80: Don't Block Like A Chump, Cody Lingelbach Will Teach You How - a podcast by Shaun Penrod talks tips and stories with professional Magic: The Gathering

from 2016-03-22T08:00

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Cody Lingelbach is making 2016 his year as he’s already made Top 8 at 2 Standard Grand Prix’s. The first was GP Oakland in Jan. 2016 and the second was the following month in GP Houston.

Click to Tweet: I got a ton of value from Cody Lingelbach when he shared his story on #MTGProTutor today! Click here: http://bit.ly/mtgprotutor-ep80

First Set

7th Edition

Favorite Set

Return to Ravnica

Favorite Card

Lingering Souls

What makes Magic: The Gathering fun for you?

Cody recognizes that he's a very competitive person and the thrill of competing at the highest level is a major component of why he plays Magic.

He finds that he likes complicated things, and the depth and complexity inherent in Magic fits perfectly into his competitive drive. While he loves playing Poker as well, he has shifted his attention to focus more on Magic because of its added layers of strategy.

Early Challenge

When Cody was first getting into Magic he found it difficult to figure out what cards his opponent had. He would play matches solely based on what was in his hand and hope for the best. Playing Poker made it easier for Cody to decipher what cards a player was holding based on their behavior and board decisions.

Cody also started testing with a local group called Draft PDX which was started by Gabe Carleton-Barnes. He’s discovered that there are some things in Magic you can’t do by yourself, and talking to other players about the game has helped him develop the skills needed to take on tougher tournaments.

Level Up Moment

Cody feels that his greatest period of growth manifested in making Top 8 at his first Legacy Open event.

Heaviest Magic Moment

At a SCG Invitational in L.A. Cody lost 3 Win and Ins in a row.

The event was a split format with Legacy and Standard. He went undefeated in Legacy on Day 1, but when he came back to the Legacy portion his Angel Reanimator deck was crushed by the Soul Tithe decks all of the pros were playing.

He learned that the tournament itself exhausted him, and that playing a Magic tournament takes more than just playing the game. Preparing mentally and physically for the event wasn’t something he had considered before and playing match after match all day long wore him down.

Now he tries to stay even keeled during tournaments by hydrating and eating properly to maintain his energy and focus for the duration of an event.

Proudest Magic Moment

Cody made the Top 8 of Grand Prix Oakland, and then just one month later made the Top 8 again at Grand Prix Houston.

He found it difficult to do well in the old PTQ system, and while he had success at various Invitationals and Opens he still had trouble breaking through in the Grand Prix circuit. Theory crafting and discussing his ideas with friends and the players in Draft PDX has helped prepare him to tackle bigger tournaments.

Cody sticks to playing paper Magic, Drafting once a week with PDX while trying to squeeze in another day or two of play during any given week.

Best Format

Legacy

What Would You Tell A New Legacy Player?

Cody’s advice for players trying to break into Legacy is to learn your deck and how it plays. He sees some Legacy players that simply look at what decks are cool and have a good win percentage in the meta game.

However, Cody finds that if a deck doesn’t fit your play style then it can be much more difficult to learn, and he guarantees that your opponent in Legacy will know their deck extremely well.

Biggest Mistake Players Make

Chump blocking, especially in Limited, is a mistake Cody finds a lot of players making.

He feels early blocking comes from overvaluing life. Using life as a resource can lead to gameplay mistakes and prevent you from drawing other cards, like kill spells or a better creature, that could give you a much better advantage than blocking would have.

While you have to be careful about taking direct damage, you’re not in huge trouble even at 9 or 10 life.

How To Play Magic For Little Money

Cody would point players that are low on cash towards Magic Online. MTGO can be much cheaper than paper Magic, and you can play games no matter what your weekly schedule is like.

MTGO WikiPrice is great for Magic Online, as it allows you to search for cards and find what bots you can buy them from along with their cost.

A strategy that works for Cody is to find 5 bots that he regularly buys from, which makes it easier to check prices and also allows him to accrue some credit for future purchases.

Improvement Suggestions

Talking to other players is one of the major practices that helps Cody succeed in Magic. He can’t play every day of the week, so he will send messages to friends and groups to help keep him mentally engaged with the game. Constantly following all the changes in Magic from week to week is exhausting, so having friends to talk to makes monitoring the meta game more fruitful and enjoyable.