dknight27
01-07-2010, 11:08 PM
Preview: how to measure the strength of players through their card choices, playing style, and how to use this knowledge to predict the opponent’s next moves.
When one enters the wide world of magic, it becomes necessary to understand the differences in other player’s strengths. The different people who play our beloved game range in skill from the high peek of the sleekest pro to the lowly valley of the boldest novice with the rest of us falling somewhere in-between. Players of different skill levels will inevitably meet on the field of battle, and if one can identify the other player’s strength, one can gain an understanding of that player’s possible strategy and card choices. For the purposes of orderly organization and categorization, I will sum up in generalities the different skill levels and what to expect from each player of that particular level.
Level 1- the novice. The novice is a newly beginning player seeking fun and amusement with monsters and magic. Their card collection is extremely limited and may be entirely new, and therefore lacking the old possibilities and themes. The novice player will simply look through the cards that he or she possesses, select the cards that appear to be the best, regardless of mana cost, and put them together in a deck. These decks may be multicolored to some extent, but in my experience, the novice possesses exactly 5 decks, one for each color. Possessing the slimmest of knowledge, the novice will make all of his or her decks with the same goal in mind, reduce the opponent’s life to 0 by means of attacking directly with creatures. There will of course be variation in the decks based on the color being used; for example, a red deck will use burn cards of all types and costs as well as all ranges of creatures from tiny goblins to massive dragons. The player will have mana costs in this deck from 0 to 9 and think nothing of it. A blue deck will have small to medium creatures and a slew of control elements ranging from draw, discard, mill, bounce, tap, and many others besides. A green deck will be no more then a smash and crash with all levels of creatures and perhaps a few ways to make them stronger. The player will have no qualms with waiting till turn 8 to play a 6/6 creature. The black deck will comprise of expensive creatures and spells that are not cost effective and do many flashy effects but in reality are not worth the effort. Spells such as lord of the pit will be used in the hopes of dealing deathly blows, only to find that it does as much harm as good, often leaving the player defenseless. And finally the white deck will revolve around medium ranged creatures, life gain, and protection. I have actually met a player who chose to use 1 copy of each of the circles of protection in his all white deck “just in case”. All of these deck types can be easily out maneuvered and almost as effortlessly predicted. The novice will waste time attempting to put out titanic creatures, wasting multiple turns in doing so, only to find the creature destroyed and the game over. Overall, the novice lacks experience, knowledge, and wisdom of the game, but given enough time, can easily rise up to the next level.
Level 2- the amateur. The amateur is simply a novice who has figured out how to streamline the process of the creature beatdown. Rather then selecting the best overall cards, the amateur will work towards a collective theme of beatdown, realizing that the middle range of monsters (those costing 2, 3, and 4) are essential to the beatdown style of play. The novice will have a proportionate number of small, medium, and large creatures in any one of their decks. The amateur will select more carefully, keeping mana costs in mind, evaluating when cards can be played, and therefore, how useful they actually are. The easiest way that I have found to tell the difference between a novice and an amateur is to present them with the card thorn elemental. This card is one of the most highly sought green beatdown cards in existence and will suffice as an adequate experimental tool. When presented with thorn elemental, the novice will see its potential value immediately and instantly insert it into his deck bearing a grand smile at how he has just gained such a valuable asset. He will have no thought to how much the card costs to actually get on the field or how vulnerable it is once it actually enters battle. All the novice will see is the hulking, basically unblockable 7/7 and instantly fall in love. The amateur, conversely, will see the formidable card, and then suddenly stop and consider the applications of this behemoth. A creature so large must be used in a special situation or it will merely sit idly in your hand while the opponent successfully plays all of his cards and uses them to their full potential. The amateur will realize that thorn elemental is useless unless the deck is build specifically to cater to it, and the countless other vast creatures like it in the game. The amateur will make a deck centered on putting large creatures on the field as quickly as possible and using them to attack for the win. They will include mana accelerating cards such as llanowar elves, elvish piper, sol ring, or quicksilver amulet to make sure the elemental can be played on approximately turn 4. Also the amateur will include such things as dense foliage and privileged position in order to protect the big boy from the certainly coming terror, boomerang, or doom blade. And finally, the amateur will include other large creatures similar to thorn elemental such as rhox or vigor to increase the chances of destruction with such vast creatures.
To sum up, the amateur is a better-experienced novice that has figured out how to construct a better beatdown deck but does still not possess knowledge of the inner workings of the game.
Level 3- the sycophant. The sycophant is an amateur that has played enough magic to notice that there are far more efficient and exotic ways to win then to simply summon creatures and attack with them. They have experienced many different themes in magic such as control, discard, burn, and combo to name a few, and they have decided to try their hand at a different type of deck building. No longer will the sycophant simply fill their decks with creatures and power ups, instead, they will search deeper within the realms of the game, testing its fabric and attempting to find for themselves the best way to win. The sycophant will attempt to combine both active and passive play to form a hybrid playing style unique to the magic world, these type of decks are commonly seen by experienced players and do such things as utilize the graveyard, prevent the opponent prom playing spells, prevent the opponent from dealing damage, or making sure the opponent cannot utilize what he has on the field. When faced with the deck of an ammeter or novice, the sycophant will figuratively side step their opponent and calmly walk away with the victory. What need does the sycophant have to overpower the opponent with force when they can simply clear the field in an instant or deal such swift damage that the opponent has no time to stop them. It is quite common for the sycophant to have a pyroclasm, wrath of god, or damnation ready and waiting for the expected and correctly interpreted hoard of vulgar creatures of the enemy. The sycophant will also utilize card advantage and synergy to overwhelm the opponent who desires only to win with power. Sycophant decks are designed to win by strange and unpredictable, and therefore less counterable means. If a combination is unexpected then it cannot be easily stopped, the sycophant knows this all too well and strives to master this principle in all of their magical styling. And above all else, the sycophant knows that speed is the most necessary of all aspects of magic. If a player can have a winning combination go off on turn 3, then who in this wide world can stop them? None but a faster, informed, or lucky opponent. The most skillful amateurs may possess the knowledge to wield a combo deck, but they will not consider the timing of their deck and therefore not use it to perfection or victory. The clear indicator between the amateur and the sycophant is nothing more then pure, blinding speed.
Level 4- the master. The clearly dominating players in the magic world all share something in common, they have all created an original idea that shines forth all on its own, piggybacking no predecessor and lacking no authenticity. The master has quite literally lived up to his or her name and become so experienced in the game of magic that they can create any type of deck with speed, skill, and ease. The master may look at any card, no matter how forlorn or seemingly useless and be able to discern its proper place in any setting. Every player who has reached the level of master has contributed a combination or deck type that has never been thought of before and is swift and efficient enough to be considered competitive. No master will need long to play any game, as they have already calculated the success of their deck with ease during its construction and therefore turn-by-turn decisions become almost negligible. When facing a master be prepared for a turn 4 win at the latest, and even if the match takes a little longer, it will surely be an interesting game.
No matter what level one currently resides, and please remember that these are merely hypothetical tools of understanding, it is always possible to improve. I have found through my efforts to improve my game that there are 3 methods that must be employed if one is going to improve.
1. Every magic player must look through a card database and gain a greater knowledge of the cards out there. I personally use magiccards.info for my own personal searches. The advanced search mode allows me to basically spell out exactly what I wish to find and brings p a list of possible matches. This is a phenomenal deck-building tool as it gives players a chance to find any card they might desire. Many of my decks have been fueled by this sight as I have typed in specific requirements, found the corresponding card, and constructed a deck around it. A good card database is an indispensable tool to a magic player.
2. A clear choice for another method is none other then this very website. Mtgvault.com and other websites like it allow players to directly talk strategy, tactics, and general magic info. I have found that no matter how many decks I post there will always be something that can be done better and hopefully someone on mtgvault will help me find it. Another beautiful thing about Internet magic sites is that they allow their users to look at the brilliant ideas of others. Mtgvault has helped me personally move from the amateur ranking to the sycophant as my knowledge of better deck building grew under its tutelage.
3. Lastly, and I would hope that this observation was obvious, the only way to apply the first 2 methods is to get out there and play the game. Theoretically making decks is a very good way to improve, but it will be incomplete if you do not test out these decks. When you come up with a new deck concept, play this deck 100 times with close friends to get a good feel of how it works. Pay close attention to how well it plays under certain conditions, and above all, what cards worked in theory but not in practice. This is the only way to streamline a deck, through sheer, mind numbing effort. The more you play the more you learn and hopefully the more fun you have.
No matter what level you perceive yourself as, keep moving forward in your magic games.
“Charizard is trying to learn fireblast”
When one enters the wide world of magic, it becomes necessary to understand the differences in other player’s strengths. The different people who play our beloved game range in skill from the high peek of the sleekest pro to the lowly valley of the boldest novice with the rest of us falling somewhere in-between. Players of different skill levels will inevitably meet on the field of battle, and if one can identify the other player’s strength, one can gain an understanding of that player’s possible strategy and card choices. For the purposes of orderly organization and categorization, I will sum up in generalities the different skill levels and what to expect from each player of that particular level.
Level 1- the novice. The novice is a newly beginning player seeking fun and amusement with monsters and magic. Their card collection is extremely limited and may be entirely new, and therefore lacking the old possibilities and themes. The novice player will simply look through the cards that he or she possesses, select the cards that appear to be the best, regardless of mana cost, and put them together in a deck. These decks may be multicolored to some extent, but in my experience, the novice possesses exactly 5 decks, one for each color. Possessing the slimmest of knowledge, the novice will make all of his or her decks with the same goal in mind, reduce the opponent’s life to 0 by means of attacking directly with creatures. There will of course be variation in the decks based on the color being used; for example, a red deck will use burn cards of all types and costs as well as all ranges of creatures from tiny goblins to massive dragons. The player will have mana costs in this deck from 0 to 9 and think nothing of it. A blue deck will have small to medium creatures and a slew of control elements ranging from draw, discard, mill, bounce, tap, and many others besides. A green deck will be no more then a smash and crash with all levels of creatures and perhaps a few ways to make them stronger. The player will have no qualms with waiting till turn 8 to play a 6/6 creature. The black deck will comprise of expensive creatures and spells that are not cost effective and do many flashy effects but in reality are not worth the effort. Spells such as lord of the pit will be used in the hopes of dealing deathly blows, only to find that it does as much harm as good, often leaving the player defenseless. And finally the white deck will revolve around medium ranged creatures, life gain, and protection. I have actually met a player who chose to use 1 copy of each of the circles of protection in his all white deck “just in case”. All of these deck types can be easily out maneuvered and almost as effortlessly predicted. The novice will waste time attempting to put out titanic creatures, wasting multiple turns in doing so, only to find the creature destroyed and the game over. Overall, the novice lacks experience, knowledge, and wisdom of the game, but given enough time, can easily rise up to the next level.
Level 2- the amateur. The amateur is simply a novice who has figured out how to streamline the process of the creature beatdown. Rather then selecting the best overall cards, the amateur will work towards a collective theme of beatdown, realizing that the middle range of monsters (those costing 2, 3, and 4) are essential to the beatdown style of play. The novice will have a proportionate number of small, medium, and large creatures in any one of their decks. The amateur will select more carefully, keeping mana costs in mind, evaluating when cards can be played, and therefore, how useful they actually are. The easiest way that I have found to tell the difference between a novice and an amateur is to present them with the card thorn elemental. This card is one of the most highly sought green beatdown cards in existence and will suffice as an adequate experimental tool. When presented with thorn elemental, the novice will see its potential value immediately and instantly insert it into his deck bearing a grand smile at how he has just gained such a valuable asset. He will have no thought to how much the card costs to actually get on the field or how vulnerable it is once it actually enters battle. All the novice will see is the hulking, basically unblockable 7/7 and instantly fall in love. The amateur, conversely, will see the formidable card, and then suddenly stop and consider the applications of this behemoth. A creature so large must be used in a special situation or it will merely sit idly in your hand while the opponent successfully plays all of his cards and uses them to their full potential. The amateur will realize that thorn elemental is useless unless the deck is build specifically to cater to it, and the countless other vast creatures like it in the game. The amateur will make a deck centered on putting large creatures on the field as quickly as possible and using them to attack for the win. They will include mana accelerating cards such as llanowar elves, elvish piper, sol ring, or quicksilver amulet to make sure the elemental can be played on approximately turn 4. Also the amateur will include such things as dense foliage and privileged position in order to protect the big boy from the certainly coming terror, boomerang, or doom blade. And finally, the amateur will include other large creatures similar to thorn elemental such as rhox or vigor to increase the chances of destruction with such vast creatures.
To sum up, the amateur is a better-experienced novice that has figured out how to construct a better beatdown deck but does still not possess knowledge of the inner workings of the game.
Level 3- the sycophant. The sycophant is an amateur that has played enough magic to notice that there are far more efficient and exotic ways to win then to simply summon creatures and attack with them. They have experienced many different themes in magic such as control, discard, burn, and combo to name a few, and they have decided to try their hand at a different type of deck building. No longer will the sycophant simply fill their decks with creatures and power ups, instead, they will search deeper within the realms of the game, testing its fabric and attempting to find for themselves the best way to win. The sycophant will attempt to combine both active and passive play to form a hybrid playing style unique to the magic world, these type of decks are commonly seen by experienced players and do such things as utilize the graveyard, prevent the opponent prom playing spells, prevent the opponent from dealing damage, or making sure the opponent cannot utilize what he has on the field. When faced with the deck of an ammeter or novice, the sycophant will figuratively side step their opponent and calmly walk away with the victory. What need does the sycophant have to overpower the opponent with force when they can simply clear the field in an instant or deal such swift damage that the opponent has no time to stop them. It is quite common for the sycophant to have a pyroclasm, wrath of god, or damnation ready and waiting for the expected and correctly interpreted hoard of vulgar creatures of the enemy. The sycophant will also utilize card advantage and synergy to overwhelm the opponent who desires only to win with power. Sycophant decks are designed to win by strange and unpredictable, and therefore less counterable means. If a combination is unexpected then it cannot be easily stopped, the sycophant knows this all too well and strives to master this principle in all of their magical styling. And above all else, the sycophant knows that speed is the most necessary of all aspects of magic. If a player can have a winning combination go off on turn 3, then who in this wide world can stop them? None but a faster, informed, or lucky opponent. The most skillful amateurs may possess the knowledge to wield a combo deck, but they will not consider the timing of their deck and therefore not use it to perfection or victory. The clear indicator between the amateur and the sycophant is nothing more then pure, blinding speed.
Level 4- the master. The clearly dominating players in the magic world all share something in common, they have all created an original idea that shines forth all on its own, piggybacking no predecessor and lacking no authenticity. The master has quite literally lived up to his or her name and become so experienced in the game of magic that they can create any type of deck with speed, skill, and ease. The master may look at any card, no matter how forlorn or seemingly useless and be able to discern its proper place in any setting. Every player who has reached the level of master has contributed a combination or deck type that has never been thought of before and is swift and efficient enough to be considered competitive. No master will need long to play any game, as they have already calculated the success of their deck with ease during its construction and therefore turn-by-turn decisions become almost negligible. When facing a master be prepared for a turn 4 win at the latest, and even if the match takes a little longer, it will surely be an interesting game.
No matter what level one currently resides, and please remember that these are merely hypothetical tools of understanding, it is always possible to improve. I have found through my efforts to improve my game that there are 3 methods that must be employed if one is going to improve.
1. Every magic player must look through a card database and gain a greater knowledge of the cards out there. I personally use magiccards.info for my own personal searches. The advanced search mode allows me to basically spell out exactly what I wish to find and brings p a list of possible matches. This is a phenomenal deck-building tool as it gives players a chance to find any card they might desire. Many of my decks have been fueled by this sight as I have typed in specific requirements, found the corresponding card, and constructed a deck around it. A good card database is an indispensable tool to a magic player.
2. A clear choice for another method is none other then this very website. Mtgvault.com and other websites like it allow players to directly talk strategy, tactics, and general magic info. I have found that no matter how many decks I post there will always be something that can be done better and hopefully someone on mtgvault will help me find it. Another beautiful thing about Internet magic sites is that they allow their users to look at the brilliant ideas of others. Mtgvault has helped me personally move from the amateur ranking to the sycophant as my knowledge of better deck building grew under its tutelage.
3. Lastly, and I would hope that this observation was obvious, the only way to apply the first 2 methods is to get out there and play the game. Theoretically making decks is a very good way to improve, but it will be incomplete if you do not test out these decks. When you come up with a new deck concept, play this deck 100 times with close friends to get a good feel of how it works. Pay close attention to how well it plays under certain conditions, and above all, what cards worked in theory but not in practice. This is the only way to streamline a deck, through sheer, mind numbing effort. The more you play the more you learn and hopefully the more fun you have.
No matter what level you perceive yourself as, keep moving forward in your magic games.
“Charizard is trying to learn fireblast”