by rainofwalrus
Don't fall behind your opponent in any of the varying Power-Curves. If they cast a lot of Creatures, you must adjust quickly with lots of creatures -or- direct damage -or- armor -or- curses. If they cast a lot of Equipment, quickly determine which are marquee items that need to be destroyed ASAP (wands, lash of hell-fire, etc.). If they Turtle, gameplan quickly to crack that nut (fliers, fliers that can Cast Spells, global direct damage, etc.).
Try to save some Mana in the beginning. You dont have to cast both cards every turn. Often newbs will run so low on Mana, that they cannot afford to react to certain strategies. Economy is important in this game. The Turn-and-Burn(mana) caveat is more critical in this game, as opposed to simply saving "two blue" as you would in M:TG.