41: Limited Tips and Playing to Win with Kenji Egashira aka NumotTheNummy

Kenji Egashira is an enthusiast of 40 card formats, and has been playing Magic since he was 10 years old. Perhaps best known for his Twitch.tv stream where he goes by NumotTheNummy, he is a full-time "internet-preneur" broadcasting his games and entertaining viewers. Kenji lives in Washington.

Click to Tweet: I got a ton of value from Kenji when he shared his story on MTG Pro Tutor today! Click here: http://bit.ly/mtgprotutor-ep41

First Set

Tempest

Favorite Set

Invasion block

Favorite Card

Sliver Queen

**Kenji's first commander was Numot, the Devastator. Which is where he derived his screen name from.**

Numot, the Devastator

What makes Magic: The Gathering fun for you?

Always changing. New sets and story lines keep the game fresh.

Early Challenge

Not focusing on getting better. Early on Kenji would just play the game and not think about the outcome. He would blame losses to luck. Now he thinks, "what did I do wrong and how can I get better?"

Level Up Moment

When Kenji started streaming he started to improve because he had input from his audience that helped change his perspective.

Proudest Magic Moment

Playing Magic full-time.

Also, 9th at Grand Prix Vancouver.

Best Format

Draft

Biggest Mistake Players Make

Many players play not to lose, instead of playing to win. Keep track of your thought process and note when you fall into this trap. 

Card Evaluation Tips

Kenji looks for synergies between cards and determines if they will be good in draft.

Now Kenji waits until he streams a new set to see the cards. This gives his audience a fresh perspective on the cards. When he does this he has to recognize if a card is good by itself rather than if it fits into a strategy because he doesn't know the synergies yet. He figures that out as he drafts several times.

Sealed & Draft Tips

Sealed: Sort out bombs, then colors and look at how many playables you have. Curve, playables, bombs; the makings of a well managed Sealed deck.

Draft: Once you've drafted the set a few times you can ear mark cards that are worth remembering. Kenji notes the first 5-6 picks in a pack so he has an idea of what other colors will be taken at the table.

How to Effectively Play Test

Repetitions + decompression. Playing a bunch of games in the format you're preparing for and then critically thinking about each game afterwards is a great way to prepare.

Improvement Suggestions

Even when you win you should consider what you could have done better. 

Repack booster packs so you can draft and build sealed pools without buying new product.

Magic Resource

Limited Resources podcast

Constructed Resources podcast

Draft videos 

Magic streams

Connect With Kenji

Twitch.tv/numotthenummy

Twitter: @NumotTheNummy

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