How do you get better at this?
Modern forum
Posted on Dec. 4, 2015, 2:51 p.m. by ComradeJim270
Because I seem to go 2-0-2 pretty much every time I play, and often get too little information out of it to really change that. It's a bit disheartening.
I try to do research on this stuff, but the information I find is usually dated, confusing or fails to offer anything helpful (e.g. tournament-winning decklists without any explanation as to how or why they win).
I do practice, but parsing anything I learn from doing that is becoming a lot more difficult than it was a couple months back. It's more nuanced and subtle and I'm usually left with either "I just made the same misplay as last week and the week before" or "I have no idea what just happened".
My concern is that I'm on my way to just burning out on Modern entirely if I don't feel like I'm making any progress as a player, even slowly. How do I get over this wall I seem to have slammed into?
lemmingllama says... #3
I'd recommend experimenting with your decklist. It could simply be that your deck isn't perfectly tuned to your meta, and so it feels off sometimes. Some experiments will end in failure, but others will be successful. It can be worthwhile to test things out.
December 4, 2015 2:57 p.m.
ComradeJim270 says... #4
Thank you both for replying!
@CharlesMandore: I'm playing B/G elves right now. I'm not sure how to describe my meta beyond "staggeringly diverse". It doesn't actually stay the same on Thursdays as it is on Fridays. A lot of people will switch decks from week to week, too. There's a strong tendency for people to run rogue decks as well.
The only thing I'm usually pretty sure I'll face is Twin. If it's the Thursday tournaments at my LGS, there's going to be a lot of blue but it's hard to say beyond that. Zoo and Infect seem to be getting a little more popular.
Running a highly linear deck actually feels like a good choice here, but I'm not sure if this deck is. I'm tempted to go with Fish instead, but I don't have a good feel for how prevalent Affinity is.
@lemmingllama: At this point, I wouldn't even know where to start. Half the time I'm not sure what I'm tuning for. It makes sideboarding a real bitch, too. If I understood matchups and how other decks worked more clearly, this would be easier.
December 4, 2015 3:07 p.m.
MADMatt7777 says... #5
I've personally found that after every match I play, I jot down some notes or things that ive noticed about either my deck, my opponents deck, or the match up in a game journal. It's really good for review as well as helping you see what mistakes you did and what plays you did right.
December 4, 2015 3:28 p.m.
ComradeJim270 says... #6
Good call, MADMatt7777. I think I'll do that.
Not having enough information often feels like the main problem. I have a suspicion that the deck is just fine, the player is the problem; or else I'd have posted this in the deck help forum. I'm rarely up to speed on the meta and don't have much idea what my good and bad matchups are until I run into them or have it explained to me. I'm often not even sure about good lines of play for any given deck, including my own.
I'm considering sitting out a couple weeks to just watch people and take notes.
December 4, 2015 3:36 p.m.
It may help to look up an elves primer (just google search it) and while it may be a little dated, it should have some tips, tricks, and uncommon/subtle lines of play. That's what I did with my infect deck, and it helped a lot! As well as looking for articles written by pros about that specific deck, which is always neat and informative, even if your lists differ a bit.
December 4, 2015 3:59 p.m.
You need to get to the point where you basically know the ins and outs of the most common decks you play off by heart. You should be able to make sideboard choices in your sleep, almost.
December 4, 2015 4:11 p.m.
ComradeJim270 says... #9
@mtgThaen: I did try that, but as a viable Modern deck elves is quite new and still evolving at a pretty rapid pace. It's hard to keep up and find recent primers or articles that go into real detail.
I expected this when I built the deck, but maybe I expected it to be a bit clearer by now. It's simultaneously my most and least favorite thing about playing elves; they are not solved yet.
@ChiefBell: Sure, that makes sense. What advice can you give for reaching that point? I find knowing what to side in a lot easier than deciding what to side out. Deciding what even goes in my sideboard is crazy hard, too.
December 4, 2015 4:35 p.m.
Understand the deck youre playing against and how they want to win, mainly. Once you know how they win you can formulate a plan for beating it.
For example
Twin: wins with combos or beatdown from small creatures. Must sideboard in card to disrupt combo or will lose to it. Consider Abrupt Decay and Golgari Charm. Larger creatures irrelevant in matchup so sideboard out Craterhoof Behemoth.
Something like that. Target the bits of the deck that cause you problems.
December 4, 2015 4:47 p.m.
ComradeJim270 says... #11
That's a lot of decks to figure out! Especially considering the rogue decks roaming around my LGS. But taking notes and reorienting my strategy and deck around that seems like a good way to make sure I don't miss anything.
December 4, 2015 5:09 p.m.
I would only bother for decks you see often. But yeah, the main thing is to look at how they win, and then evaluate how you can stop that.
December 4, 2015 5:10 p.m.
cireretals says... #13
One thing I've done is gone to Mtgtop8.com and made proxies of a lot of the top decks, and a few rouges, and then play tested my deck with a friend over and over. It helps if the friend has a deck they want to practice too because then you get to learn the ins and outs of the other decks. Like was previously mentioned taking notes helps a lot. A good place to make the proxies is google andy rut proxies. You can change the sets and size the proxies if you need to. Its helped me quite abit.
December 4, 2015 5:16 p.m.
None of those listed power cards fetch immediate silver bullet answers. Not even snappy does that.
December 4, 2015 5:30 p.m.
That is really strange with an elves deck which typically kicks ass. Can you post your deck list?? Consistency is always a good key, and if you are splashing black which is cool and different, you want to be playing if you are not, that newer elf that drains life for each elf you control. with Cavern of Souls i dont see how you can lose really ever lol. elves is so fast, that it just wins almost all the time. i have an elves proxy list that we test against, and whoever plays it, it wins. so definitely check your numbers, and like that one dude said, jot down notes, that seriously as best as it gets there.
December 5, 2015 11:56 a.m.
ComradeJim270 says... #18
@BryanAnthony: Elves loses to Living End, Burn, R/G Tron and Scapeshift. Twin is as potent as ever and Affinity seems to be about 50/50. I almost never see Living End (The Twin players chased it off), but I do encounter the rest of these.
December 5, 2015 1:22 p.m.
@ComradeJim270 - i commented on your deck list. i think i found the right one. it looks consistent, and seems fine, but some sideboard stuff to help knock out those pesky meta decks. and with that being said, Spellskite is your best friend. make sure you play at least 2.
December 5, 2015 1:29 p.m.
ComradeJim270 says... #20
I have two variations on the list. Worst Christmas Ever is the one I've been playing lately (the list has changed slightly) while There's an Elf for That! is the G/W version I'm strongly considering revisiting.
December 6, 2015 12:05 a.m.
One thing that has yet to come up is just to play more matches online. Programs like Cockatrice and sites like untap.in are good places to play against other people online for free, if you don't mind running into the odd cheater/generally crappy human being. It just lets you keep coming back to the deck when you've got some free time and get more games in against everything from tier stuff to the rogue brews.
December 6, 2015 11:40 a.m.
ComradeJim270 says... #22
I haven't tried any of those. Do they cost anything?
December 6, 2015 noon
Nope, both are 100% free. Cockatrice requires a download where untap.in is entirely browser based, but essentially it all comes down to personal preference.
December 6, 2015 12:03 p.m.
Justin_Bop says... #25
Some suggestions to better your playing...
Learn, in depth, how to sideboard and mulligan properly and fluently. This is probably the biggest thing I can honestly think of to improve your play, as doing these things correctly gives you a huge advantage over your opponent. Sometimes I will sit down with my deck, pick a deck archetype I commonly play against/struggle beating, and then repeatedly draw hands/mulligan with my deck. I pretend like I'm facing that specific archetype and will keep a hand to 'combat' that deck. Same goes with side boarding. You can also master blocking, attacking, and playing spells at the right time (some decks are easier than others).
Another trick I occasionally use to improve my playing is switching decks with a friend and then playing a couple games. This gives me information on, a) how to beat my own deck, thus helping me prepare to combat these ways to beating my own deck, and b) how to pilot and beat my opponents deck. Playing other decks besides the deck you want to be good with improves your skills overall (especially the ones I mentioned in the last paragraph).
Always you make sure you take notes during/after a game you play, it helps you know how to play out that scenario again in the future and it also helps gives feedback on what to take out/add to your deck.
Lastly, if you have time, I would take your deck and every game you play, make a couple small tweaks to the deck (like take out a forest for an overgrown tomb) and test it. I would proxy a bunch of cards that you want to test this way and use them. I feel it helps you know what cards are actually good in your deck, and which ones aren't so good (it's hard to tell sometimes just by looking at a list).
Good luck to you, hope you can go 4-0 next time you play :)u
Also, I highly recommend cockatrice and untap for testing.
December 6, 2015 7:14 p.m.
ComradeJim270 says... #26
Thanks folks, this is all super helpful! I'll check that all out.
CharlesMandore says... #2
What deck do you play, and what's your meta like?
December 4, 2015 2:55 p.m.