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Tom Rogers on Duel Masters
The Answer
March 2, 2010
"The Answer"
Preface
I have been asked to write you an article about the inner
workings of a control deck. Most of the deck’s “synergy” is
basic, so I will just footnote you to articles which are
devote to that topic. Instead, I am going to write about
actually playing the deck with the goal that you may learn
how to use your tools wisely. That being said, please
refer to the footnotes and bring yourself up to speed; I
will be assuming you have a basic grasp on the standard
control deck throughout this text.
Be forewarned that the information I am providing you with
is [i]long[/i]. You will probably be sitting at the screen
for hours if you chose to read it all in one sitting. Make
preparations or move things to your desk if you’re devoting
your free time to finishing as soon as possible.
It’s also important that you know I will be dispelling
several myths about the archetype as we go along. Please be
as open-minded as possible while I do my best to explain
those various instances. I am not shoving information down
your throat, rather providing reliable information rich in
content in the hopes to develop a new wave of considerably
skilled players.
Try to keep a level head and stay stimulated while reading,
so that you are able to take everything in to the best of
your ability. This is hear so that you may improve. I wish
you luck on your quest to becoming stronger. Without further
adieu, I present to you the first portion of my new article
series.
The Clear Choice
Through the compilation of this text, I have heard many
comments. Many people have responded with something along
the lines of: “You’re doing an entire article on playing
control? That’s great! I hope you do one on [rush, aggro, or
combination strategy of choice] next!”
I’m not going to. Why? Control is the best archetype. It
always has been, it always will be. In every card game ever.
This is not a disputable claim. Reference the footnotes for
an article on decktypes and the progression of the player’s
minds as they delve into them. Although the writer
misinterprets anti-meta aggression strategies a nonexistent
archetype referred to as “assault,” the general premises
does a fairly decent job at explaining the progression.
The reason all good players end up playing control is that
it consistently and reliably delivers exceptional results,
greater than it’s opposing archetypes which it has been
superior since conception. It requires the most thought,
stability, play instinct, and so forth.
Whenever the top players have the opportunity to create a
control deck for the event they are participating in, they
do so. Even as Bombazar came into the game and changed the
meta, it continually progresses into control forms. At first
we had Fire and Nature beatdown strategies similar to
primitive rush, and they developed into aggressive ones
which took longer to claim victory but were more stable.
Soon the good players realized they should deprive the
opponents of the advantages they could have while
simultaneously increasing his or her own, and thus control
was incorporated once again. Bombazar Black emerged, and
four-color variants were formed before the card was
ultimately banned in Japan. In the TCG the more threatening
variants are four color controls, or three civilization
strategies created in a control fashion.
Control decks the most versatile because, when built
properly, they do not have a fixed attack pattern. Since the
game is based on attacking, this immediately establishes
such decks as the most versatile. Being the most versatile
and also the most consistent, control decks are the best in
the game. Thus, if you want to be the best, you’re playing
control.
Natural Strings
Since synergy is the basis of a control deck, there are
several built-in progressions of cards which result in
accomplishing the overall tasks, which contribute a unique
and potentially useful resource as well as progressing
towards the overall achievement. These “strings” of
cards normally have a steady, increasing cost to meet the
demands of continuing the game. Let’s take a look at a few
examples.
DWF Control: Aqua Hulcus, Locomotiver, Corile, Illusionary
Merfolk, Lost Soul, Bolmeteus Steel Dragon.
Notice how we start with a small buildup and transfer into
our win condition, turn by turn. Aqua Hulcus provides our
potentially useful resource in the form of a two-thousand
power creature, while grabbing the other cards with its
card-drawing effect. This provides advantage, which you
should know by now is an important tool in control.
Locomotiver provides another body while depleting a
resource. At this point you have generated two creatures,
gained one resource, and removed one resource from your
opponent. Notice the steady transition into the more
powerful threats through these plays.
Corile is next, establishing a field control and restriction
on what the opponent will have to stop you in the future.
It’s also a cyber lord which you need for the following
Merfolk, which grants you a heap of cards most probably
containing that Lost Soul you want to play next. Now you
have the option of attacking to rack up advantage points
with the Soul if you see fit, as you have controlled the
field and established a field of creatures in the process.
After casting the Lost Soul and thereby depleting the
opponent’s hand resources, Bolmeteus creates a threatening
tone which is very hard to deal with if you don’t have cards
to play.
From here you can make substantial plays on the side as the
opponent is forced to deal with the Bolmeteus or directly
win the game by some other condition (very difficult in most
cases). This allows you to build up multiple standby threats
(field of creatures, other win condition, recursion for the
Bolmeteus) while simultaneously maintaining control of the
game. Eventually the opponent is overloaded with problems he
or she have to deal with and cannot continue to defend
themselves, much less promote his or her own position. He or
she are overwhelmed; the textbook example of control’s
desired effect.
DWFN Control: Bronze-Arm Tribe, Rumbling Terrahorn,
Magmadragon Jagelzor, Lost Soul.
This string is more aggressive than the prior, and as such
it is more liable to faults via triggers. However, it also
provides more advantage in the long run. We begin with
the Tribe providing us with a body as well as generating an
additional resource, the purpose of which is twofold. The
generation of an additional mana resource allows us an
advantage in terms of potential and tempo (I will get to
Lost Soul first in the mirror match, and more readily access
my widespread removal against aggressive opponents), as well
as increasing the likelihood of uniting all four of the used
civilizations in the mana zone.
The momentum provided by the additional mana resource is the
carrier of this specific string – we flow into Terahorn due
to the extra mana linking us into five-drop grounds and pull
Magmadragon Jagelzor for its effect. If we already have the
Dragon, we can take a card which adds a color to our mana
zone or stops forseeable threats. Not only have we
established ourselves as the aggressor, but we have provided
significant turbulence in our strategy which is invaluable.
We can now play offensively or defensively depending on what
comes of the opponent’s play.
The most important part of this piece of the string is
Terahorn’s three-thousand power. This ensures we will not be
thwarted by widespread trigger removal in the TCG as well as
increase the likelihood to avoid kamikaze creatures on the
opponent’s side. The turn immediately following we have
Magmadragon Jagezor – racking up shields to maximize the use
of Lost Soul is rewarded through the opponent having to
remove your creatures to exist. This also gives us priority
to Soul even if the opponent has seven mana first, because
he or she will have to remove our threatening field or risk
losing the game. Though a powerful shield trigger can cut
off the power of this string, its benefits allow an easy
overflow in the late game through any of our
advantage-generating creatures (Merfolk, Corile, Locomotiver,
Hulcus, et cetera).
DWL Control: Sarius [Vizier of Suppression], Pala
Olesis [Morning Guardian], Magris [Vizier of Magnetism],
Marinomancer, Craze Valkyrie [The Drastic], Lost Soul.
This chain is slightly more complex and has a offshoot
variant, but only because of the turn two play.
Alternatively you can use turn three for a Hulcus and
replace Marinomancer with Petrova to power the Magris, which
is altogether more effective in different scenarios. The
overall explanation for the chain is the same albeit the
switch between positions of applied plays.
Sarius stops oncoming attacks due to the deck’s slight lack
of speed in comparison to the other controls. It’s also
another evolution bait in case we lose our Magris. Pala
Olesis shields from most fire removal, keeping the Sarius
and Magris out of range from popular removal spells which
most opponents who are a threat should be running. The
slight cycling of draw between Hulcus/Magris or cluster draw
of Marinomancer (the deck should contain a lower amount of
water than what can be considered “normal” for a control
deck) propels us towards the goal and Valkyrie establishes
field dominance. After the opponent has lost his or her hand
and is facing down powered-up creatures and an evolution, we
achieve overflow.
There are other strings which provide enough advantage to be
mentioned, (such as Bronze-Arm Tribe, Corile, Merfolk, Soul
) but the general ones I have outlined should give you an
idea of what they accomplish. Start noting the various
natural strings within popular decks; a control player’s
moves are significantly enhanced by prediction.
Prediction
Knowing what your opponent is going to do allows you have
greater insight on the direction in which the game is
heading. “You can’t pound a nail where you can’t swing
a hammer.” It’s difficult to pin down an opponent when you
have no idea what they are trying to accomplish. Getting
inside your opponent’s head or making certain plays to
dictate his or her moves (and then play around htem) is
invaluable to the control player.
This is easiest to do against people you know personally, as
you will have grown to know their style and thinking
processes over time. There are also certain preconcepted
responses to moves in the deck itself which you may use to
your own benefit. For example, you could swing wildly at
old-school DWFN because they would be forced to respond with
triggering or casting Natural Snare at some point to remove
a creature, forfeiting their priority to Soul. This is less
effective now due to the fact that Soulswap is more
primarily used, though the occasional build carrying Snares
still sees play.
That being said, incorporating abilities to look at the
opponent’s cards have proved valuable over time. Cards like
Scheming Hands and Gigandura serve as disruption while
viewing the hand, and cards like Slash Charger help stop
combinations or high-level threats while allowing you to see
the majority of the opponent’s deck. These card choices
allow you to figure out what you are dealing with, and the
best way to go about doing so.
Conversely, varying unpredictability on your own accord will
advance your position against a skilled opponent. That is,
if you do so properly. Unorthodox moves can shake-up the
game and provide an unexpected turn of events in your favor.
The most common changes in game state are provided by cards
not usually played in the deck you are running, creating an
unpredictable and powerful effect. We call these
cleverly-inserted cards “tech.” The goal of a tech card is
to create an advantage that you would not normally have in a
specified matchup. Photocide, Lord of the Wastes would be a
tech against Light Civlization decks using blocker walls.
Stained Glass would be a tech choice to disturb aggressive
decks based on Fire and Nature.
This brings us to the common misaffilation between “tech”
and “personal choice.” Using a card outside the norm because
it grants you an advantage against a strategy you expect to
play against is tech. Using a card because you enjoy it or
it has meaning to you is personal choice. Cards you add out
of personal choice are [i]not[/i] “your own personal tech,”
because they are not tech. In the words of Tyler Durden in
[u]Fight Club[/u], “You are not special. You are not a
beautiful or unique snowflake.”
I’ve often seen players mislabel a commonly used or
considered card as “tech” as an attempt to feel as if they
are proactive in the progression of an archetype. There’s
nothing wrong with declining tech options and competing with
a solid build, and if you want to use personal choices do so
sparingly and within reason. Most of them can be done
without, and you will perform just as efficiently. If not,
better.
In addition to tech choices, the other option is employing
different play mannerisms. This would be using your cards to
attain a effect different from usual. Summoning Thrash
Crawlers on turn four or conserving cards you would normally
play immediately (Soul, Vise, Pit) are testiments to this
process. When Chargers were iffy, a different play mannerism
would be to violently attack with Aqua Hulcus after
destroying your opponent’s with Volcano Charger in a DWF
mirror match. That allowed you priority to Soul, which your
opponents could not deprive you of if they were not using
Chargers themselves.
Although tech is the more common solution, the road less
traveled can be ultimately more satisfying. This is the case
with varied play mannerisms, as they do not require a change
in your deck which may create new holes or risk damage to
elements you are not willing to compromise. Varied play
mannerisms are hard to aquire, but may be done so through
extensive playtesting.
Playtesting
Before I speak of playtesting, it has to be established that
the common notion of it is horribly misconstrued. Simply
playing out multiple games with your opponent is not
playtesting. You have to think about what you are doing,
examine the different possibilities of your moves, and most
importantly make mistakes. If you are trying something new,
most of the time you should be losing. Your concept is new,
and thus is not as matured as the time-tested methods. It
requires practice, development, modification. You will not
simply conjure up a new deck or play mannerism at will and
instantly be winning against already proven strategies,
provided that your opponents are decent competitors.
So yes, one of the common and most beneficial methos of true
playesting is losing. Go out there and lose. Instead of
making the conventional play, consider other options labeled
as “risky” or “stupid.” You may find out that they weren’t
so bad after all, or if you played a certain way up until
that point the play could have been more beneficial than
doing things by-the-book. Try passing turn three and note
the various effects. Try drawing a large stream of cards
before your opponent casts Lost Soul. Use Terahorn to take
cards completely unrelated to the situation at hand.
Let people defeat you. Not blatantly, as refusing to block
when you are going to die obviously doesn’t grant you any
insight. We’re speaking of things such as attacking at
moments you feel you shouldn’t, pausing when it’ s a good
idea to press, playing cards other than when they are
regularly played. This will give you a feel for why certain
plays are acceptable and what would beat them, improving
your knowledge and application in the game.
Some of you are probably saying “but Tom, I already know why
this play is optimal and there’s nothing better. I’m so
aware of what I am doing.” Learning never stops in a
strategy game, so you should definitely challenge everything
you know as frequently as possible. Doing something one way
might not be powerful in one expansion release, one
tournament, one week, one hour. Once others understand what
you are doing, they find ways around it. It’s inevitable. My
advice to you is to playtest with these principles in mind
and gain a deeper understanding of the purposes your cards
accomplish. This stems into the next area, which actually
leaves room for your tech.
Conventional choices are not always the best. Obviously they
are strong, but there can be something undiscovered that
leads you to victory in a more swift and efficient manner.
Through true playtesting you may realize certain things are
not as powerful as you originally percieved them to be.
Maybe you don’t need four of that guy, maybe you don’t need
any. Maybe a completely different card long buried in your
trunk fits your goals more while providing a greater overall
stability. Perhaps a random card played at the local
tournament that didn’t fit the deck it was used in may fit
in your own.
The bottom line is you should be considering everything.
When you are playtesting, analyze constantly. Be aware of
what you are doing, what your opponent is doing, and how
they coincide to affect the overall state of the game.
Through playtesting you should also be examining the
potential threats to your strategy, and playtesting with
them as well. Find out what would make your opponents
stronger, what plays they can make to hit you where it
hurts, and the tech choices that would practically guarantee
the match is in their favor. If you don’t, you may still
find yourself woefully unprepared against an opponent who as
been developing at an equal or greater speed than you.
Knowing what your opponent thinks and how they are going to
improve their strategy and play is going to allow you to
further your own growth. You’ll learn to work
“counter-counters,” or how to avoid situations they are
hoping you fall into. Making new play strings can
increase your potential as well as allow you to keep the
same cards. This means you won’t have to change your deck so
you lose at a higher rate to other players just to have a
shot at that one guy you have a hard time with.
You probably noticed that changing your play is incredibly
effective, moreso than changing your cards up. Playtesting
properly before taking any action with your deck’s content
should be a regular routine. That being said, there is a
common myth among players that the deck is more important
than the player. This is not the case, as you can change
your play to accommodate to copious situations without
switfching a single card. Only when you cannot find any way
to experiment and feel your current strategy has reached a
peak should you look into a small amount of tech cards.
Making sure you are playing to the best of your ability
should be first and foremost on your “to-do” list.
Attack Formations
While playtesting, you should be taking time out to
formulate and experiment with intervals of attacking the
opponent. There will be times you notice a single trigger
ruins you, or that you are nearly unstoppable. It’s
important to be able to idenfity these situations, which
prediction helps present an idea of, before you get into
them.
Through Prediction, there is an understanding of what the
opponent is playing. From this information and the way he or
she thinks, we can determine how many copies of a given card
they are using.
If we’re dealing with a player who runs four Emeral,
Locomotiver, Bronze-Arm Tribe, and Rikabu’s Screwdriver,
it’s a fair assumption he or she does not run Burst Shot. If
the opponent cares more about field positioning and
adaptable removal than small discard, but we see Locomotiver,
it’s generally accepted there are a total of two in the
deck. These numbers are flexible depending on the situation
and how your opponent builds his or her deck, but the
principle remains the same; once we get in the opponent’s
head and understand how they play, we can begin to
understand how he or she intends on accompishing their
goals. This includes the way in which the opponent
constructs their deck, attacks, or even charges mana.
You’re going to want to use this knowledge of the opponent’s
deck to attack properly. Attacking ruthelessly with your
weenies against the guy playing four Burst Shot is not a
good idea. Swiping a random shield when you have a low hand
and the opponent is using Locomotiver may not bode well for
your future.
There’s no specific way to attack at all times, as this is
an abstract concept which fluctuates depending on the game
state. However, the most accurate way to describe proper
attack formation would be “without risk, or with minimal
risk.” That being said, you do not attack if a trigger the
opponent is likely to have will compromise your current
position beyond recovery. If you can wiggle out of it, good
luck. If there’s little to nothing that can negatively
impact your overall goal for the next few turns, strike
freely.
Optimal Play
There are several important techinques or occurences in game
state that are present at the highest level of play. These
are important to master and transfer between seamlessly.
Some players don’t like to admit it, but information is
incredibly important in Duel Masters. It is in any game.
Assessing and dealing with the information properly is
necessary to become a great player, and toning of these
skills to become the best.
Telegraphing
We’ve discussed Natural Strings and Prediction, and odds are
some of the best cards and combinations fall under these
categories. They can be recognized and prepared against.
Precautions can be made.
It’s often noted that when certain plays are made, you are
effectively “telling” the opponent about your play. If
you play Bronze-Arm Tribe two turns in a row and start
smacking shields with Darkness mana, your opponent is likely
to assume you’re focused on playing an advantageous Lost
Soul. If you use Crystal Memory when you have little no no
shields left, it’s reasonable to assume you have taken
Miraculous Meltdown. Such are telegraphed plays we make
every game regardless, because they are good and we want to
make good plays to win.
It’s important to be aware of the information you are giving
away, as well as the information your opponent is revealing
to you through his or her own moves. Acting on these is a
large factor in determining the outcome of the match.
The Bluff
Modification of the flow of information in an
information-based game can obviously prove to be an
invaluable tool. Making certain plays which telegraph cards
you don’t have creates a different atmosphere for the
opponent and may give you the edge.
Though being called on a bluff can have a potentially huge
backfire, most succesfull players will not want to take the
risk of hoping you don’t have it; especially after you made
it seemingly obvious that you do.
Through bluffing, situations can be created which result in
an overall modification of the game state you wouldn’t have
been able to acquire otherwise. Convincing your opponent
that you have a certain card can sometimes be just as
powerful as actually holding the card in your hand. There
will be times when bluffing is useless or unreliable, which
is why knowing when to bluff and when to make appropriate,
telegraphed plays is an important characteristic of a good
player.
Baiting
Baiting is drawing out conditioned responses from the
opponent. This kind of play relies on your ability to
accurately predict what the opponent is thinking, as well as
picking up on telegraphed plays. A great example of baiting
is Gino Honkanen vs. Benjamin Rowe in Pr0 Tourney 2, where
Gino drew several dead cards and passed without playing
them, tricking Rowe into believing he had a valuable card
with a high mana cost.
For multiple turns Rowe discarded Honkanen’s useless cards
as planned, until he finally drew Bombazar and there was no
options left to remove it from his hand.
Gino understood his opponent’s play and natural strings, and
used them in his favor by prompting a waste of resources. By
the time Rowe had caught on, it was too late and the match
was already over in Honkanen’s favor.
As you can see, baiting allows you to set up situations
inside of the game using the mindset of the opponent. This
characteristic is important throughout the various
techniques we will be discussing, so take note of it.
Getting in your opponent’s head and dictating their train of
thought, then countering, is one of the most potent
strategies in Duel Masters.
Concealment
Concealment plays hide information from the opponent and
bank on capitolizing on a game state through that particular
information. For example, if I have three Dava Torey [Seeker
of Clouds] in my hand and start breaking shields with
Pyrofighter Magnus, I may chose to conceal my hand
protection by refusing to charge Light mana.
Without knowing I am playing Light, it is very common that
my opponent will attempt to discard the Pyrofighters with a
mass removal such as Cranium Clamp or Lost Soul. At that
point I would summon multiple copies of Dava Torey, then
resummon the Pyrofighters to win the game. The hidden
information is what gave me the edge, and I am relying on it
to come into play in my favor.
Concealing information can be a difficult balancing act,
since you have to be able to play at an effective level
while making sure you don’t commit particular resources.
This is definitely a skill mastered over time through
extensive practice before unleashed in the competitive
scene.
Making The Bad Play
We’ve spoken about how prediction and getting inside your
opponent’s head is something every good player needs to be
able to do. Stemming from this, you will often find yourself
making sure you can counter the best possible play the
opponent can make. You’re aware of what will destroy you,
and because of this prepare against it. However, you can
easily be giving a certain opponent too much credit, or they
can turn it against you. The way either of these things
occur is through making a play other than the optimal one –
a “bad” play.
In all of the preparation against the optimal play, many
players fail to realize they have no adequate response to an
inferior play. “Noob mistakes” can become game-winning
tactics at this level. It’s important to make sure you have
a response to the B-list move while also countering the
worst-case scenairo. Noticing when the opponent has failed
to do so improves your chances of seizing unprecidented
victories.
The Mindfuck
Speaking of unprecidented victories, I’m sure many of you
have heard of The Mindfuck. If you have not already, allow
me to explain. The Mindfuck is a special technique delivered
by forcing the opponent to play mind games in his or her own
head while you continue to play normally, shifting the
mental as well as technical aspect of the game heavily in
your favor. These plays combine all of the above traits into
one concise action of surreal potential.
A particularly useful card for these kinds of plays would be
Emeral. You can, let’s say, flash Holy Awe as if you were
choosing to send it to mana and decided not to at the last
moment. By following this play with Emeral, your opponent
might assume that the shield is the Awe you just revealed.
Due to the card’s nature, most players would decide it is
most beneficial to break that shield immediately – and
that’s when they run into your shield trigger Aqua Surfer.
I’ve done this play multiple times and it hardly fails to
deliver a shock. The two cards used conflict to some extent,
surprising the opponent and leaving them stymied for the
rest of the game. They second-guess themselves and allow
room for false motivations to your plays. These also come in
handy, given you can pick up on and play off of them to your
advantage.
Optimal play is knowing when to apply the proper techniques
as well as specific card moves or combinations, netting you
the highest win rate. That being said, it is time to dispel
another long-guarded secret: there is only one real play
style. The “One True Style” is flawless play, properly
assessing the situation and consistently delivering with the
best possible game plan. Other variants on control are
characterized by misplays or decent assessments of the
situations that miss the bigger picture. “Countless, unseen
details are often the only difference between mediocre and
magnificent.” There is only one proper move per situation
and what is often excused as a “quirk” or move of a “unique
individual play-style” is a cleverly-disguised misplay the
duelist needs to cease. There are situations where you
‘fork,’ meaning you have two distinct, good plays – but
there is still the optimal play, within the frame of the
bigger picture, the one that will drastically shift the odds
in your favor.
Despite playing well being a prerogative over building the
deck itself, you should have a firm grasp on what you are
doing. You should also, as mentioned, have an equally good
grasp on what your opponents are doing. Though, because this
is a card game, we have to explore another scenario which
stems from the building and playing of decks at an optimal
level – good and bad matchups.
Matchups
Duel Masters is, after all, a card game. There are various
factors involved in it which are inescapable no matter how
good you are. One of these factors is the concept of the
matchup, which can be in your favor or against you.
Let’s take a simple example: Mono Darkness against Light and
Nature. The Darkness deck is based heavily on discarding the
opponent’s hand before it’s set up. The Light and Nature
deck is playing many creatures that come into play when they
would be discarded. Clearly the latter has a greater chance
of winning which has nothing to do with the players; there
is an edge in the creation of the deck increasing that
player’s’ chances.
Being that there is a significant card pool and players of
high stature are trying new things, you may come across
something you are not prepared to deal with. Other times,
you might simply not be able to combat the opponent’s
strategy with what you are currently using. There is no
perfect, unbeatable deck. Some strategies provide counters
to others which harm them, and others directly oppose a
certain threat they feel will be played en masse. There are
“Antimeta” decks; there are “Rogue” decks. There are
one-turn kills, combinations. It’s possible you will find
yourself paired against something your deck simply cannot
face, and it’s important to know what to do in that
scenario.
In other games, the answer to such strategies is the use of
a sideboard – a separate selected pile of cards you are
allowed to rotate into your deck between matches. These
cards are chosen the way your deck is and cannot be changed
during the tournament. Decks revert to their original state
after the match in which you use a sideboard. The beauty of
such things is that you can remove several cards that don’t
help against what you’re going up against, and provide you
with something helpful that might not be generic enough to
play against every opponent you come up against.
In Duel Masters, there is no such entity. We are forced to
create extremely flexible strategies and extremely flexible
tech to combat any and all threats. We have to accurately
predict the meta we are playing in or else failure is
inevitable. However, it’s pretty much impossible to create
something that stops everything else consistently (including
decks devoted to defeating it). There are three main courses
of action when we encounter a bad matchup.
Employing Tech
Sometimes your strategy will be durable enough to sustain
using a card that doesn’t normally “fit” to combat whatever
is posing a threat to you. This will allow you to gain more
footing in a match you would otherwise lose, so a tech card
may be great if chosen and used properly.
Changing Decks
Sometimes, the reality is that your strategy is past it’s
time. Games evolve, players evolve, and decks evolve. The
optimal strategy will not always be the same. It’s
important to be an introspective player and realize that you
may not be using the best choice for the event or point in
the game, and have to change accordingly. There’s always
time to come back to your strategy with playesting, and
throwbacks do occur with the support of new cards.
Forgetting It
Hey, sometimes you just lose. That all anti-discard deck
isn’t going to go far against an aggressive deck that
doesn’t touch the hand. It won’t get far in tournaments
without being paired against what it needs to be on a
consistent basis. Your strategy can be the optimal strategy
and still lose to the unexpected. If your cards are still
beating everything else and the ones that are difficult to
deal with need some luck to get where they need to be (being
paired against the right opponents), you should just
continue winning and hope they aren’t lucky enough to soar
through the ranks and get across the table from you. It can
be aggravating to lose in this manner, but it isn’t always
that big of a deal.
Metagame Manipulation
In any given event, there will be a “deck to beat.” There
may be several things to watch out for, and others that
won’t even be considered a decent idea to play. The
tournament scene is the metagame, which you should really
have a good concept of by now. There are metagames in every
card game, so don’t fool yourself -- we have them in
Duel Masters all the time, and it’s important to be aware of
what you will be up against. Not only does this give you a
better idea of what to playtest against, but it also allows
you to make the best possible choice of what to play for
that particular event. This is where knowing what each
strategy has good and bad matchups against comes into play.
Teching a particular card, or playing a strategy a
particular way, can easily get you through the top tables.
However, this probably won’t work as well the next
tournament. It’s important to know through your prediction
skills and playtesting that you understand what your
opponents will be thinking, and how they will prepare to
counter it. This keeps you one foot ahead, and you can
redevelop according to the anticipated changes in the
metagame. Continually staying ahead of the curve results in
massive amounts of victories, and unpredictability.
Bad Players and Psychology in Card Games
Now that you are briefed on matchups and manipulating the
metagame, we can finally look at the actual construction of
a strategy. However, we first must discuss improper play. I
would say all sorts of cute things like “each player has
their own unique playstyle and you should only build what
works for you,” but that’s another rumor circulating that
holds no weight whatsoever. As we discussed earlier, optimal
play results in the One True Style. Any variations of play
are categorized by misplays, and we don’t want to misplay
because then we are more likely to lose.
“I only lost because I misplayed. I should have…”
I would like to take this time to explain exactly what a
misplay is, since it is such an inappropriately used term. A
misplay is a play with improper timing or execution. This
seems simple, but the slight variance in definition from the
common “not making the optimal play” is crucial. Making the
bad play is one of our tools to outwit the opponent who has
not adequately prepared for it, and you can’t intentionally
misplay to get a good reaction – that makes it the optimal
play, and thus has no improper timing or execution.
Performing a given action too early or too late would be a
misplay because you either did not prepare enough, or passed
up a game-breaking move.
You may or may not have realized that when you truly define
a misplay, you are saying you should have done something
else. When identifying a true misplay, it can seem a bit
outlandish to say “I should have known you had that” or “I
should have understood that was where the game was heading.”
However, these are actually the purest acknowledgments.
Within them there is a faint recognition of a higher level
of play, at which the players will be good enough to
properly apply skills in the same scenarios and achieve a
different, more beneficial result. These honest declarations
are testaments to the existence of the One True Style, and
recognition that any other used is flawed.
“You don’t see me on the tournament scene much, but I’m good
because of how well I can build decks.”
A mental trap I see a lot of players falling into is the
irrational emphasis on deck design in Duel Masters, as it if
is the core concept of the game itself. Granted deckbuilding
is always important and a necessary tool, actual play has
been shown to be more important in determining outcomes of
games. These players will immediately jump to “I need to fix
my deck,” upon losing. These are also the players who are
always “innovating” new decks, trying new things to obscene
levels; a constant fervor of validation.
For one reason or another, I have noticed many players who
are not successful in terms of actually playing the game
turn to deckbuilding to prove their worth. They come up with
all sorts of pretty strategies with dancing fairies and
magical combinations and cute little theme decks.
Notice that these “innovators” still aren’t winning after
they ‘fix’ decks multiple times, and create entire
inventories of new ones. That’s because they still aren’t
improving their play. They only see something wrong with the
deck itself, holding themselves infallible. Obviously you
cannot improve without understanding there is a need for or
path to improvement. Introspective analysis of your
own play, deck construction, and general attitude towards
the game are incredibly helpful to increasing your level of
play. It’s important to understand there are more to card
games than just cards.
Inadequate Analysis
There are obviously bad players who don’t fall into the Faux
Pas that is “the innovator.” The main characteristics
of bad players can be found in the referenced article and
additional article based on an excerpt from a video blog.
It’s important to realize that these bad players focus much
more on being right than actually being good at the game. As
such, you will recognize that most ‘bad players’ don’t win
often.
Keeping A Level Head
It may sound ridiculous, but the mental state of the
individual heavily impacts their success in games. Being too
open gives away your bluffs and important plays, but being
too close-minded cuts you off from all ways to improve. It’s
important to maintain a healthy balance of giving and
receiving information, and understanding how that exchange
of information affects the game. Keeping a posotive outlook
always helps in-game, and being critical when necessary is a
tool very few have mastered.
Deck Construction
Due to the variants of control and possible internal
conflicts, it’s important to stick to a solid build with a
fluid-like structure. It has to be powerful, yet flexible;
like water. You shouldn’t try to fit too much into the deck.
Something that looks simple, yet has a small aura of
complexity in the form of adaptability, is ideal.
Generally speaking, there are two methods to go about
constructing a proper control deck: a generic build to
accomplish the goal against various threats, or a variant
which counters the metagame you are predicting.
The internal conflicts I am speaking of come up when two
variants clash or particular card choices damage each
other’s effectiveness. For example, you may not want to play
a large amount of Illusionary Merfolk and Velyrika Dragon in
the same deck, else you may end up drawing the Armored
Dragons. You wouldn’t want to play Magmarex in a deck that
contains many creatures with one thousand power.
The best way to go about building is to make sure you
include all of your “staple” cards as the core and chose
your variant or preceding stable choices wisely depending on
what you expect to see. Staple cards are cards that work
well in just about any given situation, and yes, they do
exist in Duel Masters. A lot of players don’t want to
believe this, but there are uniform decisions made in decks
and it’s because they work most of the time for most of the
players using them. There’s obviously room for improvement
and the possibility that a different way might be better,
but you’re only going to find those methods through
playtesting with your staples. If you’re not playing to beat
a particular meta, you should still have some idea of what
you have trouble against or need to accomplish for your
strategy to be successful.
This is, of course, hinging on the concept that you are in
the upper tier of play and have a deep understanding of the
game. Under no circumstances is conducting yourself in this
way without such a grasp on the information available going
to salvage anything but frustration.
Awareness
The primary tool for strategy games is obviously the human
mind. Due to this fact, heightening the perception of the
mind exponentially increases performance. The most powerful
quality the player should seek to enhance is that of
awareness. Awareness is the fundamental tool in which all
others stem. Only through being aware of our strengths and
flaws will we be able to improve upon them.
Maintaining honesty with yourself is integral to success.
You will not evolve your play or other gaming qualities if
you falsely perceive them as “perfect” or in no need of
improvement. Just as you strive to know yourself in everyday
life, make sure you know the reality of yourself within the
game – what needs to be focused, what needs to be learned,
what can be diluted, and so forth. If you’re not good at
something, don’t grudgingly insist there’s no way to
improve. Instead, find multiple ways to go about solving the
problem and chose one that you feel comfortable with. If
you’re still having problems, consult a player strong in
that area for advice. There’s nothing wrong with speaking
with other players about improving your game. You need
another person to play the game, so it shouldn’t be hard to
accept that another person may also improve the way you play
the game.
Constantly be aware of the true state of the game during
play. Hone your prediction skills, tailor them according to
the mindset of whoever you are playing. Learn their mindset,
and how they will seek to improve – then surpass it. If you
know you played something badly, act as if it was your
genius decision all along. The enigmatic approach may
confuse your opponent, ultimately misleading them and
resulting in a favorable occurrence.
Dedication
In closing, I would like to remind you that the path to
greatness is grueling and upon it you will encounter many
who oppose what you stand for. Over the course of your
journey, you must be dedicated to yourself and what you
desire to achieve. You will develop an ego, but do not let
it consume you or falter your awareness. You will develop
challengers, but do not let them stir you waste your time.
If you encounter somebody worth clashing against, do so
continually so that you may learn everything you can from
that person.
The most dedicated in any field are among the elites. Keep
true to your ideals and keep in mind that the sky is only
the limit if you perceive it as so; you can soar higher than
you can possibly imagine as long as you refuse to take “no”
as an answer. Pierce through the iridescent skies and paint
murals on the heavens of your conquest. The first step
of any journey is the most difficult; the rest follow
through.
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