51: How You Can Remain Calm When Approaching Magic by Scott Kirkwood

Scott Kirkwood broke on to the upper levels of competitive Magic by making the Top 4 at Grad Prix Indianapolis in 2015 with RG Landfall. He lives in Illinois. Click to Tweet: I got a ton of value from Scott Kirkwood when he shared his story on #MTGProTutor today! Click here: http://bit.ly/mtgprotutor-ep51 First Set Return to Ravnica Favorite Set Khans of Tarkir Favorite Card Gifts UngivenJeskai Ascendancy What makes Magic: The Gathering fun for you? Playing casually and having fun doing silly stuff. Scott's EDH deck is Zedruu the Greathearted, which is one of those goof off and have fun commanders.  He also enjoys competitive constructed formats. Scott loves that there are so many options and you can do whatever you want in Magic. Scott really likes when two people are trying their best to improve and face off. Early Challenge Taking the time to think if he should do something as supposed to just doing it because he could. He learned to slow down and assess the situation every time. Level Up Moment Making it to the Pro Tour has really validated Scott's efforts and shown him that he has grown and has what it takes. Brad Nelson's article on how to approach Magic really helped Scott improve. Proudest Magic Moment Making Top 4 at Grand Prix Indianapolis. (It's still sinking in how big of a deal this is.) Best Format Modern Vintage (Favorite) How to Choose a Standard Deck Scott likes to play the decks that people say "I can beat anything except that deck". So he'll roll in to a Modern or Standard event with a red deck because so many decks have bad match up against red. Biggest Mistake Players Make Approach the game as just a game. Don't over stress it and psyche yourself out. Assess every situation. Don't make snap decisions without thinking through various lines. "What's the Play?" articles are great practice for this. Card Evaluation Tips Scott admits that he is not the best at evaluating cards. It's fun to speculate but when it comes down to it he relies on the opinions of others via set reviews. Sealed & Draft Tips Pre release: Scott approaches a pre release with the intent to have fun. Try new cards and weird combos just to see how it works. Have fun! Pre releases are great places to play just for FUN! How to Effectively Prepare for a Big Event Play a real deck. A lot of people love to brew (Scott is the same way) but if you are trying to win, play a proven deck. Jam games with friends so you know the interactions and lines of play. What's in Your Tournament Bag? Pen  Pad Playmat Deck Dice Extra cards Improvement Suggestions Proxy cards before you invest in a deck. Magic Resource r/spikes Channel Fireball Star City Games TCG Player Connect With Scott Kirkwood Facebook: Scott Kirkwood Like What You Hear? If you like the show, head on over to iTunes and leave an honest Rating & Review. Let me know what you like and what I can do better so I can make the show the best it can be and continue bringing you valuable content. I read every single one and look forward to your feedback. Sponsors