<div style="text-align: center;">BEDiM 2013 : DAY 25</div>
(A Blog Every Day in May 2013 Challenge Entry)
Currently I’m sitting up at A Novel Place playing some Magic: The Gathering. I just drafted some two weeks ago, but it’s been awhile since playing competitive in the Standard format. So far I am 3-0-2. The first Draw was earned against a friend I’ve not seen in weeks. He wasn’t too happy with it, though. The second Draw was with another friend where we didn’t even play, but still secured our slots in the Top 8.
For those unfamiliar: that’s a good thing. It means I get an additional promo and play for additional product, as I battle for first place. Taking the second Draw felt dirty — I like duking it out slinging cardboard — but it gave me time to write up today’s post. Speaking of which…
Today’s prompt:
Day 25, Saturday:
Something someone told you about yourself that you'll never forget (good or bad)
Level Up
I apologize, but I can’t think of anything profound that anyone told me that I can conjure up from memory. You have the stereotypical “you can be anything you want to be,” “you can do anything you put your mind to,” “look both ways before crossing the road.” There are many of those phrases that I’ve heard from parents, friends, mentors, etc over the years.
There is an incredibly good chance that there are multiple nuggets of wisdom bestowed upon me that would make for a great piece for this entry. At it is, though, my mind is in game mode as I await the matches to finish up and for the Top 8 to begin.
One comment from a friend — the one I got my first Draw from today — has always stuck with me. Naturally it’s associated with Magic.
About a year ago now, during a Friday Night Magic (FNM) event, I played the same friend in a match up. The deck I designed used similar cards and tactics of a well-known deck at the time. Once I played a few cards he was positive he knew what I was playing. I don’t netdeck (that’s where you copy a deck design from the winners of worldwide competitions) so mine was more of an original brew.
After overplaying his hand, I eventually took over the match by casting board wipes, which he was shocked to learn I had in the deck. He was a bit confused with my card choices, and even argued about my build — stating I was using the wrong tactics with the type of deck I was playing — but I took the criticism in good stride.
Later I found out he told one of his good friends (best friend?), who is a mutual friend of ours, that I “Next-Leveled” him. Meaning that I had played in such a way that he thought he knew what I was playing, and how to play against it, but in the end the deck was different than expected; catching him by surprise. I thought it was awesome hearing this, because it meant the build worked it’s magic. Part of Magic is a mental game, and so many players expect people to netdeck and copy the pros. This means when someone builds outside of the mold, it can literally blindside your competition.
Considering his years of playing magic and playing ability, I took the comment to heart and with honor. Sometimes I’ll bring it up (like now) with friends in fond remembrance. I’d like to think I “Next-Leveled” him today too, even though our game ended in a Draw. We will see.
By they way, I took his compliment as stating that I was an awesome deck designer and player ;-)
So, like I said, my mind is on Magic at the moment as I am about to head into the Top 8. At this point, having gotten to the Top 8 is rewarding enough. Anything more is a bonus.
Has anyone ever told you something (good or bad) that has stuck with you through the years? Feel free to share. Hope more “good” than “bad”.
PS. Ended up getting 4th place, while my brother got 7th. For the first time in our competitive history my brother and I were paired up against one another. But, I slapped him around pretty hard going 2-0 against him. Also, I was using a deck he mainly designed and I tweaked and changed out the sideboard (pretend you know what that means, just know it’s important).
It felt like Justice.