Process and Results
By Marvin Emory
Hello friends! (And enemies) It’s your boy Marvin. This time I’m hitting you with a different form of content, my very first, and likely last, article! This is a topic that is very important to me, and one that I have seen so many struggle with recently, including my homies, and me myself so many years ago when I first found this game.
As you can tell from the title, this is going to be a yap about the process of improving at this game, or anything in life really, and the results of that process. Before we get into the good stuff, I’m going to hit you all with my favorite quote of all time, and the one I remind myself of every single time I lose a game, misplay poorly or get hit with the bad side of variance.
The Process-
This is without a doubt the most important part of doing anything in life, and honestly the only one that really matters. That may sound mean, but hear me out. Through the process of learning and improving at something, whatever goals you have in mind should, realistically, happen pretty naturally. Every game played should get you ever closer to those goals, and as long as we focus on this process, rather then the results of said process, you will begin to find enjoyment, and even excitement in your losses as you realize the points of error made or where you could have minimized your variance to then win that game. Unfortunately, this only works if we change our mindset entirely.
“To win, you either have to get lucky, or beat people who are luckier than you. To learn, you just have to show up and pay attention” This is a line recently said in my Discord server by the one and only Kevin Broberg, and it really struck deep with me. If I think back on every single game I have played, without a doubt in my mind, I learned more from my losses then I ever have from my wins. When I first started this game, I went 3 months at locals before I even took someone to a 1-2 result. Thankfully, I had an amazing individual there, Amy, who taught me to pay less attention to if I’m winning or losing, and more attention to the game I’m playing right now. She taught me to take every game play by play, and to think about the other plays that could have been made after, question whether they would be better, and even use hindsight to prove that and try to out my own variance. You’ll just have to trust me when I say this new mentality quickly took me to winning my first locals, and by the time it happened, I didn’t even really care as this was as no longer my priority. The win is always nice, you should always feel good about it, but I became far more interested in my continued improvement, and because of that, seeking out better and better opponents at higher level events, like the very first regional since MHA started, the Las Vegas Regional License Exam.
This would be the first event I’ve ever done that could be considered a “major”, and unfortunately back then, I truly thought I was the main character, and that I would win it. Oh boy was I wrong. I started the event 5-0 and continued this feeling. Not only was I going to win, I was not going to drop a single game. Round 6 gets paired, and I pair into what my friends there would tell me is a world champion. No problem, I’ll win. I proceed to get 2-0d in 17 minutes. There was genuinely no chance I would have beat this player at my current level without a lot of luck, but you wouldn’t have been able to tell me that in the moment. It’s fine. 1 loss, I will win the next ones easy. I pair into yet another champion, playing the same exact character! As you can likely assume, I once again lose 0-2. The worst result would happen after these losses, and I end up bubbling out of top cuts. I was more upset at myself than my results, as I never should have expected to top or win this event nor should I have made that my priority. I slipped up. My priority should have been to improve and learn in every game, and I’ll do it next time. There is so much I can learn from this event, and it should be considered a HUGE win for me, I played my best, found players that were still better, and can learn so much from them. And so I have, and now I can write this article with the knowledge that I have topped several regionals, worlds, and one day I will win one. All of these things will come and go, but I will never stop improving at the game as long as I am playing it. I have prepped a ton for some events, playing every single day, twice a day for multiple weeks, and done very well. This is a very big part of the process, and one that cannot ever be skipped, PLAYING THE GAME!!! Quite literally the only way to truly improve at this game, is to play it.
The Goal-
I see so many players in this game, and many others that I’ve played, that are so set on the goal of top cutting, or winning, an event. Which overall, is a great thing! This is a fantastic goal to have, and one that truly anyone can reach. But what I don’t often see, is people taking about just how insanely difficult it is to top an event, let alone WIN one! You have to have the best deck, be the best pilot, and most of all, have better luck then 80% of your opponents, or learn how to maximize playing around the bad luck! All of these things have to happen at every single event you play, and it can be EXHAUSTING! My personal “goal” in this game, it to eventually win a regional. Worlds is not really in my sights, I just want to one day, walk up on that stage, and be the best player in the room for one moment. I am confident I will one day reach this milestone, but it can never be my priority over the process. Prepare for events you want to do well at, watch all the content, understand the meta enough to make tech calls, and you’ll do really well, I’m sure of it, as long as you’ve stuck with the process. But don’t forget the benefits of just sitting down at the table and laughing with your opponent as you grow to understand combos of your decks. Your goal can change every single time you play this game, but the process never will. You will always sit across the table from an opponent, sling cards and have a great time. If your goal is to improve, you genuinely can never fail, and we might as well have a great time while doing it!
If you made it this far, you’re a real homie. A lot of you reading this will already know, understand and be doing everything in this article, but this is for those that I know are struggling with their spot in the game right now. Just know, if that is you, you’re doing great, you’re a great player, the process is always longer than the results, but it’s also infinitely more fulfilling. I 100% believe that any person sitting down to play this game can win an LC, a regional, and even worlds. Just gotta follow the process. One last thing before I leave you all, even in this process and reaching whatever goals you may have, please remember every time you sit down at the table, this is a Trading Card GAME, and games are meant to be fun!
Goodbye for now, I love you all
Marvin Emory
