Jonathan Melamed is a husband and father and has a PhD in Neuropsychopharmacology. He’s a long time Magic player, a Level 1 Judge, a Tournament Organizer AND store owner from Brasilia, Brazil. He has 2 Grand Prix Top 8s and 1 Pro Tour Top 16. Click to Tweet: I got a ton of value from Jonathan Melamed when he shared his story on #MTGProTutor! Click here: http://bit.ly/mtgprotutor-ep123 First Set Ice Age Favorite Set New Phyrexia Favorite Card Island/ Oath of Druids/ Tropical Island What makes Magic: The Gathering fun for you? The challenge of Magic drew Jonathan in at the beginning. All these years later the game is still challenging. Early Challenge Learning when/how to attack. As a control player attacking didn't come easy to Jonathan. Playing a lot of limited helped him learn. Worst Magic Moment Feature match in a Pro Tour in 2009. Playing a UG Landfall deck. Jonathan won but a well-respected player looked at him and said "you play so awful". This hit Jonathan hard. Jonathan focused on learning everytime, even if he wins. Pay a lot of attention to the game. Proudest Magic Moment National Top 8 in 2011 (first major top 8) made Jonathan realize he could do it. Best Format Modern Learn the deck you are playing. Learn it inside and out. Learn the other decks as well. Get to know their game plan Deepest Thing You've Learned About Yourself Be positive. No matter what. Jonathan struggles with this sometimes but knows how important it is. Biggest Mistake Players Make Not communicating well during a game. If you communicate well the entire game then mistakes come across as honest instead of cheating. Non-Magic Activity Neuroscience articles help Jonathan improve his focus.   What's in Your Tournament Bag Coat Food Water Playmat Notepad Dice Improvement Suggestions Have fun. Connect With Jonathan Melamed Twitter: @InsideMTG Check Out Magic Story Magic Story brings the lore of the Multiverse to life in an audio presentation never before heard in the Magic community. Listen to Episode 1 here or on www.magicthestory.com   Sponsors