Ten New Year’s Resolutions for Magic Players to Abandon by February

The new year is upon us. It’s time to self-reflect and work on addressing our flaws as people and, more importantly, Magic players. For those of you looking to net deck your personality, we’ve assembled some resolutions to help you briefly improve before going back to your usual vices in a few weeks. 

Let More Spells Resolve

Some control players need to learn to let go a little. Just because you have a counter spell in hand and open blue mana doesn’t mean you have to counter something. Close your eyes. Breathe. Let the turn three land ramp resolve. You can always counter the payoff for that ramp. Unless it’sHullbreaker Horror. Then you definitely should have predicted that and countered the land ramp. Actually, maybe you shouldn’t let this resolution resolve. 

Pay Attention When It’s Not Your Turn

It’s actually impossible for the human mind to pay attention to other people for a full turn-rotation, but you can at least learn to fake it. Staring blankly at your opponent’s board instead of your phone won’t help you track the game, but it will give the impression that you know everything that’s happening. Don’t underestimate the value of psychological warfare.

Play More Card Draw

People are always telling you to play more card draw to ensure deck consistency. So draw on more cards. Bring a sharpie with you to every game night and doodle little mustaches on your creatures. Your friends will really appreciate this whimsical act when you use Act of Treason to take their Gilded Drake and draw a cool little hat on the drake’s head. 

Stop Building the Exact Same Deck

All Magic players have one type of deck that they love over all others. Maybe it’s a play style, a specific creature type, or a few dozen pet cards. Add in format staples, and the result is that every deck you build slowly morphs into that one deck. This is the year you’ll be mindful of that process. Branch out. Explore new things. Realize you hate new things. Then accept yourself for who you are and just build that one deck. 

Lose 10 to 15 Decks

It’s normal to gain a few decks over the Holidays. Between getting pre-cons as gifts and indulging in a Scene Box or two, you might notice your Magic backpack has put on a little more weight than you’re comfortable carrying around. It’s probably what’s causing your back pain. Work on cutting down to a healthy deck count. At least until Lorwyn Eclipsed comes out at the end of January and you binge-build a dozen decks. 

Play Another Format

Magic is allegedly a vast game with numerous formats not called Commander. Let your sense of adventure guide you to try something new. Maybe a quick detour into getting steamrolled by the only viable deck in Standard. Perhaps you’ve recently inherited a small fortune from your Uncle and want to try Vintage out. It’s important to try new things, as long as those things are different versions of the thing you already like. 

Let No Spells Resolve

Last year, you tried countering less and got blown out by Hullbreaker Horror. You’re a real control player now, and you need a real non-resolution resolution. You should aim to stop every spell your opponents play, important or not. Destroy lands. Counter spells. Play fast mana into turn one stax pieces. Don’t even bother with win cons; they’ll only hamper your real goal: absolute psycho-sexual dominance. 

Learn How Layers Work

You’d been playing for years before Wizards released Deadpool, Trading Card, and made regular Commander players aware that layering exists. It’s time to fire up that brain of yours and figure out how those rules actually work. Or at least read the rules, scratch your head, and bookmark a Reddit post explaining it. That’s probably close enough. 

Assess Threats

Threat assessment is a critical skill in Commander.  It’s also a skill no Commander players have. Learn to step back and view the big picture. The threat isn’t the big stompy player with a Colossal Dreadmaw. It’s not even the combo player with a full hand. The greatest threat to you is the global movement towards a dystopian oligarchy rooted in fascist ideology. Dedicate some resources to stopping that. 

Learn To Read

Magic has a literacy rate well below the national average, but you can rise above those statistics with a little effort. If you can’t afford adult literacy classes, just pick up a kids’ book and start reading. I recommend Frog and Toad. You can tell people it’s about Glarb, Calamity Augur, and Twenty-Toed Toad if they tease you. It’s not like they’re reading the actual lore books; they’re Magic players.