A couple of weeks ago I journeyed to MagicCon Chicago to play the Grand Prix next to the Pro Tour. I went a disappointing 5–3 with Dimir Combo. The deck was sweet; it could win t4, consistently did awesome Conspiracy Unraveller things, and had tutors to tie the whole thing together. But playing it felt miserable and empty. Most games boiled down to hoping my opponent had not drawn more than one counter and didn’t play a Deep Cavern Bat or Dennick. After not making day 2, I was considering that it might be time to take a break from Magic after 15 years.
Previously, I had said I would stop playing if I did not queue for the next PT (via either the RC or the Grand Prix). At the end of the day Friday, that was my resolve. As I watched coverage of the Pro Tour the next day, I began to feel envious. It was not until Sunday that those feelings developed from pangs to outright envy of the players on camera. But the reason for this envy was surprising to me. It was not because they were playing on camera, or for high stakes, or anything to do with the PT itself. It was simply because they were playing good games of Magic. And I wanted to play some too.
For me, Good Magic is when, after a match:
- The outcome of the match was a result of one player making superior decisions
- The games are not one sided blowouts
- Both players are making minimal mistakes
This ideal is impractical to reach. You can’t expect that every match of magic is winnable or that wins will be solely due to decision making. But knowing the ideal, I can work backwards and derive some information about what tournaments I should participate in and what decks I should play. The definition I gave is ambiguous and a little contrived, but pinning down an elusive concept like “Good Magic” is difficult. Other people might have different thoughts on what makes a game of Magic “good”, but these are mine.
How to play Good Magic
If I want to play Good Magic I need to play against players who will make minimal mistakes. The best way to do this is to play events with meaningful prizes for both me and my opponent. The goal is not to maximize my win-rate or expected value; the prizes are simply there to incentivize good players to play and try their best. This also applies to me, I also need to try my best and make minimal mistakes. This implies not playing events where I am not familiar with the format. If I am not familiar with a format, I often find myself making decisions even though I do not know I am making them, which leads to sloppy play and mediocre Magic. If I am not going to be able to play Good Magic then I should just stay home.
Even if the event is meaningful and I am familiar with the format, there is still another barrier to Good Magic: deck choice. As a professional Magic player I felt an obligation to attempt to maximize my win-rate and be willing to play any strategy if it was well positioned. Even Tron. But my goal is no longer to maximize win-rate, nor is it to play as many Pro Tours as possible. My goal is to play good magic, as defined above.
I have played 14 Pro Tours to date*. I have done well, done badly, t8ed, even went 7–1 into 1–7. It used to be my goal to play as many Pro Tours as I could. I would still happily play them all if given the choice, but qualifying for them by any means necessary is not my goal. My reason for wanting to play on the Pro Tour is to play Good Magic. The Pro Tour just happens to be where the best Magic is being played. If my goal is to play Good Magic then it doesn’t make sense to play bad or mediocre Magic to try to get to the Pro Tour. I should be playing Good Magic the whole time. I shouldn’t play decks or events that won’t lead to Good Magic in order to try to maximize my chance at qualifying for the Pro Tour. If I want to play Good Magic it will narrow the decks that I can play, and potentially reduce my winrate, and that is ok.
This is my (current) formula for bringing a deck that will lead to Good Magic:
Don’t try to win in deck building. This typically takes the form of all in versions of macro archetypes (think Auras, Tron, Belcher)
Interacting must be a part of your game plan. Just having Boseiju and Otawara does not count.
Your deck should have elements to smooth out its draws. Things like cantrips, modal cards, scry, loot, tutors. These can be dedicated cards or just be attached to cards already in your deck.
Your deck should be good. If a deck fits the above requirements but doesn’t have a serious chance at winning, it’s not worth playing. Good Magic is unlikely to happen if you are always disadvantaged from the start.
To put these more concretely here are the decks that I would consider for each format right now:
Standard: Esper midrange, Golgari midrange
Pioneer: Phoenix, Rakdos Vampires
Modern: Domain Rhinos, Rakdos Scam
Good Magic is what attracted me to the game in the first place. Now that I am older, with a job, two dogs and a fiance, I can’t just spend time freely on Magic. I need to put a conscious effort into ensuring that the time I am able to spend is spent on Good Magic. It is probably past time for me to rethink my approach if I want my relationship with the game to be healthy and fulfilling. Everything changes and nothing remains still.
*Under various monikers: Pro Tour, Mythic Championship, Players Tour, Set Championship
