Decklists on the Move

I scroll through lists on Moxfield, Goldfish, sometimes even random forums with half-broken formatting. People say you need a desk, a playmat, full focus. Rubbish. I’ve got 30 minutes on public transport, that’s 30 minutes of matchup study.

I highlight lines in my head, note what turn 3 plays are common, think about how my control decks handle their pressure. Sometimes I scribble little sideboard notes in my phone – “vs Mono-Red, cut 2 clunky spells, bring in lifegain.” Doesn’t have to be perfect, just has to be remembered.

Podcasts and Voices in My Head

Earbuds in, grime beats on shuffle until I switch to podcasts. My favourites are ones where pros argue about sideboarding and sequencing, cause that’s real gold. Half the time I’m nodding along like a lunatic when they say the thing I already wrote down. The other half I’m pausing to jot notes.

If you’re looking, check out random deck talks on Hipsters of the Coast. They’ve got that messy, unpolished energy I like. Not every episode is perfect, but the little insights stack up.

Matchup Notes, Scribbles and Rubbish Paper

I’ve got a stack of folded receipts and old envelopes in my bag with half-legible scribbles on them. “Keep hands with early removal” or “don’t forget they sideboard graveyard hate.” It looks like rubbish but it’s gold. Later I’ll type it up into a spreadsheet, but for now it’s enough to keep it in my brain.

And let me over-explain a bit here, writing notes isn’t just about remembering. It’s about discipline. If you can’t be bothered to write down one or two lines per matchup, you’ll forget the detail. And detail is where games are won.

Thinking Beyond Magic: Pokémon and Yu-Gi-Oh!

Some mornings I’m not even looking at MTG. I’ll scroll old Pokémon TCG decklists just for fun. Nostalgia, yeah, but also lessons. Pokémon taught me tempo and prize mapping. Yu-Gi-Oh! drilled in the idea of combo lines, where one mis-sequence ruins the whole chain. Flesh and Blood is in there too, those resource pitches are brutal if you dont think ahead.

Every game feeds the others. MTG isn’t in a bubble. You can learn control patience from Pokémon, combo clarity from Yu-Gi-Oh!, resource economy from Flesh and Blood. So when I’m staring out the tram window thinking about a match, sometimes it’s not even the same game. Doesn’t matter. It all sharpens the blade.

Why the Commute Matters

By the time I get to site, I’ve done half an hour of deck prep. It’s not perfect, but it stacks up. Over a week, that’s hours of thinking. Over a month, that’s a whole tournament worth of mental reps. It’s the quiet grind. And when I sit down at locals and know the matchup inside-out, that’s the payoff.

So yeah, the tram was and the underground now is my classroom. The notes are my tools. The podcasts are my lecturers. And every game, from Magic to Pokémon to Yu-Gi-Oh!, is just another circuit I’m tracing in my head.

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