211: Martin Juza Shares Heavy Lifting Drafting Tips

06/23/17 • 49 min

MTG Pro Tutor - Insights, Tips & Advice from Magic: The Gathering Pros

Martin Juza has a record that speaks for itself with an impressive 25 Grand Prix top 8s including 4 wins and 3 Pro Tour top 8s with an additional 3 top 16 finishes! He’s well known in the Magic community as a pillar of good sportsmanship. Martin lives in the Czech Republic.

Click to Tweet: I got a ton of value from Martin Juza when he shared his story on #MTGProTutor! Listen here: http://bit.ly/mtgprotutor-ep211

First Set

Urza's Destiny

Favorite Set

Time Spiral

Favorite Card

Counterspell

Early Challenge

Every aspect of Magic was new but events, articles and other people helped fill in the gap.

Worst Magic Moment

There was a year where Martin didn't make Platinum. He missed one European Grand Prix and it cost him $1,000 bucks.

Proudest Magic Moment

There was a year where he always made top 8 or top 16. Also, his first Pro Tour top 8 felt really great.

What Have You Learned From Magic

Travel the world and experience different culture.

Magic Shortcomings

Martin is working on preparing better for Magic event.

Drafting Tips

If you're choosing between two cards that are of similar power levels, always pick the cheaper card.

Tournament Day Tips

Don't be like Martin ;)

Biggest Mistake Players Make

The most important thing in constructed is good side boarding. Having a plan and knowing what to take out and put in is key to success.

How to Effectively Prepare for a Big Event

Martin practices with Channel Fireball team and they constantly discuss the best deck and evaluate the meta-game.

Daily Habits

Martin has experience with other games (Hearthstone and poker) and brings that to Magic.

Parting Guidance

Read a lot of article, watch games and learn all you can.

Connect With Martin Juza

Twitter:@Juzam_ ‏

Check Out Magic Story

Magic Story brings the lore of the Multiverse to life in an audio presentation never before heard in the Magic community.

Listen to Episode 1 here or on www.magicthestory.com

Sponsors

Click to Tweet: I got a ton of value from Martin Juza when he shared his story on #MTGProTutor! Listen here: http://bit.ly/mtgprotutor-ep211

First Set

Urza's Destiny

Favorite Set

Time Spiral

Favorite Card

Counterspell

Early Challenge

Every aspect of Magic was new but events, articles and other people helped fill in the gap.

Worst Magic Moment

There was a year where Martin didn't make Platinum. He missed one European Grand Prix and it cost him $1,000 bucks.

Proudest Magic Moment

There was a year where he always made top 8 or top 16. Also, his first Pro Tour top 8 felt really great.

What Have You Learned From Magic

Travel the world and experience different culture.

Magic Shortcomings

Martin is working on preparing better for Magic event.

Drafting Tips

If you're choosing between two cards that are of similar power levels, always pick the cheaper card.

Tournament Day Tips

Don't be like Martin ;)

Biggest Mistake Players Make

The most important thing in constructed is good side boarding. Having a plan and knowing what to take out and put in is key to success.

How to Effectively Prepare for a Big Event

Martin practices with Channel Fireball team and they constantly discuss the best deck and evaluate the meta-game.

Daily Habits

Martin has experience with other games (Hearthstone and poker) and brings that to Magic.

Parting Guidance

Read a lot of article, watch games and learn all you can.

Connect With Martin Juza

Twitter:@Juzam_ ‏

Check Out Magic Story

Magic Story brings the lore of the Multiverse to life in an audio presentation never before heard in the Magic community.

Listen to Episode 1 here or on www.magicthestory.com

Sponsors

Previous Episode

210: Controlling Emotional Responses with Javier Luna

Javier Luna is a veteran player who has played in several Pro Tours and Worlds. He runs a website at magiclair.com.ar that provides free articles in Spanish. The site covers all the formats and focuses on growing the Latin American Magic community. He has 1 Grand Prix Top 8 and 1 Super Sunday Series Final Top 8. Javier lives in Buenos Aires, Argentina.

Click to Tweet: I got a ton of value from Javier Luna when he shared his story on #MTGProTutor! Listen here: http://bit.ly/mtgprotutor-ep210

First Set

Mirage

Favorite Set

Legends / Urza's Saga

Favorite Card

Mana Drain

Early Challenge

Drafting has always been a challenge for Javier. He focuses on this by drafting online. Screenshots are a lifesaver.

Worst Magic Moment

At a GP in Santiago, Javier went 9-0 in day1 but went 0-5-1 on day 2. He felt so bad and struggled mentally, but came to realize that everyone has good and bad days.

Proudest Magic Moment

First Grand Prix top 8 / Seeing countrymen do great.

Shortcomings

Javier is working on his draft skills and is focusing on controlling his emotional responses to losing.

Best Format

Legacy

Daily Habits

Reading everything he can. Javier keeps tabs through CFB and SC. He also plays every day even if it's just one or two matches.

Deepest Thing You've Learned About Yourself

Javier learned about leadership and friendship.

Biggest Mistake Players Make

Players complain about luck all the time when they have no control over it. Improve yourself and understand that luck is part of the game.

Preparation for Tournaments

Javier followed the metagame closely and chose a Blue / Red deck. However, one week before the Grand Prix, he started losing a lot. So Javier talked with the best player in the country and switched to a Mardu deck.

Parting Guidance

Enjoy the game. Magic is great. Play with friends and meet new people. Travel all you can.

Magic Resource

magiclair.com.ar, CFB, SCG

Connect With Javier Luna

Twitter:@MagicLair

Check Out Magic Story

Magic Story brings the lore of the Multiverse to life in an audio presentation never before heard in the Magic community.

Listen to Episode 1 here or on www.magicthestory.com

Sponsors

Next Episode

212: From Scratch Deck Building Expert Marc Tobiasch Reveals His Secrets

Marc Tobiasch used to exclusively play Vintage and Legacy and claims he got onto the Pro Tour “pretty much by accident”. He has 1 Grand Prix top 8 and 1 Pro Tour top 8. Marc lives in Bonn, Germany.

Click to Tweet: I got a ton of value from Marc Tobiasch when he shared his story on #MTGProTutor! Listen here: http://bit.ly/mtgprotutor-ep212

First Set

Ice Age

Favorite Set

Onslaught

Favorite Card

Null Rod

Early Challenge

Figuring out which events to go to and who to travel with are huge when you're climbing.

Worst Magic Moment

Marc used to let loses get from bad to worse. When he played around the "right" card and lost anyway he struggled with accepting it until he learned to control tilt. He overcome tilt by focusing on what he can control.

Proudest Magic Moment

Pro Tour top 8 / Finding friends at events.

Career Highlights

At his first Pro Tour, Marc learned there was a whole other level of Magic you can aspire to play at.

Building a Deck from a Scratch

Marc is a renowned deck builder and shares his process.

Biggest Mistake Players Make

Players try to think about everything every turn. You can shortcut this by weighting your focus towards what has changed. Also, players do things because they can and don't think whether they should. "Helping a little right now is not as good as helping a lot later."

How to Effectively Prepare for a Big Event

Marc meets with his team a week or so before the Pro Tour. For Grand Prix, he observes the format and for Legacy or Modern, chooses his deck fairly close to the event.

Parting Guidance

Before playing a card, think "should I play this card now?"

Connect With Marc Tobiasch

Twitter:@MarcTobiasch ‏

Check Out Magic Story

Magic Story brings the lore of the Multiverse to life in an audio presentation never before heard in the Magic community.

Listen to Episode 1 here or on www.magicthestory.com

Sponsors