Everyone Needs Mental Strength
There are some people who will point to great players like Kenji Tsumura and Paulo Vito
Damo da Rosa that are legendary with their technical play, but are not known for their
mind games. They claim that because some of the all-time greats do not employ Jedi
Mind Tricks that they must be flawed, but the truth is that this is just a function of
different players have different styles.

Mike Turian, Olivier Ruel, Mike Long, and Mark Herberholz are all famous for their
mental game and making wins appear out of nowhere. This does not mean their style is
better or worse than Kenji, PV, or anyone else. It just means they focus on different
skills. Most top players use Mind Tricks to some degree, but all are versed in them,
because even if they are not a part of your regular arsenal, you need to be able to guard
yourself against them.

I brought up the topic of the morality involved because all the mind games in the world
will be relatively ineffective if your attitudes towards them are wishy-washy. Either
mean it or don't, but don't half-ass it. Remember, it is of the upmost importance to stay
within the confines of the rules of the games you play — but just because your mind
games may confuse an opponent and cause them to make mistakes which lead to their
losses, doesn't mean you shouldn't do them.

In fact, it is much the opposite. You are at war! This is a competition. And besides, he
may eventually thank you for the lesson, as if this match is costly, he will likely not make
the same mistake twice.

I was playing at a $5,000 Standard tournament in Indianapolis in March of 2009. I was
piloting a G/B/w Doran Aggro deck and my opponent in a feature match is armed with a
R/W "Boat Brew" deck (Aggro-Lark). There were dozens of people watching, and Evan
Erwin was recording the game on camera for The Magic Show, documenting what would
become the infamous "Profane Bluff."

No pressure, right?

The critical turn involves me controlling a Cloudthresher, a
Chameleon Colossus, two Wilt-Leaf Lieges, and eight land, at
ten life. My opponent has been playing off the top of
his library, but has drawn bomb after bomb and is now
sitting on a board of Siege-Gang Commander,
four Goblin Tokens, Elspeth, a Soldier token,
two Stillmoon Cavaliers, and two untapped
lands, with two Windbrisk Heights
containing cards under them and seventeen
life.

I draw my card for the turn…

Profane Command!

I was excited — but a split second later, I was filled with
horror as I realized that my Chameleon Colossus had
protection from Black, so I could not give it fear. My
opponent only had two Black creatures, so if I could give all
of my creatures Fear and make my opponent lose six life, I
would win easily.

What is the play?
The first step was to smile and excitingly slam the Profane Command on the table,
hoping to draw the concession.
My opponent just looked at me.
I said, "You are only at seventeen, right?"

He replied, "Yes."

I said, "Profane Command!"

He asked, "What are you going to do with it?"
No!

What was I to do? I quickly surveyed the board. I could Profane Command the Siege
Gang, and maybe if neither Heights had anything too bad, I could live another couple of
turns, if I was lucky.
I decided to go for it.
I tapped all of my land and said Profane Command for six; you lose six life and all of my
legal targets gain Fear.

At this point, I asked my opponent again, "You are only at seventeen, right?" Then I
added a sort of rhetorical laugh, as in, "Isn't this over?"

He asked me if I attack with everything. I said, yes, I attack with everything. He tried
every combination of blocks with his Stillmoons, trying to figure out what the trick was.
To his credit, he realized something was amiss; he figured that there must be some way
for him to live, based on his read of me. Still, he did not end up blocking with any of the
non-Black creatures and died in combat.

Immediately afterwards, I pointed out to that I had given only my legal targets Fear. He
said "Sure, so?"

"All of my legal targets gain Fear."
He smiled and laughed as he realized his blunder. He knew something was up, but
couldn't see it in time.

After hearing this tale, some amateur players questioned this play and whether or not it
was shady — but after conferring with a number of other judges (and not just the one
watching the match), all agreed that there was absolutely nothing wrong with this play.
See, there are a few keys here.

Do not misrepresent the game state or do something illegal. Many players would have
said "All of my guys get Fear." Or even, "Only your Stillmoons can block."
Neither of these statements is true. You are allowed to bluff and represent a Giant
Growth in your hand. You are allowed to pick up your card that can't block and act like
you are thinking of blocking with it, as long as you don’t actually block with it.
However, if you actually misrepresent the rules, that is going too far. For instance, if
your creature is not allowed to block and you try to block with it, that is cheating.

In this case, I took great care to not indicate that Chameleon Colossus had Fear, but rather
took advantage of the fact that my opponent would surely assume it.

I did not point to the Colossus when I cast Profane Command. I did not say all of my
guys gain Fear. I specifically said, "All of my legal targets gain Fear." This is an
example of a shortcut that players can agree to during a match. If I had been asked to
clarify which creatures exactly are the legal targets, I would have named the
Cloudthresher and both Wilt-Leaf Lieges. It would be illegal to target the Colossus, so
you can't do it.

You may ask, "How is it okay to not specify the exact cards when you cast the spell?"
Well, I did, I gave all of my legal targets Fear. That is an exact set of targets, which takes
care of the judge — and since my opponent did not ask for clarification, it is implied that
he has no problems with this communication.

Have you ever played Path to Exile and targeted "The big guy" when your opponent has a
4/4 and a 2/2? You did not name the exact target, but your opponent agreed to the
communication, so there is no problem. Tournament Magic would be very difficult if not
impossible if not for shortcuts in game play and with communications, such as targeting,
changing phases, what color of mana you are tapping your land for, and so on.
The most important thing to remember here is to follow the rules.

In addition to not misrepresenting the game state, I also was careful to specify exactly
what I was doing. I did not just say Profane Command, lose life, Fear. That would be
ambiguous and not actually fulfill the targeting requirements of my spell. You want the
ambiguity to be in your opponent’s head, not in the actual game.

A good way to think of it is like this: You want to fool your opponent, but you do not
want to fool the judge. Say the words that you do and take the actions that you do in such
a way so as to make it clear to a judge what you are doing.

Also notice how after the game, I helped explain everything to my opponent in a friendly
way. Outside of obviously not wanting to foster any hard feelings, there is also a strong
incentive to cooperate with my opponent, now that the match is over. He is going to help
my tie-breakers — plus, if I help this person in a way that helps them win matches in the
future, they will be more favorably inclined towards me the next time I deal with them.
If I had instead just tried to make them feel dumb about the blunder, who is to say the
next time our paths cross, I won’t be at their mercy somehow? I might be looking for a
draw, or just looking for someone to trade cards with. It pays to cooperate with people
outside of the game.

In fact, in general, I tend to try to cooperate with everybody whenever possible. It is not
just that I want everyone to be happiest, although that is true. It is really just selfish
though, as when everyone is encouraged to do what they think is best and to help
everyone they can, it leads to the most happiness for the group as a whole.
The flip side to this is that when someone voluntarily decides to compete against me in a
game of Magic, I can dedicate myself to competing against them with all of my heart and
mind, and with a clear conscience. In day to day life, when my friends lose, I feel
empathetic and want to try to prevent these situations from happening. In Magic, you are
going to get matched up against friends and friendly acquaintances. You have to be
willing to let them lose and not feel bad about it.

A battle-hardened warrior must be willing to do whatever it takes (within the rules, or
you aren't really playing the game anymore). Jedi Mind Tricks are within the rules both
according to Wizards of the Coast, as well as all of the Pros I know, as well as my own
perception of fair play. As long as you follow the rules of Magic and the rules of the
DCI, then it is fair game to trick your opponent with a clever play.

A smart competitor exploits every possible advantage, as long as it does not compromise
a greater purpose. One obvious example would be breaking the rules, as you may gain in
the short term… but in the long run, none of what you are doing will mean anything if
you acquired it through illegal means. Imagine how hollow it would be to cheat your
way to a Pro Tour title and then for the rest of your life have to live with the knowledge
that you weren't good enough to win and that your title is a lie, a theft, a cheat?
That would be a pretty horrible fate! But fortunately, you have control over this. Don't
be that guy. It isn't worth it, as it is the Magic equivalent of selling your soul. All the
riches in the world do you no good if you have no soul, and all of the Magic wins in the
world will do you no good if you acquired them through lying, stealing, and cheating.
Morality is certainly an important issue, but as long as you operate within the framework
of the rules and with honor, then you will have right on your side. Still, an important
point that many people miss is that it is usually a far better use of your time spent on
Magic working on improving your technical play. If you are actually sitting around
practicing leveling your opponent, you would have probably profited more if you had
spent that time just reflecting on your game and examining the proper plays.
If you are going to use mind games, more power to you — but do not get so fixated on
them that you lose focus of what is important. Technical play decides more games of
Magic than all other factors combined.