“What’s Next?” and A Pivotal Turning Point
After spending a couple hours this past Monday to finalize and publish my last Grind Journal entry, I jumped back on the ladder and got to work on making this week a strong finish to a strong July.
Not to state the obvious, but there’s something about literally writing out your thoughts that makes it so much easier to break down and comprehend your internal dialogue.
Writing the last post and exploring whether to ladder hard or maintain rank was motivating and refreshing. And notably, it served as a great reminder of why it’s so important to continually ask yourself, “what’s next?”
Yes, laddering is fun, challenging and rewarding, especially considering that paper MTG is currently non-existent, but there is a ceiling of sorts when you’re not an established or pro player. Beyond qualifying for an Arena MQ, the next step in digital is reaching 10 wins in it, or at the very least, racking up some mythic points to qualify for further events. While getting 10 wins in an MQ isn’t impossible, it’s pretty hard to do. But regardless of whether or not you get there, there needs to be a “what’s next” so that you can continue your growth as a player.
And truthfully, this approach is critical for any goal you’re trying to achieve, both inside and outside of the game. As you reach new milestones, achieve a new rank, make qualifiers, make Top 8’s or hoist a trophy, don’t stop asking yourself “what’s next?” Always seek out your next opportunity for growth, and create a plan for how you’ll seize it.
For me, what’s next in my quest for continual improvement in Magic is:
Playing more Historic and mastering that format
Reaching Mythic in Limited
Playing more SCG Challenges (expensive, but potentially good experience?)
Finding more opportunities for competitive play
Continuing to focus on demonstrating a forward-thinking attitude when playing
I’m looking forward to exploring more of these objectives and identifying new ones in the coming days and weeks. Until then, the matches.
Monday, 7/27
Still on Temur Reclamation, but experimenting with a single maindeck Disdainful Stroke, and continuing with 1x maindeck Chemister’s Insight and 1x Commence the Endgame in lieu of Opt.
1112 - Boros Midrange. Well, this matchup is a perfect demonstration of the beauty and of the absolute obscurity of the mythic ladder. This was more or less a Boros fliers deck with Angel of Grace, Stormwild Capridor, Selfless Savior and if I remember correctly, Gods Willing for tempo. I drew poorly for this matchup - relatively behind on lands, didn’t see any Brazen Borrowers or Stomp and had my Shark tokens get eaten by a growing Capridor.
Took out countermagic for game 2, but in hindsight, that was a mistake. We need to fully embrace the control role here. No fun to lose, but a super interesting deck to lose to nonetheless. Loss 0-2.
1460 - Mono Green. Not much to say here. My medium draws don’t beat fast Mono Green draws. Loss 0-2.
98% - Mono Red. Lost a really fast G1 to a complete nut draw.
But just as I started to feel my frustration bubble up to my forehead after losing my fifth straight game, I took my hand off of the mouse, pushed my chair back and gave myself a little halftime pep talk. I told myself, “forget the previous matches, and just focus on playing your best in the next game.” Well, I did just that in G2 and G3, resulting in a feel good match win.
Simply taking 20 seconds after G1 to sit back, breathe deeply and clear my head - even for just a few moments - went a long way towards helping me gain some necessary clarity. Doing so would end up being a major turning point for the day. Win 2-1.
1411 - Mardu Aristocrats. The first game got a bit out of hand with the opponent getting beats in with 2 Selfless Savior and a late Judith, the Scourge Diva, but I was able to stabilize at 5 life via Uro and shark tokens and win with Explosion. As always, priority is to get Judith off of the battlefield ASAP. Flame Sweep got it done in G2. Win 2-0.
1186 - Sultai. Lost G1 fairly convincingly, but very proud of myself for mulling to five in G2 in order to find a faster and more optimal hand against Sultai. I did settle on a fairly medium hand in G3 when my opp mulled to 6. My hand would get better that game thanks to drawing Shark Typhoon, Negate and Nightpack Ambusher, while my opponent would struggle to hit 4 lands. Win 2-1.
908 - Mono Green. Bonecrusher Giant is really, really good in this matchup. Being able to pick off Scavenging Ooze or Stonecoil Serpent with Stomp and then play a body that can block Questing Beast is pretty backbreaking for Mono Green.
Most versions of Temur are tuning for the mirror, eschewing cards like the giant and Scorching Dragonfire in favor of Commence the Endgame and more maindeck Negate. But it’s matchups like this that make me glad I’m sticking with this build. Yes, it may be an ideal list for 10 days ago, but it’s still relevant on the ladder today - especially when other players know that Reclamation players are optimizing their 60 for the mirror.
Ended the day at rank 465. Nice way to turn around a rough start.
