Hey everyone, Kinship here! With more than a year now since the first Ascent I wanted to take the opportunity to talk broadly about competition, stress, and burnout. Regardless of if you are just grinding locals or you are playing in top-cut at an Ascent-level event, you will have to contend with the pressure of having to find decks to play, as well as the stress of trying to win on them.

I have asked four Grand Archive professionals to give their opinions on how to prep for competition, how to deal with burnout if it occurs during a season, and how to play at a competitive level. Respondents to this article include Shawn Zhang (Lifdrasyl), Caban Schwarzentruber (TrueChampionCaban), Jason May (Limelight), and Eason Chen (xBurner34).

Do you have any tips for avoiding tilt during a set match?

SHAWN

I think this comes as a combination of two parts, both before the match and during the match. Before a tournament even begins, it’s important to have realistic expectations. You won’t top every event, or even the majority of events, that you enter. Luck is a huge part of the game. You won’t always get favorable matchups, and even matchups that are favorable can be lost. Misplays will happen. During a match, try to focus on factors that are in your control. If you get paired into your worst matchup three times and go 0-3, it’s just bad luck. If you misplayed and can identify the misplay, keep it in mind for the next games in the match if it's a common scenario in the matchup. If a deck pulls out an unexpected play, remember that possibility for later rounds if you’re matched into the same deck. If it’s RNG, RNG happens and there’s not much you can do about that. Focus more on the current matchup than any results from past rounds, and take it one match at a time.

CABAN

Everyone makes misplays so don't focus on it when it happens. Take a breath and look for the way to get out of the situation that you're in.

JASON

I believe that accepting the RNG in the game and that even the best players can have a bad day or bad run is a important part to avoiding tilt. It is okay to be dissappointed in yourself but having the thought process that you can always improve on what you are doing is a positive mindset and way to avoid getting tilted

EASON

It's a best of three, not a best of one. If you get highrolled on, just mental reset and move onto game two.

It's pretty easy to go into a tournament with strong feelings and expectations. If there were no stakes it would make for a rather boring competition. However, Shawn emphasizes that tempering your expectations is important before the match even begins. Both Jason and him talk about the inevitablity of having a bad match and about accepting it when it does happen. Shawn, Caban, and Eason also bring up not focusing on mistakes during a match and instead trying to win the round and to start with a blank slate for future games.

I believe that a degree of separation from your feelings during the match is important. GA is a game where you have a lot of options in hand at every point and it is easy to make a mistake from lack of focus and then have a cascade of mistakes due to emotions resulting from it. Having realistic expectations before a match helps these emotions to show up with less severity, while accepting your mistakes helps them to go away faster.

What do you do to avoid burnout during a stale meta?

SHAWN

This is a hard one because it depends on what is making the meta feel stale.

Personally, I frequently take long breaks, especially after major events. I avoid playing anything meta and usually try random meme ideas, and there are many weeks at a time where I don’t even play at locals. When I feel like I’ve grasped the core concepts of a deck and/or a matchup, I don’t feel the need to over-practice the matchup. I think having another game or hobby makes this easier. Card games do take up a lot of time, and having something else that you enjoy that can easily fill that gap makes it a lot easier to not overplay the game and burn yourself out faster.

If it’s because there’s a single dominant deck and the matchup isn’t fun, I play more locals and less premier events, as it’s more likely that people are playing less serious decks at a locals level. If I am playing at a premier event, I’ll probably try to find a deck that has an edge against the best deck, and take my chances with my pairings against the rest of the field.

CABAN

When I start to feel burned out I will usually only play GA when I really need to. A few days before a large event and such. I will take fun decks to locals to switch it up and might skip testing or smaller events. Or you can just switch up the color or deck you usually play. Even if it doesn't fit your normal playstyle it can be a relief to try a new strategy and you can learn a lot from it.

JASON

I try my best to when I am not in a big event, innovate new decks, play fun decks at locals , and generally just go and play other things. Sets no matter what will inevitably get stale; forcing the point of playing and practicing can do more harm and burn you out more significantly that you may not even come back to play. If you are not longer having fun in the game make sure to take a break.

EASON

Take a break or innovate to change the meta.

A 'stale meta' is a pretty broad category so it's no surprise this question got a wide range of answers. All four respondents mention taking a break as a way to get through burnout. This is a pretty obvious approach but it can be easy to be tempted to just push through the burnout. To make an analogy, the drive to compete is like a glass of liquid and burnout is like that glass being empty. When it runs out it doesn't matter how hard you shake the glass nothing else is going to come out. At some point you just have to fill it back up again.

Three words stick out to me in these responses "Fun", "Enjoyment", and "Innovation". I don't believe it is sufficient to only grind games for the sake of getting a win. If it was then we might see some very business-professional, suited-up figures winning events instead. If you are not enjoying the time you are putting into GA, then why play it? Play at locals with friends, or playing fun decks, or just playing another game are all ways that are brought up to get that enjoyment back.

What is your cutoff point for deck alterations before a competition?

SHAWN

I have no cutoff. I’ve written my deck lists while standing in line to check in on the morning of. This is objectively not a good idea though; if I could hold myself back from making changes I’d probably have a cutoff of the night before any event.

CABAN

Around a week or two before a major event is when we usually like to have our list locked in. This still normally means we will switch a card or two even up to the day before an event. But we always try to prioritize keeping a familiar list over making a lot of last minute changes.

JASON

I am known as the guy who will change five cards the night before an event

EASON

Two days before the competition starts.

These responses were hilarious to me. The earliest cutoff for changing any amount of cards comes from Eason at a whopping two days. Caban stops the day before. Shawn has no cutoff, but expresses that this is probably not good. Jason doesn't even try to justify his lack of a cutoff.

Truly innovation at the top levels knows no bounds. I believe Caban hits at the heart of what is important though when he brings up keeping a 'familiar list'. If you go into a competition with a deck that doesn't reflect what you are comfortable on, then you will likely have a bad time.

On the flip-side: it is possible to get to an event and while practicing games beforehand realize that your deck doesn't have a sufficient answer for a threat. In these cases one or two cards that have a valid, well thought-out reasoning for their inclusion can be really impactful changes.

How do you deal with a poor performance at a tournament?

SHAWN

If I’m out of contention for topping, I’ll drop. I’ll stick around to hang out and support friends who are still in the tournament, play some side events if there are still any running. Thinking back on the losses helps; if they’re due to bad matchups or bad luck, that’s just unavoidable. If I had chances and misplayed, then that’s something to remember for the matchup in the future. Good food always helps.

CABAN

I always try to focus on what decisions led to doing poorly. Was it my deck choice? Did I make rash decisions on card changes or even a deck change? Did I play something that focused on trying to counter the meta instead of playing something I was comfortable in? Did I play a matchup incorrectly? Figuring out what went wrong is my main goal instead of focusing on the fact that I didn't place well. It's all about keeping a healthy mental and trying to learn and improve for the next event!

JASON

I am very self polarizing, I am not one to blame others or say I drew bad etc. I focus solely on what I could of done better whether it was a bad meta read or a bad deck decision. I write down after every round Win or Loss the match up and why I won and loss and come back after to review.

In the tilt question the idea seemed to be that the time to evaluate your issues is not during the match. We see the other side of that here as the respondents agree that a post-match review of what went wrong is the appropriate avenue for dealing with a poor performance.

Making a mistake during a tournament feels awful, but having the same scenario come up again and winning because you took the time to reflect on your mistake feels like taking a test while holding the answer sheet. Tournaments are much more akin to marathons than sprints. If you crush the first few matches but then begin to lose your mental performance with several rounds left it is unlikely you will be able to pull off a win.

Do you prefer to find one deck you like and master it for a tournament, or are you always on the lookout for new decks?

SHAWN

I won’t hesitate to switch decks, especially for premier events, if I think it’s the right meta call or improves my odds of doing well. I’ll settle for “good enough” in terms of comfort on the deck; the matchup spread is more important as long as I’m not seriously misplaying or thinking so much that I’m slow playing.

CABAN

Both. If I can find a deck that I feel good about then I will try to just play that as much as possible and get really comfortable on it, but the meta is ever-changing and sometimes you might go through a lot of different decks before finding one you like so I'm also always on the lookout for something new.

JASON

I am always making successful decks and moving on. I am not one in any card game to follow a meta deck or stick with a meta deck. I am always trying to break the meta with something new to really form that rock paper scissors format.

EASON

I am usually on the lookout for new decks since the meta is always changing I have to adapt.

Here we see that the respondents all are open to looking for a new deck. There is definitely a sense of being 'comfortable enough' on a deck from Shawn and Caban's answers. TCG's are big enough that one person won't be able to solve a set on their own. For this reason it is always important to devote some energy to keeping up with the meta. Often a deck that gets 'solved' early isn't going to be impactful enough to stick around until the end of the season without any changes.

At what point do you feel you have practiced a deck too much?

SHAWN

When I feel myself having to think less and/or when I notice myself making the same plays a lot. If it ever feels like I’m playing a deck on autopilot, then it’s time to put the deck down and go mess with something else, GA or otherwise.

CABAN

It can be really tricky to figure out what point this happens at. Sometimes I won't even know until I've practiced for a week or two longer than I should have. Once you start feeling that multiple games have gone by where you didn't really learn anything or just seemed to win or lose based on draws is where that point starts to appear.

JASON

When burnout starts to occur and you are no longer having fun you have played and practiced too much, which can also cause you to overthink match-ups also.

EASON

I don't believe you can practice a deck too much because there will always be new lines you can learn when practicing a deck.

Shawn, Caban, and Jason all point to a decline in mental acuity as the point at which a deck has been practiced too much. Caban makes an additional observation by pointing out that it is hard to pinpoint when it is happening. I have felt this from my personal experience in grinding decks. Sometimes you have a solve 90% of the way there for a deck and then start going backwards as you begin to experience burnout. If you find yourself struggling with this then listen when your friends tell you that it is time for a break; they might realize it more quickly than you do.

Eason is the lone dissenter for this group pointing out that there are more lines to consider. I think this is an echo of what Shawn and Caban said about feeling like they hit a point where they are not learning anything. If you have not yet hit the point where you feel like you are not exploring any new facets of the deck then you are good to grind out games, but once you hit that wall it is time for a break.

Do you prefer to get in practice with a wide range of different players, or a small, consistent group?

SHAWN

The ideal situation in my opinion is to have a small group that collectively cover all meta decks at a high level. It makes getting practice easier, and it ensures the quality of your practice games. A wider crowd is better for crowdsourcing ideas, but its more useful playing against more players if they have their own take on decks, and less useful if they’re just netdecking the latest Regionals champion.

CABAN

I think both have their merits. I would practice with a larger range of players if people didn't netdeck me so often, haha. I think your standard GA player should try to do a little bit of both though.

JASON

I have a good wide group of friends that when they have time will come and run decks into me. It's always good to have people to run different things into you, as when you play the same match up over and over (you) can skew your thoughts on card choices and meta.

EASON

I think getting practice within a small, consistent group is better.

For this answer both options have a bit of representation but there are some commonalities for the reasoning. The respondents seem to want to face a wide range of decks, from relatively proficient players, that each understand and have their own take on the deck. What they do not want is to play with someone that is just playing on a deck that was successful, but who does not actually have their own ideas on the deck.

Netdecking is a great way to get a quick snapshot of the meta. Looking at successful decks can inform you of what types of strategy are working in the moment. Having the correct cards for a scenario does not ensure that you will actually know how or why to play them though. Only by watching others play the deck or by playing the deck yourself will you start to get a sense of the lines.

Bonus Question: What other tips would you give players looking to play at a competitive level?

SHAWN

Figure out what you’re good at and try to compensate for what you’re bad at: deck building, finding tech cards, technical play, comboing, identifying win conditions in matchups, predicting an event meta, etc. Having friends to talk to about the game makes it less likely to burn you out than if you’re playing the game essentially solo. If they’re good in areas where you’re not, even better. Try to keep an eye on the game meta even if you’re taking a break, as it’s a lot easier to catch up to learning a couple of new sideboard cards than it is to learn a whole new meta entirely.

CABAN

Practice. Then practice more. Then do it even more. This game has a really deceiving ceiling that I think people constantly underestimate. I have felt in my entire GA career that the more reps I play in a meta the better I become. I feel that your time spent in the game correlates to your skill and win percentage, unlike other TCG's that I have played in the past.

JASON

Find a archetype or style of play you like, go look up some performing decks, build the foundation, and put your own fun twist on it and start playing. The foundation will be the practice needed for the deck to perform and the little twist is what keeps it your own and fun.

I love each of these tips because I feel as though a lot of what is said here is as uncomfortable to hear as it is important.

Shawn points out that there will be avenues that you excel in, as well as those you don't. One of the most frustrating things for new players is taking a loss and not feeling like they can improve simply because they don't even know how to identify what it was that went wrong. I agree that having friends can help with burnout, but I will take it a step further. I think it is easier for your friends to see the flaws in your play than it is for you. Having a group of friends that play GA is a good way to identify what it is you need to be working on.

Caban talks about the need for practice and I fully agree. If you look across multiple Ascents you will see a lot of the same names at or around the top of the ladder. For as much as RNG is a factor it's not by chance that these players keep showing up where they are. I don't think this should be discouraging to new players to hear that the skill ceiling is high, rather, I think the fact that at the top level the pros still feel like there is a lot to learn means that there will be plenty of game for us to play for years to come.

Jason recommends finding a kind of deck or playstyle that you like and then adapting that to become yours. This to me is the best use case for netdecking. If you can find a deck that looks fun by watching a video or stream, or by playing against it at a local or bigger tournament you can save yourself a heap of time in terms of deckbuilding. Personally, I started my GA journey by attempting to play Merlin with boars, but you might find more success by using a preformed deck to start.

And that about does it! If you enjoyed reading about how the pros handled competition, stress, and burnout then make sure to let them know that you appreciate them taking the time to answer my questions. As for my next article, Shawn's response to the bonus question has given me about six good ideas to work with so expect more to come soon!