The Modern RCQ season is in full swing so I wanted to revive my Paper Tips series. As I watch paper Magic coverage I see small edges given away that could turn a mediocre day into a Regional Championship invite. I’ve been playing primarily paper Magic tournaments since 2001 and I’ve picked up plenty of tricks along the way. Today I’m going to discuss Modern-specific and tournament tips.
RIW’s Modern RCQ on June 21 is the perfect place to put lessons learned from this article into practice.
DISCLAIMER: This is how I approach paper Magic. There are many ways to approach these topics.
HAVE AN IN-MATCH AND POST-MATCH RITUAL
When I am getting ready for a round at a competitive tournament I try to keep things as consistent as possible to avoid thinking about things I can prepare for ahead of time.
-Sit facing the round clock (typically only one player can see this easily)
-Put my phone in my backpack (to avoid distractions)
-Pull out my BoogieBoard for life totals and pull out two dice from the case
-Offer a die roll (odd/even) with two dice
-Announce every life total change as I’m writing it down to ensure my opponent and I are in agreement
When the round is complete I:
-Get a drink of water (not too cold if possible)
-Eat a snack (I bring an apple and peanuts)
-Avoid playing games in-between rounds to conserve energy
MTGO CHALLENGES DO NOT REFLECT RCQ METAGAMES
Despite MTGO Challenges offering a higher level of competition compared to local events and 5-0 leagues, most players are not highly cutthroat at an RCQ. Challenges do offer a glimpse into what to expect from the most competitive cohort.
AspiringSpike offers interesting decks that rely more heavily on executing interactions and many players find that appealing. I like to have an idea of what he has been up to lately.
Andrea Mengucci favors interesting decks that top 8 challenges. They are not necessarily the most competitive deck, but they’re strong enough to compete. He balances novelty with competition as he wants to prepare for big events while maintaining high traffic for his Youtube channel.
MTGO leagues are home to innovative and fringe decks that may not have what it takes to compete at a consistent rate, but can rattle off a string of wins when they execute their game plan.
At the end of the day RCQs are going to include players from the LGS. Having a feel for what local players favor will help with proper metagaming that gives a home field advantage. Foil Jund and Merfolk pilots don’t care if their deck isn’t in vogue, but they will adapt to the winner’s metagame. Modern is an expensive format and many pilots can’t easily pivot from one deck to the next in a week.
MIND THE CLOCK AND YOUR TRIGGERS
A learned skill in paper Magic is playing at an appropriate pace. MTGO’s chess clock is a different animal; both have pros and cons.
-Announcing “untap, upkeep, draw” is fine from a ritualistic perspective, but it’s not reasonable to ask your opponent to acknowledge each step every turn. When the opponent looks like they have an action at an inorganic time they will give physical and/or verbal cues.
-Cards that ask you to put a specific amount of cards randomly at the bottom of the deck don’t require the opponent to cut and they will decline 99% of the time. If the opponent does want to be cheeky and cut then you know exactly how many cards to take from the bottom of the deck to rewind. I’ll say “let me know if you want to cut” as I’m randomizing. Cascade is a larger and unknown portion of the deck so I will be more deliberate as it’s harder to rewind.
-Opponents are likely to match your pace of play. If you are playing methodically your opponent is more likely to slow down and think through their actions. This isn’t an ideal scenario if you’re playing a deck that plays more turns. If the round is coming to a close it’s important to speed up and make sure your opponent is playing at a pace that can finish the match. Remember this has a human element and being kind is free: “I know this is a tough game, but we need to play fast as a draw is bad for both of us.”
-Beneficial triggers can be missed by you and the opponent regardless of the card specifying if it’s a “may.”
-A partial execution of a trigger is not allowed. For example, you cannot forget to gain three life with Phlage if it deals three damage, but one is not explicitly announced. The reason you can forget to draw a card off Mishra’s Bauble when you look at the top card of a deck is because the delayed trigger is separate.
-You cannot miss your draw step and are obligated to remind your opponent if they fail to do so. The untap step also cannot be skipped- even if the opponent already draws a card for the turn.
-There is a gray area on missed triggers so call a judge if you’re unsure. In most cases the judge will ask the opposing player if they wish to put the missed trigger on the stack and they can say approve or deny. I typically deny putting late triggers on the stack and expect my opponent will do the same. I don’t want a tit-for-tat situation by letting one slide and deliberating each case is a waste of thought in a long event.
-You are allowed to “Chalice check” your opponent to see if they miss the trigger on Chalice of the Void, but cannot skip it for your own spells (that is cheating).
-Triggers are not actually missed until they affect the game state. The current definition of “affecting the game state” means prowess triggers are not missed until damage will be dealt. You can put a die above the creature to count the triggers, but this is not required.
THINK ABOUT PLAYS AHEAD OF TIME TO HIDE INTERACTION
-When playing on MTGO you can’t assume an inactive opponent is thinking about a play as they may be doing something else. In paper Magic, it’s clear when the opponent is thinking about the current situation which gives away information about their hand.
-To avoid giving away key pieces of information you can think about responses from the opponent ahead of putting a spell or ability on the stack. For example, if I play a creature I will think ahead of time if I’m alright with letting it die to a removal spell if I can save it in a hidden way.
-I will also do the opposite and think about a future event at an inorganic time as it throws the opponent off the scent in the future and they may get the wrong information about my hand. For example, I have untapped mana at the end of turn, but think about how to sequence spells in the next main phase if I’m likely to execute a play regardless of my draw step.
-If your deck plays Mutagenic Growth, Force of Negation, Surgical Extraction, etc. then you can give off cues about casting them when tapped out without them in hand. A quick “I might have effects on your draw step” could have your opponent playing around Surgical for the rest of the game instead of what’s actually in your hand.
-Deck, format, and tournament familiarity can help you execute false cues. Don’t waste too much time thinking about the above examples other than to know this could be happening to you if most of your brain power is going to executing your deck’s game plan.
VERBAL AND NON-VERBAL CUES CAN INDICATE YOUR OPPONENT’S ARCHETYPE AND CARD CHOICES
-If my opponent talks about playing RCQs around a large radius I can make an educated guess they’re playing one of the higher tier decks and they will play at an above-average quality. They may have recently discovered tech as well.
-When my opponent makes more novice mistakes I may assume they are more likely to commit other strategic errors such as oversideboarding. If my opponent presents as having less experience, but is at the top tables deep into a tournament they may be playing a more proactive deck which can help with mulligan decisions in game one.
MODERN SPECIFIC SHORTCUTS AND TIPS
-I will use a die to indicate the number of Mishra’s Bauble triggers when I know the rest of the turn may take some time to avoid forgetting.
-Hold your known cards in hand upside-down that are seen from opposing Baubles and Thoughtseize. This is a simple way to track what cards you can expect your opponent to play around in the future.
-When Thoughtseize is cast, by your or the opponent, it’s natural to take time and think. The first thing to do when looking at a hand for the first time is write down the cards to save valuable time on the clock. If you prefer to play the known cards face up then check with your opponent at the start to establish the precedent. I personally prefer writing down known information as it gets clunky to keep known cards face up on the table after a few turns. If time is very short the opposing player can play open-handed for a turn while the cards are written down.
-The Hollow One deck is played in Modern. I’ve seen players mix up their hand and then roll a die to determine which cards to discard with Burning Inquiry. This isn’t necessary as shuffling the cards in hand is already random. Put the randomized cards face down and the opponent chooses what cards to discard. To make matters worse there are typically a different number of cards in hand than the sides of the die used to randomize which means you’re rolling more than six times in most cases.
-Avoid using a die to track the size of constructs. If you insist on using a die make sure it’s above the creature to avoid it looking like +1+1 counters that further confuse the situation. The size of the constructs change far more than the power and toughness mattering so it’s likely to be out of date the next time it becomes relevant. There’s enough to track in a game of Magic already.
-I prefer to play the proper tokens to represent my cards. Rhino tokens, for example, can be represented with Rhyhorns, but they don’t trample which feels bad if the opponent doesn’t know by looking at your token. I will use Pokemon cards as tokens in cases where it’s difficult to find the right token due to rarity, but I make sure to verbally say what they will be representing when first introduced in the match. A recent example is using Meowth for Ocelot Pride’s cat tokens as it’s hard to find 1/1 cats without abilities. Magikarp for 1/1 fish tokens is also a respectable play.
I enjoy paper Magic because of the various strategies and considerations. Magic Online and Magic Arena are completely different animals so be sure to practice in paper if possible ahead of your next RCQ.
Good luck and thanks for reading!
