Every great story starts with one little event. Aside from those of you who live in Europe or under a rock, everyone knows by now that the Boston Red Sox won their first World Series in 85 years last September. Everybody knows they had to go through the New York Yankees, their most hated rival, to do so, and most everyone remembers that in order to do so, they had to fight back from being down three games to none to win their best-of-seven series with those Yanks.

Then we get into the finer details. Those who were paying attention remember that the Sox were down 4–3 in that fourth game. Those with well-attuned memories can recall that Mariano Rivera, the Yankee’s unstoppable ace in the hole, was pitching. And those with the sharpest eyes remember that with Mo pitching, it was Dave Roberts’s steal of second base—when everyone in the ballpark knew he was going to do it—that acted as the catalyst for it all.

 

- Roberts steals, getting into scoring position.

- Roberts scores as a direct result, tying the game.

- Boston comes back to win the game.

- Boston comes back to win the series.

- Boston goes on to win the World Series.

It was a big event around here, one that will be recalled with affection a century from now, but none of it would have happened if Roberts hadn’t stolen that base. Which makes for a suitable lead into the fourth and final rule of this series:

It’s the little things that count the most.

This is the case in almost any endeavor, but it holds especially true when tournament play of a game with as many minute details as Vs. System is involved. One bad formation, one misspent resource and the course of an entire game—and with it your tournament—is irrevocably changed.

Through years of study, and by study I mean some combination of chatting with other gamers and learning from personal experience, there are a number of little things I’ve come to understand will help in the course of any tournament. Some of them will seem basic, some instinctive, but they form a pattern that one should repeat in order to coax a peak performance from the jumbled mass of nerves and circuitry we call the human body. Each on their own hardly seems significant, but say each one improves your performance by one percent. When you pile them all on top of one another, they make a pretty substantial difference. Take a look:

Travel

-          Always give yourself a full 24-hour day to get acclimated in the tournament city.

-          If you’re changing time zones, the body needs two full days to adjust.

-          If you have trouble sleeping on planes, ask to be seated at the back, as planes are sold front first and your chances of getting your own row will increase substantially.

Food and Accommodation

-          Give yourself eight hours of sleep a night.

-          Make sure your hotel is booked in advance and that you know your roommates well (and that they respect your sleeping needs).

-          Coordinate your sleep patterns with the tournament schedule as soon as you arrive.

-          This means going to sleep eleven hours before starting time, as the human body needs three hours to get itself up to full steam.

-          Eat healthy and light in the days leading up to the tournament.

-          On the day of the tournament, avoid heavy meals. Instead, small, high-energy snacks are best. This is because your senses are at their sharpest when you’re hungry (this is known as the hunter’s instinct).

Pre-Tourney

-          Memorize your decklist.

-          Know your matchups—it’s not just about playing your deck, but also playing against your opponent’s.

-          An hour before tournament time, play a casual game in the format you’ll be playing. This is the mental equivalent of stretching. If it’s Sealed Pack, draft one booster. This makes the mind accustomed to the thought process that goes into the decisions you’ll have to make.

-          Maintain a positive outlook. You aren’t going to win if you don’t believe you can.

-          Have a judge check your sleeves.

-          Have a friend check your decklist.

-          Find an emotional center. In tournaments, things inevitably happen that will upset some players. If you happen to be one of them, you don’t want that event skewing your next match.

Tourney

-          Call a judge on everything. This includes any mistakes you make or rulings that you’re “only” 99.9% sure of.

-          Along those lines, get to know your judges. You share a common interest and they can be pretty helpful in a pinch.

-          Don’t drink between days (or the night before, for that matter).

-          Develop a poker face. Even if you aren’t much good at reading your opponents, there are players out there who are.

-          Develop an information network. If you know what everyone is playing, it’s a huge advantage where mulligans and early drops are concerned. Have one team member get a list of participants, and when you learn what a player is playing, report it to them.

-          Keep calm. With impending success comes excitement. With excitement comes emotional clouding of a logical mind.

-          If you succeed, don’t forget your friends. No one wins a tournament on their own. Make sure they know you know that.

Some of these may seem a little strange or downright dumb to you, but it works. Living right leads to feeling right, which in turn leads to a heightened probability of playing right. If nothing else, you have to know that that will take you in the right direction.

There are other rules that could be discussed, but four parts is already a lot and I need to save a little something for future writings. The idea behind this series was to show you that there’s more to winning than just playing the cards right. They call it a Pro Circuit at least in part because you need to treat it that way. Don’t pay your airfare and hotel to play like a rookie. You owe it to yourself to coax as much goodness out of you as is possible. If you want to do that, play by the rules.