So I was playing in a tournament a couple of week ago, and I overheard a conversation between two guys talking about their game. One of them had played a creature, and then about a minute later the other said “Oh, I gain 1 life off of my Soul’s Attendant!” The first guy then proceeded to chastise him, telling him that “These guys here won’t let you get away with that kind of stuff, you’re at a real tournament now.” After walking over and introducing myself, and trying to convince them that not everyone here was all “hardcore” about these tournaments (It happened to be a FNM) and that we would most likely remind him about the trigger the first time as we like new players and enjoy teaching and reminding others, I started to think about my own introduction to the tournament scene...

Backtrack a couple of years to when I was back in High School. I was attending my first ever Friday Night Magic, and I was terrified. I had spent the entire week trying to decide what deck to play, and in the end had settled on playing my Mishra, Artificer Prodigy deck that I had been slowly working on for the last month or so. Looking back, the deck was awful. I only owned two Mishra, but Time Spiral had just come out, and I was really excited to play with the new cards. The deck used Signets to get Mishra out, and then with the extra mana tried to drop Phyrexian Snowcrushers to run my opponent over. I didn’t even have snow lands for the deck, so I couldn’t even pump the Snowcrusher. But that’s not the important part of the story. I just remember the feeling of driving up there, my friends, who had all been to FNMs before, all laughing and chatting about their decks and how excited they were to play, and I was just terrified that I would mess up the order of Untap, Upkeep, Draw and get disqualified. Most people don’t realize how intimidating this first experience can be. It was with these thoughts in mind that I thought I would write a basic tutorial giving some tips for your first tournament experience!

---

Tip #1 – Play What You Enjoy

This tip is actually one that still messes higher level players up. What most people don’t realize is that as they begin to develop their play to higher levels, certain types of decks they find themselves enjoying more than others. Often they don’t take that into account when selecting their deck, saying: “Why would I play this deck that I like, the other deck is just plain better!” What they don’t realize is that your play style can be a very important factor when determining what to play. This actually ties into my next tip.


Tip #2 – Know Your Deck

I have a friend up here who has been playing Mono Black Control since Odyssey block. In every format he plays, the first deck he tries to build Mono Black Control. If that doesn’t work, he tries Mono Black Midrange, and if even that fails he plays Mono Black Aggro. He plays exclusively Black whenever he can, and he’s gotten good at it. Even if it isn’t the best deck in the format, his familiarity with the deck gives him an edge, and he can out-play his opponent, winning supposedly un-winnable matchups.


Tip #3 – Sleep Is Your Friend

As I’ve been talking about your deck and how to build it to be ready for the tournament, it is important to note that there are other things you are going to need to do in order to be prepared. One of the big things that people don’t seem to think about is the importance of a good full night of sleep. It’s tempting to stay up the night before play testing (or just playing) with your friends, to finish that newest episode of your latest TV show, or whatever it is people do that seems to keep them up all night. I know I’m guilty of this, but you’d be amazed at how much better your play will be if you have that extra rest. You miss less little things, and find yourself being able to dig out of situations that aren’t easy to find the solutions to. I know I sound like your mother, but get your sleep!


Tip #4 – Sleeves 101

Back when I was just starting to really get into Magic, I went out and bought a couple of packs of “Penny Sleeves” to make my deck seem so much more official. I sleeved up my giant 100+ card casual deck that I was so proud of, and promptly watched the entire thing slide off the table. Despite this initial impression, I was proud of my sleeves, as they made me feel like I was a “good player” and ready to start playing like one. When you go to a tournament I highly recommend that you bring sleeves (or buy some there, as they often have them available). They don’t have to be fancy, they don’t have to be expensive, but they keep your cards clean, it makes the judges happy (preventing cards from becoming “marked” by wear and tear), and I find just generally makes my play cleaner. Be careful to be gentle on your sleeves, as once they get marked up too much you probably should move them onto a casual deck and get a fresh set for your higher level play. If you want something that will last a long time, I highly recommend Ultra Pro, or if you want to go all out, Dragon Shields have yet to ever give out on me.


Tip #5 – Death of the Life Die

So when people sit down for a casual game, they generally pull out a D20, or sometimes use other objects to represent their life totals. When you go to a tournament, it’s good practice to bring a pad of paper and a pen to keep track. It takes a little getting used to, but the benefit is that paper can get knocked or bounced or messed up like that at all. Also, it allows you to have a record of the life total changes. What you really want to do is get in the habit of tracking both your opponent and your own life totals, giving you a complete record of the game.


Tip #6 – The Munchies

One thing that often happens to me at tournaments is that I get so involved in my games and my rounds, that I forget bodily needs like food and drink. For a long time I just didn’t have time to eat, and if I did, the food was generally very expensive. If you want to save on costs or convenience, just pack yourself some food. Not only does it mean you’ll have it on you whenever you need a snack, but you get some nice snacks that you like. Also important is staying hydrated. I see so many people with energy drinks or a bunch of soda. As tempting and delicious that is, the best thing to keep you hydrated is a big bottle of water. Finally, one thing that I’ve found is that the tournaments are loud, and can get long, so I’ve started to bring a small bottle of Tylenol or something of that nature to deal with the headache I usually get after a couple of rounds. It seems like not a big deal, but staying well fed and hydrated makes the experience much more enjoyable.


Tip #7 – Looking the Part

This is probably my most personal tip of the set. When I show up to a tournament I like to try to look nice. That doesn’t mean that I wear a suit and tie, but when it’s a larger tournament, I try to not show up in my ratty jeans or torn up t-shirt. I wear a nice shirt, try to look somewhat respectable. I know that it is not needed, but I find that if my opponents look nice, then I automatically give them some level of respect right from the get go. On a related note, the elephant in the room at many tournaments: hygiene. I don’t want to go into too many details as it’s a rather personal issue, but please show up with at least some reasonable level of cleanliness. There is a reason that Magic players get a bad rap. Please don’t add to it.


Tip #8 – R-E-S-P-E-C-T

Going off of the respect theme, this is something that I really enjoy when my opponent and I both have respect for each other. This doesn’t mean we go to the extreme with it. It just means being a good sport, having a good game, and generally just being a fun guy to play with. I will say that when playing Magic, the thing I enjoy most is having a good game with my opponent. While at some tournaments it is disappointing to not do well, you have to remember that generally most people play this game to enjoy themselves. If people aren’t having fun, then something is going wrong.


Tip #9 – Relax!

Going along with the enjoying the game part, it is important to remember to RELAX during the tournament! First of all, you can’t have fun if you’re just sitting there freaking out. Also, your play will improve incredibly if you learn to just take a second at each situation to evaluate the board state. I know the first real competitive tournament I went to go play in (A 1k held by a local store) I was over thinking everything so much that I planned out an entire situation, thought everything through, double checked, was all ready, and then completely missed the play when it came because I was so hyped up. Learn to just take a second and relax, look at the board, and enjoy your game.

---

So those are my tips! These aren’t things you need to do, these aren’t things that work for everyone every time. But if you’re worried or nervous about getting your feet wet, go find your deck, get all prepped up, and take the plunge. We all have to have our first tournament sometime. You may lose every single game, I know I’ve been there, but if you keep at it, you can only get better!


Stop by the forums and let me know what you think of the tips! While these are some of my suggestions, I know that other people out there can offer up a lot of advice that I missed on here. Drop by and let us know what you suggest!

---

---