51: How You Can Remain Calm When Approaching Magic by Scott Kirkwood

Scott Kirkwood broke on to the upper levels of competitive Magic by making the Top 4 at Grad Prix Indianapolis in 2015 with RG Landfall. He lives in Illinois.

Click to Tweet: I got a ton of value from Scott Kirkwood when he shared his story on #MTGProTutor today! Click here: http://bit.ly/mtgprotutor-ep51

First Set

Return to Ravnica

Favorite Set

Khans of Tarkir

Favorite Card

Gifts Ungiven
Jeskai Ascendancy

What makes Magic: The Gathering fun for you?

Playing casually and having fun doing silly stuff.

Scott's EDH deck is Zedruu the Greathearted, which is one of those goof off and have fun commanders. 

He also enjoys competitive constructed formats. Scott loves that there are so many options and you can do whatever you want in Magic.

Scott really likes when two people are trying their best to improve and face off.

Early Challenge

Taking the time to think if he should do something as supposed to just doing it because he could.

He learned to slow down and assess the situation every time.

Level Up Moment

Making it to the Pro Tour has really validated Scott's efforts and shown him that he has grown and has what it takes.

Brad Nelson's article on how to approach Magic really helped Scott improve.

Proudest Magic Moment

Making Top 4 at Grand Prix Indianapolis. (It's still sinking in how big of a deal this is.)

Best Format

Modern

Vintage (Favorite)

How to Choose a Standard Deck

Scott likes to play the decks that people say "I can beat anything except that deck". So he'll roll in to a Modern or Standard event with a red deck because so many decks have bad match up against red.

Biggest Mistake Players Make

Approach the game as just a game. Don't over stress it and psyche yourself out.

Assess every situation. Don't make snap decisions without thinking through various lines. "What's the Play?" articles are great practice for this.

Card Evaluation Tips

Scott admits that he is not the best at evaluating cards. It's fun to speculate but when it comes down to it he relies on the opinions of others via set reviews.

Sealed & Draft Tips

Pre release: Scott approaches a pre release with the intent to have fun. Try new cards and weird combos just to see how it works. Have fun! Pre releases are great places to play just for FUN!

How to Effectively Prepare for a Big Event

Play a real deck.

A lot of people love to brew (Scott is the same way) but if you are trying to win, play a proven deck.

Jam games with friends so you know the interactions and lines of play.

What's in Your Tournament Bag?

Pen 

Pad

Playmat

Deck

Dice

Extra cards

Improvement Suggestions

Proxy cards before you invest in a deck.

Magic Resource

r/spikes

Channel Fireball

Star City Games

TCG Player

Connect With Scott Kirkwood

Facebook: Scott Kirkwood

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