While it does sound like an oxymoron, getting better at something without doing it. It is in fact very doable. And I thought I would go through some of the ways I and others use.
Analyzing your own games
This is something that is very common among players, at least for some games. As an example, both chess- and go players analyze their own games, and others, as a way to better understand the game and improve. But also most e-sport teams do this as well. Both to try and fix their own mistakes, but also to develop strategies to try and counter their opponents.
Let us go through some of the more common ways of looking at games and improving;
Analyzing a game
You can do this with both wins and losses. But the best effect I find you get from looking at losses.
A conversation I had on a previous post about Gods Unchained, name blurred for privacy
In the example above the player takes notes on what happened and what went bad. This is a very good way to find the weakness of your deck. Do you always lose in the same type of scenario, if you fall behind you are never able to make a comeback, and you always loos against the same type of opponent or deck?
The way to combat this is to try and swap out cards in your deck. When looking for cards to swap out try and think of cards that you never get much "use" from or cards that are not essential for the deck.
Look at other people's decks
At the site gudecks.com you can look up what the current "meta" is. Meta is just a fancy word to describe what decks are strong and popular that other players are playing.
https://gudecks.com/meta/tier-list
But you can also look up yourself and see all the games you have played. And you can there also see the decks your opponent was using at the time to beat you.
You can after looking at what is popular and strong, try and understand how the deck is played. Then you can try and either replicate something similar with the cards you have available to you. But you can also use this as a base to learn the mechanics of the game and overall get better at crafting decks.
You can also upload the decks into the game. If you want to take them for a spin yourself. The game will tell you what cards you are missing if any.
Talking with others
One thing I find very helpful is to simply talk with others and use them as a sounding board. Ask questions or run ideas for decks, possible card replacements, and so on. The list of ways you can get use out of other players is basically endless.
I find the community surrounding the game is very friendly and helpful. Also, there are several discord servers that you can join in order to get exposure to a lot of players.
Probably the most underutilized resource available, Streamers
I truly feel that the streamers who stream the game are as close to a secret- or ultimate weapon as you are ever likely to find. And possibly the single best resource to use if you truly want to get better at the game.
I find that they are very nice, and helpful. Some of them even will take time to look at your decks and offer up suggestions on how you can improve them.
But just being able to ask questions about basically all the things mentioned above is possibly the greatest help out there. And something I can only hope more Gods Unchained player takes advantage of. Mostly because these streamers deserve way more views. And even if you do not feel comfortable with asking questions. There are other things that streamers offer that can help you improve.
One of these things is that they are very often some of the best players out there playing some of the best decks. And if you are like me, watching someone pilot a deck will be much more useful to you rather than simply looking at a decklist. Watching them play against different types of decks you will slowly pick up and learn how they navigate these matchups and what cards they use when.
Some streamers also share their thought process during the games. This can also be very valuable in understanding the ins and outs of a deck and a matchup.
Some of the active streamers on twitch at the moment of writing
These are two streamers I personally watch, not only because I find them very nice and friendly. But simply because I enjoy watching them play the game.
FortyTil5
FeanorGU
But what I find most important is that you find a streamer or several, that you enjoy and gell with. Becaus sometimes a streamer has a personality that you just can't stand, and watching them is just like trying to force yourself to do something you do not like. It can be done once or twice but you are more likely to stop doing it in the long run.
Also do not just join a stream and start typing multiple questions. Think about how you would like if a stranger did that to you, I know not super nice right? So join their streaming community and engage with the chat and streamer. And then when you have built some rapport you can ask questions.
Also, not all streamers are the same. Some streamers love to answer questions and help out, others maybe not so much. So get to know your streamer beforehand. And there are a lot of streamers out there, so you should be able to find some good once that match what you're looking for. You can find a list of all currently active streamers on twitch here:
If you think that this sounds like an interesting game that you would like to check out yourself, and maybe participate in an upcoming tournament. I would greatly appreciate it if you would consider signing up using my referral code.
https://godsunchained.com/account/register?referral=UMNIcMwQdC
If you do, we both get 10 $GODS when you reach rank 6 and have verified your wallet.
I hope that you find this post helpful and that you are able to take your game to the next level. If you want me to cover another topic in the future plans let me know. And if you have another way of improving your game, please share that with us as well. The comment section is open to everyone. If you would like to support me and the content I make, please consider following me, reading my other posts, or why not do both instead.
See you on the interwebs!
Picture provided by: Screenshots by me, Gods Unchained Media
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