I spent more time preparing for SCG Worcester than I would like to openly admit. I absolutely love when big tournaments come to my area because I really enjoy competitive play. Unfortunately I woke up Friday morning with a nasty cold and was still recovering when the Legacy 5K rolled around Sunday morning. A combination of Dayquil and cough drops tied me together somewhat but it was haphazard at best. I won a couple rounds in legacy before scrubbing out and moving onto the Modern Challenge where I did the same thing. Most of the time if I don’t place in the top 64 I am pretty disappointed in myself. However, in spite of scrubbing out yesterday, I had a wonderful time and the day was extremely productive. Winning is fun, who doesn’t love winning? Unfortunately even the best Magic players find themselves having off days and it’s important to not waste the day.
Dropping isn’t always a matter of being X-3 and knowing that you won’t get a prize. One of the best ways to take advantage of the day is to get some more practice. If there aren’t any other events that day, grinding out the rest of the tournament might not be a bad choice. However, there are definitely times where I’m so on tilt I am not going to learn anything by continuing playing. That doesn’t mean the day is a total loss though! There are plenty of other ways to go about learning and making the day productive.
If there aren’t any other events going on that day, drop and find someone who is doing well. Follow them, watch them play and see what you can learn from them. I was fortunate enough to be able to watch our own Curtis Wienmann play a few games Sunday that lead to his 5th place finish with Enchantress.
Or if you feel up to playing go check out some side events! Sunday I went and played in the Modern Challenge after I scrubbed out of Legacy and had a lot of fun. Often side events are at Regular REL so people tend to be more relaxed and it can be a very enjoyable atmosphere. When everyone gets 2 packs no matter how well they do people tend to focus less on the win and more on having a good time.
Maybe you really don’t feel like playing anymore, that’s okay too! Whether you’re on tilt or a combination of having a head cold and Dayquil is making you loopy, there are still things to do. Walk around and find some people trading. If you have a binder and are looking for cards jump in, or maybe just chat and try to make some new friends. At several points throughout the day I was able to stumble upon people I’ve never met before and get a conversation going, it can be surprisingly easy! When it came time for trading I got to watch Stefano Black both days and if you think his column is educational, watching him work for a couple hours is even more so.
Near the end of the day I went around to some of the artists’ booths and met some of the artists and alterists. I’m an artist myself so I’m partial to people doing this; my friends who ended up trying it yesterday all loved it. Yesterday I had the joy of chatting with Xela the Geek and Drew Baker. I’ve met Xela before, we talked altering and I got to admire her amazing pieces. I learned about how she funded her IndieGoGo campaign and she even gave me a sneak preview at some of her upcoming work! I had stopped by Drew’s booth while it was slow to fan girl over his work, I really love the colors he uses. I was able to learn about an amazing life size piece he recently did for Lucasfilm and walked away with a beautiful signed print from him (that I ran home and immediately hung on my wall). Art is such a huge part of Magic, it is always worth the time to meet the artists who help add that extra something to a fun game.
At the end of the day I walked away having made at least a dozen new friends (who have fortunately found me on Facebook, Instagram and Twitter) and a beautiful piece of art. I might not have placed yesterday but I definitely walked away feeling like a winner. So if you scrub out, don’t waste the day! Try a few of my suggestions and see where it leads you, you never know what you might find.