Tick goes the Clock

October 10, 2012

by Akshar Patel

Hey Arg Readers, since this is my very first article for ARG I will go ahead and introduce myself. You have probably never heard of me before mainly because I am from the UK and play European TCG. I have been playing for a year and half altogether and have topped multiple WCQ regional and my first nationals. I can't acclaim to have topped a YCS yet, but I have only played 2 and one of which was Sheffield which was sealed and I hope to top Barcelona.

Lets move swiftly on to the topic I wish to discuss today which is namely 'Time'. As you all probably know that rounds at every event you go to typically consist of a certain amount of time and then after the time elapses you are given a certain number of turns depending on the event to complete the guy, and the victor is determined by who has greater life-points.

Nobody likes to go into time because it means that a game is left unfinished and the more skilled player may not always win , however that's the sad reality of it. Before you read on I don't recommend anyone to stall which is unsportsmanlike behavior and should be condoned.

Time Gauging/ Sitting Correctly

The first thing I recommend any player to do is to pick the seat which is facing the clock, this is so its easier to see the clock and so u have an advantage and you don't have to constantly turn your head. However most locals do not have this facility so try to gauge how close you are to time by looking around once a substantial amount of time has elapsed to see if many games are completed.

Adjust your siding to the clock is very important and scooping game twos (only if you win game 1) in situations where you are unlikely to win so that you can side out dead cards will prove crucial against players who don't accommodate by siding correctly when the clock has perhaps 4-5 minutes remaining.

Adjusting to Time

When you are in time make sure you plan out your moves even more carefully and remember that your opponents play style will change, they will go for your life points and forget about card advantage , so accommodate for this change in play by playing less aggressively in the early stages of time and more aggressively towards the end.

Have an indicator so you know what turn it is and how many turns are remaining, I use a die most of the time so I know how many turns are remaining.

Just because its time it doesn't mean you need to go crazy and drop 5 monsters on the board and charge recklessly, I see many players attempt to OTK their opponent when they have 1 turn left excluding the turn they are on. Not taking damage is just as important as dishing it out.

Mistakes Made

I have seen these mistakes made often by players in time.

The first one is life point tracking, make sure you track life points correctly and check with your opponent after every change and during your main phase so you can plan correctly.

Misplaying so that not enough damage is done, this is a very popular mistake made, make sure you do enough damage, to check this I usually have a calculator and try add up the potential amounts I can do.

Leaving low attack point monsters on the board in attack mode in attempt to do damage, this can be a mistake as popular cards such as BLS will punish this and the difference in life is the key not the amount of damage you do in one turn.

Your opponent is trying to do the exact same thing as you (damage) your plays should accommodate that.

Time is a grim prospect for every player, so why not try to shift the advantage to yourself ??? No longer do you have to say to your mate after the round is over, I lost on time. All these little things can shape you into a better play so maybe that next event you can squeeze a match that you had no business winning!!!!