U.S. Regionals 2004

How to Prepare for Magic's Longest Day

by Jeff Zandi

Tomorrow, thousands of Magic players will compete in the U.S. Regionals,
perhaps the biggest day of the year in American Magic. The United States is
split up into eighteen regions, each of which holds its annual Regionals
tournament tomorrow, Saturday, May 1st. In all but two of these regions, the
top eight finishers will earn an invitation to the U.S. Nationals being held
in Kansas City in June. The Hawaii and Alaska regional events each award
only two seats to the U.S. Nationals.

For the past couple of years, attendance of the U.S. Regional events has
grown to a point where many of the events require as many as TEN rounds of
play to determine a top eight. This year, two changes have been made. After
the number of Swiss rounds has been determined based on the number of
players at your particular Regionals tournament, an additional round will be
added. For example, if 450 players would ordinarily require ten Swiss rounds
before cutting to a top eight, eleven rounds would be used this year. Also,
there will be no playoff among the top eight Swiss finishers. The final
standings after the last Swiss round is completed will be used to determine
the finishing position of all players. In the past, the top eight played off
in a single elimination bracket.

As a veteran of many years of playing in the Regional event (I live in the
South region and I've played in every year's event since the beginning) my
goal is to help everyone prepare for this very special, and very lengthy
day. Regionals is very different from any other Magic tournament you play
in. This is NOT Friday Night Magic. Moreover, the intensity of Regionals is
often higher than a pro tour qualifier or maybe even a Grand Prix. Preparing
well for Regionals requires more than just getting a deck together. Here are
some tips for preparation that can help you. Of course, you WILL also need a
deck, and I'll talk about that at the end of the article.

PRACTICE, PRACTICE, PRACTICE

Okay, it's actually a little late for this one. If you haven't already been
practicing for Regionals, I'm not suggesting that you start now. While you
can cram for a spelling test or a History exam, a Magic tournament is more
like a math test or a piano recital, a little more difficult to cram for.
The point I really want to make is that practice is the first and probably
most important thing to do to prepare for Regionals. No matter how many
websites you read or decks you look at, there is simply no replacement for
flipping the cards over for yourself, preferably with a live opponent either
sitting across the table from you or playing against you from somewhere in
cyberspace.

GOOD NIGHT, SWEET PRINCE

Here in Dallas, a variety of fun side event tournaments is being held
tonight. While these events may be ideal for the Magic player looking to
maximize his Regionals weekend fun, I think serious players should turn in
early and try to get some sleep. Young or old, every Magic player is going
to be physically tested in what will most likely be eleven long rounds in
tomorrow's tournament. George Baxter, the first great player from Texas,
said that he always made sure to get a good night's sleep before a big
tournament. To make sure that he would get that needed sleep, George was not
above downing a bottle of cough suppressant, an interesting idea that I
certainly am not promoting. Substance issues aside, the moral is simple
enough: You have the world's longest tournament tomorrow, GET SOME SLEEP.

FREE MARKET ECONOMY

If you plan on buying the last couple of cards needed for your deck from the
dealers at Regionals tomorrow morning, then you better remember to empty
your bank account on the way to the tournament. Arcbound Ravagers and
Skullclamps will be sold for record prices tomorrow. The high prices charged
by dealers for these and other popular cards will make trading for the best
cards for the best Regionals decks very difficult as well.

SLEEVING LAS VEGAS

Due to rules violations involving marked cards in decks at Regionals
tournaments across the country, making sure your deck is sleeved with
extremely clean sleeves is a very important matter. While it would be
preferable to lay out the cash and get new sleeves, previously used sleeves
may be okay, just make sure they are not marked from wear in any significant
way. Judging used sleeves is very subjective, so you might ask a judge
before the tournament begins to see if they feel your sleeves are too worn.
If a judge determines your sleeves are marked in any way that he or she
feels would give you an advantage, intentional or not, you could easily be
facing a match loss or even ejection from the event. Some players still like
to play constructed without sleeves. I would not suggest playing without
sleeves unless all your cards are very new.

GOING THE DISTANCE

Eleven rounds is a very long time to keep your head together. For this
reason, it will be very important tomorrow to pace yourself. You need to
take good care of yourself during the day by taking breaks whenever possible
and keeping yourself fed and watered all day long. (properly hydrated is
what I mean by "watered") You will hear SO MANY players tomorrow, as the day
wears on, saying "I wish I would hurry up and lose the next match so that I
can go home". This kind of mental problem comes when you get just plain get
tired of playing so many rounds in an environment that may be physically
uncomfortable due to crowding or a lack of proper air flow or lack of access
to food and drink. Even your deck selection should be affected due to the
simple fact that you have so many rounds to play. An aggressive deck that
allows you to finish your rounds quicker may be a better choice, since
quicker matches allow you more time between rounds to relax.

CHOOSING A DECKLIST

I will most likely be playing Goblin Bidding. I don't have the exact
decklist ready, but I know it would include Skullclamp and lots of Affinity
hate in the sideboard. I also have Ravager Affinity ready to go as well. I
favor these two decks not only because of their fine performance in the
regional tournaments held in previous weeks around the world, but also
because these two decks can win matches quickly enough to allow me more down
time between rounds.

After Goblin Bidding and Ravager Affinity, the only two other decks that I'm
really excited about right now is mono white (or ALMOST mono white) control
and Tooth and Nail. Having played a lot of control white and almost played
almost no Tooth and Nail, I would have to favor mono white control. While I
hate to talk about other websites in this column, I would have to suggest
that Alex Shvartsman wraps a pretty good bow on the BIG FOUR decks going
into tomorrow's tournament. I think his article was on MTG.com on Thursday.

GHOSTS OF REGIONALS PAST

Personally, I've had good and bad results at Regionals. My two best years
include a 7-2 record in 1998 and 7-3 in 2002, both in Dallas. I had two 1-2
performances, in 2001 and 2003, both in Dallas. In 1996, the South Regional
(then called the South Desert Region) was held in Lubbock, Texas and run
WITHOUT A COMPUTER by Magic judging legend The Mad Hatter. In 1997, Hatter
teamed up with Australian Edward Fox to hold the event in Ft. Worth at the
same facility where Magic was FIRST sold in 1993 at Origins. In the year
2000 (not a Conan O'Brien routine) Houston tournament organizer Dr. Tim
Weissman ran the event in Arlington, Texas. All the other South Regional
tournaments have been held in Dallas. My lifetime Regionals record is
32-19-2. After a handful of very fun Pro Tour events, I hope I can perform
well enough tomorrow to finish in the top eight and qualify for my
first-ever U.S. Nationals. Good luck to all of you with similar dreams and
goals!

As always, I'd love to hear what YOU think!

Jeff Zandi
Texas Guildmages
Level II DCI Judge
jeffzandi@thoughtcastle.com
Zanman on Magic Online