The Importance of Playtesting

Before I get into the meat of today's post, I would like to again ask anyone who is playing in Regionals this weekend to pass along results if they can. I still only have the winners from last weekend in Collinsville and there are more events this weekend in San Diego, CA, Birmingham, AL, Brooklyn, NY, and Thornton, CO. If you attend one of these events or just know the results please pass them along to me. You can email me at blyonsmagic@yahoo.com or post them here. I will try to keep a running tally here on the blog as I get the results in, but I can do much without a little help from everyone.

Ok, with that out of the way, I want to talk a little bit about how important playtesting is if you are looking to qualify for Nationals. I haven't played as much in the last few weeks as I did right before Regionals last time, and when I have played it's been more for fun than getting ready for Regionals again. We've just started our playtesting for the next round of Regionals. The first one I will be attending isn't until the end of March, so I've still got plenty of time.

Last night we were testing out a new deck. I found myself losing games that I should have won but lost because I wasn't playing the deck well. More playtesting with the deck would have given me a better knowledge of how the deck works and what I could have done to win some of the games I lost. Playtesting, especially with the deck you plan to play, gives you a lot of very valuable information.

The most important thing, in my opinion, that you gain from playtesting is simply the experience of playing with the deck. You will learn how the deck works which will in turn help you win games that you otherwise may have lost. If you know how your deck should perform, you will be able to operate it at peak efficiency. Gaining experience will also help you to just become a better player in general. Eliminating play mistakes will go a long way toward winning matches, and playing is the best way to eliminate those mistakes.

Playtesting will also help you learn the strengths and weaknesses of your deck. This will allow you to make any necessary changes to help make your deck better. Is your deck strong against Hunters, but weaker in the Warlock matchup. Try to change a few cards to make that matchup better. Also, just knowing how each matchup plays will improve the matchups for you most of the time. For example, let's say you have a deck that most people would say is 40-60 against Shamans. If you know that matchup really well, your knowledge may make the matchup closer to 50-50 or even swing it into your favor.

When playtesting, I'm a firm believer that in addition to playing your deck against the main matchups you expect to face, you should play those decks against the one you're planning to play. That may sound a little redundant, but I mean you should play the matchup from both sides so that you not only understand how your deck plays against them, but also how they play against your deck. Playing as the enemy may give you new insight into how to better combat that particular deck. I would say for Regionals right now, the main matchups to know would be Hunter, Alliance Warlock, and Shaman. That would be a good starting point and if you get those down, you can move on to some of the Tier 2 matchups.

Having the best deck at Regionals isn't the recipe for success, but contrary to what some people would have you believe, neither is playing the deck you feel most comfortable with. If the deck you feel most comfortable with is based on Eviscerating stuff or using Boris Brightbeard, you better be playing that thing on a whole other level from the rest of the tournament or you just won't have a chance. The best bet for success is playing the best deck that you play well. So even if you think the big three are the best decks, if you play a Paladin deck better than you play those, that's probably your best option. A final note on deck selection, whatever deck you play you should have fun with it. If you're going to be playing 7 rounds of Swiss, you don't want to be miserable at the end of the day because you don't have any fun playing the deck you picked. This is a game after all.

Well, what are you waiting for? Get out there and start playing.