104: Step Outside Your Comfort Zone with Eugene Hwang

Author: Shaun Penrod
Published: Tue 14 Jun 2016
Episode Link: https://mtgprotutor.libsyn.com/104-step-outside-your-comfort-zone-with-eugene-hwang

Eugene Hwang lives a double life of a mild-mannered data analyst during the week but from Friday to Sunday, he is a Grand Prix grinder and Silver level pro from Los Angeles. He has 2 Grand Prix top 8s, including a win in GP Orlando 2014.

Click to Tweet: I got a ton of value from Eugene Hwang when he shared his story on #MTGProTutor today! Click here: http://bit.ly/mtgprotutor-ep104

First Set

Revised

Favorite Set

Khans of Tarkir (Limited)

Favorite Card

Survival of the Fitest

Favorite Art

Terese Nielsen Rebecca Guay

What makes Magic: The Gathering fun for you?

Drafting Magic is the most fun game Eugene has played. The community keeps him coming back for more.

Early Challenge

Started drafting and learned the BREAD shortcut but then took this too far. Eugene drafted pretty bad decks until he read an article about mana curve that changed how he drafted. Results quickly followed.

Worst Magic Moment

Day 2 of Grand Prix Providence. Eugene and his team went 10-0 in day one but then got steamed rolled in day 2 by Ari Lax's team. It was here that they realized there was a huge gap between their level and the next level.

They came home, hit it hard, and all three team members (Andrew Brown, Jiachen Tao, Eugene Hwang) have gone on to win Grand Prix's and Pro Tours.

Proudest Magic Moment

Watching

Best Format

Sealed

Biggest Mistake Players Make

Players are afraid to step out of their comfort zone.

While only playing one deck is a good way to start, if ALL you do is play aggro then when the meta shifts you will be out of luck.

Play lots of decks so you can easily pick up different styles based on the meta.

Build two decks that attack on opposing axis so

Card Evaluation Tips

Compare cards to older versions.

By playing Limited consistently you build mental shortcuts.

Sealed & Draft Tips

Look at rares first. Grab cards that pull you into their colors, cards that you would definitely play in those cards, and cards you will likely play in those colors.

Find the highest quality creatures and removal and make a two color deck around those cards.

How to Effectively Prepare for a Big Event

Play sessions are key. Either online or in person. Talk to each other player.

Early on you want to identify powerful card interactions. After that you want to play the gauntlet of most likely decks.

Improvement Suggestions

Make friends with players you respect.

Use Cockatrice and proxies.

Playing Magic is the best way to get better at Magic. But playing other strategy games is good as well.

Stay positive.

Magic Resource

Channel Fireball

Star City Games