Becoming Better at M:TG Series – Entry 1: Tempo Part 1

I’m going to be writing a series of blogs about the things I’ve learned that have made me a better M:TG player. Right now I have about five potential blog entries lined up and about another 8 ideas I’m still developing. The first few entries are going to be about tempo. Enjoy!


Tempo or attrition or a “two-for-one” or whatever you want to call… in this article I’m going to call it tempo.

Traditional examples of tempo:

Your opponent plays Wrath of God to wipe the board once you’ve overcommitted. You just lost three creatures, in essence you lost three spells to their one. Your opponent has gained tempo.

They deny you by countering your spells. They deny you to gain/regain any tempo. You opponent maintains tempo.

They Terror your creature that has an Aura on it; you just lost two spells to their one spell (that’s why I’m not a fan of Enchant Creature spells). Your opponent has gained tempo.

Advanced Example – Jace Beleren:



Jace is one of the best “card drawing” cards in Standard today. If you properly protect Jace, in the span of 5 turns, here’s what could happen.


For three mana, you’ve been able to draw FIVE CARDS to your opponent’s one card! To get that kind of card advantage for three mana is crazy! That’s why Jace is a $10 card now.

Let’s look at another example with Jace. I was playing 5CC and behind in the game. I play a turn 3 Jace, a turn 4 Wall of Denial and then a turn 5 Wall of Reverence. Here’s what happened with Jace on turns 3 thru 10.


Because I decided to add + 2 loyalty counters onto Jace on turn 3, my opponent for some reason must of thought that Jace was their friend because Jace was giving them a free card. Sometimes adding + 2 to Jace on turn 3 makes your opponent think that it’s not a threat, which is exactly what you want them to think!

Eventually I was able to regain tempo with my turn 4 Wall of Denial and turn 5 Wall of Reverence. Once I had regained tempo, I no longer need to keep my Jace alive so I started to use it’s – 1 ability. In the end, I was able to draw 11 CARDS for THREE MANA! That’s crazy! My opponent was able to draw 3 cards but still, trading 11 cards for their three cards for three mana is such a huge tempo swing.

That’s why Jace is so good in Faerie decks. With a turn 2 Bitterblossom and a turn 3 Jace, I’ve seen Fae players draw up to 8 cards while their opponent gets to draw only 2 cards, all for just three mana!

Well I hope you get the point, Jace has great tempo shifting potential. If they decide to attack it and it dies, it’s okay, you in essence just gained some life.