Over the past few months, I have started to keep a detailed log of my matches, and it is actually a very helpful tactic. I keep track of the date, wins/losses, my teams, opponents name, what figures they ran, any important notes on their specific play styles, what the prize was and if I won it, and my overall record. This has helped immensely because now I can go back and pick out past team builds that did particularly well, or see what failed miserably. It's also helpful to see what figures did well against certain characters, and what figures didn't, so I can perfect those teams by finding suitable replacements for the losers who were KO'd. Are any of you keeping similar logs? If so, how has it helped you?

I've been considering this. I'm newish to the game, and I always felt like it could help me keep track of what I'm doing right and what I'm doing wrong. Did you create a spreadsheet?

I'd highly suggest it. Could help in ways you don't even realize yet, if you keep it very detailed. Nope, I have a notebook that I keep it all in. It makes it easier to jot down notes during the game.

I did this while I was learning the game and playing seriously. The benefits vs just trusting your memory are huge. At my most serious point I kept the play by play down to opening layout and chess style movement notation (A4 to F10, target D16 with psy blast, roll 4, miss). This was all in short hand of course as there was no way I could write fast enough to not stall the game otherwise. The more detailed, the better you can benefit because you can more clearly see what other plays were available had the dice fallen a different way.

I personally don't take notes although I have thought of doing it before. I'm just gonna add something that could help with your notes taking.

You guys probably have to submit your teams and Win/Loss record sheet to the judge (we do that over here, so I assume you have a similar culture). What you can do is just use your cellphone or iPad camera and take a picture of those record sheets (of every participants... if you can). Of course, do ask the judge's permission. That way, you save a lot of time writing on your notebook (especially if you don't know short hand... ) and actually have more information. Once you get home, you can then transfer them to your spreadsheet or notebooks for analysis.

When I first started, I just kept records of my teams and their w/l records. I also kept records on whether it was sealed or constructed.

My other main records were what characters I used, how they did, and their W/L record.

About 10 years ago I stopped keeping my W/L records but I still keep a list if what characters I've used and their W/L numbers. I find it highly enjoyable.

For example, I've used a Wolverine on 67 different teams - he is by far my most used character. Each dial gets it's own rating - look to the left to see one of those records...

Keeping a play-by-play sounds very beneficial, but, I feel like it would distract me from the game at hand. I'll try it out and see how it goes. If it doesn't cause me to lose focus too much, I'll definitely be adding this into my weekly routine.

Clever idea. Unfortunately, though, our venue is more of a zoo, filled with screaming and shouting. No submitting teams or w/l records, just tell the judge how many points your team is, and wait for pairings. After the match you just tell the judge who won and how many points each player received. Of course this is always done by the above stated "screaming and/or shouting".

This is exactly why I will continue to do this. It just seems strangely rewarding, after putting all the work in, to see the extensive records of all your favorite figures. That's just too cool.