Everything I Really Need to Know in Life I Learned From Playing Blue

This was co-authored by Mike Manzer, and we posted it to mtg-strategy-l June 1, 1996. I didn't know I still had a copy of it; I'm glad I do.

A lot of it doesn't make sense unless you're familiar with Magic: The Gathering. There's still a lot of timeless wisdom here, even if you're not.

• If you appear innocent, people will, at first, assume you're not dangerous.


• People will only make that mistake once.


• Never give up the element of surprise.


• When faced with a problem, make it disappear.


• If you can't make it disappear, take control of it.


• If you can't take control of it, incapacitate it.


• If you can't incapacitate it, keep it busy.


• Keep your resources open.


• Recycle (even if it's not yours).


• Always have a backup plan.


• If you mess with people enough, they get mad.


• When people get mad, they make stupid mistakes.


• Some people really are named Tim.


• A little dash of water can do wonders to clear a cluttered battlefield...


• Big flying things scare people.


• Know your enemies.


• Always look like you are in control.


• Glasses are no fun.


• If you poke people, they get annoyed.


• If you poke people enough, they will die.


• People usually get annoyed before they die.


• Appearances are important.


• You never get a second chance to make a first impression.


• First impressions aren't everything.


• Things never seem quite as cool as they used to be.


• Appear strong where you are weak and appear weak when you are strong.


• Mountains suck. So do Forests. Taigas are just evil.


• Brute force is not all its cracked up to be.


• The bigger they are, the harder they fall.


• Things are tougher to stop once they've gotten started.


• Play people against each other.


• ALWAYS look like you know what you are doing.


• Even when you try to make things fair, they won't be.


• Never tap out.