137: Practice to Your Energy with Matt Sperling - a podcast by Shaun Penrod talks tips and stories with professional Magic: The Gathering

from 2016-10-07T08:00

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Matt Sperling has 6 Grand Prix top 8s and 2 Pro Tour top 8s. He writes a regular column called Sperling's Sick of It and tries to play to win without taking himself too seriously. He considers himself a hobbyist, not a professional, but feels that playing on the Pro Tour is just the best experience available. Matt lives in the Bay Area of Northern California.

Click to Tweet: I got a ton of value from Matt Sperling when he shared his story on #MTGProTutor! Listen here: http://bit.ly/mtgprotutor-ep137

First Set

Legends

Favorite Set

Zendikar

Favorite Card

Preacher

What makes Magic: The Gathering fun for you?

The friends Matt had made is more important than the game now.

How do you balance having fun and being competitive

"I only play Grand Prix and Pro Tours." You have to devout time to the aspects of your life at the appropriate time.

Aspect of Magic you improved at

Getting attached to one deck. If you can only play one style of deck, look for opportunities to learn.
"Empathy = Thinking about things from both sides of the table"

Pro Player You Admire

Jon Finkel

Worst Magic Moment

Most recent Pro Tour, Matt was Platinum level but hadn't done well and was shooting for Gold . He missed it by one game.

Proudest Magic Moment

1st Pro Tour Top 8

Deepest Thing You've Learned About Yourself

Impulse control. Playing fast and making the first good play that comes to mind helped Matt develop intuition. However, Matt has learned to think of other good plays. Not just the 1st one.

Biggest Mistake Players Make

Being afraid to make obvious attacks or blocks.

How to Effectively Prepare for a Big Event

Follow the intuition of "this card feels really powerful" and "I feel helpless against this card."

What are your shortcomings

Constantly working on impulse control.

Back in 10yrs Ago what advice would you give to yourself

Look for energizing relationships and deck/strategies

Guidance

To produce content for Magic, find something you can be proud of.

Magic Resource

CFB
SCG
TCG Player
Playing w/ friends in similar level

Connect With Matt Sperling

Twitter: @mtg_law_etc

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