So I'm starting a series of articles to try and help players break into competitive magic in both standard and modern. Over the next few weeks, I'll outline the basics of attending tournaments, acquiring cards for your tournament and finally just improving your game. A new article will be released every Wednesday in the evening GMT.
The focus of this weeks article is on where to start and how to cultivate the beginnings of your competitive career. Now I don't mean you're going to be on a pro tour by the end of reading my series, but hopefully you'll feel more confident in going to tournaments.
So lets say you have your new standard deck, you feel you know the rules and your friends have been mentioning a magical Christmas land of 'FNM' where all the magic players you don't know compete to win booster packs. Well that sounds great! Lots of packs for just doing well... I can do that right?!
Not exactly... I remember back at my 1st FNMs I had little support and I went 0-4, but I was with friends playing with some terrible U/B "Midrange" from a New Phyrexia intro pack. This doesn't need to happen to you, in a few simple steps you can avoid the start I had, although even if you don't you'll still grow as a magic player and hey, you may be playing a PPTQ at Athena Games Norwich UK on Saturday 21st ;)
1. Consider your play style.
There are 3 main play styles in standard, Aggro, Midrange and Control. Most new players will experience an aggro deck because they are simple to use, if you really enjoyed that then maybe its a good idea to stick with it! Consider a fast red deck, not only is it inexpensive, it allows you to end the game quickly and socialise with all the new people, be warned though, beating someone 2-0 in 5 minutes may make them a little angry. However if you enjoy slowly grinding down your opponent, not allowing them to even play magic, you might be more suited to a control deck, usually a blue based deck, blue black is very simple just using lots of black removal and blue counter then calling on Ashiok or Silumgar to finish your opponent. I'm going to devote an article to the art of midrange and I wouldn't suggest it to a new player!
What path will you choose? Aggro or Control?
2. Use the internet!
This one is rather simple, and relies on the old anecdote of 'if you can't beat them, join them'!!! There are a number of easy to access websites to look at the cool decks that are doing well online and on paper, personally I like mtggoldfish but Star City Games also are very good with their tournaments and their articles. Everyone needs a bit of help when they start, and the internet can supplement your friend's advice.
3. Talk to the Local Game Store staff
Most LGS staff will be magic players themselves, and they are rather good at advising on products, although watch out for being taken for a ride! Making yourself known to a the staff is easy and usually they are more than willing to help! You're the consumer and their source of income, so they are usually more than happy to support you!
Now, you've done the first 3 steps, you get to FNM, usually 7PM start and its around 3 hours of 4 rounds, with about 40 minutes around. Arrive half an hour early if you can, try to get to know people and play some practice games, you can also make some trades and hopefully improve your deck, most people are more than willing to support you, just watch out if certain people try to rip you off, always cross check prices with a website! Don't take FNM too seriously, its a more casual tournament, which is why its so brilliant to introduce people to tournament play.
But wait Gothy!!! I've got a new deck and only a basic idea how to play it! What do I do?! Don't sweat it, there are tonnes of people in your position which is why Primers and Youtube videos are available to watch, also if you post on the vault and send me a link, I'd be more than happy to take a look! However the number one best way to learn your deck is to play it. You can either test online (Cockatrice or MTGO), with a friend or just solitaire. Working out different situations gets easier with experience, for example, I chose to play a swamp rather than an Urborg, Tomb of Yawgmouth when I had both in hand so that my opponent was kept off double black, he then couldn't bile blight and he lost. Learning these interactions will really help you as a magic player!
Then you sit down and play your games. Good Luck!
I hope that this first article was to your liking, the deck I've mocked up here is a simple to make mono-red aggro deck that can easily take on some of the best decks in standard, enjoy, don't forget to leave a like and drop me some feedback!