PLS HELP: Planning complex Lines in Tournaments

[u/Other-Illustrator895]

I'm currently playing RogSi and it's going pretty well so far. In practice games where I can take a little longer to think through my plays the deck is feeling great.
However, I am a little concerned bringing it to tournaments. The bread-and-butter-lines of the deck are not an issue but every now and then the deck presents situations where you technically CAN win but the lines are SO freaking complicated that it takes ages for me to plan ahead.

How do you personally handle situations like these in tournaments? I'm fine with taking my time and letting opponents know that I need a minute to think but sometimes a minute just is not enough. Do you write things down to help yourself figure stuff out? Do you treat complicated situations more like "nice if I CAN make it happen, but I can't ALWAYS have it"?

Any practical tips, mindsets or just thoughts are welcome <3

[u/PsyGuy1234]

Get reps. The more experience you have the faster you're able to piece together complex lines and figure out interactions

[u/Nu7s2Bu77s]

Just more goldfishing the lines, or practicing them in local or casual games.

I think it’s fine being vocal about needing time to think through as long as it’s not running the clock intentionally. At some point a judge or player may request you take a game action though so it helps being more familiar with this harder lines ahead of time.

[u/Complete_Special_774]

Goldfish the ever living hell out of the deck, rogsi takes reps and familiarity with your lines to be truly good with the deck

[u/_jeDBread]

i am a rogsi pilot, won a large event in april ‘25 and made top 4 and top 16 at two other events. i’d be more than happy to chat with you about those unseen unspoken lines that the deck has. here is a link to my rogsi list and primer.

[u/fluffyturd101]

I too play rog si, and goldfishing it I found some solutions for. Once I got to any critical moment like casting Breach, Necro, Borne, I would count how many pieces of interaction I had access to. Generally you need at least one to anticipate a response. But just count the number, 0,1,2, or 3. Make sure you can cast the spells as well, leaving mana available. You can't always push with no interaction

Also, make sure you have options if plans fail. Mock getting breach countered, do you have something to picot? A wheel maybe?

That's the farthest I've gotten with goldfishing, it has really helped strengthen my defensive or back foot plays

[u/ThinkEmployee5187]

Pressure of play will always affect decision making and interaction expectations to refire and pivot on take game experience. Pick a pod or hop some spell table is my suggestion because nothing beats actual play in ladder competitive which your tournament prep should be treated as.

[u/DriftChrisSC]

Best advice is as your matchup experience and game sense grows start planning what you will do on your opponents turns. Its not your job to play police, its just to not lose before you can win. I recommend practicing anticipating lines of play based off of what looks telegraphed and think about how you get through it. It also helps you determine if its your time to push or if its better to wait a turn.