Wizards Tower
December 1, 2017
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Going for the Gold: Dealing with Burnout
Welcome back to Going for the Gold! This week we're going to talk about something more real than just another PPTQ win: How do you deal with burning out? Burnout is defined as the physical or mental collapse that is caused by overwork or stress. But wait! I'm a Magic player... why would I suffer from burnout? Most of us have a full-time job, unless Magic has been able to support our lifestyle in...
Wizards Tower
November 24, 2017
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Going for the Gold: How Mistakes Make You Better
Welcome back to Going for the Gold! This week I’d like to talk about making mistakes in Magic. Make no mistake, making mistakes can be some of the most painful experiences in the game. Especially when you realize that your “punt” cost you the match. Since the perfect Magic player hasn't been born yet, we’re all guilty of making mistakes. I’ve sat on numerous planes thinking about...
Wizards Tower
November 17, 2017
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Going for the Gold: Probability in Magic
Welcome back to Going for the Gold! Today we continue our series on improving as a Magic player as we talk about probability. Those of you who are statistically challenged are probably wondering what I mean by probability? Probability is defined as the the likelihood of something happening or being the case. The Example of the Coin: Whenever there's a discussion on probability, everyone always...
Wizards Tower
November 10, 2017
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Going for the Gold: Pro Tour Ixalan Recap
Welcome back to Going for the Gold. As promised, today is the recap of my latest Pro Tour. Spoiler: It's shorter than usual! For those of you who were kind enough to follow me in the standings, you probably noticed that my wins stopped after round five. It was not a great feeling. After taking beat after beat, I didn't make Day Two, the second time I have failed to do so in my 14 starts. In...
Wizards Tower
November 3, 2017
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Going for the Gold: Attending Your First Pro Tour
Welcome back to Going for the Gold! Today is the day that we've all been waiting for... Pro Tour Ixalan! It's a weird feeling: Ixalan has been out for a few months and I feel like everyone has a good idea on how to Draft it. On top of that, Standard is more or less solved, so it comes down to picking a deck that you think will give you the highest win percentage against the field. I would go...
Wizards Tower
October 27, 2017
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Going for the Gold: Standard before Pro Tour Ixalan
Welcome back to Going for the Gold! As promised last week, I'm going to give you an update on the current state of Standard. But why is that important? Well, the latest Pro Tour is coming up in Albuquerque next weekend, and that tournament will bring a bunch of pros both old school and new to New Mexico. This is the first Pro Tour that is being run a few months after the set release and it kind...
Wizards Tower
October 20, 2017
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Going for the Gold: Top 4 Pro Tour Feature Matches
Welcome back to Going for the Gold! If you've read this column before, you already know that I'm a big fan of watching previous online coverage and observing the best players play the game. This is definitely one of the biggest tools that helped me improve my own game as I strove to understood what each player was thinking during each stage of the game. This week I'll be covering the top four Pro...
Wizards Tower
October 12, 2017
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Going for the Gold: A Preview of Canadian Nationals
This weekend is the relaunch of an event that used to be the forefront of the Canadian Magic scene, Nationals. Long before the prominence of the new age of Canadian Magic, this was a tournament that showcased the best Canadian talent. I played in Nationals long before I ever qualified for my first Pro Tour and I loved the format. Six rounds of Draft and six rounds of Standard over the course of...