MTG Pro Tutor - Insights, Tips & Advice from Magic: The Gathering Pros

Luis Salvatto has 1 Super Sunday Series win, 1 Grand Prix top 8 and 1 Pro tour top 8. Click to Tweet: I got a ton of value from Luis Salvatto when he shared his story on #MTGProTutor! Click here: http://bit.ly/mtgprotutor-ep119 First Set Invasion Favorite Set Morningtide Favorite Card Reveillark What makes Magic: The Gathering fun for you? Luis played all kinds of games and saw that Magic had infinite possibilities. Now he loves to draft and play constructed. Just trying all the formats is exciting to him. Early Challenge Losing a lot of win-and-ins to the top 8 was hard early in Luis' career. To overcome that and finally make it into the top 8 he focused on minimizing mistakes. Don't justify mistakes, address them head on and admit that you are the problem. Luis was motivated by seeing a team he wanted to join and learn from. Pro Player Model Thiago Saporito Willy Edel Worst Magic Moment Under the old PTQ system, Luis reached the finals and lost. Then he reached another final and lost again by making a huge mistake. He learned that he is a good player and you have to stay prepared so when luck strikes you can seize it. Proudest Magic Moment Making top 32 of his first Grand Prix. Winning a Super Sunday Series. Making it to the Super Sunday Series final. Making Top 8 of a Pro Tour. Best Format Draft Deepest Thing You've Learned About Yourself Luis learned how to lose. When you lose to someone you think is worse than you, you learn a lot about yourself. "If you play angry or you play sad, you don't play your best game." Biggest Mistake Players Make Not seeing the game unfolding. Not having a plan. You should always be able to answer, "How are you going to win this game?" How to Effectively Prepare for a Big Event Find a good deck and play it a bunch. Improvement Suggestions Start with a cheap deck and make friends. Magic Resource Channel Fireball Star City Games Connect With Luis Salvatto Twitter: @LUISLUJAN77 Check Out Magic Story Magic Story brings the lore of the Multiverse to life in an audio presentation never before heard in the Magic community. Listen to Episode 1 here or on www.magicthestory.com Sponsors

Julien Henry started playing Magic in Shards of Alara but has been playing competitively for only 2 years. He made it to the Finals of Grand Prix Manchester and qualified for Sydney which is going to be his 2nd Pro Tour. He's a member of MTG Mintcard and he lives in Paris. Click to Tweet: I got a ton of value from Julien Henry when he shared his story on #MTGProTutor! Click here: http://bit.ly/mtgprotutor-ep118 First Set Shards of Alara Favorite Set Shards of Alara Favorite Card Nissa, Vastwood Seer What makes Magic: The Gathering fun for you? Trying to find interactions between cards. Winning is also very fun and keeps Julien going. How to have Fun and be Competitive Focusing on improving keeps Magic fun. Level Up Won a RPTQ for Pro Tour Atlanta. Julien played a lot with the same deck in preparation for the event and it paid off. Worst Magic Moment Modern Grand Prix in Madrid. Julien played a TON and fine-tuned his deck. He even gave his list to friends who also tweaked it slightly and took it to the GP. His friends did really well but he didn't make day 2. To practice so hard and then fall short is very frustrating. You have to practice so when luck hits you can grab it. Proudest Magic Moment Grand Prix Manchester 2016. Julien had a huge win streak and made Silver pro when he made Top 8. Best Format Standard Players You Respect Pierre Dagen Louis DelTour How to Effectively Prepare for a Big Event What's in Your Tournament Bag Deck Spare cards Improvement Suggestions Wait until the Pro Tour to invest in a Standard deck (if you're new). They'll do all the heavy lifting for you. Magic Resource Star City Games ChannelFireball MTG Goldfish MTG Top 8 Connect With Julien Henry Twitter: @Lyserg42 Check Out Magic Story Magic Story brings the lore of the Multiverse to life in an audio presentation never before heard in the Magic community. Listen to Episode 1 here or on www.magicthestory.com Sponsors

Niels Molle is the frontrunner to be the Irish National Champion, he has made multiple cash finishes and has 1 Grand Prix Top 8. Click to Tweet: I got a ton of value from Niels Molle when he shared his story on #MTGProTutor! Click here: http://bit.ly/mtgprotutor-ep116 First Set Portal / Stronghold Favorite Set Urza's Saga Favorite Card Tarmogoyf What makes Magic: The Gathering fun for you? Fantasy setting, build your own decks. Competitive outlet. "How good can I become?" Get to see friends Play a variety of formats to keep it fun. Worst Magic Moment Lost Irish National Champion at last moment. Played a little less Magic. Played a little less Magic afterwards to cool off. Proudest Magic Moment Won first PTQ (Pro Tour RTR) Biggest Mistake Players Make In Limited: mistapping mana and not representing combat tricks. Change One Thing About Magic Mana issues. Sometimes you get ... screwed at a tournament. Sometimes you get mana screwed at a tournament. What's the Difference between Them and Us? Experience. They play Magic with players on their same level. Stepping Up Find the best player at your LGS. Ask to play and get advice. Play Magic online. Skill level is high and you can play against the best. Pro Player You Look Up To Paul Rietzl, PVDDR, Frank Karsten Effectively Playtesting Play a lot and focus on the game Non-Magic Activity Time management skills really helps Niels. Self Improvement Niels is an emotional player, meaning he plays intuitively, he makes plays that feel right. He's trying to slow down and think. Magic Resource Podcasts – Limited Resources Articles – SCG CFB (deck breakdowns) Videos Guidance Set a long term goal and make it your focus. Connect With Niels Molle Twitter: @nielsmolle Check Out Magic Story Magic Story brings the lore of the Multiverse to life in an audio presentation never before heard in the Magic community. Listen to Episode 1 here or on www.magicthestory.com Sponsors

Clay Spicklemire is an Indianapolis area Magic player who has been playing competitively since INN/RTR Standard and on and off since M10. He generally plays on the Star City Games circuit, and has had reasonable success there. He has 1 Grand Prix Top 8 where he was the Champion of GP Colombus. Click to Tweet: I got a ton of value from Clay Spicklemire when he shared his story on #MTGProTutor! Click here: http://bit.ly/mtgprotutor-ep115 First Set 10 Ed. Favorite Set Innistrad Favorite Card Electrolyze What makes Magic: The Gathering fun for you? Deep interactions, competitive outlet. Made friends through Magic. How Do You Keep It Fun Just cause you lose doesn't mean you're a bad player. Early Challenge Play super fast without thinking. Slowing down Worst Magic Moment PPTQ, game 3, full board state, Displacement Wave from opponent Clay didn't read the card and scooped. His opponent needed to return creatures too. Proudest Magic Moment Win Grand Prix Columbus. Best Format Legacy - Watch a lot of coverage, start playing Deepest Thing You've Learned About Yourself Most fun when working with others. Shortcoming Manage resources sloppily when he's ahead. This gives opponents extra draw steps. Biggest Mistake Players Make Players sideboard poorly. Talk to better players about your sideboard. Lay it out and take pictures. Talk to better players about your sideboard. Lay it out and discuss it. Playtest Play the match ups you're unsure of and tweak your sideboard strategy. Have a friend watch you play. Get a good group Tournament Bag Dice, Playmat, Deck, and Water Magic Resource SCG CFB MTG coverage The Source MTG Salvation New to Magic Don't buy packs. Connect With Clay Speklemire Clay is on Facebook Check Out Magic Story Magic Story brings the lore of the Multiverse to life in an audio presentation never before heard in the Magic community. Listen to Episode 1 here or on www.magicthestory.com Sponsors

Christoffer Larsen is from Denmark and has 4 Grand Prix Top 8's and has competed in at least 10 Pro Tours. He was on the Danish World Magic Cup team in 2015. Currently locked in as a Silver level pro. Click to Tweet: I got a ton of value from Christoffer Larsen when he shared his story on #MTGProTutor! Click here: http://bit.ly/mtgprotutor-ep114 First Set Apocalypse Favorite Set Ravnica: City of Guilds – Selesnya Favorite Card Sulfuric Vortex What makes Magic: The Gathering fun for you? Travel a lot. Likes going to Grand Prixs with friends. Early Challenge Damage on the stack. Worst Magic Moment SCG team event. Had a really bad UR deck. Proudest Magic Moment Top 8 of World Magic Cup with team (back-to-back 2HG wins.) Deepest Thing You've Learned About Yourself Christoffer hates losing. Take some time to move past it. Don't whine. Biggest Mistake Players Make Know your opponent's deck. So many players don't think of their opponent. How to Effectively Prepare for a Big Event Watch videos! CFB SCG Playtest Ask other for input and adjust What's in Your Tournament Bag Decks, clothes, code names Improvement Suggestions Talk to tournament players, ask for help, borrow decks. Be kind and helpful to new players. Work out, get byes (they allow you to sleep in), eat breakfast. Magic Resource MTG Pulse Don't take it too seriously and have fun. Connect With Christoffer Larson Christoffer is on Facebook Check Out Magic Story Magic Story brings the lore of the Multiverse to life in an audio presentation never before heard in the Magic community. Listen to Episode 1 here or on www.magicthestory.com Sponsors

Edward Eng is from Chicago and lived in Taiwan for 10 years but lives in Houston now. He started playing Magic in 1994. Stopped in 2000. Came back in 2010. He's the creator of galactictreasures.com. He's played in 2 Nationals and has top 16ed a Star City Games invitational. Click to Tweet: I got a ton of value from Edward Eng when he shared his story on #MTGProTutor! Click here: http://bit.ly/mtgprotutor-ep113 First Set Revised Favorite Set Tempest, Stronghold, Urza's Legacy (first foils) Favorite Card Psionic Blast What makes Magic: The Gathering fun for you? Magic is a tool to help you build relationships. Worst Magic Moment Losing a key match to qualify for nationals. Proudest Magic Moment Won an annual tournament at LGS. Best Format Standard Tools to get into Standard: Trading (PucaTrade), MTG Price, Quiet speculation, Spare deck Deepest Thing You've Learned About Yourself Still tilts. To combat this, be cognizant of the fact that it's a game. People give up too early. Stay in it. Stay focused. Shortcoming "I'm a perfectionist." Biggest Mistake Players Make Sideboarding – players over sideboard How to Effectively Prepare for a Big Event Play to your strengths. Regular Activites Read a lot Goldfish - When you goldfish think of a specific deck Improvement Suggestions See the game grow. Reach out to others. "Play the game from your own perspective." Magic Resource Channel Fireball TCG Player Star City Games Connect With Edward Eng Twitter: @edwardeng Check Out Magic Story Magic Story brings the lore of the Multiverse to life in an audio presentation never before heard in the Magic community. Listen to Episode 1 here or on www.magicthestory.com Sponsors

Christopher Walton is well known in the Michigan legacy community, he piloted U/W Miracles to a top 4 finish at Grand Prix Columbus 2016. Click to Tweet: I got a ton of value from Christopher Walton when he shared his story on #MTGProTutor! Click here: http://bit.ly/mtgprotutor-ep112 First Set Revised / Unlimited Favorite Set Tempest Favorite Card Land Tax What makes Magic: The Gathering fun for you? Interaction with friends. Worst Magic Moment Tried to quit Magic in 2008-9. His shop was closing and his friends were getting out. Early 2016 was also tough. But the worst was using outside information to determine a game and getting DQ'd. He learned how to move past it by sharing with others. Proudest Magic Moment Top 4 GP Columbus 2016. Cultivating Legacy scene in MT. Deepest Thing You've Learned About Yourself Taken losing a lot worse. Need to enjoy the game more. Empathy is the key to enjoying magic when you lose. Biggest Mistake Players Make Casting spells before attacking. What's in Your Tournament Bag Legacy Swag, MTG The Source Playmat"Barn" the person who Christopher is his groups "Barn". (The person who lends out cards.) Improvement Suggestions Enjoy the game as much as possible. Be sure you want to step up. To step up: Try everything. Be sure you want to step up. To step up: Try everything. To step up: Try everything. Magic Resource Borrow and proxy to break into Magic. Connect With Christopher Walton Christopher is on Facebook Check Out Magic Story Magic Story brings the lore of the Multiverse to life in an audio presentation never before heard in the Magic community. Listen to Episode 1 here or on www.magicthestory.com Sponsors

Jonas Friberg is a Swedish Magic: The Gathering player who played his first Grand Prix in 2014 and since then has played in 8 others including GP Barcelona and GP Manchester where he top 8:ed in both! Click to Tweet: I got a ton of value from Jonas Friberg when he shared his story on #MTGProTutor! Click here: http://bit.ly/mtgprotutor-ep111 First Set Coldsnap Favorite Set Innistrad Favorite Card Electrolyze What makes Magic: The Gathering fun for you? Jonas is very creative with his hands and mind. MTG creative in another way. He gets to think and make plays 2 turns ahead Worst Magic Moment GP Krakow 2005 – Jonas traveled out of country and it was very expensive. He went 0-3 drop. Outside of comfort zone. He learned to practice more and learned to balance playing the best deck vs. one you know better. Proudest Magic Moment Won first Game Day. Born of the Gods. Hadn't been playing long. Best Format Standard – Look at the best deck and play a deck that beats them. GW Tokens – Bad removal, can't handle PW Deepest Thing You've Learned About Yourself Full of myself. Think I'm better than I am. Over confidence is your worst enemy. Respect your opponent. Beware always. Think about his outs, what you can do to stop it. Biggest Mistake Players Make Play cards, not opponent. You should play your opponent. Don't over extend into effects that wreck you. How to Effectively Prepare for a Big Event Theorize about decks and match ups. What's in Your Tournament Bag Deck, Playmat, Dice, Pen, Life Pod, Clothes, Water bottle New to Magic? Look for Tier I budget decks. Play on Cockatrice, use proxies, and borrow the cards you need. Magic Resource MTG Top 8 SCG Connect With Jonas Friberg Jonas is on Facebook Check Out Magic Story Magic Story brings the lore of the Multiverse to life in an audio presentation never before heard in the Magic community. Listen to Episode 1 here or on www.magicthestory.com Sponsors

Arne Huschenbeth started playing in Khans of Tarkir. He Top 8'd ten out of 12 PPTQs last season, and won 2 of them!! He Top 8'd his fourth Grand Prix in Paris. And made Top 64 at GP Manchester. Click to Tweet: I got a ton of value from Arne Huschenbeth when he shared his story on #MTGProTutor! Click here: http://bit.ly/mtgprotutor-ep110 First Set 8th Edition Favorite Set Khans of Tarkir Favorite Card Dragonlord Ojutai What makes Magic: The Gathering fun for you? It's so fascinating. You can get better at it every day. Magic is the first time Arne really loved doing something. Worst Magic Moment Pro Tour Shadows over Innistrad. Arne was crushed in the draft and didn't make day 2. Sleep well. He learned you should sleep well before events. He stayed up until 2 am the night before. Proudest Magic Moment Top 8 @ GP Paris - He felt a feeling of freedom He was screaming "You did it!" in his head. Deepest Thing You've Learned About Yourself Arne loves to travel and be with friends. Biggest Mistake Players Make Tapping mana wrong. Untapped mana represents something. Sending messages is part of Magic, make sure you're sending the right messages all the time. Also, players often think they are the aggressor when they're not. How to Effectively Prepare for a Big Event Arne traveled every weekend to a tournament somewhere. He consumed Magic content (articles + videos) and played a lot on XMage. This helped him make his GP top 8. What's in Your Tournament Bag Apples, Bananas, Water, Deck, Back Pack Activities to Improve Arne uses visualization techniques to envision winning and what that feels like. he also draws on his strategy and management skills. Magic Resource ChannelFireball StarCityGames TCG Player Twitch Wizards Coverage Guidance Be confident and keep going. Connect With Arne Huschenbeth You can find Arne on Facebook Check Out Magic Story Magic Story brings the lore of the Multiverse to life in an audio presentation never before heard in the Magic community. Listen to Episode 1 here or on www.magicthestory.com Sponsors

Pascal Maynard was on the Canadian National Team in 2010 and Top 50'd his first PT (which was Worlds Chiba 2010) by making it to 5th place in the team portion. He's played in over 15 Pro Tours and has 10 Grand Prix Top 8s (including 2 wins!) in his record. He currently has 1 Pro Tour Top 8 and is gunning for more. Click to Tweet: I got a ton of value from Pascal Maynard when he shared his story on #MTGProTutor! Click here: http://bit.ly/mtgprotutor-ep109 First Set 5th Dawn Favorite Set Time Spiral (Block) Favorite Card Tooth and Nail What makes Magic: The Gathering fun for you? The competitiveness. Early Challenge Pascal never wanted to play the best deck but he still remembers the first time he swapped decks with a body who ran an aggressive deck and the eye opening experience that was. Worst Magic Moment All of 2014. Pascal could not win that year. He considered leaving the game until he top 8'd a Grand Prix on his way to go visit a friend. If you are going through a slump, consider what you are doing wrong. Always turn the lens inward. Ask friends to watch you play. Proudest Magic Moment Making top 8 of a Pro Tour. Deepest Thing You've Learned About Yourself Pascal likes being competitive and doesn't like not learning. Magic has made Pascal a more organized person. Biggest Mistake Players Make People care too much about what's around them and how others think of them. Players who are good at ABC Magic play too fast because they don't want others to think they don't know. Great players slow down, think, and don't care what others are doing or thinking. Limited Evaluate whether you are the aggressor or on defense often. Make a note, especially when you sideboard. Improvement Suggestions Go to Wizards Coverage site and do a search for a specific deck or a specific player and you can watch all the coverage of that deck or player. It's all right there! No digging through hours of YouTube to find the right one. It's all right there. :) Magic Resource Neil Oliver articles on ChannelFireball Connect With Pascal Maynard Twitter: @PascalMaynard Check Out Magic Story Magic Story brings the lore of the Multiverse to life in an audio presentation never before heard in the Magic community. Listen to Episode 1 here or on www.magicthestory.com Sponsors

Andrew Elenbogen is the captain of team Ann Arbor. He has two Grand Prix T8's (Minneapolis and Omaha) the latter was with his favorite deck of all, Magic: RG Tron. He also finished 13-2 at GP Boston 2015 and cashed several other GPs and SCGs with that same deck. Click to Tweet: I got a ton of value from Andrew Elenbogen when he shared his story on #MTGProTutor! Click here: http://bit.ly/mtgprotutor-ep108 First Set 7th Edition Favorite Set Innistrad Favorite Card Karn Liberated What makes Magic: The Gathering fun for you? Andrew is super competitive and Magic is his competitive outlet. Magic is not set in stone, it is super fluid. Level Up At a random PTQ in Minnesota, Andrew played against Mathias Hunt. His opponent was very pleasant and despite his loss Andrew was able to make friends with Mathias. They found they had a lot in common and Andrew was invited to join an elite test group. Worst Magic Moment Grand Prix Dallas 2015. Andrew lost a win-and-in to go to the Pro Tour. He learned that no one deserves to win. Magic is up for anyone. Proudest Magic Moment Grand Prix Minneapolis 2016 Top 8. A friend conceded to get him in and Andrew loved doing so well alongside his teammate Max McVety. Best Format Modern Don't switch every week. Know your deck. Deepest Thing You've Learned About Yourself Andrew learned how to self evaluate so he can recognize his own strengths and weaknesses. Biggest Mistake Players Make Players are unwilling to acknowledge they lack the skill to play the best deck. Sometimes you need more practice. What's in Your Tournament Bag Boogie board Deck Playmat Dice Tokens Magic Resource Don't be afraid to change your deck last minute if you think it's right. Connect With Andrew Elenbogen Twitter: @aje8888 Check Out Magic Story Magic Story brings the lore of the Multiverse to life in an audio presentation never before heard in the Magic community. Listen to Episode 1 here or on www.magicthestory.com Sponsors

Max McVety is a Magic player from Ann Arbor, MI who has been playing competitively since New Phyrexia. He's played in 3 Pro tours, two of which he top 50'd. He made his first Grand Prix top 8 at GP Minneapolis 2016. Click to Tweet: I got a ton of value from Max McVety when he shared his story on #MTGProTutor! Click here: http://bit.ly/mtgprotutor-ep107 First Set Urza's Saga Favorite Set Innistrad Favorite Card Gryff's Boon Lightning Bolt What makes Magic: The Gathering fun for you? Deck building and playing Magic is a puzzle to be sold. Level Up When Max started playing MTGO more and when he started asking for help he noticed his game step up. Worst Magic Moment At his first Pro Tour Max lost his day 2 win and in. To be so close and fall short was disappointing. Proudest Magic Moment Winning a StarCityGames Invitational was amazing. Deepest Thing You've Learned About Yourself Max learned that he can handle a full schedule and thrive. Biggest Mistake Players Make People don't think about the cards they are going to take out when they sideboard. Lay out your deck post sideboard and line it up with the deck you want to play against. What's in Your Tournament Bag Back pack Relevant cards (for the format) Apple Water Clothes Limited Tips Play two colors. Play cards that affect the board. (Creatures, removal, combat.) Draft: Synergy - picks are contextual Sealed: Play your best 23 cards Magic Resource ChannelFireball StarCityGames Premium Limited Resources Connect With Max McVety Twitter: @m_mcvety Check Out Magic Story Magic Story brings the lore of the Multiverse to life in an audio presentation never before heard in the Magic community. Listen to Episode 1 here or on www.magicthestory.com Sponsors

Lauri Vuorela is an up and coming Magic star from Stockholm Sweden who had his first big finish by making Top 8 at Grand Prix Manchester 2016. Click to Tweet: I got a ton of value from Lauri Vuorela when he shared his story on #MTGProTutor! Click here: http://bit.ly/mtgprotutor-ep106 First Set Mirage Favorite Set Khans of Tarkir (Limited) / Theros Favorite Card Mind Twist What makes Magic: The Gathering fun for you? The friends he's made and the fact that there are so many possibilities. Early Challenge Lauri struggled with playing spells at the right time. Like dropping a creature during the second main so he could represent a spell during combat. Worst Magic Moment Long bad streak. Lauri took a 1 month break to clear his head. Proudest Magic Moment Top 8 at Grand Prix Manchester Best Format Modern Play one deck for awhile so you know all the match ups. Deepest Thing You've Learned About Yourself Lauri tends to downplay his own skill. But the more you play the more you believe in yourself. Biggest Mistake Players Make Players use the same life pad from the previous game and can give away information. Not facing the timer. What's in Your Tournament Bag Life pad Deck Extra sideboard cards Dice Playmat Water Snacks Magic Resource MTG Mint Card Modern Nexus ChannelFireball StarCityGames Connect With Lauri Vuorela Twitter: @lauriv_ Check Out Magic Story Magic Story brings the lore of the Multiverse to life in an audio presentation never before heard in the Magic community. Listen to Episode 1 here or on www.magicthestory.com Sponsors

Patrick Chapin, "The Innovator," is a Hall of Famer, Pro Tour Champion, and 5-time Pro Tour Top 8 competitor. Author of Next Level Magic and Next Level Deckbuilding, his articles can be found on StarCityGames.com and podcast at TopLevelPodcast.com. Click to Tweet: I got a ton of value from Patrick Chapin when he answered questions on #MTGProTutor! Click here: http://bit.ly/mtgprotutor-ep105 Sideboarding Sideboards are there to tweak and tune your strategy. Know what your strategy is. Look at similar strategies and make your sideboard similar. Right now, sweepers are very popular - Languish and Planar Outburst. Building Local Interest If you have casual players that you would like to take to the next level, organize regular draft nights. Break off into teams after the draft portion so people can help each other build decks. If you have new players who don't know the rules, introduce them to a Duels of the Planeswalkers and see if they stick around and want more after a few weeks. Missing Triggers Create a shortcut system for your brain. Also, when playtesting, NO TAKE BACKS!! Practice how you want to play at events. Track your mistakes and do a push up for each one you do. Going to Grand Prixs and Other Big Events Grand Prixs are like gaming conventions. JUST GO and enjoy it! You will never feel ready if you don't go. If you are nervous about the main event then just show up and walk around, play in some side events, visit artists and vendors and soak it all in. When you participate in the main event, play all the rounds. You paid to play Magic and get experience. Utilize all the time you have. Play all the rounds even if you're knocked out early. Playing against different decks and opponents you don't know is invaluable. Home Brew vs. Net Deck By playing your own brew all the time you are missing out on learning what's working now and why it's working. By net decking all the time you will always be a week or so behind. Mix it up. Net deck 25% of the time and build your own deck 25% of the time. The other 50% is up to you to go where the wind blows. See what's working at large but try out your own ideas too. Read: Information Cascades in Magic on StarCityGames Make Sure It's Fun Don't force yourself to play Magic (or play more Magic) just because you feel like that's waht you SHOULD be doing, Make sure it stays fun. Pay Attention to Opponent Everytime your opponent makes a play, especially if it's not obvious why, ask yourself "Why did they do that?" Have a notebook and write down, after the match, what your opponent did so you can talk about it with others later. BONUS: Write down all the mistakes you made (win or lose) and what you learned and SHARE THAT LIST! Don't let your brain hide your errors from you. Get used to facing them and talking about them. The MTG Pro Tutor Facebook group is the perfect place to post your list because of the healthy, uplifting community there who is ready to help. Mulligan Decisions Now days you can keep slightly lighter mana hands because you can scry. Consider what your opponent is playing and have a plan based on the cards in your hand. If there is no viable plan, then mulligan. If you don't know what your opponent is playing, assume they are on an aggressive strategy. How does your hand line up in that match? Coping with Counterspells If you tilt when playing a control mage then watch someone play a control deck and ask questions. Learn when they are vulnerable so you know when to strike. Dealing With Ulamog Hand disruption is the best way to deal with Ulamog. Infinite Obliteration is the prime answer. Biggest Mistake Players lie to themselves. You can only control what you can control. People shift the blame to things they can't control and then use that to hide from the real problem. Which is that they are making mistakes and need to address it. Improvement Suggestions Focus on what really matters right now. Magic Resource Information Cascades in Magic on StarCityGames Eternal Patrick is working alongside other great Magic players at Direwolf Digital to release a new game called Eternal. Check it out when it goes into open Beta soon. Connect With Patrick Chapin Twitter: @thepchapin Check Out Magic Story Magic Story brings the lore of the Multiverse to life in an audio presentation never before heard in the Magic community. Listen to Episode 1 here or on www.magicthestory.com Sponsors

Eugene Hwang lives a double life of a mild-mannered data analyst during the week but from Friday to Sunday, he is a Grand Prix grinder and Silver level pro from Los Angeles. He has 2 Grand Prix top 8s, including a win in GP Orlando 2014. Click to Tweet: I got a ton of value from Eugene Hwang when he shared his story on #MTGProTutor today! Click here: http://bit.ly/mtgprotutor-ep104 First Set Revised Favorite Set Khans of Tarkir (Limited) Favorite Card Survival of the Fitest Favorite Art Terese Nielsen Rebecca Guay What makes Magic: The Gathering fun for you? Drafting Magic is the most fun game Eugene has played. The community keeps him coming back for more. Early Challenge Started drafting and learned the BREAD shortcut but then took this too far. Eugene drafted pretty bad decks until he read an article about mana curve that changed how he drafted. Results quickly followed. Worst Magic Moment Day 2 of Grand Prix Providence. Eugene and his team went 10-0 in day one but then got steamed rolled in day 2 by Ari Lax's team. It was here that they realized there was a huge gap between their level and the next level. They came home, hit it hard, and all three team members (Andrew Brown, Jiachen Tao, Eugene Hwang) have gone on to win Grand Prix's and Pro Tours. Proudest Magic Moment Watching Best Format Sealed Biggest Mistake Players Make Players are afraid to step out of their comfort zone. While only playing one deck is a good way to start, if ALL you do is play aggro then when the meta shifts you will be out of luck. Play lots of decks so you can easily pick up different styles based on the meta. Build two decks that attack on opposing axis so Card Evaluation Tips Compare cards to older versions. By playing Limited consistently you build mental shortcuts. Sealed & Draft Tips Look at rares first. Grab cards that pull you into their colors, cards that you would definitely play in those cards, and cards you will likely play in those colors. Find the highest quality creatures and removal and make a two color deck around those cards. How to Effectively Prepare for a Big Event Play sessions are key. Either online or in person. Talk to each other player. Early on you want to identify powerful card interactions. After that you want to play the gauntlet of most likely decks. Improvement Suggestions Make friends with players you respect. Use Cockatrice and proxies. Playing Magic is the best way to get better at Magic. But playing other strategy games is good as well. Stay positive. Magic Resource Channel Fireball Star City Games Allied Strategy podcast GAM podcast Connect With Eugene Hwang Twitter: @deadseashoals Check Out Magic Story Magic Story brings the lore of the Multiverse to life in an audio presentation never before heard in the Magic community. Listen to Episode 1 here or on www.magicthestory.com Sponsors

Adonnys Medrano has made the first major breakthrough of his Magic career by placing in the top 8 of Grand Prix Charlotte. He's competed in the semi-finals of a Pro Tour Qualifier and placed 9th at the Richmond Open in 2015. He's been playing Magic for about 3.5 years and has been competitive for about 1.5 years. He enjoys all things gaming and Magic related. Adonnys lives in Virginia. Click to Tweet: I got a ton of value from Adonnys Medrano when he shared his story on #MTGProTutor today! Click here: http://bit.ly/mtgprotutor-ep103 First Set Return to Ravnica Favorite Set Innistrad Favorite Card Siege Rhino Worst Magic Moment Scrubbed out of Regional Pro Tour Qualifier. Then went to Grand Prix Pittsburg and didn't make day 2. Main take-away: You can't always expect to do well in Magic. Proudest Magic Moment Grand Prix Charlotte Deepest Thing You've Learned About Yourself Adonnys enjoys traveling with friends. Biggest Mistake Players Make Not understanding interactions and not learning the format. Watch coverage and read Star City Games, Channel Fireball and TCG Player Improvement Suggestions Take it slow. If you can't have the best versions of the cards it's okay. Buy singles, not packs! Always be open to learn. Playing is a big part BUT understanding is even bigger. Magic Resource Articles Star City Games, Channel Fireball and TCG Player Connect With Adonnys Medrano Facebook: Adonnys Medrano (BEST) Twitter: @AbrAdonnys Check Out Magic Story Magic Story brings the lore of the Multiverse to life in an audio presentation never before heard in the Magic community. Listen to Episode 1 here or on www.magicthestory.com Sponsors

Corey Burkhart has 3 Grand Prix top 8s this season alone, is a Gold Level Pro and a proud member of team Ultra Pro. Click to Tweet: I got a ton of value from Corey Burkhart when he shared his story on #MTGProTutor today! Click here: http://bit.ly/mtgprotutor-ep102 First Set Zendikar Favorite Set Battle for Zendikar Favorite Card Tidehollow Sculler What makes Magic: The Gathering fun for you? Being with friends. Worst Magic Moment Finals of a Magic Online Championship Series (MOCS), Corey mulled to 3, and then loses in a two-turn play. A friend told Corey what was at stake if he won and this might have thrown off his focus a bit. Then, at Grand Prix Albequerque 2013 Corey choked in a late round by firing off a Sphinx's Revelation too early. Proudest Magic Moment Grand Prix Oakland 2016 where Corey locked in Gold Level Pro status was huge but the sportsmanship of his opponent is what stands out to him the most. Biggest Mistake Players Make Not thinking about the outcome of a play or turn ahead of time. HAVE A PLAN! Consider how your spells line up with your opponents'. What Are You Working On? Limited; adapting to signals and predicting the meta game Improvement Suggestions Play all kinds of games and puzzles. Remember, it's a game. HAVE FUN! Relationships are more important. Connect With Corey Burkhart Twitter: @Corey_Burkhart Check Out Magic Story Magic Story brings the lore of the Multiverse to life in an audio presentation never before heard in the Magic community. Listen to Episode 1 here or on www.magicthestory.com Sponsors

Eli Kassis has 1 Grand Prix top 8, another X-2 finish and has 6 Grand Prix top 16's in his record. He has cashed at 6 Pro Tours and has 18 PTQ wins and 15 Star City Games top 8's. Click to Tweet: I got a ton of value from Eli Kassis when he shared his story on #MTGProTutor today! Click here: http://bit.ly/mtgprotutor-ep101 First Set Unlimited Favorite Set Revised Favorite Card Lightning Bolt Young Pyromancer What makes Magic: The Gathering fun for you? Buying, trading and the competition. Worst Magic Moment Star City Games Open in Syracuse. Eli wasn't allowed to have a big bag on the floor of the tournament. This shifted his mindset towards Magic. Now, he doesn't let his competitiveness affect his enjoyment. Then he had his cards stolen out of his car. These were really low points. Proudest Magic Moment Top 8 of Grand Prix Charlotte. Best Format Vintage & Limited Deepest Thing You've Learned About Yourself Eli faced his insecurity which manifested itself as poor sportsmanship. Biggest Mistake Players Make Giving away information. Practice having a stone face constantly. Improvement Suggestions Treat other players with respect. Especially women. Connect With Eli Kassis Facebook: Eli Kassis Twitter: @lifer2121 Check Out Magic Story Magic Story brings the lore of the Multiverse to life in an audio presentation never before heard in the Magic community. Listen to Episode 1 here or on www.magicthestory.com Sponsors

Shaun Penrod is the host of the top rated Magic: The Gathering podcast, MTG Pro Tutor. The Professor runs the #1 MTG related YouTube channel, Tolarian Community College, and is the first repeat guest on MTG Pro Tutor. (Even though technically he's the host of this episode.) ;) Click to Tweet: I got a ton of value from Shaun Penrod when he shared his story on #MTGProTutor today! Click here: http://bit.ly/mtgprotutor-ep100 100 GIVE AWAY!! Visit www.mtgprotutor.com/episode100 First Set Tempest block Favorite Set Future Sight / Innistrad Favorite Card Akroma's Memorial Avacyn, Angel of Hope Level Up Moment Reading an article by Michael J. Flores about casting instants on your own turn. Best Format Standard Connect With Shaun Penrod Twitter: @ShaunPenrod Check Out Magic Story Magic Story brings the lore of the Multiverse to life in an audio presentation never before heard in the Magic community. Listen to Episode 1 here or on www.magicthestory.com 100 GIVE AWAY!! Visit www.mtgprotutor.com/episode100

Michael Majors is a Professional Magic player who lives in Roanoke VA and works at StarCityGames. He has 3 Grand Prix Top 8's, including a win at GP San Diego in 2015, and has 2 Pro Tour Top 16s. He's part of the Vintage Super Series duo Merriam and Majors. Click to Tweet: I got a ton of value from Michael Majors when he shared his story on #MTGProTutor today! Click here: http://bit.ly/mtgprotutor-ep99 First Set Mercadian Masques Favorite Set Time Spiral Favorite Card Eight-and-a-Half-Tails What makes Magic: The Gathering fun for you? Winning is always nice but the friends he's made has kept Michael around. Early Challenge Identifying what in each game is important. Worst Magic Moment 2015 was a rough year for Michael. He missed Platinum by a few points in 2014 and this affected Michael for most of the next season. Finally, at GP San Diego, he let go of caring and got first place. This reinvigorated him and he's done great since. Proudest Magic Moment When Michael finally made Platinum Pro. Best Format Standard If you're new to Standard make one deck and stick with it to get it down, making adjustments as you go to meet your meta. Biggest Mistake Players Make Not using time wisely. While your opponent is taking their turn, you can be thinking and planning. Also, map your turn all the through. Don't just make the very next play, think of the full sequence. Card Evaluation Tips Compare new cards to older, similar cards to start determining how good they are. How to Effectively Prepare for a Big Event Play a lot on Magic Online. Play in person twice a week for several hours each session. What's in Your Tournament Bag Deck Pen Paper Water Snacks Improvement Suggestions If you are loving an aspect of Magic then don't change that. If you want to become more competitive then build one deck and practice. Magic Resource Star City Games Connect With Michael Majors Twitter: @MichaelJMajors Check Out Magic Story Magic Story brings the lore of the Multiverse to life in an audio presentation never before heard in the Magic community. Listen to Episode 1 here or on www.magicthestory.com Sponsors

Scott Lipp has 2 Grand Prix top 8's, and came in 16th at Grand Prix Vegas (BIGGEST GP EVER), He made top 4 at the Junior Super Series Worlds in 1999. He's a father, a store owner, and lives in Kansas City. Click to Tweet: I got a ton of value from Scott Lipp when he shared his story on #MTGProTutor today! Click here: http://bit.ly/mtgprotutor-ep98 First Set Arabian Nights Favorite Set 8th Ed. / Invasion block Favorite Card Chaos Orb What makes Magic: The Gathering fun for you? Loves seeing new players come into his store and fall in love with Magic. Early Challenge Scott played too quickly. He had to learn patience. Level Up Moment When Scott started playing cards that he enjoyed instead of the cards/decks that were simply "the best". Worst Moment Having a really bum birthday weekend at GP Atlantic City Proudest Magic Moment Getting back on the Pro Tour train. Deepest Thing You've Learned About Yourself Learning how to manage friendships. Biggest Mistake Players Make Making the most obvious play. Tapping mana wrong. Not sequencing lands and cards correctly. KNOW your deck, know your match up and use this knowledge to manage your plays and play around the right cards. Improvement Suggestions Go watch Twitch and read articles. Treat opponents with respect. Magic Resource Twitch.tv Connect With Scott Lipp Twitter: @Spanky_KC Check Out Magic Story Magic Story brings the lore of the Multiverse to life in an audio presentation never before heard in the Magic community. Listen to Episode 1 here or on www.magicthestory.com Sponsors

Louis Deltour is a 24 year old, French, Silver Pro, who started playing Magic in Odyssey and got competitive in Future Sight. He's played in 10 Pro Tours and has 4 Grand Prix top 8's as well as a French Nationals top 8 in his record. Click to Tweet: I got a ton of value from Louis Deltour when he shared his story on #MTGProTutor today! Click here: http://bit.ly/mtgprotutor-ep97 First Set Odyssey Favorite Set Future Sight Favorite Card Mistbind Clique Early Challenge Showing up late, registering the wrong deck, miscounting combat math. Louis struggled with really basic aspects in the beginning. You don't have to show up at a tournament with the wrong deck to learn like he did. Decide now to prepare ahead of time and show up with the right gear at the right time. Lowest Magic Moment Louis got really angry at a World Magic Cup Qualifier when he got beat by 2 cards. After he cleared his head he realized that you can't get too emotional. Proudest Magic Moment Grand Prix London 2011 Deepest Thing You've Learned About Yourself Louis loves being around people. Biggest Mistake Players Make Playing bad decks. Too many people resist following the way of Siege Rhino. If it's the best card or the best deck, you should probably play it. He also sees a lot of mistakes around mulligans. If your hand needs more than one thing, you should mulligan. What's in Your Tournament Bag Deck box paper pen dice sunglasses Tylenol Improvement Suggestions Get friends and borrow cards. :) Connect With Louis Deltour Twitter: @LWIDELTOUW Check Out Magic Story Magic Story brings the lore of the Multiverse to life in an audio presentation never before heard in the Magic community. Listen to Episode 1 here or on www.magicthestory.com Sponsors

Michael Simon is a longtime Grand Prix grinder who went 8-1 in his first Grand Prix. He then played 15 Grand Prix in a single year. Michael has two Grand Prix Top 8s - Modern (Chicago 2012) and Limited (Albuquerque 2016) - but first Qualified for the Pro Tour with a 10th place at Pittsburgh 2015. Micahel always wears an Izzet shirt. Click to Tweet: I got a ton of value from Michael Simon when he shared his story on #MTGProTutor today! Click here: http://bit.ly/mtgprotutor-ep96 First Set Revised Favorite Set Time Spiral Favorite Card Words of Wind What makes Magic: The Gathering fun for you? Magic is never solved. This keeps Michael coming back for more. Lowest Magic Moment There was a period of 3 years when Michael didn't qualify for the Pro Tour and made him doubt his ability. Proudest Magic Moment Michael kept a one-land hand on a low mull and won. His opponent was very salty. Later, he went to the store owned by his opponent and then man came out and apologized for how he behaved and gave Michael credit for a good game. Being accepted by his opponent was very validating for Michael. Best Format Modern If you're new, find a deck with a sideboard that does not require you to know the match up. Biggest Mistake Players Make Just "playing" your cards without thinking. Think "why do I want to play this card right now?" Think "why do I want to play this card right now?" What's in Your Tournament Bag Pad Pen Water KMC Hyper Matte Cards Dice Improvement Suggestions What happened in the past is mostly irrelevant; so is the future. Focus on the now. Don't tell yourself unrealistic advice. Connect With Michael Simon Twitter: @mechalink Check Out Magic Story Magic Story brings the lore of the Multiverse to life in an audio presentation never before heard in the Magic community. Listen to Episode 1 here or on www.magicthestory.com Sponsors

Doug Potter has been playing competitive Magic for more than half his life. He's from Edmonton, Alberta, home of Shaun McLaren and other sick MTG players. After making 9th place on tie breakers at his first GP in 2005 he's gone on to play in 6 Pro Tours and has 1 Grand Prix T8 at GP Toronto 2016. Click to Tweet: I got a ton of value from Doug Potter when he shared his story on #MTGProTutor today! Click here: http://bit.ly/mtgprotutor-ep95 First Set 4th Edition Favorite Set Judgment Favorite Card Psychatog Early Challenge Elitism - thinking he was better than other players. Doug had to learn how to respect his opponent's and even lost a few friends before this lesson sunk in. Proudest Magic Moment Being there for Alexander Hayne when he won his Pro Tour. Biggest Mistake Players Make Not enough players analyze the mistakes they made in games they won. By doing this you don't have the negative emotions associated with a loss. This helps you decompress wins in a healthy way. Improvement Suggestions Some players "get it" and others need to "find it" and grind. Where ever you fall in the Magic spectrum you can achieve your goals. Healthy body, healthy mind. Hydration is important. Connect With Doug Potter Twitter: @DougPkr Check Out Magic Story Magic Story brings the lore of the Multiverse to life in an audio presentation never before heard in the Magic community. Listen to Episode 1 here or on www.magicthestory.com Sponsors

Ari Lax is a Member of Team Ultra PRO, writes Premium articles for StarCityGames.com, has 8 Grand Prix Top 8s with 1 Win and is the Pro Tour Khans of Tarkir Champion. Click to Tweet: I got a ton of value from Ari Lax when he shared his story on #MTGProTutor today! Click here: http://bit.ly/mtgprotutor-ep94 First Set Ice Age Arctic Fox Favorite Set M13 Favorite Card Vendilion Clique Mind's Desire What makes Magic: The Gathering fun for you? Magic is a constant puzzle. Early Challenge Not playing the best deck. If it's the best deck and nothing else is beating it then there is nothing wrong with playing it. Worst Magic Moment Ari was the "better-than-you" grinder for a while. This led to game losses and frustration that could have been a avoided. He learned that getting upset never helps. Proudest Magic Moment Seeing a close friend qualify for the Pro Tour. Biggest Mistake Players Make Logicking from the end. Players work backward and look for flawed interactions and then match results to those instances when in reality you could have been making the best play with the info you had at the time. What's in Your Tournament Bag Deck Mat Dice Water Magic Resource Star City Games Connect With Ari Lax Twitter: @armlx Check Out Magic Story Magic Story brings the lore of the Multiverse to life in an audio presentation never before heard in the Magic community. Listen to Episode 1 here or on www.magicthestory.com Sponsors

Stephen Murray is a three-time Scottish National Champion, two-time World Magic Cup Top 8'r, has a couple of Pro Tour top 50's, and is a 2HG Draft and other weird format enthusiast. Stephen lives in Scotland. Click to Tweet: I got a ton of value from Stephen Murray when he shared his story on #MTGProTutor today! Click here: http://bit.ly/mtgprotutor-ep93 First Set Invasion / Mercadian Masques Favorite Set Ravnica: City of Guilds Favorite Card Armadillo Cloak What makes Magic: The Gathering fun for you? Easy to get lost in the game if you just picture what's actually happening. And it has a great competitive scene. Worst Moment Having his Magic bag stolen. Proudest Magic Moment First time becoming National Champion in 2006. Biggest Mistake Players Make Not knowing how to sideboard in advance. What's in Your Tournament Bag Water Light snack dice pens Improvement Suggestions Play lots of games, even if it's not competitive. Magic Resource Channel Fireball MTG Top 8 Connect With Stephen Murray Twitter: @JechtMurray Check Out Magic Story Magic Story brings the lore of the Multiverse to life in an audio presentation never before heard in the Magic community. Listen to Episode 1 here or on www.magicthestory.com Sponsors

Autumn Burchett broke onto the Magic scene with an 11th place finish at her first ever Pro Tour, Pro Tour Battle For Zendikar. Now a silver level pro player she is looking to follow up this early achievement with more top finishes. Autumn lives in Bristol. Click to Tweet: I got a ton of value from Autumn Burchett when he shared his story on #MTGProTutor today! Click here: http://bit.ly/mtgprotutor-ep92 First Set Return to Ravnica Favorite Set Shadows Over Innistrad Favorite Card Pack Rat What makes Magic: The Gathering fun for you? It's always changing. Early Challenge Tilting. You have to be actively aware of tilting in order to combat it and not let it affect your game-play. Level Up Moment Borrowed an Affinity deck and won a win-a-Goyf event. What Autumn learned was when to play around cards and when not play around them. It's a fine line but sometimes you need to commit and force your opponent to have the answer and sometimes you need to play around the answer. Autumn played very well at this event and really feel she leveled up her understanding of playing around cards. Worst Moment Pro Tour Atlanta. Autumn neglected basic self-care and it manifested in her results. She learned that sleep, food, hydration and adequate breaks between rounds are crucial to keeping your mind sharp for a long day of Magic. Proudest Magic Moment Pro Tour Battle For Zendikar. Autumn made 11th place at her first ever Pro Tour! Biggest Mistake Players Make Not knowing your role. Identifying whether you are the beatdown player or not is crucial. This section is a must listen! Improvement Suggestions If you are just getting into Magic, watch streams. That's the cheapest way to improve. Ozman, Darkest Mage and LSV are all great streamers who explain what they do so you can understand. Magic Resource Who's the beatdown? by Michael J. Flores Eight core principles of "Who's the beatdown?" by Michael J. Flores Limited Resources 239 Twitch Ozman Darkest Mage LSV Connect With Autumn Burchett Twitter: @autumnoftheveil Check Out Magic Story Magic Story brings the lore of the Multiverse to life in an audio presentation never before heard in the Magic community. Listen to Episode 1 here or on www.magicthestory.com Sponsors

Arnaud Soumet is a French Magic player who has played in several Pro Tours and was on the French World Magic Cup team in 2015 when they took 3rd place. He is a business consultant who lives in Paris. Click to Tweet: I got a ton of value from Arnaud Soumet when he shared his story on #MTGProTutor today! Click here: http://bit.ly/mtgprotutor-ep91 First Set Onslaught Favorite Set Origins Favorite Card Westvale Abbey Ormendahl, Profane Prince What makes Magic: The Gathering fun for you? Arnaud likes to win and loves the friends he has made. Level Up Moment Joined a team and started practicing regularly. Worst Magic Moment Losing early at a Grand Prix and not flying out until the next day is the worst. In the moment, Arnaud feels bad but eventually he'll tour the city or hang out with friends and do side events. Proudest Magic Moment Making it to 3rd place with the French team at the World Magic Cup 2015. Best Format Constructed Deepest Thing You've Learned About Yourself Arnaud has recognized that he needs to practice a lot to do things that seem to come naturally to others. He's clever but needs to practice a lot. Biggest Mistake Players Make Sideboarding too reactively against scary cards. You don't want to put yourself on the back foot. Sideboard cards that address your opponent AND advance your game plan. Gaddock Teeg is a good example. It turns off your opponent's spells and is a body that can attack as well. Try to apply more pressure instead of focusing on dealing with a specific threat. How To Choose a Deck Look at deck win percentages from the Pro Tour, read articles about those decks, pick one, and jam sessions until you know the deck inside and out. As you play, take a few minutes after each game to record the key cards in the match up. What's in Your Tournament Bag Deck Water Paper Pen Food Improvement Suggestions new to Magic? Grab a friend, make som proxies, and play play play. Magic Resource MTG Coverage - Compiles footage from all major events regardless of what channel they were on. As you go through games stop and think what you would do. Connect With Arnaud Soumet Twitter: @ArnaudSoumet Check Out Magic Story Magic Story brings the lore of the Multiverse to life in an audio presentation never before heard in the Magic community. Listen to Episode 1 here or on www.magicthestory.com Sponsors

Jared Sylva is a Level 3 judge with the Grand Prix Head Judge role and is the Organized Play Department Manager for StarCityGames.com. Jared lives in Roanoke VA. Click to Tweet: I got a ton of value from Jared Sylva when he shared his story on #MTGProTutor today! Click here: http://bit.ly/mtgprotutor-ep90 First Set Revised Favorite Set Onslaught (because of Morph) Favorite Card Wirewood Savage What makes Magic: The Gathering fun for you? The mental challenge and the game of optimizing resources. Early Challenge Jared got too fixated on an idea and tried to build decks around mechanics or specific cards, even if it wasn't good. Most Negative Moment Having to Disqualify someone for offering to roll a die for the win when the player had NO idea that was illegal. The rules are very clear and have to be enforced and it was hard to DQ this player. Proudest Magic Moment Seeing many friends advance in the judge community, specifically Jason Reedy when he was recognized for being on his way to becoming a Level 3 judge after running side events like a boss. Deepest Thing You've Learned About Yourself Knowing that he has a reputation for arrogance, Jared recognizes that some people like him as a leader and others don't. He's learned how to be a leader to those assigned to follow him, as supposed to those who choose to follow him. Improvement Suggestions Making Magic: The Gathering accessible to all kinds of people is a huge focus and Jared puts out a call to the whole community to make it an equally enjoyable experience for all ages, races, genders and sexual orientations. It's up to all of us. Magic Resource Magic: The Gathering website - list of Regional Coordinators who can put you in touch with someone local to you if you want to become a judge. Judge.Wizards.com - Judge practice exams Connect With Jared Sylva Twitter: @JaredSylva Check Out Magic Story Magic Story brings the lore of the Multiverse to life in an audio presentation never before heard in the Magic community. Listen to Episode 1 here or on www.magicthestory.com Sponsors

Erin Campbell is the creator of two successful Magic: The Gathering podcasts, The Deck Tease and The Girlfriend Bracket, and is currently a co host of the Magic Mics Podcast. She was a 2014 Community Cup team member and day 2’d her first Grand Prix in March 2016. She has her sights set on Wisconsin State Champion. Erin lives in Milwaukee, WI. Click to Tweet: I got a ton of value from Erin Campbell when he shared his story on #MTGProTutor today! Click here: http://bit.ly/mtgprotutor-ep89 First Set Ice Age Favorite Set Tempest Favorite Card Ad Nauseam What makes Magic: The Gathering fun for you? The human interaction. She didn't get as much of this playing video games and appreciated the Magic community for its human interactions. Level Up Moment Erin used to play decks she hated because they were "good decks". Now she understands that she can play decks she likes. She knows now she doesn't have to go to every event. She can play the decks she likes at the events she wants and that's okay. Worst Magic Moment An AMA on Reddit. Take away: The less you say after "I'm sorry" the better. Proudest Magic Moment Representing the community at the 2014 Community Cup. Best Format Modern Deepest Thing You've Learned About Yourself "I am not my results." Erin learned to separate her match results from her self-worth. You can lose at Magic and that doesn't mean you are a terrible person. Also, learning when good enough is good enough. Biggest Mistake Players Make Buying into the white noise. There is SO much content out there that people sometimes forget to form their own opinions about cards and decks. Take in the content you want but don't get lost in the white noise. Improvement Suggestions Don't play Rest in Peace. ;) Magic Resource Magic Mics Podcast - Current news in the Magic world Connect With Erin Campbell Twitter: @OriginalOestrus Check Out Magic Story Magic Story brings the lore of the Multiverse to life in an audio presentation never before heard in the Magic community. Listen to Episode 1 here or on www.magicthestory.com Sponsors

Under The Silver Moon Magic Story is the audio presentation of Uncharted Realms, the weekly Daily MTG column that tells the lore behind Magic: The Gathering. Please visit www.magicthestory.com to learn how you can support the show.

Maitland Cameron came 3rd at Australian nationals in 2011, a year after he started playing Magic! Since then he’s come in 4th at Grand Prix Sydney 2014, 2nd at Grand Prix Auckland 2015 and 2nd at Grand Prix Melbourne in 2016. Maitland lives in Melbourne Australia. Click to Tweet: I got a ton of value from Maitland Cameron when he shared his story on #MTGProTutor today! Click here: http://bit.ly/mtgprotutor-ep88 First Set Rise of Eldrazi Favorite Set Innistrad Favorite Card The Gitrog Monster What makes Magic: The Gathering fun for you? The community. Early Challenge Maitland resigned himself to the outcome of a game before it was even done. To overcome that he started recognizing when he would have those thoughts, acknowledge them, and then actively push those thoughts out and focus on winning the game. Level Up Moment When Maitland was shown how to play around cards he experienced a level up moment. Deepest Thing About Yourself People are the most important aspect of Magic. Best Format Limited (Draft) Advice For New Drafters Ask opponents what they drafted and show them what you drafted. Ask questions. Make sure you are asking people who it isn't their first time. Biggest Mistake Players Make Feeling pressure. This blinds some players. Put yourself in situations as often as you can so you aren't pressured when at big events. What's in Your Tournament Bag Water Banana Life Pad Pen Resources GasMTG - Maitland Cameron's blog and podcast Improvement Suggestions Embrace new players. Be a nice person and a beacon to the community. Enjoy the game. Connect With Maitland Cameron Twitter: @Maitlandcameron Like What You Hear? If you like the show, head on over to iTunes and leave an honest Rating & Review. Let me know what you like and what I can do better so I can make the show the best it can be and continue bringing you valuable content. I read every single one and look forward to your feedback. (Here's a 1.5 minute tutorial on how to leave a review if you don't already know. THANK YOU!) Sponsors

Eduardo Sajgalik is a multinational traveler based in the UK, though he started playing in France. He got his first Pro Point in 2006. He made Top 8 at Pro Tour Return to Ravnica in 2012, has 4 Grand Prix Top 8s under his belt, and has made Top 8 at 4 Nationals. A fun fact about our guest, he has played on 3 National teams: Canada (2008), UK (2011), England (2013). Click to Tweet: I got a ton of value from Eduardo Sajgalik when he shared his story on #MTGProTutor today! Click here: http://bit.ly/mtgprotutor-ep87 First Set Judgment Favorite Set Time Spiral Favorite Card Riftwing Cloudskate Early Challenge Deck Construction Level Up Moment His first two Pro Tours really taught Eduardo that there IS "another level", and he dedicated himself to reach it. How to Choose a Standard Deck Look at the top 32 decks of recent events. Biggest Mistake Players Make People are stuck up in their own ideas. If you are not open to new ideas then it stops your improvement. If 20 people are giving you similar feedback, you should probably listen. Deepest Thing You've Learned About Yourself Eduardo wants to be social. Magic lets you make long lasting friendships. What's in Your Tournament Bag Deck Deck Box Dice Pad Pen Water Cereal Bar Banana Trail Mix Improvement Suggestions FNM is a perfect experimental format. Try stuff out and have fun. Look at the top 32 decks of a tournament. Those decks were 1 win away from the top 8. This will give you a better idea of which decks are doing well than just looking at the Top 8 list. Watch high-level Magic match ups. This will help you internalize the lines of play so they aren't new when they happen to you. Connect With Eduardo Sajgalik Twitter: @Walaoumpa Like What You Hear? If you like the show, head on over to iTunes and leave an honest Rating & Review. Let me know what you like and what I can do better so I can make the show the best it can be and continue bringing you valuable content. I read every single one and look forward to your feedback. (Here's a 1.5 minute tutorial on how to leave a review if you don't already know. THANK YOU!) Sponsors

Matt Severa is a software developer from Madison, WI. He is also a silver level pro and a member of Team Ultra Pro. His magic accomplishments include top 8 at GP Detroit in 2003, top 4 at GP Nashville in 2014, and a GP win at Washington D.C. in 2016. Click to Tweet: I got a ton of value from Matt Severa when he shared his story on #MTGProTutor today! Click here: http://bit.ly/mtgprotutor-ep86 First Set Revised Favorite Set Innistrad set Favorite Card Vendilion Clique What makes Magic: The Gathering fun for you? Social aspect. Early Challenge Constructed Deepest Thing About Yourself Matt can go all in and sometimes lets his emotions carry over from game to game. He reminds himself why he's playing. He's there to have fun and regardless of his results he got to hang out with some great people. Biggest Mistake Players Make People don't step back and look at the bigger picture. Have an overall plan. If you don't know what your deck is trying to do you will lose more often than you should. Sealed & Draft Tips Matt attends a draft camp to learn what the limits of the format is. This is how he familiarizes himself with the archetypes in Limited. What's in Your Tournament Bag Dice Notepad Pen Water Playmat Improvement Suggestions Eat right, sleep well, and stay fit. Magic Resource MTG Goldfish Connect With Matt Severa Twitter: @MattSevera Like What You Hear? If you like the show, head on over to iTunes and leave an honest Rating & Review. Let me know what you like and what I can do better so I can make the show the best it can be and continue bringing you valuable content. I read every single one and look forward to your feedback. (Here's a 1.5 minute tutorial on how to leave a review if you don't already know. THANK YOU!) Sponsors

Chapman Sim's been playing Magic for over 20 years and is one of the most dedicated players in Asia. Living by the motto of "Play the Game, See the World", he is a travel enthusiast known for his escapades all around the globe. Chapman has 4 Grand Prix top 8s, has 3 World Magic Cup appearances, 2 Nationals Top 8s, and is the 2015 Singapore National Champion. Click to Tweet: I got a ton of value from Chapman Sim when he shared his story on #MTGProTutor today! Click here: http://bit.ly/mtgprotutor-ep85 First Set Revised Favorite Set Mirrodin Favorite Card Force of Will What makes Magic: The Gathering fun for you? Really good organized play. Plenty of events to meet up with friends and play. Level Up Moment When he was invited to play with team MTG Mint Card. Hardest Magic Moment Chapman's sliver deck was stolen. He was determined to not let the loss get him down and he bounced back and started grinding really hard. Proudest Magic Moment Playing so many Pro Tours in a row without being a Gold Level Pro. Deepest Thing About Yourself He's learned he's very independent. He schedules all his travel himself and is always where he needs to be when he needs to be there. Favorite Format Limited Limited tips: Go to the pre-release of every set. It's a lot of fun and you can prepare by reading the set primer. Sealed & Draft Tips Drafting is the hardest format. Manage your curve. Do a draft once or twice a week. Stay consistent and you'll get better. How to Effectively Prepare for a Big Event Meet up with a team a week before and practice. Biggest Mistake Players Make Playing removal spells too early, especially in Limited. At the GP level, Chapman sees people throwing away their removal when they should wait for something bigger What's in Your Tournament Bag Pen Pad Dice Deck Magic Resource MTG Mint Card Channel Fireball Star City Games Connect With Chapman Sim Twitter: @chapmansim Like What You Hear? If you like the show, head on over to iTunes and leave an honest Rating & Review. Let me know what you like and what I can do better so I can make the show the best it can be and continue bringing you valuable content. I read every single one and look forward to your feedback. (Here's a 1.5 minute tutorial on how to leave a review if you don't already know. THANK YOU!) Sponsors

Alex Bastecki spent years helping run premier level tournaments as a judge, then in 2015 he decided to focus more on playing, resulting in his first Pro Tour appearance at Pro Tour Magic Origins and a Star City Games Invitational win in Season 3 in New Jersey. Alex lives in Pittsburg. Click to Tweet: I got a ton of value from Alex Bastecki when he shared his story on #MTGProTutor today! Click here: http://bit.ly/mtgprotutor-ep84 First Set Tempest Favorite Set Time Spiral Favorite Card Basking Rootwalla What makes Magic: The Gathering fun for you? How everything ties together. Don't look five matches into the future. Keep you mind centered on the present match at hand. Early Challenge Letting emotions carry over into the next game. Level Up Moment Winning a Regional Pro Tour Qualifier. Worst Moment Alex was playing with a Japanese card and didn't tell his opponent the full text. His opponent tried to blow it up all over the internet and this almost made Alex leave the game. Proudest Magic Moment Winning the Star City Games Invitational Best Format Legacy Deepest Thing You've Learned About Yourself Turning on the intensity needed to win and turning off the stress. Biggest Mistake Players Make Letting emotions get the best of them. Just because you've mulled down to 5 doesn't mean you've lost. Stay in the moment, don't check out, and play your best. Improvement Suggestions Strive to become better with every game you play, either casual or competitive. Magic Resource Article about sharing information mentioned by Alex. Connect With Alex Bastecki Twitter: @rootwallapunk Like What You Hear? If you like the show, head on over to iTunes and leave an honest Rating & Review. Let me know what you like and what I can do better so I can make the show the best it can be and continue bringing you valuable content. I read every single one and look forward to your feedback. (Here's a 1.5 minute tutorial on how to leave a review if you don't already know. THANK YOU!) Sponsors

Ralph Betesh has two Grand Prix top 8s, one in Miami 2015 and the second when he slogged through the insiduous Eldrazi menace and emerged as champion of Grand Prix Detroit in March of 2016. Ralph lives in Philidelphia. Click to Tweet: I got a ton of value from Ralph Betesh when he shared his story on #MTGProTutor today! Click here: http://bit.ly/mtgprotutor-ep83 First Set M11 Favorite Card Delver of Secrets Early Challenge Combat math. Deepest Thing You've Learned About Yourself "I'm super competitive." Biggest Mistake Players Make Not seeking feedback. Talk to your opponent and others after each game. What's in Your Tournament Bag Decks Box Sleeves Improvement Suggestions Go to FNM. Network at your local store. Magic Resource Magic Online Watching streams (Twitch) Connect With Ralph Betesh Twitter: @amthebroseph01 Like What You Hear? If you like the show, head on over to iTunes and leave an honest Rating & Review. Let me know what you like and what I can do better so I can make the show the best it can be and continue bringing you valuable content. I read every single one and look forward to your feedback. (Here's a 1.5 minute tutorial on how to leave a review if you don't already know. THANK YOU!) Sponsors

Gabe Carleton-Barnes has played in 13 Pro Tours, with 12 day twos. He has 9 PTQ wins and 1 RPTQ top 4. He just got his first Grand Prix Top 8 in Vancouver 2016. His claims to fame in our Magic: The Gathering Community include founding Draft-PDX, hosting Card Talk: The World’s Greatest MTG Podcast, and Storytelling. Gabe lives in Portland, Oregon. Click to Tweet: I got a ton of value from Gabe Carleton-Barnes when he shared his story on #MTGProTutor today! Click here: http://bit.ly/mtgprotutor-ep82 First Set Revised Favorite Set Odyssey Favorite Card Psychatog What makes Magic: The Gathering fun for you? Despite taking multiple breaks Gabe has stuck with Magic because he loves games and competition. He feels that playing Magic never gets old because it keeps changing and forces you to continue to learn. Gabe started going to tournaments early in his career and found that he was making friends with adults who treated him as a peer, not as a kid. He now befriends players of all ages and understands that there is always something to be learned from every player he meets. Pro Tour & Grand Prix Experience Gabe made it his goal to qualify for the Pro Tour, so he familiarized himself with the PTQ format. He stayed focused, refined his decks, and was able to regularly get the top spot in PTQs so he could attend the Pro Tour. However, when the Pro Tour came around he struggled to quickly innovate and craft a deck that would work well at the tournament. He didn’t have a lot of help at first, and the time crunch put a lot of pressure on him to familiarize himself with new cards for the format. In terms of GPs, Gabe would attend them intermittently and usually make Day 2, but never quite make it into the Top 8. Changing up his sleeping habits and altering his routine helped him follow through on a good start in order to finally make it to the Top 8 at Grand Prix Vancouver. Heaviest Magic Moment Gabe’s heaviest Magic moment came after he had played about 10 GPs and made Day 2 at all of them. He hit a Limited match at Grand Prix Boston and had a clever plan for how he was going to beat his opponent. With the game pretty much wrapped up, Gabe tried for a play to finish the match, but his opponent had the perfect counter and won on the next turn. After the match a friend of Gabe’s who was less experienced pointed out that Gabe had a card in his hand that would have won the game instantly. This led Gabe to realize that even though he thought he was a really good player, he still made mistakes in how he approached the game. He started to keep an open ear when listening to players of various skill levels so that he could learn from as many players as possible. Proudest Magic Moment While Top 8ing his first Grand Prix is wonderful, the win that stands out to Gabe is making Top 8 at a specific PTQ held by Card Kingdom in Seattle. He made it into the Top 8 without a rare in his deck, and played against Jiachen Tao, who he beat with a subtle side board card choice. He faced off against Brian Wong for the final, and after an epic first match Gabe went on to win the tournament (and a trophy). Draft PDX Gabe founded Draft PDX based on similar groups in New York which were organized by Jon Finkel and other great players. In Portland they’ve formed a group that wants to be competitive, make it to the Pro Tour, and have fun with the game while fostering a healthy community spirit. They travel to events together and look out for one another by buying snacks or coffee for a busy teammate, or even giving them rides home if they miss their flight. Best Format Limited How To Turn Limited From A Weakness To A Strength Diving headfirst into Limited and playing it as much as possible with good players is one of the keys to mastering Limited. When Draft PDX meets they start by drafting the best decks that they can, and then they split into two random teams before they build their decks. They discuss with each other what cards they might use and how to play them before coming together to play the other team. The team that wins the Draft is the team that wins the most matches—this way players get to really learn how their deck performed instead of getting benched after their first loss. With the team setting players are encouraged to play their hardest even after a loss, as their next match matters just as much for the team. Biggest Mistake Players Make One of the biggest mistakes Gabe sees players make is when they let their emotions determine the value of their play. He knows that not blaming losses on luck and variance is great advice, but what he finds more valuable is looking back at matches he won to find the mistakes he made. If you only set out to learn from losses then you are missing out on a lot of opportunities to learn, especially since most wins aren’t achieved in the most optimal fashion. To internalize mistakes you’ve made, realize that you most likely will make the same mistake again. What you can do to prevent that is to care abo

Brock Mosley is 22 years old and has been playing Magic for about three years. He’s a member of team The Pizza Leagues and made his first ever Grand Prix day two AND top eight at Grand Prix Houston 2016. Click to Tweet: I got a ton of value from Brock Mosley when he shared his story on #MTGProTutor today! Click here: http://bit.ly/mtgprotutor-ep81 First Set Ravnica Favorite Set Innistrad Favorite Card Stormbreath Dragon What makes Magic: The Gathering fun for you? Brock started his Magic journey while playing other board games like Diplomacy with his friends. His competitive nature drove him to take the plunge into Magic, where he could exercise his critical thinking and problem solving skills in the fun and competitive framework Magic creates. Early Challenge When Brock first started playing he was afraid of the mulligan process. He would just hold onto terrible cards and end up losing games that he could have potentially won. Brock feels that he improved tremendously when he finally got over the fear of taking a mulligan, which he did by recognizing that the cards he drew simply weren’t working. He made a rule for himself that he would never keep a 1 land hand or a 6 land hand. Level Up Moment Brock’s greatest period of growth came when he and his friends founded their team, The Pizza Leagues. He started playing casually with his friends in college, but eventually Brock migrated towards playing with more advanced and competitively driven players. In founding The Pizza Leagues Brock surrounded himself with other Magic players with similar goals to his, and he started to buckle down, play a lot, and improve as much as possible. Proudest Magic Moment Making his first Day 2 and his first Top 8 at Grand Prix Houston 2016 still has Brock in a little shock. For the last year his goal has been to try and make it to the Pro Tour, and he’s excited to get to play against the best players Magic has to offer. Best Format Standard What Would You Say To A New Standard Player? Brock believes one of the best things a new Standard player can do is find out what sort of strategy works for them. When starting out linear decks make a good entry point, and will help a player determine if they like that kind of play style. Sometimes it takes playing a Mono-Red Aggro deck to realize you actually want to play a Control deck instead. Finding out what you like to play is crucial, because you need to like your deck enough to spend hours and hours practicing with it. Biggest Mistake Players Make Misattributing the reason why they won or lost a game is one of the most common mistakes Brock sees players making. He finds that people are more comfortable with losing if they can assign the reason for it to something beyond their control. Some players don’t realize that their decisions in the game, and outside of it, have much bigger effects on the game than they think. Brock combats this by looking specifically at what decisions he made, and not focusing on what cards his opponent drew. He is honed in on the aspects of the game that he can control, and doesn't let variance frustrate him and affect his play decisions. How To Play Magic For Little Money Brock was in college when he started and bought the pieces for a Red-Green Aggro deck online for about $30. He played it for as long as he possibly could, and even went to his first Star City tournament with what he calls “The Jankiest Red Green Deck” that has ever been played. He didn’t wait to have an incredibly optimized deck before pushing his Magic skills as far as he could. He believes that as you feel more comfortable playing Magic you can start to slowly build your deck and work on it over a longer period of time. Improvement Suggestions Brock uses Xmage if he can’t find other people to play with, as it is free and easy to use. When he plays a certain deck he will try swapping certain cards out to see how that affects his play. He essentially plays different versions of his deck to see how they hold up against certain matchups. What's in Your Tournament Bag Deck Deck Box Tokens Playmat: The Pizza Leagues Dice Water Pretzels Binder Pen & Paper Dragon Shield Copper Sleeves Final Wisdom Brock knows that Magic is a game and is meant to be fun. However, he sees a lot of players not having fun with it at all. He would urge you to find a way to have fun with Magic, or find something else to take its place. Magic Resource Xmage r/spikes Star City Games Channel Fireball MTGGoldfish Connect With Brock Mosley Facebook: Brock Mosley Like What You Hear? If you like the show, head on over to iTunes and leave an honest Rating & Review. Let me know what you like and what I can do better so I can make the show the best it can be and continue bringing you valuable content. I read every single one and look forward to your feedback. (Here's a 1.5 minute tutorial on how to leave a review if you don't already know. THANK YOU!) Sponsors

Cody Lingelbach is making 2016 his year as he’s already made Top 8 at 2 Standard Grand Prix’s. The first was GP Oakland in Jan. 2016 and the second was the following month in GP Houston. Click to Tweet: I got a ton of value from Cody Lingelbach when he shared his story on #MTGProTutor today! Click here: http://bit.ly/mtgprotutor-ep80 First Set 7th Edition Favorite Set Return to Ravnica Favorite Card Lingering Souls What makes Magic: The Gathering fun for you? Cody recognizes that he's a very competitive person and the thrill of competing at the highest level is a major component of why he plays Magic. He finds that he likes complicated things, and the depth and complexity inherent in Magic fits perfectly into his competitive drive. While he loves playing Poker as well, he has shifted his attention to focus more on Magic because of its added layers of strategy. Early Challenge When Cody was first getting into Magic he found it difficult to figure out what cards his opponent had. He would play matches solely based on what was in his hand and hope for the best. Playing Poker made it easier for Cody to decipher what cards a player was holding based on their behavior and board decisions. Cody also started testing with a local group called Draft PDX which was started by Gabe Carleton-Barnes. He’s discovered that there are some things in Magic you can’t do by yourself, and talking to other players about the game has helped him develop the skills needed to take on tougher tournaments. Level Up Moment Cody feels that his greatest period of growth manifested in making Top 8 at his first Legacy Open event. Heaviest Magic Moment At a SCG Invitational in L.A. Cody lost 3 Win and Ins in a row. The event was a split format with Legacy and Standard. He went undefeated in Legacy on Day 1, but when he came back to the Legacy portion his Angel Reanimator deck was crushed by the Soul Tithe decks all of the pros were playing. He learned that the tournament itself exhausted him, and that playing a Magic tournament takes more than just playing the game. Preparing mentally and physically for the event wasn’t something he had considered before and playing match after match all day long wore him down. Now he tries to stay even keeled during tournaments by hydrating and eating properly to maintain his energy and focus for the duration of an event. Proudest Magic Moment Cody made the Top 8 of Grand Prix Oakland, and then just one month later made the Top 8 again at Grand Prix Houston. He found it difficult to do well in the old PTQ system, and while he had success at various Invitationals and Opens he still had trouble breaking through in the Grand Prix circuit. Theory crafting and discussing his ideas with friends and the players in Draft PDX has helped prepare him to tackle bigger tournaments. Cody sticks to playing paper Magic, Drafting once a week with PDX while trying to squeeze in another day or two of play during any given week. Best Format Legacy What Would You Tell A New Legacy Player? Cody’s advice for players trying to break into Legacy is to learn your deck and how it plays. He sees some Legacy players that simply look at what decks are cool and have a good win percentage in the meta game. However, Cody finds that if a deck doesn’t fit your play style then it can be much more difficult to learn, and he guarantees that your opponent in Legacy will know their deck extremely well. Biggest Mistake Players Make Chump blocking, especially in Limited, is a mistake Cody finds a lot of players making. He feels early blocking comes from overvaluing life. Using life as a resource can lead to gameplay mistakes and prevent you from drawing other cards, like kill spells or a better creature, that could give you a much better advantage than blocking would have. While you have to be careful about taking direct damage, you’re not in huge trouble even at 9 or 10 life. How To Play Magic For Little Money Cody would point players that are low on cash towards Magic Online. MTGO can be much cheaper than paper Magic, and you can play games no matter what your weekly schedule is like. MTGO WikiPrice is great for Magic Online, as it allows you to search for cards and find what bots you can buy them from along with their cost. A strategy that works for Cody is to find 5 bots that he regularly buys from, which makes it easier to check prices and also allows him to accrue some credit for future purchases. Improvement Suggestions Talking to other players is one of the major practices that helps Cody succeed in Magic. He can’t play every day of the week, so he will send messages to friends and groups to help keep him mentally engaged with the game. Constantly following all the changes in Magic from week to week is exhausting, so having friends to talk to makes monitoring the meta game more fruitful and enjoyable. Magic Resource Time Vault Games MTGO WikiPrice Star City Games Channel Fireball Connect With Cody Lingelbach Twitter: @LingelingSouls Facebook

Martin Dang is a Platinum Pro Level Magic player, who lives in Aarhus, Denmark with his lovely girlfriend Tina Dahl. He makes his living by playing every Pro Tour and every Grand Prix in Europe. Martin has 1 Pro Tour Top 8 where he won at Pro Tour Dragons of Tarkir in Brussels 2015! He also has 2 Grand Prix top 8s - including a win at Grand Prix Liverpool in 2015, a top 8 finish in the World Magic Cup and is a proud member of Team EUreka. Click to Tweet: I got a ton of value from Martin Dang when he shared his story on #MTGProTutor today! Click here: http://bit.ly/mtgprotutor-ep78 First Set Revised Favorite Set Revised Favorite Card Jace, the Mind Sculptor What makes Magic: The Gathering fun for you? Martin finds Magic to be a good way to relax while also exercising his competitive urges, but like most long time players, he still had to take a break from the game. He wasn’t getting to where he wanted to be with the game, but after a while he started working at a game store. Working in an environment surrounded by Magic had him Drafting twice a week and rekindled his desire to enter tournament Magic again. Early Challenge The biggest enemy Martin faced in his early days of Magic was himself. At tournaments he would be nervous in every match he played, as his opponents appeared to be better, older, or just different. This led him to play the game by their principles instead of his own, and he felt as though he was just losing to himself in these matches. In order to become comfortable playing Magic, Martin continued to play more and against different people and eventually eased into the competitive scene. He found that playing more helped him meet more friends, and that if he stuck to playing by his own principles things went pretty well for him in matches. Level Up Moment Martin’s biggest period of growth came when he started working at his local game store. Before that he was playing Magic less frequently, but after working at the game store he was playing almost every day. He believes the key to getting better is playing as much as you can against as many different types of people as you can. Playing more pushed him into formats he wasn’t comfortable playing, and that helped him become a well-rounded player. Proudest Magic Moment Martin cites winning the Pro Tour as his proudest moment in competitive Magic. It was his first Pro Tour in over 5 years, so he didn’t have high expectations for his performance. After winning it took months for him to fully grasp the reality of winning the tournament. He started to receive a large amount of recognition from the community and other players. This acted as a confidence boost that has helped him power through other tournaments as well. His Pro Tour win helped establish team Eureka, as before they were just a bunch of loosely affiliated guys who tested for that one event. Now they get together and test for all of the Pro Tours. Heaviest Magic Moment After winning Nationals in 2010 he got to go to the World Championships, but didn’t do as well as he liked. He placed in the 40’s, and felt that he had made a lot of errors in his matches. This led Martin into a down period where he felt as though he couldn’t focus on the game enough, so he distanced himself from tournament play for a while. After reflecting he started to see that he hadn’t prepared adequately for the tournament. This has pushed him to prepare more going forward, and has helped him form a team which was something he didn’t have before. Best Format Limited What Would You Tell Someone New To Drafting? Martin has noticed that players will show up to their first Draft not understanding anything about the format. Even if you’ve played a lot of formats, you can’t expect to sit down for a Draft and end up doing well. Learning the cards and their synergies is one of the first steps to understanding the format. You want to go into the draft with a plan, ideally three strategies that you can be flexible with. Try and stay open minded, and look at spoilers to see what certain colors and cards actually do. After the match ask the other players what went wrong with your deck and why it didn’t work like you had hoped. Biggest Mistake Players Make Players can often be too settled in the way they play Magic, and this is an attribute that Martin thinks gets a lot of players stuck early on. They will come to the game store for the first time, not having played much, and are thrown off by other’s play styles and the faster tempo of play. Having a mindset that lets you absorb these new experiences will help you adapt to game store play, and eventually tournament Magic. Deepest Thing Magic Has Taught You Martin really loves to win in Magic, but he doesn’t take losses so heavily anymore. Losses used to haunt him for days, if not months afterwards. While he still thinks about his losses now, it’s in terms of what could he have done better instead of beating himself up over them. How to Effectively Prepare for a Big Event Trainin

Oliver Tiu has 1 Grand Prix top 8 and 1 Pro Tour top 16 on his record. He’s also won a MOCs final, and cashed both of the PTs he’s played in. He loves Magic and plays as much as he can - mostly on Magic Online. Oliver is 18 years old and is always striving to become a better player and staying open to learning more. Click to Tweet: I got a ton of value from Oliver Tiu when he shared his story on #MTGProTutor today! Click here: http://bit.ly/mtgprotutor-ep78 First Set Time Spiral Favorite Set Innistrad Favorite Card Jace, the Mind Sculptor What makes Magic: The Gathering fun for you? Oliver finds it difficult to pinpoint a specific aspect of Magic that has him hooked. He loves how no two Magic matches are the same, and when he plays he is on full competitive burn aiming to win. Early Challenge While he feels he always had a good grasp on Constructed, Limited was challenging for him to dive into. Oliver improved mostly through playing Magic Online, since the wealth of great players helped him learn quickly from his mistakes. He also watches streamers, like NumotTheNummy, which helps him see other player’s choices and thought processes. Talking to other players about the format is good help, but he has realized that while talking about rares is fun, it is usually more fruitful to have conversations about commons. Level Up Moment Oliver found his Magic skills vastly improved when he qualified for his first Pro Tour after making Top 8 at Grand Prix Providence. He found a deck that was played in a Japanese Grand Prix that was an excellent match up for the Abzan deck, which was the most popular deck in the format at the time. He refined the deck by playtesting and analyzing which cards over performed or underperformed; his philosophy on playtesting is not to necessarily focus on winning, but finding out what cards in his deck are doing what they should, and which ones aren’t. Heaviest Magic Moment A few years ago Oliver felt as though he couldn’t win anything. He was losing multiple PTQs and tournaments, and decided to take a break. This helped him shake off some of his frustration with the game, and gave him the space and perspective to learn from his old mistakes. He learned that while he was playing a lot of Magic, he wasn’t actually learning from his matches. Proudest Magic Moment For Oliver, making top 16 at his last Pro Tour stands as his crowning achievement in competitive Magic at this point in his career. He played against Sam Pardee, and managed to beat him due to a weak hand in their third match. Oliver made Silver level pro, which has qualified him for the next 3 Pro Tours: Pro Tour Madrid, Pro Tour Sydney, and then Pro Tour Honolulu. Best Format Standard What Should A New Standard Player Focus On? Oliver's advice for a new Standard player is to adapt to the metagame. If you want to perform well at tournaments your deck needs to be able to adapt to the most popular decks being played. Keeping an eye on Magic Online is a good way to see what's being played leading up to any major tournament, and Oliver generally tweaks his decks as opposed to outright brewing them. Biggest Mistake Players Make Before Oliver took a break from Magic he was blaming all his losses on luck. This is one of the biggest pitfalls he finds players, including himself, trapped in. He was unable to see that he was making mistakes in his play or deck building. In terms of actionable advice, Oliver found that ignoring the luck aspect all together helped him focus on the things he could control such as his play style, sideboard and deck building. Sealed & Draft Tips Sealed : Oliver separates his cards by color and which cards are unplayable. It takes a while to know what’s unplayable, but it can come from experience playing previous formats and what types of cards worked well in them. Watching other players helps give you an idea of what is playable and what isn’t as well. It’s important to know what type of deck you are trying to build as well. In Control Decks it is generally less important to have two drops, but you will still want defensive creatures to play early on, however in Aggro decks you will want a lot of two drops. Draft : Focusing on learning what cards are good and what cards aren’t are what Oliver finds a new player should focus on. He sees many new Drafters put un-impactful cards in their decks. While there are other things you could focus on, like pinpointing when you should change colors and how to balance removal spells in your deck, for a brand new drafter the first step is card evaluation. How to Effectively Prepare for a Big Event In preparing for larger events, Oliver identifies which decks are popular and then meets up with a bunch of friends to assign decks and playtest. They will stop and identify what is working best, what sideboard cards are functioning well, and investing time to understand the metagame. He prepared with a team for the last Pro Tour, but he found that it wasn’t as helpful as it should have

Mike Turian has participated in a staggering 32 Pro Tours, 5 World Championships, 6 National Championships and numerous Grand Prixs. He is the Champion of Pro Tour New York in 2000 and Grand Prix Montreal in 2002. He has a top 8 finish at Worlds Toronto in 2001 and Pro Tour Amsterdam 2004. Mike also finished in the top 4 of Pro Tour Boston in 2003 and Pro Tour San Diego in 2004. Mike has amassed 234 Pro Points over his career and currently the Digital Business Manager at Wizards of the Coast in charge of Magic Duels. Click to Tweet: I got a ton of value from Mike Turian when he shared his story on #MTGProTutor today! Click here: http://bit.ly/mtgprotutor-ep77 First Set Revised Favorite Set Played The Dark Favorite Set Worked On Scars of Mirrodin Philosophy On Making Planeswalker Points Mike was one of the Wizards who helped make the competitive score tracking transition to Planeswalker Points. He saw how the old system made players hostile when they sat across from one another at competitions, dreading losing the match and losing points. Making the shift to a system where playing Magic was good, and winning at Magic was better, was Mike’s goal in fostering a healthier competitive scene. He wanted the community to be more inclusive, less hostile, all while recognizing the achievements of players who strived to be the best. At the end of a match Mike wants you to shake your opponent’s hand and say good game, not run off deducting points from your score. Heaviest Magic Moment Losing in the Top 8 of the World Championships in Toronto stands out as a sore moment in Mike’s career. At the time there was no Hall of Fame and taking the crown at the World Championship had been his dream since his early days playing. Unfortunately, Mike got out played and out sideboarded, and ended up walking away from the match feeling like he could have done much more. While it remains a high point to even make the Top 8 at Worlds, he still feels as though he lost an opportunity he can’t get back. Being even keeled is a character trait has helped Mike appreciate the loss and push him to practice more. Level Up Moment For Mike, getting a car led to a long period of growth in Magic. Being able to travel and extend his Magic intake beyond local tournaments helped open up the world for Mike. He made an 8 hour drive to a New York Pro Tour and got to play against, and defeat, Mike Long in a side event. This confidence booster helped Mike take steps to push himself further into Magic’s competitive realms. Proudest Magic Moment Mike points to winning his first team Pro Tour as one of his most memorable moments playing Magic. Playing as part of a team made for a communal experience that helped Mike feel as though he was part of something greater than just his one-on-one matches, even though he wasn’t the hero that outright clinched the win for his team. Mike had a conversation with Jon Finkel on the topic of teammates, and what Finkel said is that it’s hard to see your true self when looking in the mirror. What great friends and teammates do is help you look and see who you are. Best Format Draft Tips For New Draft Players Mike’s tip to new Drafters is establish your colors clearly. He doesn’t like to focus so much on reading other player’s signals, but rather approach it from an angle of “What am I going to accomplish in this draft that will give me flexibility and a line of play towards winning?” He has noticed many new players don’t understand their play style well enough to bring it into their drafts. Getting consciously comfortable with your style is a great area to focus on, as it’s a tough concept to grasp since it isn’t something totally tangible. Biggest Mistake Players Make Mike has noticed that some players simply don’t play enough magic. If you want to succeed and get better, you really have to put in the time to do extra drafts and put in your reps. Players actively striving to rise to the top tier of Magic players often put in 35 to 40 hours a week. While that’s clearly not an option for many players, what you can do is actively incorporate Magic into your life more fully. Go play Magic, and afterwards go somewhere and hang out while talking about your matches. Think about the game in your day to day life until you get to the point Mike was at when he was muttering “Ancestral Recall” in his sleep. Deepest Thing Magic Has Taught You One of the things Mike learned about himself through Magic was that he cares deeply about winning. He doesn’t outwardly express his craving for victory like some other players; his demeanor conceals that desire. Mike generally views himself as laid back and easy going, but Magic has shown him that version of himself only applies in some scenarios. When he becomes engrossed in a competition he can focus on winning 100%. Reader Question: How Do You Tell When A Card Is Good Or Bad? A big area of focus for Mike is understanding the casting cost to power ratio. Look at the cards and see what their drawbac

Darwin Kastle has an impressive Magic record, with 8 Pro Tour top 8s - including becoming the Champion of Pro Tour Washington DC in 1999, 6 Grand Prix top 8s - including 1 win, and a win at the 1998 Invitational it’s no wonder he was inducted into the Magic: The Gathering Hall of Fame with the inaugural class in 2005. Darwin Kastle is Mr. Avalanche Riders himself and lives in Massachusetts. Click to Tweet: I got a ton of value from Darwin Kastle when he shared his story on #MTGProTutor today! Click here: http://bit.ly/mtgprotutor-ep## First Set Revised Favorite Set Any Set With Avalanche Riders Favorite Card Frenetic Efreet What makes Magic: The Gathering fun for you? Magic taps into different levels of strategy that have kept Darwin actively engaged with the game. He was originally drawn to Magic as it combined the skill and strategy aspects of chess along with a fantasy theme. Most of his best friends were made through playing the game, and once he discovered tournaments Darwin became permanently hooked. Early Challenge Darwin encountered a major hurdle when Sealed was first introduced, and did so poorly in the format that he didn’t qualify for nationals (despite being undefeated in Constructed). This introduced a point in his Magic career where he realized he was going to have to master new formats in order to stay competitive. He accomplished this by attending every Sealed tournament he could, and even once managed to play a different tournament for 4 days straight in 3 different states. Level Up Moment The period where Darwin added Limited to his skillset stands out as a major growth spurt in his career. Another stretch of development came after the first Pro Tour, where Darwin did poorly in large part to a stagnant testing group. His performance led to him rededicating himself to advancing his skillset, and he dove headfirst into the newly announced Booster Draft format and had ample time to prepare. Proudest Magic Moment Darwin’s proudest moment came when he and his two friends (and future Hall of Famers), Dave Humphreys and Rob Dougherty, won the first Pr Tour in DC. When the Team Draft format was first announced Darwin knew he and his friends were tailored made for the tournament. Darwin was matched up against Jon Finkel twice and was able to take him down both times. Rob was so sick that at one point a judge found him lying beneath a table while Darwin and Dave were helping with his deck. The experience stands out as it was the first Pro Tour win for all three of them. Heaviest Magic Moment At the 2001 Pro Tour in New Orleans Darwin matched up against Kai Budde, playing a deck focused on reanimating giant creatures from his graveyard. Kai played a deck that had Illusions of Grandeur, which required a cumulative mana upkeep in order to maintain plus 20 life. Darwin kept Kai on his heels turn after turn, but through a miracle play Kai passed Illusions to Darwin with Donate. Darwin was one mana short of the upkeep, lost the 20 life and died instantly. Biggest Mistake Players Make Darwin finds that many players don’t realize how though their competition is and what it takes to be an elite Magic player. The amount of work that needs to be put in is incredible, and you have to be in the right mental state in order to advance properly. It can be easy to attribute a loss to luck, but the reality is that thousands of other players are vying for the crown and pouring their hearts into preparing for tournaments. Testing competitively and at tournaments can help a player progress their skills, as preparation and training are aspects of the game you have direct control over. Deepest Thing Magic Has Taught You In terms of playing Magic, Darwin learned that he is a completely different player when the stakes are high as opposed to playtesting. While he may be more relaxed when practicing, he feels that he is able to rise to the occasion during high pressure situations. One of his biggest takeaways from Magic was that the skills he had developed could apply to his life outside the game. His ability to build great decks in Constructed and Limited helped him greatly as a game designer. Many of the same thought processes translated well to evaluating if a card was too good or not good enough in the games he was designing professionally. Playtest Tips You don’t have to be a part of Channel Fireball to have a successful team. Darwin believes forming a successful team involves finding individuals who are committed to putting in the time and effort needed. Find out what format you want to prepare for and play decks that make sense for that format. See what they all have in common and find their strengths and weaknesses. From there you can begin to innovate and create new decks. Final Wisdom Darwin believes that if you are going to get serious about Magic, you need to do it for the right reasons. He knows it may take a while to figure out what the right reasons are. But going to Grand Prixs solely seeking Pro Tour fame i

Gabriel Nassif has a long and storied history with Magic: The Gathering. His accomplishments include 6 Grand Prix Top 8s, one of which was a win in 2009, and 9 Pro Tour Top 8s! Three (3) of those were 2nd place finishes and 2 of them were 1st place finishes! His first championship was in 2005 at Pro Tour Atlanta and the second was in 2009 at Pro Tour Kyoto. He also has 3 Worlds Top 8s for good measure. Gabriel has been recognized as one of Magic’s greatest players and was inducted into the Magic: The Gathering Hall of Fame in 2010. Gabriel lives in Paris, France with his wife. Click to Tweet: I got a ton of value from Gabriel Nassif when he shared his story on #MTGProTutor today! Click here: http://bit.ly/mtgprotutor-ep75 First Set Ice Age Favorite Set Tempest Favorite Card Crystalline Sliver What makes Magic: The Gathering fun for you? In his years playing Magic, Gabriel made a good many friends which helped keep him in the game. His ability to compete at a very high level, and Magic’s ability to stay interesting and fresh from year to year are also reasons why Gabriel has stuck around for so long. While he has continually competed in Pro Tours, he finds that renting a house before the tournament and training with his friends is almost more fun than the Pro Tour itself. Early Challenge In his early days of playing Magic Gabriel found himself not valuing cards correctly. Like many players, he would trade cards based on what seemed cooler as opposed to their tactical value. It took hours of playing the game and thinking about Magic while scribbling deck lists in his notebook at school for him to hone his evaluating skills. Gabriel also acknowledges getting into the game at a young age helped develop his Magic intuition, as he was able to fully immerse himself in the game and absorb all of its facets. Level Up Moment Gabriel’s level up moment came when he first started playing Magic, as there was the most room for improvement then. He finds that once you get closer to the top it’s much harder to keep ascending. When he was growing up he frequently played at his local store and was lucky to learn from the many excellent players that lived in Paris. This was back when deck lists weren’t on the internet or shared in many magazines, and Paris Magic players were notorious for being brutally good at the game. They often joke that if Magic Online hadn’t come about Parisian players would have dominated the world. Proudest Magic Moment Gabriel has had an amazing Magic career and can cite a dozen great moments that stand out to him. In his early days of Playing Magic he managed to win a Black Lotus at his local shop in Paris. At his first Grand Prix in London he made it to Day 2, and was convinced his opponent who flew in from the United States, Brock Parker, was a big cheater. Gabriel end up crushing him in their matches and realized Brock was just another player who loved the game just like he did. Heaviest Magic Moment Losing to luck or variance doesn’t bother Gabriel much, it’s the losses he takes due to his own mistakes that get to him. He notes that back in the day he was an excellent deck builder, but made a lot of sloppy mistakes in play which took him a long time to mentally recover from. Magic was his entire life, and losing a Pro Tour left a wound that took him almost an entire year to heal. When he was getting really good at the game he didn’t realize he’d become a little arrogant and wasn’t treating his friends well. He even threw his deck through the air after losing a feature match at a Pro Tour. It took one of his friends calling him out on his behavior for him to reel himself back in. On Cheating While cheating isn’t nearly as rampant as it was years ago it can still rear its ugly head from time to time. Gabriel says if something happens to you in a match, even if it just looks like sloppy play or an accident, you should always get a judge involved so a record can be made. Someone may have accidentally flipped your card over while shuffling your deck, or they may have made it look like an accident but actually have a record of doing it. Biggest Mistake Players Make Gabriel thinks one of the hallmark mistakes new players make is blaming their losses on luck. Be honest with yourself and take the time to analyze your deck in a meaningful way. He finds that when players first start building decks they are prone to not playing enough lands. Building your deck and playing it is how a player determines what needs to be adjusted, and looking at deck lists similar to your deck will help fine tune how many lands should be included. Listener Question: Do You Think There's A Herd Mentality When It Comes To Deck Building? Following deck trends is a phenomenon that Gabriel concedes very well might be affecting the Magic community at large. He misses his early days of playing Magic, as there weren’t deck lists online to influence players. Showing up to a tournament with a carefully brewed deck could give a player an

Marshall Sutcliffe is a man who needs little introduction. If you’ve watched any amount of coverage for Magic: The Gathering events you’ve seen him as he does play by play commentary for Wizards of the Coast all over the world. He’s a self proclaimed draft junky and the host of Limited Resources, the number one Magic related podcast. Marshall lives in Washington state. Click to Tweet: I got a ton of value from Marshall Sutcliffe when he shared his story on #MTGProTutor today! Click here: http://bit.ly/mtgprotutor-ep74 First Set Tempest Favorite Set Innistrad Favorite Card Man-o'-War Early Challenge Marshall found that when he first started playing Magic he wasn’t looking for a clear path to victory. He sees it in other players as well. There is a tendency to sit down and play your cards without actually formulating a clear plan that will let you win. He finds that the first step to correcting that behavior is to be aware of it. Marshall recommends that players imagine pushing a button which stops time, and lets a great Magic player look over their shoulder in the middle of a match and ask the question “What is your plan?” If you find that you can’t answer that question, then there is an issue that needs to be confronted by assessing the board state and contemplating what needs to be done to keep you in the game. Level Up Moment Marshall likes to approach gameplay problems with a scientific mindset, methodically looking at an issue and approaching the solution through a method and process. He experimented with disregarding the board state in his matches and simply casting as much as he could. This led him to disregarding cards that were only beneficial to his deck 1 out of 5 times, and left him with cards that would actually affect the board and help him formulate a plan to win. Proudest Magic Moment For Marshall, being able to commentate the Pro Tour finals is an amazing experience to be a part of. He gets to announce the Top 8 at the tournament, which isn’t a huge deal in and of itself, but being able to see the looks on the player’s faces is an incredible feeling for him. Knowing that those players have devoted huge chunks of their life to the game makes it all the more special when he gets to be a part of moments like that in their careers. Heaviest Magic Moment Like many players, Marshall found himself plateaued at a point where he wasn’t improving. It took him a long time to realize he was at that stage. There’s nothing wrong with being content with how well you are playing, but if you stop actively trying to improve and don’t progress it can be incredibly frustrating. For Marshall, it took a level up moment where he discovered there was a whole lot more to Magic that he could improve upon, and that he was fully capable of doing so. Worst Commentating Moment While there have been moment’s where Marshall accidentally said a low level swear word when he thought he wasn’t on the air, that’s not what affects him the most while commentating. Making a mistake about an unfolding match is what bothers him the most. Sometimes he will misread a card or forget there is a static effect on the board, and when he slips up people jump on him immediately. While Marshall has accepted that is going to happen, it is still difficult for him, as he wants to do the best he can and offer the best insight into the game. Personal attacks on him and his ability as a broadcaster is something he continues to work through, even though the majority of the time he has an excellent experience commentating on matches. Biggest Mistake Players Make Evaluating choices in Magic is something Marshall sees players struggling with. It takes dedication to properly take the time to apply all the factors that go into making a single decision in a match, and even before the game has begun. Spending time analyzing your decisions helps establish a background of thinking and accrue habits and behaviors that eventually become a player’s Magic intuition. No one calculates out percentages to their full value in the heat of a match, it just comes to players who have spent the time building up the right experience and play habits. However, building this intuition can be detrimental as well. If a player uses bad logic and improper tools they will repeat mistakes while assuming that they are correct. Deepest Thing Magic Has Taught You Marshall never had to work through tilt or the concept of variance in Magic because he had worked through them in playing poker. What Marshall discovered about himself came through his interactions with the Magic community and starting Limited Resources. Starting the podcast helped open up a side of his personality that he never was able to express in a professional manner. Helping players improve and excel in Magic is one of the most important things in his life now, and he always approaches his show in a way that will best help his listeners. Final Wisdom Marshall emphasizes that you shouldn’t be afraid to put in the extra

Jake Mondello is a 19 year old dedicated Magic player, clocking an impressive 10-14 hours a day on Magic Online. He has 2 Grand Prix top 8's in his record, one in Cleveland and the other in Quebec City. Currently chasing Silver level - and almost there with 14 Pro points this season. Jake lives in Connecticut. Click to Tweet: I got a ton of value from Jake Mondello when he shared his story on #MTGProTutor today! Click here: http://bit.ly/mtgprotutor-ep73 First Set Kamigawa Favorite Set Innistrad Favorite Card Brainstorm Early Challenge Identifying which aspects of a Magic match were due to variance instead of his own mistakes was a difficulty Jake experienced early on in his career. He felt unlucky and found it hard to determine what, if anything, he was doing wrong in matches. After a while Jake began to closely analyze his games and realize small mistakes he made, which helped define what elements of the game were out of his control. Level Up Moment After losing a PTQ he asked Mike Sigrist, who he had met at another tournament, to help go over his pick order and practice Drafting. Over the course of a week they Drafted as much as they could along with Devon O’Donnell. When something interesting took place they would pause and discuss whatever aspect had cropped up, then proceed with their games. Best Format Limited Heaviest Magic Moment One of the heaviest losses Jake has experienced came at Grand Prix Miami. He wanted to take a shot at qualifying for the Pro Tour, but ended up losing against Seth Manfield playing for Day 2. Jake says he punted, giving up an advantage he had that led to him losing the game. He attributes his mistake to “playing scared.” While a difficult loss, this helped Jake learn to play to win instead of playing not to lose. Proudest Magic Moment Jake points to his first Top 8 at Grand Prix Cleveland as his proudest moment, but it comes tinged with a touch of disappointment. He managed to take second place at the tournament, losing to Bill Tsang for First place. This was another match where Jake attributes his loss to playing scared, but it helped solidify his mindset of coming to tournaments to enjoy himself and have a good time with his friends. Dominating every tournament he goes to is an unrealistic point of view to maintain, and Jake has worked to keep that mindset in check. Biggest Mistake Players Make Complaining about luck is a big mistake in Jake’s playbook. He finds that the art of complaining distracts players from what they need to do in order to win the game. Once someone has allocated mental energy to complaining they have taken the first step towards giving up. Sometimes your opponent will draw everything they need in the perfect order, but sometimes you will too. Don’t let one match define how you feel about your entire Magic career. Best Way to Get Resources in Magic Online Drafting can be higher risk when it comes to pumping real money into Magic Online. If you are starting off low, Jake recommends playing a constructed format like Pauper to build up a collection first. The daily events and 8 man single elimination matches are some of the highest value. Having a friend that plays online can make it easier to procure good cards early on, as you can trade whole decks back and forth until you build up a proper collection. What Has Magic Taught You About Yourself? Magic has helped Jake develop a drive which enables him to go out into the world and strive to achieve his goals. As a recovering agoraphobic, Jake found that Magic was instrumental in being able to travel and live his life to the fullest. What's in Your Tournament Bag Pen & Paper Deck Deck Box Player Cards for Tokens Dice Final Wisdom Jake urges players to learn from every Magic experience they have, and to make sure they enjoy themselves while doing it. Magic Resource Gerry Thompson Articles Channel Fireball Connect With Jake Mondello Twitter: @JakeMondello Like What You Hear? If you like the show, head on over to iTunes and leave an honest Rating & Review. Let me know what you like and what I can do better so I can make the show the best it can be and continue bringing you valuable content. I read every single one and look forward to your feedback. (Here's a 1.5 minute tutorial on how to leave a review if you don't already know. THANK YOU!) Sponsors

Jim Davis made 24th place at Pro Tour Prague in 2006, 8th place at Grand Prix Dallas in 2007, 33rd place at Pro Tour Honolulu in 2009, 2nd place at SCG Invitational Indianapolis in 2011, 3rd place at SCG Invitational Seattle in 2014 and is the Champion of SCG Open Indianapolis 2015 as well as the 1st place, gold trophy winner, undisputed champion of the SCG Players’ Championship 2015. Jim lives in Long Island NY. Click to Tweet: I got a ton of value from Jim Davis when he shared his story on #MTGProTutor today! Click here: http://bit.ly/mtgprotutor-ep72 First Set 7th Edition Favorite Set Onslaught Favorite Card Fact or Fiction What makes Magic: The Gathering fun for you? Jim is drawn to the competitive aspects of Magic where he can analyze player’s mental states and the psychology behind playing. He finds that Magic is a great competitive game due its complexity and challenge, and the way it balances skill, excitement and chance. Early Challenge Jim didn’t see value in adopting other’s strategies and decks when he first started playing. Popular decks were out of the question for him, and he found that it was damaging because good decks are good for a reason. There are lessons to be learned from those decks because players have studied and practiced for years in order to craft them. He now finds it beneficial to play established decks so he can understand how they operate. Falling into the mindset of “I’m only this kind of player” is detrimental to evolving your style and philosophy as a Magic player. How to Maintain a Positive Attitude Shaping his attitude is a skill Jim has refined over the years. In reading The Mental Game of Poker, he was able to break down every aspect of who he was emotionally as a player. Maintaining a Big-Picture mindset when it comes to tournaments helps keep him away from tilt, but it’s a process that starts long before any single event. Jim understands he has days where he is going to crush matches, and some where he is going to fall short. He focuses on trying to give himself the best chance to win while keeping a positive attitude, even if the results of his match don’t reflect his effort. Heaviest Magic Moment In the 2014 Players’ Championship Jim started off poorly and was placed in an elimination match. He won the first game, but in the second match he attacked prematurely and winded up getting his creature killed. He lost that round and the next one, which placed him out of the tournament. It was difficult for him to have prepared all year long and then lose, on camera, in front of so many people. He re-watched that match before the next year’s Championship to remind himself to keep a positive outlook and a level head. Proudest Magic Moment Coming off his third round loss at the Players’ Championship, Jim practiced for an entire year to come back to the tournament in 2015 and win. He found the experience of taking that heavy loss and translating it into a tournament win was an incredibly surreal moment, one that was difficult to take in all at once. He was humbled even more so by the opponents he beat, Brad Nelson and Todd Anderson, who invited him to an after party and even toasted to his victory. Best Format Legacy What Would You Tell a New Legacy Player? Jim finds that watching coverage, like live-streams can expose you to a lot of decks and how the function in the format. Since there is commentary on the streams players can understand what is happening more easily, and it acts as a crash course for the format by giving a bird’s eye view of the matches. How to Effectively Prepare for a Big Event 2015 Players’ Championship: Jim went to every tournament he could attend and ended up qualifying for the event early in the year. He found it difficult to practice because the Players’ Championship switched to a 3 format event: Legacy, Modern, and Standard. He focused on Standard the most since it was the Day 2 format, and his girlfriend kindly culled data from 6 months’ worth of tournaments so he could see what everyone had been playing that year. Biggest Mistake Players Make Latching onto a one-sentence reason for why a player lost is a common mistake Jim sees being made. It keeps players from analyzing the dozens of other decisions they made in a match, some of which certainly contributed to their loss. He recognizes that it can be difficult to tease out all that information on your own, which is why he finds getting feedback from others so valuable. Focus on what you can control. What's in Your Tournament Bag Card Binder Stack of Cards: for last minute deck changes Final Wisdom Jim has noticed that players like to complain, which affects one of the most important aspects of Magic: Attitude. He challenges you to go to a tournament, and not say anything negative about something that was outside of your control. See how it feels. Magic Resource My Top 8 Cards: Jim Davis Twitch: @JimDavisMTG Legacy Weapon Connect With Jim Davis Twitter: @JimDavisMTG Like What You Hear? If you like

Robert Wallerstein has played Magic for 13 years and made his first Grand Prix Top 8 in Mexico City 2016. He is mainly a drafter and bases his success on solid drafting fundamentals. He will make his first Pro Tour appearance in Madrid 2016. Robert is from Akron Ohio and has an amazing, uplifting Magic community. Click to Tweet: I got a ton of value from Robert Wallerstein when he shared his story on #MTGProTutor today! Click here: http://bit.ly/mtgprotutor-ep71 First Set Odyssey Favorite Set Darksteel Favorite Card Woolly Thoctar What makes Magic: The Gathering fun for you? Robert enjoys how he can play Magic with his friends without having to resort to drinking for entertainment. But most of all he loves drafting and taking on the challenge of sitting down with 7 people while trying his best to beat them. For Robert, it’s all about drafting the best he can and reading his opponent’s signals while trying not to give his own away. Early Challenge The fundamental rules of Magic tripped Robert up at first. He never had a rule book that showed him the steps of a turn and how to play. Small rules can make for deep plays that go over new player’s heads. Robert also stuck to big creatures when he first started, which made it easy for tempo spells to take him down. Playing with friends proficient in these spells helped show him how to balance his deck and move on from his full on beat down decks. Level Up Moment During Innistrad block Robert attended a GP in Nashville at the Grand Ole Opry, which is an amazing venue for an event: think of a city housed in the pterodactyl cage from Jurassic Park 3. Being unemployed at the time let him play a lot of Magic leading up to the event, and he managed to Day 2 for the first time. At the end of the GP he managed to rank higher than Jon Finkel, who was in his first Draft Pod, which helped Robert realize he could step up and progress in the competitive scene. Proudest Magic Moment While many players point to a personal achievement as their proudest moment, Robert instead points to the amazing Magic community he is a part of. One of his long time Magic friends sadly took the community by surprise when he committed suicide years back. Robert’s community held several great memorial events which helped donate money to their friend’s family. For Robert, the feeling of helping and maintaining this tight knit community has been the best feeling to come out of Magic for him, even more so than making Top 8 at GP Mexico. Heaviest Magic Moment One year when Robert went to Gen Con, he left his backpack in the care of his friend and it ended up getting stolen. He lost entire collections of cards and it was incredibly hurtful; those decks and collections were a reflection of him. He thought about quitting Magic then and there, but his friends and community helped keep him in the game by lending him cards they knew he was fond of. Robert emphasizes that, while it may be awkward, you should really find out who out of your friends can be trusted to look after 5 thousand dollars worth of cards. He also recommends not bringing your entire collection to an event. Biggest Mistake Players Make Robert finds that many players find it hard to slow down and focus on their plays and outs. While you don’t want to be annoying by slowing down to a crawl, taking a few extra moments to consider your outs and how your cards can be played is tremendously beneficial. Robert sees players plateauing when it comes to thinking outside the box. Many players will play a card exactly how it’s meant to be played, but they don’t take the time to consider what other lines of play a card can open for them. Sealed & Draft Tips Sealed: Looking at your best cards and knowing what your best colors are some of Robert’s guidelines for Sealed. He finds that removal spells are key in most limited formats, as you are undoubtedly going to have to deal with sizable threats. Draft: For Robert, success in Drafting comes down to card evaluation. Doing research to know what creatures are in a specific format and what spells you need to kill them are crucial. You need to be mindful of what cards you pass on as well, as that sends signals to everyone else as to what color you are playing to and what your weaknesses are. For A New Draft Player: Robert's basic outline for a deck consists of 15 creatures, 8 non creatures spells and 17 lands. Know how many creatures and removal spells you have, because that will determine what you pick when it comes your time to draw. What's in Your Tournament Bag Sleeves Dice Pen Paper Sleeved Basic Lands Improvement Suggestions Robert finds that playing against more skilled players is a surefire way to hone your own skills. While better players can be hard to find, Robert knows that most skilled players are more than happy to talk at events so long as they aren't wallowing through the aftermath of a bad beat. Final Wisdom Robert urges players to have fun with the game, and if you aren't having fun, then pl

Eric Freytag is the founder and CEO of PucaTrade.com. He’s been playing Magic since 1994, has 14 commander decks, and spends most of his MtG time brewing in Vintage, Legacy, and Modern. Click to Tweet: I got a ton of value from Eric Freytag when he shared his story on #MTGProTutor today! Click here: http://bit.ly/mtgprotutor-ep70 First Set Mirage Favorite Set Battle for Zendikar Favorite Card Crucible of Worlds What makes Magic: The Gathering fun for you? Eric believes Magic is the best game in the world thanks to its perfect blend of strategy, technique, deck building, and creativity. The community Magic has fostered is incredible, and he thinks this is because the game has so many facets and ways to play. Magic’s social scene and sitting down with friends to play the game in person is one of the most important aspects of the game for Eric. Early Challenge Deck building was a hurdle Eric had to overcome in his early days playing magic. Evaluating cards and making cuts causes a ripple effect through the rest of the 75 cards, and it took practice building lots of decks for him to understand that. Eric spent time identifying each card he liked, and then found cards relevant to his deck’s concept that were good to draw at any stage of the game. Looking for cards that stack is important for him, since you don’t want two of the same card if one of them will be useless if both are drawn. How to Put Together a Commander Deck Eric maintains a detailed spreadsheet of his cards where he organizes them based on their role and type. Next comes making columns for cards that pair well with each other and what type of situations they do well in. At some point making cuts becomes necessary, and you will have to get rid of some pet cards if they aren’t good in most situations. Be honest with yourself about if a card is going to synergize well with the deck concept you are working towards. Getting too attached to cards at this stage in a brew is something Eric finds dangerous. He looks at each card to see how many others it can combo well with, and loves when he finds ways for cards to come together and turn a disability in a match into an ability. What Has Magic Taught You About Yourself? Most of Eric’s personal growth in magic came from managing tilt. While he doesn’t feel incredibly competitive, he is emotionally invested in all his time spent trying to master the game with skill and creativity. If the deck he brewed doesn’t perform well, or he doesn’t pilot it right, he can definitely be thrown off balance. The feeling of personal failure is common to a lot of players when they play poorly. Eric sees managing tilt as not only an aspect of growing as a Magic player, but as improving as person. The best time Eric has had playing Magic is when he is having fun, even if he is not performing at his best. How to Manage Tilt Eric believes you can start right now, reading this sentence. Take a moment to acknowledge that at some point in the future you are going to mess up. You are going to fail at some aspect of Magic. Period. You might fail because of luck, because of bad drops, or because you played the wrong card. It happens to everyone, even the pros. You can mentally prepare for that moment now, and accept that the cards won’t be in your favor and that you’re going to make a mistake. Best Format Commander Biggest Mistake Players Make Eric finds tilt to be a major issue players face, and it’s an issue the player can directly control. A player can manage their reactions to what happens in a match. When players get dragged down by something that went wrong in the game they often stop paying attention. By controlling your reactions and staying engaged in the game your chances of pulling through to the end go up, even if it’s just a small amount. What's a Non-Magic Related Activity That Has Helped You Play? Eric found that Magic actually helped him with other activities. While he was a video editor he felt the same sense of creativity he got from building a Magic deck. Skills like knowing what cards to cut from his deck helped him take out unnecessary shots from the videos he was editing. Understanding his deck concepts worked in a similar way, letting Eric grasp what the overall vibe and aesthetic of his videos should be. On Creating PucaTrade Eric created PucaTrade based on how his playgroup traded cards and interacted with one another. The way they traded was personal and focused on giving rather than nickel and diming each other to death. This helped him realize that lots of players get trapped in their own way of playing Magic, where they don’t see the full spectrum of people who love the game. There are around 50-100 ways to play Magic, and Eric believes uniting that community through cards is one of the greatest things in the world. How to Tell if a Card Is Fake First and foremost, never damage or destroy a card to determine if it is fake. The best and easiest test to determine if you have a fake is to shine a LED flashli