Captain Joline Henry said the Magic, which has struggled to hit its flowing best in this year's ANZ Championship, is working on a shift in philosophy.
And the 29-test Silver Fern is looking to Monday's game against the Southern Steel in Invercargill to showcase the new approach.
Last year's competition runners-up, the Magic has lost only one game this season - a fourth-round 42-53 hammering by the Queensland Firebirds - but has yet to achieve any real consistency in its game.
Henry said it was vital the Magic hit its straps for this weekend's eighth-round match, especially after it struggled against a physical Northern Mystics team last weekend before winning 50-35.
"We talked about how rough it was, but I guess it's just indicative of how much passion there was out there," Henry said yesterday.
"I guess we've come to realise that when teams play against us, they want to disrupt our flow and they kind of resort to any means necessary, which means we can't play the netball we know we're capable of."
She said the Magic, with seven Silver Ferns in the squad, had to be able to knuckle down, find some patience, and work the ball around.
"For us, it means that even knowing we're not going to be allowed to play that type of netball, we have to be content with being able to get the ball from A to B.
"Whether it takes us 50 passes or 100 passes, it shouldn't matter and it shouldn't frustrate us. That's the philosophy we're trying adopt."
The Magic had a less-than-satisfactory second-round performance against the Steel in Tauranga, leading 27-23 at half-time before recording a 54-47 win on the back of an Irene van Dyk 100% shooting game.
Henry said her team was anticipating a real challenge from the Steel on its home ground, especially after the southern side struggled to beat Canterbury Tactix 48-47 last Saturday.
"Last time we came up against each other, it was fierce out there on court, and there were words exchanged afterwards at the after-match," she said.
"I'm expecting nothing but the most fierce of competition. We're going to have to bring our A game and bring it for 60 minutes."
Henry said it was important the Magic concentrated on the areas of the game they had control over, rather than worrying about umpiring decisions or what the opposition might do.
"There's a fine line between contesting and competing for a ball and just having to resort to plain thuggery tactics," she said.
"It's really hard to control what other people are doing, so we have to look at ourselves and look at ways that we can cope and thrive no matter what people throw at us."
The Magic's inconsistency was ultimately its own responsibility, Henry said.
"I like to think we've had some dominant performances, and some dominant play in patches but we've definitely struggled for consistency.
"But I don't want to undermine the skill and integrity of the other teams, either, because they're there to do the same job we are."
