday and got 9th, losing 2 win-and-draw-ins after starting 3-0. You best believe that I wasn't going to split and go for the $400, win or lose. If I play in a GP, I will bring the deck that I believe I have the best chance of winning with. If I ever get to the stage where I'm grinding GPs like crazy, I may try some oddball, fun deck.
But you are also right. Winning does get boring at times, for some sooner than others. When I get bored, I try to see if I can win with a ham sandwich. I try many non Tier 1 decks. I don't want to say names, so not to insult anybody's deck choice.
Lastly I will give you some anecdotal evidence that I have from the best LGS that I ever went to, playing since 1994. We used to have around 40-60 players and 1st place would often be $70-100 store credit. Do you know what I bought with Store Credit over the years? Tabernacle of Pendrell Vale, 3 foil Jace, the Mind Sculptor, foil play set of Griselbrand, play set of Show and Tell, play set of Sneak Attack, and many, many other niche foils or Legacy staples. I probably paid around 10% of the price for those cards, usually using 80-100% of the prices in store credit. They went bankrupt because of some other decisions that they did, but you best believe that I will TRY HARD to win there. During Eldrazi Winter, I calculated my winnings to be around $1,300 in store credit mostly. That kind of helps to pay for cards that I knew will eventually get banned (although I bought my Eyes from during Rise of the Eldrazi).
Legacy - Sneak Show, BR Reanimator, Miracles, UW Stoneblade
Premodern - Trix, RecSur, Enchantress, Reanimator, Elves https://www.facebook.com/groups/PremodernUSA/ Modern - Neobrand, Hogaak Vine, Elves
Standard - Mono Red (6-2 and 5-3 in 2 McQ)
Draft - (I wish I had more time for limited...)
Commander - Norin the Wary, Grimgrin, Adun Oakenshield (taking forever to build) (dead format for me)
I use a free client to test on. Then, if I like a deck, and also like its performance enough to bother, I’ll buy the cards (that I don’t already have).
Luckily, or whatever, I have pretty much most of the Modern staples and goodstuffs I could ever want already. That helps a lot.
I should probably do more of the large events. i think im more of a casual at heart
There's room for being both. =)
I have a lot of modern staples and usually at any given time about five or six modern decks built and ready to go in a deckbox. At the moment I have *counts on fingers* eight. These decks change around as well, although i do have some reliable 'old favourites' which stick around more or less forever.
I have all my decks in exactly the same sleeves so when I turn up, nobody knows what I'll be playing (although those who know me will usually guess because I do have my favorites)
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Modern: G Tron, Vannifar, Jund, Druid/Vizier combo, Humans, Eldrazi Stompy (Serum Powder), Amulet, Grishoalbrand, Breach Titan, Turns, Eternal Command, As Foretold Living End, Elves, Cheerios, RUG Scapeshift
I try and keep all my decks in the same color sleeves like purklefluff, although at the moment I'm not sticking to that and its probably going to bite me once people realize when set of sleeves I keep Affinity in and which has Death and Taxes.
As far as playtesting a new deck goes, I tend to test it on XMage first, and run about 50-ish games with it just to get a feel for the deck. I've not always done this, but started doing it recently when trying to decide on what my second permanent modern deck would be before settling on Affinity. I tend to avoid playtesting new decks at my LGS if I'm going to be playing them there mostly for the reasons you've stated. The LGS I play at regularly while I'm at college is fairly small (10-16 people on a good night) and people like to alter their sideboards if they know what you're going to be playing for the night.
I have all my decks in exactly the same sleeves so when I turn up, nobody knows what I'll be playing (although those who know me will usually guess because I do have my favorites)
I usually do that too, but they have run out of my favorite, KMC Super Orange.
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Legacy - Sneak Show, BR Reanimator, Miracles, UW Stoneblade
Premodern - Trix, RecSur, Enchantress, Reanimator, Elves https://www.facebook.com/groups/PremodernUSA/ Modern - Neobrand, Hogaak Vine, Elves
Standard - Mono Red (6-2 and 5-3 in 2 McQ)
Draft - (I wish I had more time for limited...)
Commander - Norin the Wary, Grimgrin, Adun Oakenshield (taking forever to build) (dead format for me)
I have three sleeved up Modern decks, for the first time (Humans, Jund, and Colorless Serum Mulldrazi), and I always use the same sleeves for all my decks so opponents won't know what I'm on.
When I want to try out a new deck I usually play it a while on cockatrice before busting it out at the shop. The surprise factor is nice of course, but the proof of a deck is if you can win with it even when your opponents know what you're up to, so I don't worry about it too much.
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Some background... I have a friend who attends college in Chicago and he is going to the GP Hartford coming up for Modern. He's a solid player, getting more well rounded, has friends who are great players , and is playing in his first GP. He has been talking to 2 of the most prominent Uw Turns players, including the guy who top 32ed the GP Phoenix. He is really busy with schooling, but wants me to play test Uw Turns at my LGS, probably since I play so often. I should be able to give some feedback then, previously only playing UG Turns twice and Mono Blue once before (years ago).
I have a close knit group of guys at the LGS that I go to. There are around 20-30 players. I feel like testing Uw Turns before the tournament with a friend that I pick up on the way to the LGS. But I don't want people to know on Friday that I could be on turns. People even notice when cards are bought and they're waiting in the line. Turns is really a deck that accels more at a GP level because for the first 1-4 turns, people think you're on UW Control. At an LGS, this "advantage" rarely occurs. It's to the point that sometimes I buy cards just to throw people off. I want at least 3 of my 4 opponents on Friday to believe in the early going that I'm on UW Control. Against something that is popular at my LGS like Humans, it can be super imperative, considering they could cast Meddling Mage (without the luxury of having Freebooter).
So, how do you do it? Do you playtest the deck on MTGO first? Do you go into the LGS without testing at all? Do you test before the tournament with people watching and mentally preparing themselves for the matchup? How do you go about playing a new deck at your LGS?
Premodern - Trix, RecSur, Enchantress, Reanimator, Elves https://www.facebook.com/groups/PremodernUSA/
Modern - Neobrand, Hogaak Vine, Elves
Standard - Mono Red (6-2 and 5-3 in 2 McQ)
Draft - (I wish I had more time for limited...)
Commander -
Norin the Wary, Grimgrin, Adun Oakenshield (taking forever to build)(dead format for me)I try not to go farther than that as there's no guarantee what you will get paired against or how you will draw. I want to try a grand prix someday but will probably never get the time off to do so.
Playing online can help significantly.
I usually break even on entry fees, plus maybe a little extra, so I like to think I know what I'm doing.
This is opening up a whole new can of worms.
Magic is pretty much pay to play. If you're missing that $25 card and use a substitute, you WILL lose some portion of your matches because of it. I play at an LGS right now on Monday that gives around $25 store credit to first. So, here I pretty much play to have fun, although because there sometimes are really good players, it's good practice to run a strong deck. At another LGS that I go to on Wed and Fri, 4-0 is around $35, 3-0-1 $30, and 3-1 is around $20. This is a bit more, so I take it more seriously, as do most players here too. There's no point bringing a knife to a gunfight. This is most of the relevant LGS information that I have right now.
But at some tournaments, it's worth it to go all out. I won 1st at a 1K a few weeks ago, getting $400 for my effort. That's half way to a Modern deck! And it's more than double what I paid for most of the Modern decks that I have, considering I bought most of the staples in 2011 or before. I played in a 1K this past Saturday and got 9th, losing 2 win-and-draw-ins after starting 3-0. You best believe that I wasn't going to split and go for the $400, win or lose. If I play in a GP, I will bring the deck that I believe I have the best chance of winning with. If I ever get to the stage where I'm grinding GPs like crazy, I may try some oddball, fun deck.
But you are also right. Winning does get boring at times, for some sooner than others. When I get bored, I try to see if I can win with a ham sandwich. I try many non Tier 1 decks. I don't want to say names, so not to insult anybody's deck choice.
Lastly I will give you some anecdotal evidence that I have from the best LGS that I ever went to, playing since 1994. We used to have around 40-60 players and 1st place would often be $70-100 store credit. Do you know what I bought with Store Credit over the years? Tabernacle of Pendrell Vale, 3 foil Jace, the Mind Sculptor, foil play set of Griselbrand, play set of Show and Tell, play set of Sneak Attack, and many, many other niche foils or Legacy staples. I probably paid around 10% of the price for those cards, usually using 80-100% of the prices in store credit. They went bankrupt because of some other decisions that they did, but you best believe that I will TRY HARD to win there. During Eldrazi Winter, I calculated my winnings to be around $1,300 in store credit mostly. That kind of helps to pay for cards that I knew will eventually get banned (although I bought my Eyes from during Rise of the Eldrazi).
Premodern - Trix, RecSur, Enchantress, Reanimator, Elves https://www.facebook.com/groups/PremodernUSA/
Modern - Neobrand, Hogaak Vine, Elves
Standard - Mono Red (6-2 and 5-3 in 2 McQ)
Draft - (I wish I had more time for limited...)
Commander -
Norin the Wary, Grimgrin, Adun Oakenshield (taking forever to build)(dead format for me)Nexus MTG News // Nexus - Magic Art Gallery // MTG Dual Land Color Ratios Analyzer // MTG Card Drawing Odds Calculator
Want to play a UW control deck in modern, but don't have jace or snaps?
Please come visit us at the Emeria Titan control thread
Luckily, or whatever, I have pretty much most of the Modern staples and goodstuffs I could ever want already. That helps a lot.
There's room for being both. =)
I have a lot of modern staples and usually at any given time about five or six modern decks built and ready to go in a deckbox. At the moment I have *counts on fingers* eight. These decks change around as well, although i do have some reliable 'old favourites' which stick around more or less forever.
I have all my decks in exactly the same sleeves so when I turn up, nobody knows what I'll be playing (although those who know me will usually guess because I do have my favorites)
As far as playtesting a new deck goes, I tend to test it on XMage first, and run about 50-ish games with it just to get a feel for the deck. I've not always done this, but started doing it recently when trying to decide on what my second permanent modern deck would be before settling on Affinity. I tend to avoid playtesting new decks at my LGS if I'm going to be playing them there mostly for the reasons you've stated. The LGS I play at regularly while I'm at college is fairly small (10-16 people on a good night) and people like to alter their sideboards if they know what you're going to be playing for the night.
UBRGDredge
Under Construction
WUBAd Nauseam
I usually do that too, but they have run out of my favorite, KMC Super Orange.
Premodern - Trix, RecSur, Enchantress, Reanimator, Elves https://www.facebook.com/groups/PremodernUSA/
Modern - Neobrand, Hogaak Vine, Elves
Standard - Mono Red (6-2 and 5-3 in 2 McQ)
Draft - (I wish I had more time for limited...)
Commander -
Norin the Wary, Grimgrin, Adun Oakenshield (taking forever to build)(dead format for me)When I want to try out a new deck I usually play it a while on cockatrice before busting it out at the shop. The surprise factor is nice of course, but the proof of a deck is if you can win with it even when your opponents know what you're up to, so I don't worry about it too much.