My Journey with Magic: The Gathering

Magic: The Gathering (MtG) has been a pretty big part of my life for the last 3 years or so. I was actually introduced to MtG years ago in high school by a friend of mine. I was instantly drawn to its colorful images that adorn each card. I didn't care so much about the game but I wanted to know more about these cards! (Actually, Craig Wescoe of TCGplayer.com has an EXCELLENT article about the appeal of MtG. Check it out here.) My cousin, friend and I would all play our little game out above the garage, or sitting in a circle on the floor of my parents living room. Urza's Destiny had just come out so we three split a booster box of that and Stronghold. It was a blast! I remember having this all white angel deck that just dominated, or the mono blue control deck that I had no idea that's what it was called. I had a small collection then and things were great. I had no idea what I had gotten myself into.

Shortly after I learned the game, I moved away to college. I took my two best decks and left the rest of my stuff at home. It took about a year for me to find other people that played. The comic book shop I went to sold some cards but I didn't pay much attention. I hadn't seen any 'new' cards in a while. I really didn't realize that a.) sets came out regularly, and b.) that there was a thing called Friday Night Magic or that people actually played in organized tournaments. I played some with a couple of guys in my dorm and wasn't real impressed with what I had seen and let's be honest, beer was way more important at this point in my life.

The one that started the whole obsession.

Fast forward 10 or so years. I'm sitting on the couch and my roommate, Jeremy, is digging through boxes of old cards. (This is the same guy that taught me years ago.) Another friend of ours, Jimmy, had just bought some of the newest set to come out, Worldwake. So these two are playing for a few days and getting me interested in this game we used to play. On a whim one day at Wal-Mart I saw a few booster packs of this new set. I bought three. I really don't remember which pack he was in, but I opened a Jace, the Mind Sculptor in one of those packs. What the hell was this card? I had not seen or heard of Planeswalkers yet. Long story short, I was hooked. Those first couple of months were the stuff of nostalgic dreams. We made crappy deck after crappy deck, but I'll be damned if we didn't have some serious fun. There was drama and big plays and all kinds of multi-player craziness.

Enter: The Tournament. That spring saw the pre-release of Rise of the Eldrazi. I had found out that there were a group of people that did FNM locally at the mall. I decided to try this out the night before driving out to the Pre-Release in Moab. This was my introduction to competitive MtG. I had been rocking a mono black Vampire deck around the kitchen table. No one at home had answers, it was just bad ass. Or so I thought. I took that deck down to FNM and got whooped. 0-4. Didn't even win a game. I was crushed, but motivated to get better. I got a few pointers and was encouraged to come back the next week. I thought maybe this was a coincidence. Maybe it was just bad luck. So i was optimistic driving out to Moab the next day. It was a sealed deck tournament and I really had no idea what I was doing. I got my ass handed to me again. Looking back, it's not that anyone there was particularly good, I was just that BAD.

I spent the next few weeks going to FNM, scouring websites for pointers and tips on how to play better. I persuaded Jeremy to start going with me. Jimmy went a few times too. We still played our crappy decks, but there was some hint of us getting better. I started finishing in the Top-8. Really started to get into it. I started spending money on cards via the internet. My addiction had taken hold. I really started eating, breathing, living Magic. Our multi-player rounds turned into testing decks for FNM. While it was still fun, Magic had become my way of life. If I wasn't at work (even then sometimes) I was at home, testing, brewing, reading strategy. I found out about some of the bigger tournaments that come through now and then. Grand Prix Denver was coming up and I was stoked! I showed up thinking I was hot stuff, even though I had only finsished in first place at FNM once. (and it was and intentional draw because of time) I don't think I did that poorly really for my first time at a large event and it being Sealed, I went 3-3-1 before I dropped. I even got to chat with a couple of my favorite artists in the game (Steve Argyle and RK Post). After that I was totally into this whole deal. I wanted to tour the US on Magic winnings. Sadly that never panned out. I've gone on and played stuff regularly at my local gaming store, The Jester's Court.

Somewhere along the line, I discovered EDH. I instantly fell in love. Not only because of the 'flavor' of the format, but because you didnt need to have 4 of every card anymore. Suddenly buying a $20, $30, hell even $50 or more cards didn't sound as bad. My first deck was a pretty bad Maga, Traitor to Mortals deck. The one thing it did do right was stick to the theme, and nearly all of my EDH deck's since have had a theme, regardless if it makes the deck better or worse. This version of the game has become my passion. I don't even get to play it as much as I would like, but I really enjoy this format of the game. It really reminds me of those first few months playing, where we didn't care if our decks were great and optimized. We were just playing to have fun.

My first crappy EDH General

Over the period of 3 years I have spent a very large portion of my time, money and attention to Magic. The last couple months I have been pretty discouraged with the whole thing. I was drawn to this game by the social, artistic and fun aspects. I fell in love with this game because of the strategic value and that it is not just a mindless game. There is SO much to think about in this game. I've slowly stopped playing weekly because I feel that the game has gotten stale. Sure there are new great cards. Sure, Standard is the most diverse it has been in a long time. But you still have to play 'certain decks' if you want to stay competitive. There is no more exploration in the game anymore. If you want a chance to win anything, you've got to be playing one of five 'good' decks and spend a fortune to make those decks. There are so many people that play this game now and it is all so well documented on the internet. Hundreds of really good brewers out there that 'solve' the format at each new release takes the fun out of the game to me. I've been jaded by this and I find it very difficult to go back. I'm guilty of 'netdecking' as are many others. I feel like every time I went to FNM it was like I was playing in some PTQ or Grand Prix with the amount of competitive level decks. I don't blame people for wanting to play 'good' and powerful decks. It can be fun. I'll tell you what's not though. Seeing the Top-8 of whatever big event happened this week, show up at FNM the week after.

Hopefully this isn't prophetic.

In light of this (and medical issues which I have to pay for out of my own pocket cause no insurance...) I decided to sell my collection of cards. I'm headed to Denver on Tuesday to meet with the guy that is buying my stuff. In a weird way, I am relieved. I feel like there is this weight lifted off my shoulders. I will definately have more room now and will actually be able to USE my drafting table! I plan on doing some MtG related paintings, more playmats and even maybe some altered card art if there is call for it. I still love this game. I think it has a lot of good qualities. I just feel like it's gotten to big for it's own good. The secondary market has become to much of a concern for Wizards of the Coast, as is apparent by the Commander's Arsenal and the upcoming Modern Masters release. I do plan on continuing my affair with this game in a limited manner. EDH ( I refuse to call it Commander) will be my main source of play and reason to buy new shiny cards now and then. I also will plan on being at releases and the occasional Draft. I plan on writing about Magic still via this blog, mainly in card or set reviews aimed at EDH players. I may even go over some of my decks or yours!

So good.

In closing I'd like to say it's been a fun ride. I even finally got that elusive legit 1st place at an FNM with my favorite deck of all time, Mono Black Vampires, not to long ago. This really is a good game for people to enjoy, though I am sad to see things turn out the way they have recently with the decision making at WotC. I could go on and on about how I feel like they are making this a game only for the people that are well off and how that limits new players, and how big companies like Star City Games are not helping that cause at all. I think that Wizards has something amazing on their hands and I'm afraid that greed is going to ruin the game in the long run. I'm a bit sad to see it go, but honestly I feel like it's better for me, and for my pocketbook. For now, this is Red Six, standing by.

If anyone is interested, I thought I would list my Magic favorites!
Favorite Color: Black
Favorite Guild: Orzhov
Favorite Shard: Esper
Favorite Expansion: Zendikar
Favorite Block: Zendikar
Favorite Deck: Mono B Vampires
Favorite General: Sharuum (No infinite combos though)
Favorite Card: Bloodghast
Favorite Artist: Terese Nielsen/John Avon/Steve Argyle/RK Post
Favorite Flavor Text: Lava Axe "Catch!"
Favorite Planeswalker: Vraska or Sorin