You generally get a good idea of what the opponents decks do after they revealed three cards and this should help you plan out how you can win against them
This means, for example, if it would be inappropriate to sit in your briefs in the game store, then you cannot remove your pants
Condescend Among the counterspells that let you invest mana in them like Logic Knot, Condescend is one that I like as it lets you scry upon resolution
I'm currently trying out a Dragonite deck that can do massive damage, but is dealt out at random and takes a while to get going, requiring some smart manoeuvring and stalling
To offset the life loss, theres lifelink on this giant dragon which you may very well ride into victory
The problem with Emperor's Vanguard is that its a fine creature, but a weak rare