Greetings everyone! Last month I made a post on Reddit asking questions about going to my first ever tournament, the Toronto Crystal Cup. Now the competition is only a few days away and I couldn’t be more excited. Before FFTCG, I had never played a TCG competitively, only at home with friends. When I started playing at locals, I could not stop, and I haven’t slowed down since. About four weeks ago, I decided to pull the trigger and buy plane tickets, book a hotel, and get my passes for the weekend. Since then, I have been preparing for the event, using my friend’s and Reddit’s advice along the way. Now some of the advice below may seem like common knowledge to you, but it is all information that I did not necessarily have or practice before. Since I have started practicing more I have seen a notable improvement in my play.
Practice There is no substitute for practice! Since I signed up for the Crystal Cup, I have been playing FFTCG an extra night a week at my local game store, Magic Stronghold, trying out a few decks, trying to narrow down my choice for the Crystal Cup. At first, I had about four decks I was seriously considering, and now I have picked my deck for this weekend. At each weekly tournament, I tried one of the decks out, to see how I felt about it in a competitive setting. I also tried decks that I am less familiar with, to try and learn how to play with a wider range of cards. If you understand how a card/s is played, it will be easier for you to anticipate it from your opponent. I have tried to play against as many archetypes as I can, although I have certainly played against Mono Ice the most. I have also been playing on OCTGN almost every night, in order to play people not in my local meta, and also with Cloud City member Francis. This has taught me to pay closer attention to the game, since that can be a difficult part of OCTGN. When you are sitting in front of your monitor listening to music with distractions in your home, I find it harder to pay attention to detail than when I am sitting in a game store playing the paper version of the game. Through this consistent practice, I have tried to cement good habits for my playstyle. Counting Another good habit I have picked up during my preparation is counting cards. By keeping track of your hand and board vs your opponent’s hand and board, you can figure out if plays you have been making are not optimal. There are times where you will sacrifice card advantage for tempo, and that is ok, but you should be able to tell when your opponents always seem to have more cards than you… like when I play against Francis (Mr. Efficiency). Home Work I am a strong believer in mental practice. When I am not playing FFTCG, I try to read other player’s blogs, watch videos of matches, and read strategies online. One of my favourite resources is a series of articles from the official Magic the Gathering website and is called Level One: The Full Course. Full disclosure: I have never actually played Magic, but the author breaks down all types of concepts that are useful across many TCGs. This includes: Tempo, Card Advantage, Linear Strategies, Threats and Answers, and Sequencing. Reading this series has helped me reflect on my own playstyle and helped me correct certain things. It is important to be able to analyse your own matches and understand the logic behind what worked and what didn't. More Strategies! I like to use acronyms, and now I have created two new ones for my FFTCG play. A.D.P.S.- Activate, Draw, Plan Sequencing: This one is simple. Slow down the start of your turn, plan out how the whole turn will go and the order you will play your cards before rushing to play anything. C.I.F.O.- Conceal Information from Opponent: When choosing the sequencing of your turn, consider how much information you want to give your opponent. If you discard one card to play a 2 CP backup, that is two cards that your opponent no longer has to wonder and worry about during attack phase. Whenever possible, try and hide information from your opponent until you have put them in a position where they must make a decision about how to react to you. Logistics and Fun! Besides preparing for playing in the tournament. I have also been preparing for the traveling and hanging out all day at the Anime North Convention. I mapped how to get from my hotel to the venue and will be packing plenty of snacks in case I am stuck without a break for food during the cup. I have also been reading up on the convention, since I play to check things out whenever I have free time. I am a huge Gundam fan, and I build the Gunpla models, so I definitely hope to check out the contest going on at Anime North. I am also looking forward to seeing all the other vendors and demos happening. If I have enough time, I might even try and get some D&D in! I am probably missing other things I have done and learned, but I am just so excited for this weekend (I have already started backing, it is very hard to pack light!). Let me know what you think of my preparation, or if you have any last-minute advice for me. I will make sure to post about how the tournament went when I get back. And if you are going to the Toronto Crystal Cup yourself, good luck in your matches and I’ll see you there! -Alex K
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AuthorCloud CIty FFTCG Writing Team: Archives
November 2018
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