by Cameron Veigel
Almost everyone in magic falls into one of five specific holes, as outlined below. Each hole is covered in depth including the way to eliminate this problem forever from your flawed game. Interested? Then read on.
Got you. This article is on another topic entirely – that of bluffing. The art of the bluff is a strange thing. In some cases it can lead to an overwhelming case of card advantage, while it can also spell your doom if given away. The trick is to make a bluff that is believable enough to be dismissed as common interaction.
There are several ways you can make your opponent think things that aren’t the case. In general, mannerisms and signals are more effective than verbal bluffs. Unless an opponent is very inexperienced, I am not going to assume that they will tell me in sequence the cards that will beat them. On the flipside, some experienced players can use this in a reverse psychology sense, making you think they are trying to tell you those cards won’t beat them when in fact they will, but I think verbal bluffs are easier read unless the person in question is very well practiced with them. There are a few well-known players in the magic community who use a lot of verbal ‘bluffing’ during the match, but I usually pay no heed to their words whatsoever and focus on reading the signals they don’t know they are giving.
That being said, there are personality types that react better to words being given because their game is focused more on what they are doing than you, meaning the subtle signals may not be noticed at all. Unless you throw it in their face, they might not notice. Realising who these players are and ‘Jedi Mind Trick-ing’ them into some play that puts them at a disadvantage is just a different part of the same skill set.
The Land Bluff
Ripping a card and tossing it into your hand without more than a fraction of a second looking at it might indicate you drew a land. But you didn’t, did you? You drew a counterspell that will now wreck your opponent’s threat that he has been masking for turns. In general, I play to this style, though not in the sense of bluffing. I draw into my hand, shuffle, then look at the contents to avoid giving away any information. Also drawing land off the top and putting it straight into play falls into the same category, especially if you have only one card in hand. It implies that you are drawing dead and your opponent may get greedy. Some people will rip the land and ‘furiously’ slam it down, but in that case I would hold back. There is one player in particular who does this, and when he does, you should know he is holding a bomb. To nail this bluff, you have to just do it as though you have no other option but are trying to remain calm. Sell it by being more ‘shruggish’ than ‘angry’.
The Non-Land Bluff
Also known as holding a land. There are thoughts from pros on this topic. Some say ‘hold any land after land six’, some say ‘never more than one land’ and others still say ‘a few is ok’. If my opponent is holding four cards, nodding to all my spells and continually taking damage, I’m not going to think Terror, Remand and Wrath are likely spells he could play. If he then rips Oona (or something similarly mana intensive) he will look quite stupid for not having played land turns ago. You have to use this in a way that extends your life into your outs, which means those outs then need to be relevant when you draw them. If that out is mana intensive, than you need to be playing lands now. Otherwise you are presenting a fragile bluff that isn’t reaching its purpose – that is, tricking your opponent into some action for you to capitalise upon.
In an agro deck, more than one land generally doesn’t make sense. If you draw a third card, think, and pass the turn with an empty board, you are presenting excess land and instants, which significantly narrows down the surprises your opponent must consider. By ‘drawing dead’ you may push your opponent into getting aggressive before you start drawing spells, which can lead to victory if the one ‘land’ turns out to be Demonfire, Profane Command, or something equally game breaking.
The ‘I Have It’ Bluff or Confidence Bluff
Your opponent drops Doran to go with a Vanquisher. You nod nonchalantly, as your WB control deck is known for its many wrath effects. In reality, you are holding land and spells that don’t kill green creatures. Presenting that you have an answer when you in fact do not is a strong way to keep you alive into drawing that answer. If you showed your disgust here to the Doran, your opponent could put the boot in with a pair of Goyfs and end you. Confidence has to be respected.
Note that this is the absolute worst bluff to try verbally. Saying ‘I’m just going to wrath all your guys now’ is incredibly unconvincing, especially when you ship the turn back and then they drop their hand. Even trying it before they play Doran, ‘Doran followed by wrath?’ is mostly useless. A straight face and the threat of the represented unknown is a much stronger force.
The ‘I Don’t Have it’ Bluff or No-confidence Bluff, also known as ‘the slump’
Same scenario as above, except this time you ‘unknowingly’ slump in your chair to the Doran. Your opponent thinks they’ve got you now and drops some Goyfs, then you destroy all creatures. Hot. Also letting a spell that your opponent (hint: not you) thinks is important resolve with a sigh makes them more likely to run that devastating spell out there into your counterspell. Sometimes, in order to win the game, you need to let something bad resolve to catch the worse follow up. It’s a tough thing to do, but if you’ve been paying attention to your opponent you’ll know they had it.
Also pretty hard to sell with words – ‘Oh if you’ve got another guy here I’m so screwed’. Whatever, you joke. Why would you ever tell me that, especially in an important match/deciding game? Subtlety is the key here. If it looks like an act, you might be worse off than not having done it, as now your opponent knows they are safe.
The Damage Bluff
This is one of my favourites, but not employed that often. Your opponent bashes and you immediately pick up your pen and move it to your life total as though you are recording changes in life totals. They tell you to wait, then play (insert combat trick here to do more damage), to which you respond by Terror-ing both their creatures. Haha! This bluff is you trying to ‘get away with’ taking only the damage on the board, when you are both aware of the pumps in the other deck. Based on your sneaky demeanour, your opponent ‘catches’ you out and tries to knot the noose.
Be careful with this one. Sometimes you can end up taking damage you didn’t want to take, especially if you say ‘6 damage?’ with your pen over pad. This implies you are willing to pass priority until damage resolves. Again, actions speak louder than words; don’t be so hasty that you start writing numbers down.
There’s some insight for you, and hopefully I’ve ripped some advantages to tatters. I play a pretty psychological game with my opponents, but I’m more about reading my opponent’s signals and putting them on cards than bluffing myself. I usually leave the bluffing to the players I have identified as easy psyche-outs.
With bluffing, practice is the key, as you need to learn the right way to sell each type of bluff you are trying to pull off. Things are going to look better if they appear subconscious, rather than you trying to act tough or present a brave face. If your bluffs aren’t working, and you are getting wrecked, either stop trying them or change the way you are pulling them off. If they aren’t working after you’ve changed them, then start using different tactics for your match. Stop trying to use bluffs to win, and concentrate more on either your own game or your opponents. Work to your strengths; even if it takes some time to figure out what they are.
Cameron Veigel
