50: Magic Online + Playing with Friends is Ashraf Omar’s Key To Success
Ashraf Abou Omar is 26 years old and is lives in Kiel, Germany. He started playing competitive Magic at Grand Prix Strasbourg in 2007. Once he qualified for Pro Tour Kuala Lumpur in 2008, he started traveling a lot in Germany and UK to compete in PTQ. He has one GP Top 8 in Madrid 2015.
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First Set
Portal
Favorite Set
Return to Ravnica
Favorite Card
What makes Magic: The Gathering fun for you?
The community. Traveling, playing and partying with friends.
Early Challenge
Understanding the rules is a great way to improve. If you understand the rules better you can win more games.
Magic Online really helps you understand the phases and when you can respond and when you have to announce triggers. Understanding this will level up your skill.
Level Up Moment
By spending a lot of time playing Ash has noticed a big improvement. There is no substitute for practice.
Proudest Magic Moment
Qualifying for his first Pro Tour is Ash’s proudest moment.
Best Format
Limited
Watch streams and draft with others to get better.
Ash drafts every Friday at his flat after Friday Night Magic.
They always analyze their picks and think critically about the draft to help them improve.
How to Choose a Standard Deck
Ash likes to take under the radar decks to Standard tournaments so he brews with friends to try and beat the big decks. Then he play tests on Magic Online.
Biggest Mistake Players Make
Not managing their life total and not understanding combat math. You can win on 1 life.
Card Evaluation Tips
Don’t draw any conclusion until the entire set is released.
Sealed & Draft Tips
Draft: Identify a strategy early on and stick to it. Ash even forces colors a bit as he tries to construct a 3-0 deck.
How to Effectively Prepare for Big Events
Magic Online is a great way to prepare for big events. However, it’s much better to play in real life so you can talk about mulligans and card decisions
What’s in Your Tournament Bag?
GP Deck Box
Pen
Paper
Improvement Suggestions
Watching others play and interacting with them is a great way to improve on the cheap. There are many great streams to learn from.
Magic Resource
Connect With Ashraf Abou Omar
Twitter: @Ashraf_HH
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