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You Can’t Beat Me Unless You Kill Me

(Because We Aren’t Playing the Same Game)

Let me start with a disclaimer. I’m not saying I’m good at Magic. I missed more triggers tonight, playing a precon, than I’d like to admit. I’m not writing this because I’ve figured the game out. I’m writing it because I think I’ve figured out something about why I enjoy it, and I think a lot of players are quietly losing that.

The Game Inside the Game

I play Commander for fun. That’s the whole strategy. And I think it’s why I feel like I’m winning more, but I don’t mean games.

When I say winning, I mean walking away from the table happy, whether my commander took the game or got boarded out on turn six. A good night is one where I enjoyed the people, the plays and the chaos. By that measure, I win almost every time I sit down.

Meanwhile, I watch other players hold cards back, waiting for the perfect game-winning play. Then someone disrupts it, and the table goes sour. If the only thing that counts as a win is the game itself, one disrupted plan turns the whole night into a loss.

Kill Tibalt’s Apprentice

Here’s the part that might sound personal, but it isn’t. I get attacked first a lot. Sometimes it’s because of something I did many games ago. Sometimes it’s just because I have more on the battlefield.

I always keep one thing in the back of my mind: people are right to attack me. I’m trying to win, same as everyone. I’m not complaining about that.

What I’m questioning is whether it’s always right. Even when I haven’t presented a real threat yet? And I mean a real one, not just a bigger board.

Too often a game of Commander turns into a side mini-game: who can kill Tibalt’s Apprentice first? I’ve been playing that mini-game for a very long time. I’m not unkillable, but you’ll spend a lot of resources getting it done, unless you pick your moment well. And while the table is busy playing that mini-game, they’re not playing the same game I am.

You Don’t Have to Answer Every Threat

It took me a long time to learn this: I do not have to answer every threat.

Not every board is a danger. Not every strong play needs an immediate response. Sometimes the best thing you can do for your own game is let a threat stay a potential threat, and keep your resources for when it counts. Burning your removal and your attacks on the wrong target early often leaves you with nothing when the real threat arrives.

So here’s my question for the table: what if you pointed your attention somewhere else until I actually become the threat? I think you’d do better. And I know the game would be more fun for everyone.

This Isn’t a Humble Brag

I know how this can sound. It isn’t a flex. When I say I win, I mean I had fun. I just want people to enjoy the game, and I want my friends to have fun when we sit down together, whether I win or not.

Five Questions Before Your Next Game

Answer these honestly. They might change how your game goes, win or lose.

  1. Am I attacking this player because of what’s on the board now, or because of something from a past game?
  2. If I remove this player, does it improve my position, or do I just feel safer?
  3. Can this player actually win from here, and can I name how?
  4. Am I holding this card for a real reason, or waiting for a perfect moment that may never come?
  5. If my plan gets disrupted, what will I do, and will I still enjoy the game?

Remember why you sat down.

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