What does it take to get to the top of the format?

[Rapalaman1]

What is the best road to type 1 stardom?

What is the best way to come up with that hot new type 1 deck that will get your name all over TMD for being the one that created this awesome new deck? Is it as simple as strategic metagaming of single cards into already established builds of your favorite Gifts or CS list?  Is it digging up decks from 2000 that did well 5 to 6 years ago that  people  have forgotten about and  will never see coming? Is it searching through  spoilers from Ravnica block looking for that card that will break the format that hopefully no one else has seen yet? Or maybe it’s just having a team of dedicated Type 1 players that all have their minds wrapped tightly enough around the format that once they come up with something, it’s just going to be dynamite.

Or should you try and go the opposite route and dominate an archetype to the point where people will know what you’re playing as soon as you step foot in the venue. Being the top Stax or Control Slaver in the format is an achievable title, but it’s something that needs to come with results I.E. Vroman and Ugo Rivard taking multiple first place finishes at high profile Star City events. I’m sure there are plenty of people out there that do not get the recognition that they deserve and are amazing players as well, but to be at the top of the game you need to be winning some mad jewelry, have one of those “fashionable� Mean deck hoodies, or have an altered Brassman in Andy Probasco’s book, IMO.

As much as I hate to say it, I myself do not put myself in any of these so called categories. I would not consider myself an innovator nor would I call myself a net-decker, not so much an amateur, but not quite a pro either. I try to blur that line between innovation and skill of a single deck but I wanted to know what you  think.  

Are you more of an Innovator, a Rogue Connoisseur, someone that is going to be climbing to the top with Zombies or Memnarch? Or are you sticking with Gifts Ungiven or Akroma til’ you’re the feature match at the top table, weekend after weekend?

[Juggernaut GO]

I don't think it's something you can just "get"

Ugo has won 2 star city events and unfortunately no one really seems to care or regard him very highly.  On another note vroman has gotten a shitload of attention for winning 2x with uba stax, while many people see the deck as being terrible.  Even I won a waterbury, and very few people gave a shit as my win was attributed to luck.

In the end, its how you think of yourself as a player.  If you really need the ego boost to think you do well, or be on the front page of star city, win a pro tour or a grand prix.  Vintage isn't really the format for big names.  At the highest our tournaments only get 200 people at most with a first prize equivalent to 600 bucks.  Some PTQ's are higher then that, and 600 bucks can be won at a single hand of blackjack.

[Gabethebabe]

Even I won a waterbury, and very few people gave a shit as my win was attributed to luck.

Luck is a necessary attribute to win a tournament. Being a good player will typically get you in the upper section of a tourney clkassification, a little luck is required to make T8 but to win you need more than a little.

To get to the top of the format needs talent and dedication.

Talent is the most important one. I know a lot of people that play for ages and will never come close to winning a tournament.

It needs dedication to go and learn the format and its decks (not the least: YOUR deck). You can be a very good player, but if you don´t know jack about the format and what your opponent may be playing, means you are at a disadvantage.

To create a "new" upper tier deck just needs an idea. But since so many other players have the same pool of information as you do, it shiould be a pretty brilliant idea.

And it is always a good plan to combine efforts, i.e. a team. More people ==> More ideas, more inspiration.

[Moxlotus]

There are 4 ways to get your name known in the Type 1 community.  Each draws on a different skill.

1. Create a new deck and smash face with it a lot (Vroman)
2. Smash face with a lot of different decks (Smmenen, Orlove)
3. Master 1 deck and keep putting up solid finishes (Cron, Shay, JDizzle)
4. Write a lot (Rakso)

[SonataOfTheCathedral]

Being on the Pro Tour helps a lot. I think a lot of people will begin to take your ideas much more seriously just by the fact you've performed well in other formats. Scott Mccord Sean Mckewon and other famous magic players from other formats have given me lists to look at. Even though they have no Type 1 experience I still considered them and even tested them.

What I'm trying to say is just establish yourself as a good player. It is certainly much more powerful then being on every forum of the mana drain for imput. Obviously playing something unique puts you on the map. I created Pirates in extended and made day 2 at a GP with it. In a month everyone could give a diddly shit about my opinion. So the new deck thing isn't anything to brag about really. We all have new deck ideas its just about who puts them to use.

What is the best way to come up with that hot new type 1 deck that will get your name all over TMD for being the one that created this awesome new deck?

Test, test test and test until you master the idea you are working on. I find it extremely difficult to test for Type 1 because of sheer laziness and it's probably why I will never excel in this format. If you want the road to glory master an archetype and put up consistent results. The main thing is to try to get a bunch of people to join your bandwagon as well which I feel is the most difficult.

[Evenpence]

If you T8 alot, people will notice you.

For the guy that T8s at EVERY huge event, but never wins the whole thing will be more highly regarded than the guy who wins a single waterbury, but never T8s anywhere else.

I agree with the 4-prong list said above, naming inventing/achieving/mastering/writing.

[jazzykat]

Maybe we should be talking about this in community, but I will weigh in on the getting great issue, being another "unfamous" player myself.

I think that to be great at anything certainly does require talent and dedication it also requires proper tutelage/learning IMO. I don't have much to say about the first two because they are obvious but:

1.  learning how to use a deck from someone that designed it/ knows it better than you is very valuable (a team is very good for this)

2. learning how to properly playtest and evaluate the results of your playtesting in a relatively scientific and organized manner are very useful, I don't think you need to calculate if play test results are statistically significant but understanding the basics of probability and statistics will help you

3. expand your mind; read, play chess, talk to experts/gurus about their fields that have nothing to do with magic, learn a language (computer or spoken) really make your mind work in new ways. I believe this helps with not only your creativity(deck design, identifying broken cards) but helps you to think through situations you may not have encountered.

4. while there are elements of math in the first three bullets, I will say it explicitly: study math. If you are in highschool take AP, if you are in college take logic, set theory, number theory. If you are out of school you can start by investigating mathematical principles on Wikipedia and seeing where that takes you.

5. since there is a human element and we are playing cards, understanding tells and "reading" your opponent can help in certain situations but I believe that many more matches are decided by who makes the least mistakes or who goes uber broken than by reading your opponent and figuring out if they have a mana drain or not.

Lastly: I believe that someone may have said it or alluded to it but you have to believe in yourself. If you don't think you can win Waterbury, SCG, etc. then you never will (you will find a way to defeat yourself if your opponents do not do it for you). Self confidence and a positive self image goes beyond its affect on you it also shows your opponent that you are not a weeny and won't roll over and die.

<disclaimer>Sorry if I sounded like Dr. Phil.</disclaimer>

Good luck,
JK

[Kowal]

Be a ninja.  That's what I did.

[Outlaw]

What I did was, put my mind into being the top in the format. I know that I definitely not the top of the format but I have tryed my best to get there.  I use to be a no name player that ocassionaly did well.  Then I went and started introducing myself to people and winning more and more.  Thats how I did it!

[Danzig]

Listen to your heart. That's what I do.







And play Legacy instead.

[Klep]

I just hung out in IRC for a while.


Also I'm awesome.

[forests failed you]

You have to win a lot or be friends with Meandeck.