To recap, I played through the first 50 events and got better along the way but found myself in a bad place just as I hit the halfway mark. I had hit the proverbial “wall” that players in other games and sports go through after starting off hot and aggressive. I was losing more and more and getting frustrated often. Magic became boring and repetitive, I didn’t feel the same excitement I used to have on Saturday and Sunday mornings before tournaments.

Added to the fact that work was beginning to pile up, I didn’t see the need to continue playing anymore. It wasn’t as dramatic as it sounds, just run-of-the-mill life over magic moments.

Then during one tournament, the guys were just hanging out and someone just randomly blurted out, “Sino pupunta sa KL?” I had heard of other players going abroad to play Magic but the thought of joining them never crossed my mind. Maybe the fact that it was something new had struck a chord in me and I knew for certain right then and there that I was going to Malaysia. I asked Macho and he just answered with his customary stupid grin.

Our MTGO account went into overtime at this point. I was doing around 20 drafts a week and Macho was playing at least twice that since he only had college to distract him from Magic. It got to a point where we could predict what our deck would look like after the first 3 or 4 picks and we usually got 18 or so out the 23/24 cards right. We had drafted every archetype and color combination (this was quite the feat considering that this was Ravnica block) and subconsciously memorized the print runs. I remember Macho telling me that the player to my right had taken Ribbons of Night because of something like “Common A and Uncommon C are in the pack.”

Lesson 11: Repetition. Repetition. Repetition.

This lesson I earlier learned from my law school days. There will be people who are smarter than you and who can read or memorize faster due to their God-given talents. Hard work, however, is the great equalizer. If you read the assignment three times more than the smartest student in the class, you will know more than him. If you read the book from cover to cover again and again until you feel like you are going to vomit words, you won’t need to study for the bar.

If you keep on drafting until you actually know the print runs by heart and without referring to a list published on some site, you are going to win more drafts. Simple.

#53 . GPT KL – May 14, 2006

Two things stand out for me in this event, aside from the fact that I got the three byes for KL.

In my quarterfinal match against Vic Lim, he got one of the best draws in the history of Philippine Magic. I’m talking about 2nd turn Burning Tree Shaman, followed closely by Rumbling Slum. I dealt with the latter but found myself at 1 after the first 5 or 6 turns. I had consigned myself to having lost and wanted to go on to the next game but then “it” happened. Vic hit a mana pocket and stalled, I then proceeded to draw exactly what I needed when I needed it over the next few turns, winning shortly thereafter. (It wasn’t all luck though, I’m very proud of some of the plays I made that game) I have had my share of “come from behind” stories but this was a little surreal. It felt like watching a basketball game where your team is behind by 20, some random bench player hits a layup, then another one, free throws are made and suddenly the stars are coming off the bench and one of them hits a winning 3 pointer from half-court at the buzzer. 

In the final match against Law D, Nick O called it perfectly, my deck full of GW x/1’s was severely mismatched against Law D’s pingers. For the second and third game, I checked my sideboard and saw 2 of the 1 damage replicate spells that I had earlier taken as hate draft picks. I put them in with 4 mountains, removed some of the color heavy spells and added other random creatures that would be bad against other decks but could survive a ping or two, and went to work on getting my 3 byes.

Lesson 12: (Cliché No. 1) Never give up.
Lesson 13: Analyze the matchup/your deck/your opponent/his deck.
Lesson 14: Have your sideboard at the back of your head when drafting and always check your sideboard in between games.
Rating: 1804

#54. GPT KL – May 21, 2006

In the semi-finals, Macho was up against DJ Paculio and after a couple of hours, they had played into one of the most complicated and clogged boards that I had ever seen. Finally, DJ plays Flame Kin Zealot and attacks with nearly everything and Macho goes deep into to the tank for about 5 to 10 minutes (no slow play warning, everybody just wanted to see what would happen). I look at the board for a couple of minutes and look away as my head begins to hurt and I couldn’t see any good blocks. Macho, on the other hand, sets up the perfect blocks, takes some damage and kills DJ on his next turn.  

Prior to seeing this, I always hated clogged boards. I would always trade early and often to avoid situations where I would have to deal with creature stalls, much like a grade schooler would trade pieces in chess and checkers. I then realized that it was just a lazy habit and not an actual strategy. I wanted to avoid situations wherein I would have to make difficult decisions and costly mistakes, to the detriment of well, actually winning games. Clogged boards will come up from time to time when you’re playing good Magic, you have to learn to deal with it.

First of all, you have to make sure that you’re not missing out on anything before passing the turn with clogged boards. I’ve seen several players miss opportunities to sneak in one or two points of damage every turn, or reduce chump blockers without losing anything.  Secondly, and again something I will hopefully have the chance to discuss again later, you have to think as many steps ahead as you can. What cards can you and your opponent draw? How soon do you need to draw your threats/answers before he draws his threats/answers? Do you need to bluff in order of having a chance to win? If you do, do you have to do it now or two turns later? Finally, as Macho demonstrated, there are good answers, better answers and answers that seem better but are actually worse. You have to take the time to figure it out.

One exercise we do to simulate clogged boards is to grab a pile of cards and randomly pick 10 to 15 creatures each for two players. If you’re practicing offense, the active player has to figure out the best attack. If you’re practicing defense, the other player just attacks with everything and you have to decide blocks in situations where you’re low on life and have to survive or have a comfortable life buffer and have to figure out a lethal counterattack. Keeping a timer would also be best for this exercise.

Lesson 15: Clogged boards are your friends and not the enemy.
Rating: 1774

After Macho won the game, DJ asked us if we would have noticed if he had enough red mana to play another red spell that could have potentially won him the game and match. Our puzzled looks basically answered his question and he replied something to the effect that “he didn’t want to win that way.” We always hear people saying things like “it’s better to lose than to win by cheating,” or “there’s a right way to play the game.” It was nice to see it being actually practiced, especially considering the stakes.

I really respected that and I promised to myself that I would get “better” the right way. It also lead to one of the criteria for Team WTF players. Unlike Team BT, where you only have to be … nevermind, family site. 

Lesson 16: Pay attention to what your opponent is doing.
Lesson 17: Don’t cheat.

#57. Grand Prix Kuala Lumpur – June 3, 2006

Travelling with Magic players is simply one thing you have to do before retiring from Magic. It’s very different from travelling with family, barkada or your girlfriend. I haven’t been that good in any sport to have actually travelled with a team but I have a feeling that the experience is close to what Magic players have.

Anyway, the lesson I learned in this particular event has nothing to do with game play, but more of state of mind before going into a tournament. One of the most important lessons I’ve learned in order to become better at Magic is this:

Lesson 18: Get some sleep before any event.

So what were Chip Jamir, Macho and I doing at 2:00 AM of the first day (Saturday) of the Grand Prix, when we were supposed to be asleep? Roaming the streets of Kuala Lumpur.  It had been a few years since Macho and I had left the country and we were just soaking in the sights and smells of a different city. In fact, I think we were enjoying ourselves too much when Macho said, “Tinatamad nako maglaro,” basically expressing what we were all feeling.  None of us made Day 2 despite having 3 byes each. (I was close but lost to DJ in the last round of Day 1) Realization set in and I felt pretty bad knowing that I could have done so much better. I made so many mistakes, both obvious and small strategic ones that could have led me to Day 2. Magic wise it felt like such a waste of time.

Lesson 19: Having the proper mindset before a tournament is very important.
Lesson 20: When playing out of the country, enjoy yourselves but keep the distractions at the door when the tournament starts.

The next day, we missed breakfast and enjoyed sleeping in the room a little more, making it to the venue at the round right before the Top 8 and just in time to see Quentin Martin paying JT from his “moneybags.”

I didn’t feel bad as the night before, considering that I might have been too harsh on myself, it was after all, our first time playing Magic outside of the Philippines. Besides, I knew it was never going to happen again.

I randomly took an open spot to view the Top 8 draft, finding myself right behind Kenji Tsumura. I had heard a lot about Kenji’s accomplishments but had never seen him play prior to an early round in Day 1 where I saw him make a mistake against another pro, choosing to mill a white card off the top when his opponent didn’t have any white source in play. His opponent even showed him his hand full of white cards, including a Lightning Helix, and asked Kenji what the &*^% was he thinking. Needles to say, it wasn’t a good first impression for the alleged phenom.

In the draft, I could see every card that Kenji could see and the picks that he took. I remember thinking that the man was crazy, he only had around 4 creatures that could attack late into the second pack. Whenever I saw a solid creature that was in his colors, I assumed he was going to take it but he would instead pick up yet another signet or wall. When he laid out his deck afterwards, I hastily deemed it to be one of the ugliest drafts that I had ever seen. I had no idea how this man could have won so many tournaments,, much less this one. Then I saw him play.

In the first game of the quarterfinals against moneybags, Kenji had mulled and drawn 3 spells out of 15 cards. Moneybags had a respectable draw and Kenji had 5 lands in hand. The weird thing was, Kenji was so relaxed and quiet while Moneybags was sweating profusely. If you just arrived to see the match, you would have easily assumed that it was the Japanese guy who was winning. When Qmart finally dealt the last points of damage, he slammed the table and shouted, “I bluffed you!!! I finally got you!!!” It was obvious what Kenji had done, he made his opponent think that it was a tight game when in fact it was a blowout… with a hand chock full of lands. The Japanese pro remained silent, never giving any indication to Moneybags that his proud shouts of victory were actually pretty dumb.

Games 2 and 3, the Japanese finally got decent draws, not god draws, just decent average draws. If he made Moneybags sweat in the game where he had nothing but lands, you could probably guess what happened next. Kenji demolished his opponent, both games were not even close. Even when his opponent drew a couple of bombs, he had the answer for it. The games ended with Kenji having at least 4 cards in hand, half being removal and the other half creatures. He then continued to run over his next two opponents all the way to the win, always ending games with hands full of action. He was making plays that I thought were wrong but always proved to be right in the end. He was also playing as if he knew every card that was coming from the top of his deck. He knew when to hold back and when to suddenly attack, seemingly out of nowhere. It was one lesson after another in how Magic is supposed to be played. I remember turning to JT and saying  “Lahat ng alam natin sa Magic… mali.”

Lesson 21:Play like Kenji. (This might need a separate article.)
Rating: 1776

#64. PTQ Kobe – August 12, 2006

I’m taking this opportunity to apologize to teammate Mark Rivera, one of only two people that I have blatantly cheated in Magic. I apologized to him before but it was during a drinking session and there’s really no definite way of telling if Mark is drunk or not.

Macho won the previous PTQ Kobe and we were excited at the possibility of going to Japan together. It was the final round and I had the chance to make Top 8 if I won. Mark and I weren’t teammates then. It was game 3 and we were playing off the top of our decks, with me at a disadvantage. In my last turn of the last five turns I drew a white spell that prevented Mark from winning on his last turn. It was a draw. I asked Mark for the win since a draw wouldn’t help any of us and I really wanted to go to Kobe with Macho. Good guy that he is, Mark agreed.

I didn’t have a single white source in play.

Maybe it was wanting to go to Kobe or playing on the Pro Tour for the first time that pushed me to do it. In any case, it was inexcusable. Sorry Pepe.

I finished 10th on tiebreaks. Even if I did make Top 8 and win the tournament, I still think that I wouldn’t have appreciated it or have been proud of it. Cheating is just wrong. In my practice, I’m often forced to work in “grey areas” of the law, I don’t want to bring that into Magic.

Lesson 22: See 16 and 17.
Rating: 1822

#65. Philippine Nationals – August 19, 2006

In the first draft (RGD), I opened a Firemane Angel and took the entire allotted time to decide whether to pick it. The angel is definitely a solid first pick and I imagine a lot of people wouldn’t mind having the problem of whether to pick it first during Nationals. However, there was a Compulsive Research in the pack which could get me started on the best combination of UGR rather than any of the weaker WR combinations. I decided to risk it and was fortunately passed a replacement Compulsive and then Brightflame two picks after that. Brightflame was one of the hardest cards to play correctly in RGD. I’ve seen a lot of people play Brightflame and still lose, even with the life boost. Having started 0-2 in the event, I wasn’t in the mood to torture myself with such a complex card, but fortunately caught myself and thought that it could possibly be the shot in the arm I needed to go on a winning streak. I would have to play perfectly to win the pod.

Before I go into the games, I remember being puzzled on why Filipino players weren’t sold on the awesomeness of the bouncelands in RGD. No one believed that you had to take them as high as first or second. I used this to set up 4 late pick bouncelands in the draft in my colors, allowing me to play 15 lands.

In the first match against Allan Oca, I received advanced intel that he had picked up a Simic Sky Swallower. We were caught in a clogged board that was growing every turn and with me holding Brightflame for at least ten turns. He hadn’t played SSS and I didn’t want to use my only answer against it. If I used Brightflame early, killing all his creatures and most of mine, a topdecked SSS would win the game for him. I knew I had inevitability so I patiently waited. He finally played the monster and I cast the sorcery, killing everything on his board, including the untargetable flyer, while leaving some on my board and gaining 70 life in the process.

In the next match, I again had Brightflame in hand and my opponent had an efficient and imposing UB army with UB creatures in play. Wiping his board was definitely the plan, were it not for an active Drowned Rusalka. In the turn before he could kill me, I saw the only way that I could win was if he missed the Rusalka activation so I went for it. I cast Brightflame on one of his UB guys then asked him “Patay creatures natin?” He said yes and I hurriedly put all my blue creatures into the graveyard and immediately followed up with another question “Gain X life ako?” He said yes again and I quickly ended my turn. When he reached his draw step he saw the Rusalka in the graveyard and mumbled, “Teka…” To this day, I still think that if I did the slightest thing different I wouldn’t have won that match. For example if I had instead asked “Patay creatures?” or “Patay creatures mo?” my opponent would have been more defensive and checked what he could have done to avoid losing his creatures. By offering that we were both losing creatures put him in a relatively more amicable state, allowing me to fast track to his turn where the play could no longer be reversed. Of course he also claimed that he thought Rusalka could only sacrifice itself, in such case, the play prevented him from double checking. 

In the last match against Nick, he knew that I had Brightflame and was playing perfectly around it. I didn’t draw the spell in both games and won particularly because of the fact that I didn’t draw Brightflame.

The lessons here will be tackled in the last part of the series, some of the lessons are similar to my use of Profane Command in GP Bangkok which you can read about in the FFJ archive.

I was really looking forward to the second draft which was Coldsnap. I knew I had a great chance to go for the second 3-0 as it was one of the formats I believe I ‘broke.’ Previous to Coldsnap, I had broken Core Set Drafting online, discovering that RG gave you 2 out of 3 draft wins without having to pass on any painlands or other money rares that you may have opened. Our account became a lot richer when I found that out. (For those drafting Xed, it’s now BG not RG)

For Coldsnap, UB Snow was the way to go and only three cards mattered, Randy Orton, Snitzky and Snow-Covered Land. (Prizes to the first 3 non WTF/BT members to guess what those cards are, subject to availability.) In my first Coldsnap Draft at Galle, I had taken 8 Snow-Covered Lands in the first pack, allowing me better picks in the second and third pack while others were scrambling to catch up with their snow requirements. I didn’t win that draft but it boiled down more to card choices and not the early selection of lands. Basically, the strategy was pick Orton, if none then Snitzky, if neither were in the pack then on color snow or deck filler.

I had DJ passing to me and that he knew I was forcing UB no matter what. Fortunately, he opened a Rimescale Dragon making things easier for him. Mark Baeyens to my other side also picked up the same Dragon. I 3-0’d the pod with a little assistance.. The unbeaten limited portion propelled me to my first Nationals Top 8, to be mauled by one of the Basilio Brothers.

(Related story: Team WTF did a practice Coldsnap draft prior to Nats. Mark Herrin proclaimed that he had the best deck in the pod. When asked why, he simply shrugged “You guys are idiots. I have three Haakons, 3/3 for 3 and it comes back? Sick.” Lesson 23: RTFC)

Rating: 1921

#70. GPT Yamagata – October 29, 2006

The packs I opened for this draft contained the following as rares: Akroma, Angel of Wrath, Serra Avenger and Avatar of Woe. I picked all of them. My winning deck? Blue Red. After picking Akroma, I was passed Triskelavus then Sulfurous Blast. Eight solid blue cards then followed. Remember what I said about picking dual lands? Never pass on blessings because…

Lesson 24: First picks are not as important as you think.

Because…

Lesson 25: You have to be flexible in drafting.
Rating: 1937

Up next: Worlds and the last batch of steps.