Do you consciously Metagame your decks?

I am wondering if you (the players) metagame your decks. 

If you see people starting to play more block, do you then play low-stealth, block-punishers (Aching Beauty/Change of Target/etc) or block-fails decks deliberately so the others will hand-jam?

If you see more and more combat, do you try to arms-race them into more violent combat or go for the Strike: Combat Ends route or for damage prevention?

I have to admit after my trip to Melbourne I did decide to build a few block-punishing and at least one anti-weenie deck.  But do you do the same?

Also, is there a deck-type or combat-type you are seeing in your local group and do you plan to metagame it?

The Horizon

So this is the best tip I ever got on strategy:

"Learn to recognise someone heading who is heading over the horizon and make sure you don't waste resources either helping them or helping someone else push them over"

By horizon they obviously mean when someone else is about to be ousted that isn't you or your prey.

This is really about not worrying about table balance and realising that sometimes when someone is down you need to kick them.  Previously I would worry about anyone that wasn't my prey being ousted and waste resources stopping that happen.  Which sometimes is required and sometimes is not and this little tip, given to me by my mate Sven in London, is really about picking which case it is and making the most of that.

Pretty much once I got to the heart of what that meant and understood it I went from someone who could get a few VPs and maybe the odd game win to someone that got game wins.  I reckon this is the most common limitation people place on themselves when they first start playing tournaments so there it is.

S

Deals

Hi All

So getting the discussion started with a bit of a general question - what are you play groups like at deals?

Pretty much in our small group, we've same core dudes for like 10 years or so, deals are pretty much on an action by action basis; you rescue me, I support your next vote that kind of carry on.  That's pretty much the way it's always been.  Mostly also with everyone being experienced we kind of expect sensible (well in Greg's case sensible is more like predictable weirdness!) cross table behaviour.  We also don't really beg help to live, if it's clear me being off the table is good for my cross tables allies then effort won't be wasted trying to talk someone into helping me.

I'm playing some JOL league games at the moment and there is some crazy deal cross table oust carry on, made worse by the dealing taking place without all parties at the table (so to speak).  It's like worse than a tournament, I'd forgotten how bad some of the Europeans are when it comes to table talking.  It's total VP dealing, you oust him and then I'll oust this dude.  Is this sort of carry on normal in anyone's local groups?  Or we just see some, not heaps, of it at tourneys?

S