Magic Theory 101 - Is it a good or bad idea to stick with one deck through a Constructed Season?

By: Enrico Agostino Guarneri

I asked a couple of top local players, and international professional players whether it is a good or bad idea to keep playing the same deck throughout a constructed season.  These were their replies:

Adam Katz:

“When playing a big event it’s really important to have lots of experience with the deck you are playing. From that end its helpful to have played the deck in many tournaments however testing in a home setting can give you the same edge. So if you do not do enough home testing I would say it’s important to stick to the same deck, if you do enough testing then I think it’s fairly irrelevant, so if you like the deck keep playing it, if you think there is something better then switch.”

Russell Tanchel:

“I prefer to play all sorts of different decks. Playing one deck all the time is boring. I enjoy exploring all the different colours, speed, and strategies of the different decks. I will play a deck from around 1 to 3 times, changing some cards every new tournament. If I find a deck I really really like I will occasionally play it more often. But I prefer switching between aggro, control and midrange.”

Jarcque Henning:

“It is an advantage to play different decks. Learning the ins and outs of different decks will give you a feel of how to play against it and even how to beat it. But also a disadvantage by not knowing one deck good enough. I think it all comes down to personal preference, and how versatile your play skills are.”

Michael Strauss:

“Personally I prefer mixing up decks as it keeps things interesting and avoids games becoming monotonous, but obviously I have my favourite deck, or style of decks in the season that I would stick to in bigger events.”

The 2012 Blowfish Invitational: Enrico Agostino Guarneri

Preparation:

My preparation for the Invitational really started before I left for Seattle to attend the Pro Tour, since Return to Ravnica Draft would form part of both events.

After my dismal performance on the Friday at the Pro Tour I wasn't really in the mood for Magic for the rest of the weekend.  On the Saturday I decided to take a downtown tour of Seattle on foot which resulted in me getting lost and having to ask some police officers for help getting back to my hotel.

On the Sunday morning I spoke to my fiancée Nicole (who had not come with) telephonically and she pointed out that if I was serious about doing well at the Invitational I should do some drafting at the Pro Tour side-events.  I took a walk to the neighbouring hotel (where registration for the Pro Tour had taken place on Thursday night) and found a couple of players who told me that free unsanctioned Drafts were being held at the Pro Tour.

I lost count of how many Drafts I did that Sunday.

On my return to South Africa, I felt quite confident about RTR Draft but was rather worried about what I would play in Standard.  I played in three tournaments the weekend before the Invitational.  I played BR Zombies at the FNM at THUG and AI Fest on the Saturday morning and concluded that the Thragtusk-deck match-ups were just too tough.  I tried BG Zombies on the Sunday Game-day at THUG and found it even worse.

By Sunday night the deck I liked most was WUR Midrange.  However with less than a week before the Invitational I felt that there would be too little time to become comfortable with the deck and the various match-ups.  I felt my only chance to do well would be to play Aggro.

It seemed like Selesnya Aggro was the best Aggro deck.  However I also knew that most of the top players would be prepared for it and decided to give Azorius Aggro a try at Warfare on Tuesday night.  I finished 4^th after losing a very close match against WUR Midrange.  I felt comfortable with the deck.  It was easy to play and had a lot of raw power.

Later that night I found a list by Tomoharu Saito.  For the next three days I tested the list against Jarcque, Damian, Robert and Nicole.  From the testing I knew that my Control match-ups would be tough but I would have a reasonable match-up against Midrange (especially Jund) and Frites (especially post boarding).  I knew that my Aggro match-ups would be close but I suspected that most of the top players would not be playing Aggro and I could therefore avoid these match-ups in the later rounds.