Nationals is just over one week away, and there’s precious
little time for all of the final preparations. I constantly find myself caught off-guard by how close
Nationals sneaks up on me, and this summer has gone particularly quickly due to
work and having two previous Redemption tournaments within a month of
nationals. In addition, the latest
set has been tournament legal for about a month, and there are a lot of
things that have changed that time hasn’t sorted out yet. Maybe this is your first Nationals, and
you aren’t quite sure what to expect, or how to make the best of it. I’ve been to seven National
Tournaments, and developed a quick checklist so you can be fully prepared for
Nationals.
1. Have your deck(s) ready. By ready, I mean built, tested, sleeved, and if you have to transfer any cards between decks for different categories, write it down. I may be the biggest offender of this, as I’ve gone to the last two tournaments with a completely untested and unbuilt deck, as well as convincing at least two people to switch their decks right before the 2012 National tournament, but I can’t stress this enough. At MN States, I forgot to add Moses to my Judges/TGT deck. It may not have made a huge difference at that tournament, but it could have been detrimental with just a few more rounds. It can be silly mistakes like this that can cost you at the top tables.
1. Have your deck(s) ready. By ready, I mean built, tested, sleeved, and if you have to transfer any cards between decks for different categories, write it down. I may be the biggest offender of this, as I’ve gone to the last two tournaments with a completely untested and unbuilt deck, as well as convincing at least two people to switch their decks right before the 2012 National tournament, but I can’t stress this enough. At MN States, I forgot to add Moses to my Judges/TGT deck. It may not have made a huge difference at that tournament, but it could have been detrimental with just a few more rounds. It can be silly mistakes like this that can cost you at the top tables.
2. Be confident. Never count yourself out of the
running. I can’t tell you how many
times I’ve gone up against a great player and been extremely nervous about it,
and end up making misplays because of it.
With a good deck, a strategic mind, and a bit of luck, you can beat
anybody—I guarantee it. Just last
week at MW Regionals, a relatively new player dealt me my only loss of the
tournament in the first round. Now
don’t go to the complete opposite end and be arrogant either. Just have fun and take each round as it
comes.
3. Be social. My first National Tournament in 2005 is
probably the least favorite of all of them because I did nothing but hangout
with my local playgroup. It’s
natural to want to stay with the people you know, and nerds are often more
introverted than most, but I guarantee you that being more outgoing is the way
to go. That said, also be
respectful to others and don’t cling to people. 2006 was a much different year, as I knew very few people
who traveled all the way to New York.
I was forced to meet new people who I had previously only encountered
online, and people like Kirk Dennison and Ben Arp graciously put up with my
middle school behavior. I later
reconnected with them in 2008 and Kirk to this day is one of my favorite people
to see at a tournament. So don’t
be afraid to introduce yourself to people, ask their forum names, and get some
of the legends to sign your Que card.
I’m not saying to complete ditch those you know, but do go out of your
way to meet new people.
4. Take care of
yourself. Eat, sleep, and Once
again, I break this rule all the time, and only got two and a half hours the
night before MW Regionals. The
difference with Nationals is that it takes place over several days, and by the
end of it you will be completely exhausted and it won’t be fun. This past week I slept 13 hours the
night after MW Regionals, and at 2011 I carried around a quilt and pillow and
slept between rounds due to lack of sleep. You need to take care of your body, and sleep and Perkins
are a few necessary ways to do this.
