How can I prep for the GP?

[jazzykat]

Hi all,

I play in an underdeveloped metagame with playskill ranging from mediocre to PT quality but very few people have to the cards to build "optimal decks". I practice on MWS a lot but only by accident against good players. As of right now my rating is good enough to get 2 byes in the Legacy GP but when I go there I am afraid that due to lack of quality of opponents and quality of opponent's decks I am not going to be as prepared as I could be.

I know other people must be in this situation, what are you doing to up the quality of your opponents and playtest partners?

[Shriekmaw]

First, a congradulations on the 2 byes that you have. Your goal of making day 2 just got a lot easier, but not guaranteed.

I would get a group of friends together and proxy the major tier 1 and tier 2 decks that you might expect people to play at the GP. By testing these matchups you become very familiar with the decks by knowing all their strengths and weaknesses. This will enable you to make the best plays possible when facing similar decks/scenerios at the GP.

When the GPT's come up in your area, play in them. They will give you practice against some better players, since those are the players that usually show up to these type of events since they reward you with 3 byes for the winner.

If you know in head of time which deck you might play at the GP, play that deck all the time so you know everything about it. This is tough for me because I never know what deck I will play until a few weeks before the tourney.

One of the things I do no matter what format it is, will be printing out the decklists of the top 10 decks and memorzing all the cards in the list. It gives me the knowledge of knowing what it in every deck even thought they may not be the exact lists you might be facing in an actual tournament. I think this with playtesting has given me very good preparation for a large event in the past.

I also believe my deck choice would be different depending on how many byes you have.

This is my quick breakdown (based on my personal perference):

0 byes - Goblins, Goyf sligh or Combo (Ichorid/TES)

2-3 Byes - Tempo Threshold

[klaus]

Check out this:

http://www.mtgthesource.com/forums/showthread.php?t=2182

...and you'll be all set.

[matelml]

I have a total rating of 1849. Does that mean I get a bye at the sealed GP in Rotterdam, The Netherlands? If so, how do I make sure I get it? If not, why not? The rating is almost exclusively made up from Legacy tournaments.

[Van Phanel]

You do get it and you don't have to do anything. When you register, they automatically check your DCI# for possible BYEs. Make sure to check your name after pairings are up, there the number of BYEs each player has is listed behind their name. If it is not there, find a judge to fix the problem.