Hello. You probably don't know me, and that's okay, because I probably don't know you. Onto the article.

Ever gone to a tournament and got owned? Built the deck the night before, but say you're a sensible and skilled enough duelist to learn what the deck does easily? Yeah? Ever wondered why?

It's because you were being stupid, and you didn't playtest. And thus, comes the entire point of my article.

First: PIN THE DECK YOU'RE GOING TO PLAY AT THE TOURNAMENT AT LEAST A WEEK BEFOREHAND.

This is just a general rule of thumb. You should know the deck you're going to play before you play it. Just sit down, right down the decklist of what you're going to play, and then build it. And test it until the tournament.

Second: PLAY AT LEAST 15 GAMES WITH THE DECK.

So the deck you built sucks on its first couple of games. But that's why you're testing it. Every deck that you build deserves at least 15 games, so you can learn either why it sucks, how you have to improve it, or how to properly play it.

Third: WHILE YOU ARE TESTING, GET RID OF THE DISTRACTIONS.

That's right. Turn off the I-Pod or Walkman. Turn off Spongebob. Send your sugar-high little brother out of the room. Get rid of all of the distractions, because the mind cannot multi-task.

Follow these simple rules, and you should be on your way to Local/Regional/Shonen glory. Or at least close to it.

Comments, hate mail, and threats go to jimmyman101@charter.net or PM me on the Message Boards at The Jimster.