I can't remember where I read about this technique, but I started using it a long time ago. You know that moment in a game of Magic where you know you made a play mistake? Like, let's say you missed an attack or tapped the wrong land and cut yourself off from the color of mana you needed later in the turn. Those sorts of mistakes may not cost you the game immediately, but they add up. If you really want to practice with purpose, put a D6 on top of your library. Every time you make a mistake, add one to the D6. Your goal is to not make mistakes. Looking at the D6 before you draw every turn will help you be aware of what you are doing each turn.
Last week, I shuffled up my Braids / Eldrazi deck expecting to get smashed by combo for the umpteenth week in a row. But not this time. This time, I found myself one attack away from winning (the first round at least) and screwed it up big time. This wasn't a D6-type mistake. This one cost me the game. It went something like this.
I'm playing against Sliver-combo - nice guy, but I lost to him last week so I know what I'm up against. I also see Uril sitting across from me, which is never good. And, someone I haven't played against before on my left. It's four of us at the table. On turn 4, I cast Braids expecting to not have her live to make it back around the table to me. But she does. So, I drop Ulamog. I drop a land and tap out for Time Warp, expecting it to get countered. It doesn't. Ulamog goes into the red zone at Slivers and sets him back with the Annihilator 4 trigger. It goes back around again. Braids is still alive. More Eldrazi join the party. Uril attacks me for 20 Commander damage. Here's where I lose.
Uril is tapped. He has no blockers and is tapped out. I have Ulamog, a couple of other Eldrazi, and Braids. I look across the table and see Uril's life counter is at 2. He's using a D20 to keep track at this point. I attack with Braids for what I think is lethal. I swing everything else at the other guy. As it turns out, Uril is really at 5 life. Take a D20 out and turn it over so that you are looking at 5. Now, turn it around and put it across the table from you. See the "2"? My brain certainly did.
I should have asked what his life total was, of course. I should have been writing it down if I was taking this "tournament" seriously. Instead, I expected to eat the Sliver combo on turn 5 and lose without having to do much of anything. I guess the lesson is "pay attention" or something. You can insert your own words of wisdom here.
Speaking of combo. We shuffled up for an unofficial second game after my spectacular failure. The second game is almost always the fun game because people put the combo deck back in the box and take out something "fun." I took out Demons, who without Griselbrand don't really do much except look cool and have lots of black mana symbols and evil-sounding names. One guy had tokens. Someone else had Grimgrin. Someone else had, Geist. No one was playing combo. The game took forever. Hours. Lots of sweepers. Lots of stalling. I missed lunch. I nearly missed dinner. Near the end, I was secretly hoping for a combo kill. There, I said it. Don't judge me!
A couple of fun things to note:
This kept happening. It's a "combo" alright. And it's pretty scary. Just not scary enough to end the game.
At one point, I put a Whispersilk Cloak on Ulamog. Because that makes perfect sense. "Quick! Put this on. No one will notice you that way."
Uril is a beast, and I don't just mean his creature type. With three auras, he was up to 20 power, indestructible, lifelink, first strike, and some other junk. It involved Shield of the Oversoul. This all happened in one turn. Plus, it's Commander damage coming your way.
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