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Editor:Staff 25th June 2008
Slow Down
By Mat Bowman I realised that it’s been a little while between articles for me and well, a lot has happened in both life and my MTG career since I last graced these hallowed pages. I now have a mortgage and a Labrador, for example. I have also had the absolute privilege to compete in Pro Tour in Kuala Lumpur earlier this year, where I met new friends, caught up with others and yes, met Jon Finkel! (Ask me about it some time, I’m happy to tell!) So, I got to play against the big guns. I got to witness the true masters of this game with my own eyes instead of via webcast or blog. I sat with Zvi, Andre and Steve for hours and discussed strategies, play styles and deckbuilding as well as trying to explain the rules of AFL! You would think that I would be a better player after having this wealth of knowledge right? Well, not really! I learned that there is a huge gap between my ability and those whose decks we copy. You see, at PT:KL I spent a lot of time hovering at the feature match area, just watching my favourite pro’s doing what they do best. I watched Finkel, Wafo-Tapa, Ruel, Cheon and others play flawless game after flawless game. It was truly an impressive sight and playing tight seems to be the biggest difference between ‘us’ and ‘them.’ Or so I thought. Once back home at my local FNM, I again observed players through the same level of criticism. I also began to study my own play, trying to think of the very best play to suit the given scenario. I didn’t always come up with the best one, quite often getting it completely wrong, to be honest. But the exercise was well worth it, as in just a short space of time I noticed a marked improvement in my own ability. I’m not blowing my own trumpet or announcing that I have any advantage over anyone, just saying that I have improved. I’m better than I was this time last year. My observations showed me many other things. Some people are just ‘that good’ and some people work their fingers to the bone to get good enough, but all those with names we recognise take their time. They play the game at their own pace. Its not that they ‘slow play’ their opponent, but they make sure they give themselves the mental breathing space to make the correct play. A lot of people at home (myself included) do not, at least, not enough. Some players have an uncanny ability to appear to have massive amounts of time during their games, I’m not sure where or if this ability can be learned but we all need to remember that we have 50 minutes to complete our best of 3 games. Time is a resource. Good Magic players use every resource available to them to gain every advantage available. Many such resources are available, from the cards we draw, life totals, creatures/permanents in play, the graveyard, sideboards and of course, time. Wafo-Tapa had a lot of games go to time at PT:Hollywood as he was playing a ‘slow’ deck that had a lot of complex decisions and a tricky mana base. Nic Rolf won the last Melbourne PTQ after commenting before the tourney that he lost if he played the wrong land first. To some, this will seem obvious, but for those of us who are not on the Garry Wong, Tim He or Matt Hare skill level, we need to check ourselves during the game to make sure we are playing as tight as possible. It might be making sure our lands are in order to confirm what colours we have available, sitting on our hands for a second to make sure we don’t do something wrong or taking a deep breath. I’m sure everyone will have their own ‘way’ of staying focused. I am one that orders my lands and hold my fist to my mouth. Saito is famous for his face slapping, Steve Sadin employs breathing techniques and some players just remind themselves that they are good enough to win. I recommend that everyone take that extra second or two at their next FNM to double check their play is the correct one. Please, don’t slow play your opponents, coz that’s just not cool, but don’t feel rushed, either. I was talking to a local player the other night, who said that he can become panicked when facing down a horde of red or white guys. This leads to panicked plays that are often incorrect and can cause the game to pull out of his reach. We discussed it and he found that simply counting the combined power on the opposite side of the board and comparing it to his life total was usually enough to let him correctly evaluate the correct play. Sure, sometimes, you can take all the time in the world and still make the wrong play, but that’s something we just need to learn from for the next time that situation presents itself. But, by at least giving yourself a moment to evaluate and sum up the game state, you will have a better idea of what plays are available, which one is correct is another article all together! Thanks for reading! Mat Bowman |
