In a little over a week, the Pro Circuit will be upon us. All of your hard work and your blood, sweat, and tears will be laid out in an attempt to be recognized as one of the best players in the world. I will be among those individuals trying to prove themselves, and I want to share that experience with you as much as possible. With that being said, this article has a special focus. Today, I am going to guide you through my preparation for the upcoming Pro Circuit and what I expect to see there. Hopefully, by sharing my expectations and preparations with you, you can gain a better knowledge of what to expect and potentially make better deck choices whether you are looking to play at the Pro Circuit or not.

Mock PC Time!

With just a week left before PC: LA, panic has probably started to sink in. These feelings are inevitable and shouldn’t make you feel like you’re not a competent and competitive player. Right now, despite what others may believe, my entire team has the pre-PC jitters. We are all wondering if we predicted the metagame correctly and if our deck is the best available. What gives us some respite from these feelings is the knowledge that many other pros are experiencing the same thing. There really isn’t much you can do as a player to avoid this, but in the weeks before the PC, I always do some last-minute testing. This is different than changing your deck the night before a PC. What I am referring to is a rundown of a mock PC where I play ten rounds against a mix of decks representing our  expected metagame. Generally, I try to time it out so that each round goes for the normal thirty minutes; that way, I can get an idea of where I clock in after each round.

This information is vital to my pre-PC preparations (try saying that three times fast!). It allows me to learn several things, including how many errors I make with my deck in a simulated Pro Circuit, how I fare against the expected metagame, and what my fatigue level is after playing ten straight timed matches.

Normally, if my teammates or I make an obvious mistake in testing, we allow the mistake to be “taken back” for the sake of testing against the most perfect draw possible. But when I do the mock PC testing, there are no take-backs. This sometimes makes for frustrating testing sessions, but it is necessary. The reality is that at the Pro Circuit, players will make mistakes, and I don’t think that you—or your opponent, for that matter—will allow a mistake to be taken back. For this reason, practicing in an environment where you live and die by your decisions is always a good idea.

I also mentioned that participating in a mock PC helps you to learn your matchups against your predicted metagame. This is different from just testing and saying, “Well, my deck has a 70% success rate against X deck.” In a mock PC, I am trying to gauge what my performance would be in a given ten games against a randomized field. I’m not a math whiz like my teammate Jeremy Blair, and that is a lot of calculation to determine the win percentages for the variety of decks that could potentially show up. Call me old fashioned, but I’m not really big on math as a predictor of how well I will do; I like to think that I can control my own destiny, and I just don’t believe that the numbers are always right. Playing against a variety of decks in a ten-game marathon will tell you more than percentages will, in my humble opinion. It allows you to take into consideration mistakes made by you or your opponent, as well as your fatigue levels.

While fatigue may not seem like an important aspect to consider, it has a much bigger impact than you may think. At a Pro Circuit, rounds can last upward of an hour when you take into consideration all the matches that go into end-game procedures and the amount of time it takes to process those matches, generate pairings, and so forth. I made light of the fact that someone mistakenly thought I was running a marathon a couple of weeks ago, but the fact is that the Pro Circuit really is a marathon—a three day marathon—and only those players who have “trained” the best (and get a little bit lucky) will be there on Day 3. Obviously, training refers to your deck choice and Draft preparation, but it also refers to how well hydrated you stay, how much energy you have, and how mentally sharp you can be after a grueling day of matches. By participating in a mock Draft, you can at least get a small idea of how it will feel when you sit down for the real thing.

Pro Circuit Day 1 Thoughts

What will dominate Day 1 of the Pro Circuit? I don’t know for certain, but I will throw out what I know and how you may want to try to deal with it. It is my honest opinion that this Pro Circuit will be unlike any other. I know, I know, it sounds pretty redundant, doesn’t it? Well, what I mean to say is that unlike previous PCs, this Pro Circuit will be all about the race. No, I am not referring to NASCAR. I am referring to the monstrosity that goes by the name of High Voltage and the growing opinion that the only way to beat it is to win before it can.

High Voltage seems to be the deck of the hour. It provides enough punch and the requisite speed to make pros cringe. The biggest question is whether this deck will show up as much as people think it will. When everyone knows and expects to see a certain deck, it is a very risky proposition to take that deck into the field. Cards like Mikado and Mosha and Betrayal are sure to be packed into decks trying to improve their matchups against this extremely popular choice.

Teen Titans is another one of those decks that seems to be talked about a lot with regard to the upcoming Pro Circuit. This deck really has no “bad” matchups, per se, and it has many tools that can deal with a variety of circumstances. The difficulty of piloting this deck well, though, may prohibit it from showing up in large numbers; this has always been a rather large issue with this deck. Lately, it has been showing up and garnering support, but I honestly don’t expect it to make a serious impact. It is my opinion that the pro contingent will shy away from it for the simple reason that it is a relatively safe call. I believe that many pros will try to develop new deck ideas and concepts instead of settling on an old favorite. If a team or group of players feels that they can’t find a good alternative, however, then Titans could show up and make some waves. It can be a wrecking ball in a strong player’s hands.

What about the rest? Well, it seems that most people think those two decks will make up most of the field, but I do have some sleeper picks for you. Keep an eye out for a Faces of Evil build to make a splash. These decks have a lot of explosive power and can recover from a bad turn even after their whole board is decimated. The biggest detriment to Faces is that it takes time to develop a kill turn. A build like the one Jason Hager piloted at the most recent $10K Columbus might stand the best chance; playing mostly concealed characters ensures that you have a small army ready to knock some heads on turn 4.

Also, I wouldn’t count out Doom for this Pro Circuit. He is the major baddy in the new Marvel Ultimate Alliance video game and he has the potential to cause the same headaches when everyone sits down for Day 1 of this PC. Doom provides a lot of versatility, especially with the availability of Dr. Doom, Richards’s Rival fetching a key plot twist in any given matchup. He alone makes playing “silver bullet” cards an effective strategy. Now you can tech Flame Trap, Political Pressure, or even Time Thief and hit them with shocking consistency. And let’s not forget some of the good doctor’s older tricks, like Reign of Terror and Mystical Paralysis. Overall, Doom is poised for a good deckbuilder to come along and make a strong concept a reality.

Now I come to the part of the article where you’re likely to say that I’m crazy. I honestly believe that the environment is ripe for a combo deck to come in and wreck house. The metagame is largely as it was at Pro Circuit New York when my team did very well with Xavier’s Dream. The field is expected to consist of High Voltage and Teen Titans, but what is even more important is that disruption does not seem to be in the front of most players’ minds. When there is little disruption in the metagame, combo decks can really wreak havoc. I don’t have a specific build, but I would keep an eye out. A shrewd deckbuilder could really come in and knock the tournament over with the right combo.

Pro Circuit Day 2 Thoughts

Heralds of Galactus is an unbelievably fun set to draft. There are many ways to go about building a deck in this set, especially with Skrull being, potentially, the best fifth team ever created. With that being said, the Draft portion of this PC will definitely be interesting to watch. First and foremost, I should direct you to Alex Brown’s article where he listed ten things to know about Draft for this set. He was right on with many of them, and he is largely considered the authority on Sealed Pack play. While Alex may be the most renowned Draft expert, I have a little bit of knowledge to impart to you, as well.

I think the most drafted strategy at any given table will be a Kree press deck, hands down. At the most recent $10K events, it was both a Sealed Pack and a Constructed powerhouse, and many players will go into the format trying to force this strategy. As such, other deck concepts will be open early but will close off quickly as those players who were forcing Kree get cut off and scramble to find a better alternative. This has happened in many of my practice Drafts, and it creates quite a dilemma with regard to knowing what to pick when.

More than anything, I would say to draft what you know. If you haven’t tried a strategy, or if you have a very limited exposure to a certain team, then try to stay away from it. You don’t want the Pro Circuit to be the place where you get your feet wet with a new Draft strategy. During testing, most individuals aren’t able to replicate the player quality that is present at the top tables of the PC, so trying a new strategy in that environment would be like swimming with sharks with a tuna sandwich in your pocket. In other words, it’s just not a good idea.

Trust me, I know from experience. At Day 2 of Pro Circuit San Francisco, I drafted the Energy burn strategy for the first time after Michael Barnes told me how great it was for him. In the previous pod, I had 3-0’d with Hellfire Club, a deck with which I was really familiar. I ended up going 1-2 with my Energy burn deck, dashing my hopes for a Day 3 appearance. In the next pod, I drafted Brotherhood Freedom Force, which was the other deck I was really comfortable with, and went 2-1. There is no question in my mind that my success on that Day 2 came from the fact that I knew how to build and play a certain strategy.

My advice to you is to go with the concept with which you have the most experience. This will make it easier to fill out those spots in your deck that just didn’t come together like you had hoped, because you’ll know what your deck can do and what it needs to be competitive. You will have a better idea of how your deck will draw and what kind of power it will have, as well as potential matchup information against other predicted Draft strategies.

In the End

I hope you enjoyed this rundown of things to consider as we approach the Pro Circuit. I honestly believe that if you try to employ some of these strategies, then you will be better prepared for what the Pro Circuit (or any premier-level event in general) has to offer. By simulating what you expect to take part in, you gain a mental edge against those who are unfamiliar with those circumstances. Also, knowledge of the potential metagame can give you valuable insight into your deck choice and specific card inclusions. The same can be said with Draft, where practice will direct you to a strategy that you are comfortable with and can draft with ease and, hopefully, success. Until next time!

Shane Wiggans, one of the nicest guys with a tattoo sleeve, is also a member of Team Alternate Win Condition and would like to see the small horse that Jeremy Blair allegedly purchased for him. If you have any questions or comments for him, feel free to say hey at any event or email him at piercedlawyer@yahoo.com!