28: How Paul Rietzl Focuses All His Efforts to Prepare for Tournaments

Paul Rietzl was born in Boston, MA and currently lives in Scottsdale, AZ working as an Executive Recruiter. He has 12 Grand Prix top 8s, including 2 wins, and 4 Pro Tour top 8s including winning Pro Tour Amsterdam in 2010. Paul is a member of Team UltraPro and writes for ChannelFireball.com. He is a member of Magic: The Gathering's Hall of Fame Class of 2014.

First Set

 The Dark

Favorite Set

 Rise of the Eldrazi

  Favorite Card

Steppe Lynx

What makes Magic fun for you?

Depending on where he is in life different aspects of Magic appeal to him. Early on it was the travel, sometimes is the thrill of challenge, but overall it's the life long friends and the connections with people that keep Paul coming back.

Early Challenge

Not doing well at tournaments made Paul do some soul searching and decide that he will start to prepare the heck out of tournament so he can show up prepared.

Proudest Magic Moment

Winning the Team Grand Prix in San Jose (2012) with Matt Sperling and David Williams

Best Format

Team Rochester Draft

Sealed Deck

Biggest Mistake Players Make

Everyone has experienced being blown out. While blow out losses are not fun, many people shut down when there are lot of little things you could be doing to gain incremental edges.

Know the sequence you and your opponent need to go through for you to come back and play to that. Assume your opponent will make mistakes.

Consider what factors outside of the game are affecting your loss. Is your mana base built right? Did you sideboard correctly?

Don't shut down. There is a lot to be learned from a blow out loss.

Connect With Paul

Twitter: @paulrietzl

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