MYACH Strategy 101

by Crazy Ivan

Amongst the many games we play with Myachis, the overwhelming favorite is MYACH.  For those who don't know, MYACH is a game kind of like HORSE or SKATE where 2 or more players challenge each other to match their toughest tricks.

Now, the definitive work on MYACH is still underway.  I'm in the process of putting together an all encompassing official rule book for the game which will appear on the "pages" section of this blog once it's complete.  As simple as the game seems when you first start playing, once you've played as long as I have you've seen a million different ways to "cheat" the game and you realize what a healthy set of rules such a free form game needs.

But this entry is for people who are already familiar with the game.  I'm sure that we'll end up talking about MYACH strategy quite a bit on this blog, but I figured we'd start by looking at some of the most common mistakes.

See, MYACH is not just a game of skills.  It's easy to say "she beat me because she's better at Myachi than me", but I've seen people beat players way outside of their skill level.  At the same time, of course, you're watching somebody with superior skill lose.  It's kind of weird to watch because on the surface MYACH is just a game of skill.  I do a trick, you try to match it.  You do a trick, I try to match it.

But there's a lot more going on in a game than just skill.  MYACH is also a game of strategy and as the best MYACH players in the world will tell you, skill has to play 2nd fiddle to strategy sometimes.  I have a feeling that books could (and will) be written on proper MYACH strategy so I don't want to go into too much detail just yet.  Want I hope to do in this entry is give you a tool you can use to examine your losses.

When somebody beats you at MYACH, ask yourself why you lost and don't just jump to the easy answer like "he's been playing Myachi longer", "My foot tricks were off" or "I didn't have my lucky BlueBeard."  Check the list below and ask yourself if you made any of the mistakes I describe below.  It might turn out that you really did lose because you didn't have that BlueBeard, but it's far more likely that your Achilles Heel is on this list:

 #1) Setting Too Big 

This is probably the most common mistake MYACH players make and it's not just the newbs.  I know many veteran players that were so enamored with the idea of lettering somebody with, say, a Duck and Dive that they wasted the whole game trying to hit a set that was too tough.

The result of this error is obvious.  You can't earn a letter against your opponent if you never successfully set a trick.  Meanwhile he or she is steadily chipping away at you.  Sure, you might hit your spectacular trick eventually and you'll earn yourself that letter, but while you were missing sets you might have gone down 2 or even 3 letters.

A good rule of thumb is to never set a trick you can't hit 4 times out of 5.  A good player has a big repertoire of tricks that they can hit 9 of 10 or even 99 of 100 but sometimes you have to go for something a little tougher.  Still, unless you are in a desperate situation, you should never call a trick that you can't hit 80% of the time.

 #2) Giving Away Their Weaknesses 

One of the main strategies MYACH players employ is probing for your weakness.  A really good opponent will start by setting a foot trick.  If you look comfortable on your feet, their next set might be a crazy behind the back variation.  If you look flexible they'll move on to some fast aerials or portals.  This way you can judge the relative strengths of your adversary and get a good idea how they'll respond to certain combos.

This means that someone knowing your weakness is a weakness all by itself.  You can easily disguise your weaknesses by going into every trick as though you are sure you're going to nail it.  Sure, you might miss the foot trick that was set against you, but if you approached it with enough confidence your opponents might think it was just by happenstance.  One way or the other, they'll be less likely to start drilling you with more low-body stuff.

Of course, like most people, you probably play against the same opponents a lot.  Your friends probably already know your weaknesses so there's no point in disguising them.  Of course, there's a way to turn this around as well.  Just practice up and don't tell them.  Believe me, there are few things more satisfying than nailing a trick that a regular opponent was sure you were going to miss.

 #3) Getting Stuck on a Set 

This actually ties in closely to the first point about setting too big.  This is a similar problem, but it seemed like it needed it's own section.  See, sometimes you'll set a trick that you do normally hit but for whatever reason you're not getting it today.  As a rule, most MYACH players try to avoid setting a trick 3 times in a row.

I should mention here that it's against the rules of the game to set a trick that you've already gotten a letter with so the only way you would ever set the same trick three times in a row is if you missed it the first two.  It can be really tempting to keep setting that same trick because you're really close to it and normally you nail it with ease.

Be really careful if you find yourself in that position.  Not only are you wasting several sets at this point, but you're pointing out a trick or type of trick that is giving you trouble.  If I see somebody miss a trick that they set a few times, I will often set that trick myself and cost them a letter.

 #4) Going in Without a Plan 

A while back all the Myachi Masters had a big MYACH tournament.  We had 12 people involved and that group included maybe 6 of the 8 best MYACH players in the world.  It was anybody's guess who was going to win but in the end it wasn't skill that won out, it was strategy.

Monk was the only Myachi Master that showed up to the tourney with a list of tricks in hand.  He'd been practicing a few really weird sets and he had them written down and at the ready so he wouldn't forget what they were mid-game.  Half way through the game the other masters were trying to think of sets they could letter the remaining competitors with, but Monk already had a list.

I should note that in this case Monk was pretty familiar with his competition.  Not only did he have a list of tricks, but he'd also noted which people he probably would and would not earn letters against with them.  That way in the end when it was down to two remaining opponents he could look right to a move that would letter both of them.

 #5) Convincing Yourself That You'll Miss 

There's a cool thing about 95% of Myachi moves.  If the sun is shining just right and the relative humidity is perfect and you just happen upon the perfect set, you might hit a move you've never heard of before on your first try.  You might even do it if the trick is way outside your skill level.

Now obviously there are plenty of moves for which this is not true.  Nobody's going to luck into something like a foot 720 or a Reverse Yoga Cross but I've actually seen people hit tricks as hard as the Jedi and a One-Handed Spidey Sense that had never tried them before.

Myachi is a pretty psychological game and if you approach every trick with confidence, once in a while you're bound to surprise yourself by hitting something you thought you couldn't do.  I guess I don't know how much of a difference it really makes, but there's certainly no benefit in saying something like "I'm never gonna get this" before you try something.

 #6) Not Having Enough Weapons 

To win at the higher levels in a game of MYACH, you need to several knock out type tricks.  You'll have to be creative because the only sure way to earn a letter is to give something that (a) is ridiculously tough and (b) they've never seen before.  No matter how tough a move is, there's a chance that the other guy has it too.

Plenty of would be contenders find themselves in the ring with somebody like Mantis, Maverick or Bones.  They use a few tricks that are almost always good for letters but they fail against a tougher opponent.  Now what?  They've got 4 more really tough tricks, but you need 5 tricks to win.  Even if every trick earns a letter it won't be enough.

To reach the upper echelon of MYACH, you need knock-out tricks in several different styles.  If you focus only on, say, under the leg moves, you'll never be able to earn enough letters to win a game.  If you underestimate your opponent and go in with only 7 or 8 tough moves you might find yourself improvising by the end of the game, which puts you at a serious disadvantage.

 #7) Not Learning New Stuff 

The sad tales are abundant; people who were once feared in the world of MYACH that rested on their laurels, thought nobody could take them down and didn't bother keeping up with all the new moves and styles.  Then a new challenger shows up and mops the floor with them by doing relatively easy sets.  Problem is that they're all sets that the gilded champ has never seen before.

I'm not naming any names, but I've seen exactly this scenario play out.  Heck, I was even the victim of it at one time.  Being at the top of the game of MYACH is a tough title to hold.  You basically have to keep running just to stand still because there are always more tricks being created.  There are whole styles and categories of moves now that were untapped even two years ago.  It's pretty safe to say that two years from now there will be yet more categories and styles to learn.

To be a master of MYACH is to be a master of an evolving art form so if you want to reach the top, you should go in knowing that you never get to a point where you know it all.  That's the beauty of the game.  You can learn the basics in a few quick minutes and you can master the rest in a few short lifetimes.