Okay, I'm going to preface this by saying I'm sorry if it sounds very rant-like. It probablydefinitely is, because I am in a serious funk.
I play primarily Modern. It's the format in which I have played for the past 5+ years, often up to 3 times per week. I play Standard only occasionally when the PPTQ season is only in Standard (and Limited).
Right now I am in a huge slump. Even if you count the 3 times recently when I scooped (since I was paired up and 2-2 doesn't get prizes, but my opponent can at 3-1) to an opponent, I have had only a 50% win rate. I tried Standard for the 2nd time in 3 months at a PPTQ and went 4-2, but just yesterday, played another PPTQ (against unknown opponents) and went 0-3 for the first time ever in my life. I lost 6 straight games after winning the first of the tournament with a nut hand on the play!
So, what do you do to get out of a slump? Right now, it's become a self fulfilling prophecy. I have been writing down on my scorepad what the best hand my opponent can have for what they are playing plus the next 2 draw steps and it often has been exactly that. The other times, it has been super close and just slightly less of a nut hand. I have shuffled my opponents' decks in several different ways. I haven't tried pile shuffling their deck, but I have always considered that a waste of time. I shuffle their deck the same way that I shuffle mine. The only difference is the draws (and plethora of mulligans too). I've been trying to only play decks that Pro Players consider to be very consistent. But I have found gobs of variance in decks like Modern Titanshift and Standard Temur Energy. Sometimes it feels like I have 55 lands in the deck. Other times, I can go 8 draw steps without a land. Mind you, it's the same exact way I shuffle my opponents' deck before the game.
In the past, I have given advice to others to ride it out. But this is getting pretty demoralizing. I kept a 4 land hand in Round 2 vs. an unknown opponent. It turns out that he was running UW Cycling and literally just had to worry about the 3 creatures after my next 11 draw steps were 9 lands and 2 Harnessed Lightning.
Previous to this slump, my win percentage in Modern (via kavu.ru) had been 64.8%. I've played a LOT, so I doubt it will go down much. But I have had a goal to make it go up. I had a slump like this that lasted 3 months around 1-2 years ago. I would write down what a nut hand was for the deck that my opponent was playing and more often than not, it was 100% correct. This also involved being on the draw nearly 70-80% of the time. Still, during this slump, I was able to maintain around a 60% win ratio. Nowadays, I just can't do that. I don't know if it's the cards. If it is just that nut draws are tougher to beat, even if you have your own, when you're on the draw constantly? Maybe my opponents are playing better decks?
**I have heard from 2 different Grinder friends that Temur Energy is better without the Black. It caused them so many problems in their manabase. Yet, I have played against it 4 times now in 2 PPTQs and the mana was 100% fine. Their didn't seem to be 1 single problem - only positives like casting Vraska on turns 5-6 all 3 games. I am not too dumb to realize that 4 matches is not enough to prove anything. I would like to see some stream of someone having problems with the Swamp just for proof. That's all.
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Legacy - Sneak Show, BR Reanimator, Miracles, UW Stoneblade
Premodern - Trix, RecSur, Enchantress, Reanimator, Elves https://www.facebook.com/groups/PremodernUSA/ Modern - Neobrand, Hogaak Vine, Elves
Standard - Mono Red (6-2 and 5-3 in 2 McQ)
Draft - (I wish I had more time for limited...)
Commander - Norin the Wary, Grimgrin, Adun Oakenshield (taking forever to build) (dead format for me)
First of all, don't get hung up on the "way" you shuffle. Shuffles that actually give better or worse results are more commonly known as cheating, and the whole point of truly random shuffles is that they give good and bad hands, not necessarily in any sort of even distribution. Good streaks and bad skids are going to happen, and there's nothing (legal) you can do about it.
On that topic, try to realize the role of confirmation bias in what you're experiencing. Losses sting a heck of a lot more than wins, especially if you're accustomed to the latter.
Secondly, you're not alone. I might not play at your level of constructed, but I definitely have felt what you're going through before. It sucks, feels hopeless, and makes you hate the game, but it always passes. Some people benefit from taking a step back from Magic, either to another game or out of the genre entirely. You might also want to try something different for a while, if you're interested in that. It's going to get better, and believing that is important to getting past this. Slumps are more than a win-loss ration; they're psychological as well.
Play something more relaxing. Like this is just what I do but I tend to switch formats when it feels like I've hit a slump. Like for instance I try something like Emperor, Two-Headed Giant, Kingdoms, Archenemy, Planechase, Rainbow Stairwell or Five-Player Star.
What are you playing? Have you been consistently loosing with the same deck or a wide variety of decks? I'd say whatever you're doing change it up a bit, if your consistently loosing with the same deck try a new one, if the new ones don't work out go back to a stand by. If you're loosing with different decks takes some time to focus on whatever one is giving you the most success. If there's a deck that you've been wanting to try out for a while now, give it a try. Find a new comfort zone. After establishing a new status quo for yourself take note on how you win and why you loose. Edit deck accordingly. When you were winning there was a reason for that, but if you're consistently loosing the same is true (this statement is not a reflection of your value as an individual but your deck selection) . Change things up.
whenever I am in a slump, I try playing casually or taking a break. I enjoy playing commander for a break, it's more about the fun rather than winning.
What are you playing? Have you been consistently loosing with the same deck or a wide variety of decks? I'd say whatever you're doing change it up a bit, if your consistently loosing with the same deck try a new one, if the new ones don't work out go back to a stand by. If you're loosing with different decks takes some time to focus on whatever one is giving you the most success. If there's a deck that you've been wanting to try out for a while now, give it a try. Find a new comfort zone. After establishing a new status quo for yourself take note on how you win and why you loose. Edit deck accordingly. When you were winning there was a reason for that, but if you're consistently loosing the same is true (this statement is not a reflection of your value as an individual but your deck selection) . Change things up.
Mostly Modern, but I played at 2 Standard PPTQs, hoping to lucksack and qualify. I went 4-2 and 0-3 drop at those with Temur Energy.
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Legacy - Sneak Show, BR Reanimator, Miracles, UW Stoneblade
Premodern - Trix, RecSur, Enchantress, Reanimator, Elves https://www.facebook.com/groups/PremodernUSA/ Modern - Neobrand, Hogaak Vine, Elves
Standard - Mono Red (6-2 and 5-3 in 2 McQ)
Draft - (I wish I had more time for limited...)
Commander - Norin the Wary, Grimgrin, Adun Oakenshield (taking forever to build) (dead format for me)
whenever im in a slump i just play decks that i dont expect to do well. that may sound odd but sometimes just playing for fun will clear your mind and open up different decision making. I was destroying people with sun and moon for a bit then just started taking losses due to variance so i switched to a tier3 eggs deck and started winning again because 1) its not a deck alot of people play so they are less prepared and 2) although it does get cross hate sometimes its better to get back in the habit of playing through hate to better your decision making.
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Tooth & Nail........Grishoalbrand....Living Dominance....Tezzerator.........Vannifar Pod
My Decks that have been BANNED
DRS Jund | Kiki-Pod | Bloom Titan | Splinter Twin | KCI
Well, from that it sounds like you just didn't lucksack. That's to be expected, sometimes the universe just isn't with us... There are any number of reasons we loose games and we all loose sometimes.
This may sound exceptionally reductionist but there are essentially three major factors to who wins and looses any given game of magic; the players, their decks and chance. I'm going to assume you know how to play magic based on what you've said, you've done well but you're not currently doing well. That's a fairly important bit, you know the game and you most likely understand whatever given deck you're playing a good bit.
Those three elements (player, deck & chance) really turn into six in any given game. Were you playing against the same player base? Did you win / loose against equally skilled players? It can be discouraging to loose more consistently than win but if you're loosing against someone because they're better than what you're used to playing against that can be a great learning experience. Even if another player isn't across the board “better” it's also possible that while traveling a bit outside your comfort zone (modern) that the folks you were playing against just play that format (standard) more and have a more innate understanding of how standard meta decks work. Decks obviously play a huge factor, some decks just perform much better against others. Chance (largely) determines what sort of deck you'll be facing and what cards you draw.
While that is all very simplistic, there's a point hidden in that haystack. The “rut” you're in (and I think happens to most players at all skill levels) is mostly in your head. Sometimes we loose for any number of reasons but when we expect to loose it tends to reflect in our play. We make mistakes both in deck creation / selection and during play which we might not otherwise because we don't expect to win. That said, it's not all just about confidence. A lack of confidence can loose you a game but so can hubris.
My advice remains essentially the same, dust off your pants and get back in the saddle. It's not a big deal, you've lost some games. Go back to basics, choose or brew up a deck you can get excited about in whatever format you feel the most comfortable in and focus on it for a bit. Take all your losses as lessons and strive on. The advice might seem simplistic, because it is. A “rut” isn't so much a streak of luck or losses, but our reaction to them.
Temur with black has a "little" bit bad mana, as there are times you cannot have all the mana you need.
However, that is countered by a potential higher powerlevel of your cards.
Anyway, these decks either snowball hard, and then it really doesnt matter much what you do, unless they somehow make a tremendous mistake, which really shouldnt happen, unless they blackout.
Energy + MonoRed are decks that snowball often and just crush the opponent if the draw works out. Its terrible to play against them if you just happen to not have the right answer, it feels stupidly bad.
Same is true for Scarab God decks, if you cannot kill it, game is probably just over, if you cannot win over the next turn, it becomes much much worse.
Simply said, mistakes are either meaningless, as you draw out of it, the nut draws really do not require much tricky play, you just keep attacking and the opponent dies without a glimmer of hope.
Good play is more rewarded if the format is overall slower and requires more choices that are above attack or not attack.
Sadly, limited is just the same with Ixalan, its not rewarding enough to make good plays, and games are too often decided by a single event, if a creature survives and keeps snowballing or its dead and the opponent establishes some kind of snowball.
Well, from that it sounds like you just didn't lucksack. That's to be expected, sometimes the universe just isn't with us... There are any number of reasons we loose games and we all loose sometimes.
This may sound exceptionally reductionist but there are essentially three major factors to who wins and looses any given game of magic; the players, their decks and chance. I'm going to assume you know how to play magic based on what you've said, you've done well but you're not currently doing well. That's a fairly important bit, you know the game and you most likely understand whatever given deck you're playing a good bit.
Those three elements (player, deck & chance) really turn into six in any given game. Were you playing against the same player base? Did you win / loose against equally skilled players? It can be discouraging to loose more consistently than win but if you're loosing against someone because they're better than what you're used to playing against that can be a great learning experience. Even if another player isn't across the board “better” it's also possible that while traveling a bit outside your comfort zone (modern) that the folks you were playing against just play that format (standard) more and have a more innate understanding of how standard meta decks work. Decks obviously play a huge factor, some decks just perform much better against others. Chance (largely) determines what sort of deck you'll be facing and what cards you draw.
While that is all very simplistic, there's a point hidden in that haystack. The “rut” you're in (and I think happens to most players at all skill levels) is mostly in your head. Sometimes we loose for any number of reasons but when we expect to loose it tends to reflect in our play. We make mistakes both in deck creation / selection and during play which we might not otherwise because we don't expect to win. That said, it's not all just about confidence. A lack of confidence can loose you a game but so can hubris.
My advice remains essentially the same, dust off your pants and get back in the saddle. It's not a big deal, you've lost some games. Go back to basics, choose or brew up a deck you can get excited about in whatever format you feel the most comfortable in and focus on it for a bit. Take all your losses as lessons and strive on. The advice might seem simplistic, because it is. A “rut” isn't so much a streak of luck or losses, but our reaction to them.
Yep, I usually only play during Modern PPTQ seasons and have qualified for the RPTQ those 4 times (don't ask about the RPTQ results, lol). But I played the past 2 Standard seasons and played Standard a little bit to practice. I ended up top 8ing only 3 of 8 PPTQs. That may not seem so bad, but I also played a format that I quit entirely during Theros - Limited. I played in 7 PPTQs for Limited, in fact the first time playing those formats, and top 8ed 4 times. 4-7, as opposed to 3-8 for Standard. It's not a big difference, but I literally never played those Limited formats except when the next PPTQ was the same format (Amonkhet twice). I can see from my writing that I am being a bit too numbers based and results oriented.
Meanwhile, I played Bogles at a place where I hadn't top 8ed (except one small one at 2-1) in the past 7 times. I lucksacked my way to 4-0 (2-0 in all matches). Yes, someone who has been in a rut at 9-13 in Modern recently, went 4-0. I believe I have to accept the variance more. My opponents that day didn't draw the hands that their decks were capable of (no turn 2 Thought-Knot Seers, etc.). I still felt bad because my opponents didn't draw the nuts or even close. It feels much better to win, but it also feels a bit bad when I had no choice, but to win, with what I was given vs. what they were given. Correct mulligans only get you so far.
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Legacy - Sneak Show, BR Reanimator, Miracles, UW Stoneblade
Premodern - Trix, RecSur, Enchantress, Reanimator, Elves https://www.facebook.com/groups/PremodernUSA/ Modern - Neobrand, Hogaak Vine, Elves
Standard - Mono Red (6-2 and 5-3 in 2 McQ)
Draft - (I wish I had more time for limited...)
Commander - Norin the Wary, Grimgrin, Adun Oakenshield (taking forever to build) (dead format for me)
For someone who plays a lot, it certainly is. There are players who will never get over a 35% win percentage. Where do you think the extra percentages go? Besides, it was more than that. It was me guessing what the nut draw for the opposing deck is (I've played a lot of Modern decks and seen nearly every current deck list) and then my opponent having exactly those cards. Nobody should be correct in guessing every card, even cards off the top of the deck. For what it's worth, I'm not just saying it. I don't run Thoughtseize, Inquisition of Kozilek, or other cards to look at my opponents' hands (Lantern of Insight), so how could I possibly guess it just by imagining what's the best they can do?
I'm talking about something much less obvious than Urza's Mine into Urza's Tower into Urza's Power Plant/Karn Liberated, next turn Urza's Tower/Ulamog, the Ceaseless Hunger. Anybody could guess those starts.
**For reference, someone with a lifetime 25% win percentage to have a 35% win percentage over a course of a month, YES that is a super good streak. They are on fire. That's a huge difference. They went from winning 250 matches out of 1,000 to 350 matches out of 1,000.
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Legacy - Sneak Show, BR Reanimator, Miracles, UW Stoneblade
Premodern - Trix, RecSur, Enchantress, Reanimator, Elves https://www.facebook.com/groups/PremodernUSA/ Modern - Neobrand, Hogaak Vine, Elves
Standard - Mono Red (6-2 and 5-3 in 2 McQ)
Draft - (I wish I had more time for limited...)
Commander - Norin the Wary, Grimgrin, Adun Oakenshield (taking forever to build) (dead format for me)
My best advice is to stop looking at your record. There's a lot of statistics out there that you don't notice if you don't pay attention to them, and perhaps stop you from getting into your own head.
Only thing I count for myself are tournament wins. I have 4 first place finishes in FNM. Darn proud of each of those, although obviously I'd like more
Maybe take a 2-week break from Magic and try to become more athletic and/or try to endure cold showers. Both athletic training and cold showers hurt a lot, but exposing yourself to real, physical pain and stress will bring a sense of perspective to the frustration you experience at Magic. And since vigorous aerobic activity actually grows new neurons in hippocampus (the brain region most associated with working memory), it will make you better at everything mental. Also, I notice you don't have time for Limited. I think Limited is the best way to gain skill at Magic, because it forces you to learn how to learn and ingrain basic card evaluation and deck building skills. I don't think a person can master this game if they rely on the internet to feed them their constructed decks all the time.
Well I am a johnny (rather than a spike) so I like to build a really weird decks and play them with no intention of winning. I get revitalised by the creative process. Sometimes you fling, enigma drakes at people for 20 a few times and realise that this stupid deck is actually quite good.
As for in game tilt. Well I like shuffling. I find it relaxing. I often have some random deck next to me at work so i can just shuffle it to destress. Which makes calming down and de-tilting fairly easy for me. I just take a little extra time to shuffle before the next game.
RNG is RNG. I am a deck builder so I know factoring in RNG is important when deck building, perhaps your deck is just not as resilient to RNG and might need a redesign. If you just netdecked, well its time to make your deck your own, make changes and get into the thing to see how it ticks and why they did what.
Having said that I am still tilted from this one game.. where I started with 2 lands search for azcanta + removal and never ever drew the third land. I went 11 cards deep without another land wholly hell that is stupid unlucky.
probablydefinitely is, because I am in a serious funk.I play primarily Modern. It's the format in which I have played for the past 5+ years, often up to 3 times per week. I play Standard only occasionally when the PPTQ season is only in Standard (and Limited).
Right now I am in a huge slump. Even if you count the 3 times recently when I scooped (since I was paired up and 2-2 doesn't get prizes, but my opponent can at 3-1) to an opponent, I have had only a 50% win rate. I tried Standard for the 2nd time in 3 months at a PPTQ and went 4-2, but just yesterday, played another PPTQ (against unknown opponents) and went 0-3 for the first time ever in my life. I lost 6 straight games after winning the first of the tournament with a nut hand on the play!
So, what do you do to get out of a slump? Right now, it's become a self fulfilling prophecy. I have been writing down on my scorepad what the best hand my opponent can have for what they are playing plus the next 2 draw steps and it often has been exactly that. The other times, it has been super close and just slightly less of a nut hand. I have shuffled my opponents' decks in several different ways. I haven't tried pile shuffling their deck, but I have always considered that a waste of time. I shuffle their deck the same way that I shuffle mine. The only difference is the draws (and plethora of mulligans too). I've been trying to only play decks that Pro Players consider to be very consistent. But I have found gobs of variance in decks like Modern Titanshift and Standard Temur Energy. Sometimes it feels like I have 55 lands in the deck. Other times, I can go 8 draw steps without a land. Mind you, it's the same exact way I shuffle my opponents' deck before the game.
In the past, I have given advice to others to ride it out. But this is getting pretty demoralizing. I kept a 4 land hand in Round 2 vs. an unknown opponent. It turns out that he was running UW Cycling and literally just had to worry about the 3 creatures after my next 11 draw steps were 9 lands and 2 Harnessed Lightning.
Previous to this slump, my win percentage in Modern (via kavu.ru) had been 64.8%. I've played a LOT, so I doubt it will go down much. But I have had a goal to make it go up. I had a slump like this that lasted 3 months around 1-2 years ago. I would write down what a nut hand was for the deck that my opponent was playing and more often than not, it was 100% correct. This also involved being on the draw nearly 70-80% of the time. Still, during this slump, I was able to maintain around a 60% win ratio. Nowadays, I just can't do that. I don't know if it's the cards. If it is just that nut draws are tougher to beat, even if you have your own, when you're on the draw constantly? Maybe my opponents are playing better decks?
**I have heard from 2 different Grinder friends that Temur Energy is better without the Black. It caused them so many problems in their manabase. Yet, I have played against it 4 times now in 2 PPTQs and the mana was 100% fine. Their didn't seem to be 1 single problem - only positives like casting Vraska on turns 5-6 all 3 games. I am not too dumb to realize that 4 matches is not enough to prove anything. I would like to see some stream of someone having problems with the Swamp just for proof. That's all.
Premodern - Trix, RecSur, Enchantress, Reanimator, Elves https://www.facebook.com/groups/PremodernUSA/
Modern - Neobrand, Hogaak Vine, Elves
Standard - Mono Red (6-2 and 5-3 in 2 McQ)
Draft - (I wish I had more time for limited...)
Commander -
Norin the Wary, Grimgrin, Adun Oakenshield (taking forever to build)(dead format for me)On that topic, try to realize the role of confirmation bias in what you're experiencing. Losses sting a heck of a lot more than wins, especially if you're accustomed to the latter.
Secondly, you're not alone. I might not play at your level of constructed, but I definitely have felt what you're going through before. It sucks, feels hopeless, and makes you hate the game, but it always passes. Some people benefit from taking a step back from Magic, either to another game or out of the genre entirely. You might also want to try something different for a while, if you're interested in that. It's going to get better, and believing that is important to getting past this. Slumps are more than a win-loss ration; they're psychological as well.
Modern: Goblins,Storm
Legacy: Burn
EDH: Simic Merfolk
Mostly Modern, but I played at 2 Standard PPTQs, hoping to lucksack and qualify. I went 4-2 and 0-3 drop at those with Temur Energy.
Premodern - Trix, RecSur, Enchantress, Reanimator, Elves https://www.facebook.com/groups/PremodernUSA/
Modern - Neobrand, Hogaak Vine, Elves
Standard - Mono Red (6-2 and 5-3 in 2 McQ)
Draft - (I wish I had more time for limited...)
Commander -
Norin the Wary, Grimgrin, Adun Oakenshield (taking forever to build)(dead format for me)Tooth & Nail........Grishoalbrand....Living Dominance....Tezzerator.........Vannifar Pod
My Decks that have been BANNED
DRS Jund | Kiki-Pod | Bloom Titan | Splinter Twin | KCI
This may sound exceptionally reductionist but there are essentially three major factors to who wins and looses any given game of magic; the players, their decks and chance. I'm going to assume you know how to play magic based on what you've said, you've done well but you're not currently doing well. That's a fairly important bit, you know the game and you most likely understand whatever given deck you're playing a good bit.
Those three elements (player, deck & chance) really turn into six in any given game. Were you playing against the same player base? Did you win / loose against equally skilled players? It can be discouraging to loose more consistently than win but if you're loosing against someone because they're better than what you're used to playing against that can be a great learning experience. Even if another player isn't across the board “better” it's also possible that while traveling a bit outside your comfort zone (modern) that the folks you were playing against just play that format (standard) more and have a more innate understanding of how standard meta decks work. Decks obviously play a huge factor, some decks just perform much better against others. Chance (largely) determines what sort of deck you'll be facing and what cards you draw.
While that is all very simplistic, there's a point hidden in that haystack. The “rut” you're in (and I think happens to most players at all skill levels) is mostly in your head. Sometimes we loose for any number of reasons but when we expect to loose it tends to reflect in our play. We make mistakes both in deck creation / selection and during play which we might not otherwise because we don't expect to win. That said, it's not all just about confidence. A lack of confidence can loose you a game but so can hubris.
My advice remains essentially the same, dust off your pants and get back in the saddle. It's not a big deal, you've lost some games. Go back to basics, choose or brew up a deck you can get excited about in whatever format you feel the most comfortable in and focus on it for a bit. Take all your losses as lessons and strive on. The advice might seem simplistic, because it is. A “rut” isn't so much a streak of luck or losses, but our reaction to them.
Modern: Goblins,Storm
Legacy: Burn
EDH: Simic Merfolk
However, that is countered by a potential higher powerlevel of your cards.
Anyway, these decks either snowball hard, and then it really doesnt matter much what you do, unless they somehow make a tremendous mistake, which really shouldnt happen, unless they blackout.
Energy + MonoRed are decks that snowball often and just crush the opponent if the draw works out. Its terrible to play against them if you just happen to not have the right answer, it feels stupidly bad.
Same is true for Scarab God decks, if you cannot kill it, game is probably just over, if you cannot win over the next turn, it becomes much much worse.
Simply said, mistakes are either meaningless, as you draw out of it, the nut draws really do not require much tricky play, you just keep attacking and the opponent dies without a glimmer of hope.
Good play is more rewarded if the format is overall slower and requires more choices that are above attack or not attack.
Sadly, limited is just the same with Ixalan, its not rewarding enough to make good plays, and games are too often decided by a single event, if a creature survives and keeps snowballing or its dead and the opponent establishes some kind of snowball.
WUBRG#BlackLotusMatterWUBRG
👮👮👮 #BlueLivesMatter 👮👮👮
Yep, I usually only play during Modern PPTQ seasons and have qualified for the RPTQ those 4 times (don't ask about the RPTQ results, lol). But I played the past 2 Standard seasons and played Standard a little bit to practice. I ended up top 8ing only 3 of 8 PPTQs. That may not seem so bad, but I also played a format that I quit entirely during Theros - Limited. I played in 7 PPTQs for Limited, in fact the first time playing those formats, and top 8ed 4 times. 4-7, as opposed to 3-8 for Standard. It's not a big difference, but I literally never played those Limited formats except when the next PPTQ was the same format (Amonkhet twice). I can see from my writing that I am being a bit too numbers based and results oriented.
Meanwhile, I played Bogles at a place where I hadn't top 8ed (except one small one at 2-1) in the past 7 times. I lucksacked my way to 4-0 (2-0 in all matches). Yes, someone who has been in a rut at 9-13 in Modern recently, went 4-0. I believe I have to accept the variance more. My opponents that day didn't draw the hands that their decks were capable of (no turn 2 Thought-Knot Seers, etc.). I still felt bad because my opponents didn't draw the nuts or even close. It feels much better to win, but it also feels a bit bad when I had no choice, but to win, with what I was given vs. what they were given. Correct mulligans only get you so far.
Premodern - Trix, RecSur, Enchantress, Reanimator, Elves https://www.facebook.com/groups/PremodernUSA/
Modern - Neobrand, Hogaak Vine, Elves
Standard - Mono Red (6-2 and 5-3 in 2 McQ)
Draft - (I wish I had more time for limited...)
Commander -
Norin the Wary, Grimgrin, Adun Oakenshield (taking forever to build)(dead format for me)Two Score, Minus Two or: A Stargate Tail
(Image by totallynotabrony)
For someone who plays a lot, it certainly is. There are players who will never get over a 35% win percentage. Where do you think the extra percentages go? Besides, it was more than that. It was me guessing what the nut draw for the opposing deck is (I've played a lot of Modern decks and seen nearly every current deck list) and then my opponent having exactly those cards. Nobody should be correct in guessing every card, even cards off the top of the deck. For what it's worth, I'm not just saying it. I don't run Thoughtseize, Inquisition of Kozilek, or other cards to look at my opponents' hands (Lantern of Insight), so how could I possibly guess it just by imagining what's the best they can do?
I'm talking about something much less obvious than Urza's Mine into Urza's Tower into Urza's Power Plant/Karn Liberated, next turn Urza's Tower/Ulamog, the Ceaseless Hunger. Anybody could guess those starts.
**For reference, someone with a lifetime 25% win percentage to have a 35% win percentage over a course of a month, YES that is a super good streak. They are on fire. That's a huge difference. They went from winning 250 matches out of 1,000 to 350 matches out of 1,000.
Premodern - Trix, RecSur, Enchantress, Reanimator, Elves https://www.facebook.com/groups/PremodernUSA/
Modern - Neobrand, Hogaak Vine, Elves
Standard - Mono Red (6-2 and 5-3 in 2 McQ)
Draft - (I wish I had more time for limited...)
Commander -
Norin the Wary, Grimgrin, Adun Oakenshield (taking forever to build)(dead format for me)Only thing I count for myself are tournament wins. I have 4 first place finishes in FNM. Darn proud of each of those, although obviously I'd like more
As for in game tilt. Well I like shuffling. I find it relaxing. I often have some random deck next to me at work so i can just shuffle it to destress. Which makes calming down and de-tilting fairly easy for me. I just take a little extra time to shuffle before the next game.
RNG is RNG. I am a deck builder so I know factoring in RNG is important when deck building, perhaps your deck is just not as resilient to RNG and might need a redesign. If you just netdecked, well its time to make your deck your own, make changes and get into the thing to see how it ticks and why they did what.
Having said that I am still tilted from this one game.. where I started with 2 lands search for azcanta + removal and never ever drew the third land. I went 11 cards deep without another land wholly hell that is stupid unlucky.
Pioneer:UR Pheonix
Modern:U Mono U Tron
EDH
GB Glissa, the traitor: Army of Cans
UW Dragonlord Ojutai: Dragonlord NOjutai
UWGDerevi, Empyrial Tactician "you cannot fight the storm"
R Zirilan of the claw. The solution to every problem is dragons
UB Etrata, the Silencer Cloning assassination
Peasant cube: Cards I own