1. No Show / Match Loss – The number one way to win a match naturally involves the match not even being played. Many a prerelease first round have ended with the exuberant victor shouting: “My opponent busted a foil Call of the Herd and ran to sign up in another flight! Mise!”

A rising number of PTQ players have sworn by their technique of slouching low in their seats so their opponent will not recognize them. Some swear prospective opposition has walked right by them and straight into a game loss. Most are on the receiving end, however, of another savage beating and a 0-2 performance.

2. Game Loss / Other Penalty – Preferably having something to do with a decklist problem, this match win is especially exciting when your opponent has lethal damage and favorable board position in game three, only to be given the bad news by a level 1 judge just before swinging for the win. Pack up your cards, you mised the match, go tell your friends. Your opponent now must fill his deck with basic lands to replace the dual lands they omitted.

3. Mana Screw – One better than the mana flood due to the utter hopelessness of the opponent’s situation. Most scrubs that have won matches due to mana screw have been heard proclaiming: “I played some pro, but he had nothing to deal with my Pardic Swordsmith. Swing for 5, swing for 5. MISE!”

4. Mana Flood – No victory is quite as cheap as a close game that slowly turns due to a savage mana clump of 5 or 6 lands. As always, the stick, having won the match, will announce to the tournament participants how they bashed their opponent into oblivion with a powerful evasion creature like dwarven grunt or aven trooper.

5. Good Play – Rarely seen, this is what most magic purists would call a “real win.” Usually tricking awful players with the stack or timing rules is the closest we can come to a good play these days.

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1. No Show / Match Loss – The number one way to win a match naturally involves the match not even being played. Many a prerelease first round have ended with the exuberant victor shouting: “My opponent busted a foil Call of the Herd and ran to sign up in another flight! Mise!”

A rising number of PTQ players have sworn by their technique of slouching low in their seats so their opponent will not recognize them. Some swear prospective opposition has walked right by them and straight into a game loss. Most are on the receiving end, however, of another savage beating and a 0-2 performance.

2. Game Loss / Other Penalty – Preferably having something to do with a decklist problem, this match win is especially exciting when your opponent has lethal damage and favorable board position in game three, only to be given the bad news by a level 1 judge just before swinging for the win. Pack up your cards, you mised the match, go tell your friends. Your opponent now must fill his deck with basic lands to replace the dual lands they omitted.

3. Mana Screw – One better than the mana flood due to the utter hopelessness of the opponent’s situation. Most scrubs that have won matches due to mana screw have been heard proclaiming: “I played some pro, but he had nothing to deal with my Pardic Swordsmith. Swing for 5, swing for 5. MISE!”

4. Mana Flood – No victory is quite as cheap as a close game that slowly turns due to a savage mana clump of 5 or 6 lands. As always, the stick, having won the match, will announce to the tournament participants how they bashed their opponent into oblivion with a powerful evasion creature like dwarven grunt or aven trooper.

5. Good Play – Rarely seen, this is what most magic purists would call a “real win.” Usually tricking awful players with the stack or timing rules is the closest we can come to a good play these days.

Discuss this article in the Magic: the Gathering Forums!