The Best Advice for Players to Start Winning More Games of Magic: The Gathering

Heuristics simplifies a problem to solve it, this times Thoralf explains how this works in Magic, using the "a little bit slower rule" and applying its principle to the match-up for each basic deck type (Midrange, Aggro, Control) in the current Pioneer Meta. As a bonus, he also explains why this won't work with Combo decks.

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[AnonYmous-etmz]

I really like the concept here. Advice for intermediary players is rather rare. Also picking up and expanding upon shorts with long form is a very elegant way of making the channel more consistent and interconnected. I think Anika and Toffel have great energy. Keeping the hosts and guests so diverse is another thing I really enjoy about your work here.

[cjwarden]

5:35 got me for a second, went to check whether now was the time to grab Teferi!

[egoish]

I think pioneer is the sweet spot for new players getting into competative magic at fnm, my daughter loves her burn deck and is starting to get good with it. It's fun watching people discover how risk vs reward works and when to burn face or remove creatures, the standard rotation seems to put people off.

[eeneranna]

I really like the video. I kind of wish there were more graphics when they were going over the concepts to help reinforce them. Just hearing them is nice, but actually seeing examples from either games or even sideboarding animations would really drive home what they're trying to convey.

[Tirvops]

The best advice is to be lucky, keep the risky hands that just need to top deck a land. Remember 90% of gamblers quit before winning big.

[TheCitrusCollective]

This was incredibly insightful. MTG isn't my main game currently, but I was surprised how much evergreen advice was in here. Heuristics are a powerful and I think this *little bit slower* concept applies surprisingly well in other TCGs.

[simonteesdale]

A bit more detailed explanation on fighting combo decks:

You want disruption and a clock. Even control decks will lose to a combo deck after sideboarding given infinite time.

The best time to fight combo decks is before the game. Knowing the most popular combos before you start, and slotting in some cards dedicated to beat that combo. (If in doubt, 3-4 pieces of graveyard hate/hand disruption should do.)

If in doubt, just be as aggressive as possible and hope you can kill them before they find their combo.

Also, sometimes it's not worth trying to fight specific combos. If your RG deck needs to splash white and include 8 dedicated sideboard cards to beat storm, perhaps it's not worth it.

[praecantrix]

i love the advice videos. i'd like to see a follow up though where you play a bo3 that can illustrate how to sideboard, how to beat the other type of deck, etc. using pre-cons would make it accessible for everyone as well.

[bleudecoup]

Anika seems to really like Toffel. Lovely to watch. :)

[ShortenedMax]

5:34 so what’s up with these prices lol?

[skrdman]

All very good advice.
Another heuristic I would recommend to new players is to always wait until the last moment to play a card.
For example, you could play a creature during your first main phase, but if that creature doesn't have haste or any other abilities that will be relevant during the combat phase, it will be better to just hold onto the card and play it during the second main phase. This leaves your mana available to play a combat trick or other instant during combat, and even if you don't have any interactive cards, leaving your mana open still might make your opponent *think* that you have something, and could trick them into making a worse defensive play.
Likewise, if you do have a combat trick, wait until the opportune time to cast that too. Often it's better to wait until the opponent has already declared blockers in a combat they thought was a good trade for them, and then you turn it in your favor at the last second. Don't reveal anything until the latest possible moment. This gives your opponent fewer opportunities to play around your cards.
Honestly, I even apply this rule to land drops. If you're going into the mid to late game and you top deck a land, don't play it unless you can foresee yourself needing it in the immediate future. I've won games by tricking my opponent into thinking that the land I'd been holding onto the last few turns was a big removal or other interactive spell, causing them to make some slower sub-optimal plays. Sometimes the threat of interaction is more beneficial than having an extra land on the field.

[Jmacd]

When I first started playing back in 2008 and got my first bundle of worldwake I was all about white decks of some sort cause I was all about life gain this was before I understood more about building decks and became a fan of white/ black and white/red decks which taught me in time that I was really more into red bad burn decks mixed with usually black for graveyard manipulation or red/ green. I like to stay aggressive and end things quickly usually. I like looking at my hand and seeing that no matter what they pull I can remove it or go straight for their life depending on how it plays. Sorry for the book I wrote there lol basically looking for input and advice thx have a great day!

[josilot]

I'm so happy to see Anika back on the channel!

[AutkastKain]

My favorite advice is just slow down. I have made so many mistakes because I start thinking that I need to make my choices fast when I find the right line after I act instead of thinking through my next few moves

[Michibeachi]

Great video, please make more of these!

[MrMarnel]

Who's the beatdown? Great and timeless article.

[Eric-mwgr]

Gabriel Nassif applies this principle to life, to great success.

[-homerow-]

This is great! I feel like if it his was a "how to sideboard in Pioneer" video it sort of wouldn't work. This way, using broad strokes then lets the player make the decision per matchup as they learn rather than getting caught up in the minutiae in the video!

[kazen]

Love the format, you guys should go even more like deck types and how they are usually played.

[JordanGrayson]

Absolutely loved this video!
As a pioneer player trying out and learning more competitive magic this was just perfect! Super fun and super useful, would love to see more.