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As we reach the end of our journey, let’s take a look back. We’ve connected the dots and retraced a path spanning over thirty years of this game. My hope is that, starting tomorrow, when we look in the mirror we’ll see better players. Better because we are full of doubts and full of ideas to resolve them. Better because we now possess a wealth of tools that reveal our limits, along with the ways to overcome them.
The first thing we should have learned is how to demolish any fear keeping us away from competitive play. Competitive Magic isn't an arena of neurotic tryhards who don't know how to have fun. It’s the place where our love for Magic: The Gathering can find its highest expression. A place where all the time we’ve dedicated to this game can bear fruit, competing in a noble battle of wits that is as healthy as it is instructive.
There’s absolutely nothing wrong with playing just for fun, but it would be blind to think that fun is exclusive to casual play. There is immense joy in seeing our skills improve, and to improve in a social game, there is no other way than facing worthy opponents. It is always legitimate to play for the sheer joy of it—Magic is that too, if not mostly that—but you should never deny yourself the opportunity to grow. Even if growth demands effort.
However, this commitment teaches us qualities we can apply to every other area of our lives. What made me fall in love with MTG wasn't just the passion shared with friends—I’ve played through periods when all my friends had quit. It was the mental growth the game gave me that kept the embers of my passion burning.
MTG taught me to keep a cool head when facing a problem at work and how to find the most efficient solution to solve it. It trained me to wait my turn in discussions and focus on what others have to say, rather than just thinking about my own talking points. It managed to show me that, before diving headfirst into an issue, I need to create the right conditions for success.
These and many other lessons are the legacy that competitive play has given me, and my way of paying it back is to dedicate as much time as I can to spreading the word.
Don't stop at just laughing with friends; discover everything else. The absolute best this game can do for you is waiting at the tournament tables.
If you play Commander, that's fine. Keep at it, but also consider trying a sixty-card format like Standard. If you play a sixty-card format like Pauper or Legacy, that's great, but pick up another one that is integrated into the current official tournament circuit (Standard, Modern, and Pioneer).
You only stand to gain, trust me. The money you spend to buy cards is nothing compared to the personal qualities you can develop. You’ll be buying, at a massive discount, skills that will generate returns in the rest of your life that completely dwarf your initial investment.
Use this guide as a springboard. Read it, reread it, correct it, update it, or burn it if it’s of no use to you. Write a new, better one. Outgrow it by any means necessary.
Make sure that what stays with you most are the things left unwritten. Those are the only things I can't give you, because I'm not good enough yet.
Francesco
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