Magic: The Gathering - Trading Card Game

“Magic is not just a card game, it’s an nation-wide craze!”

Introduction

If you’ve been to a science fiction, fantasy, or gamin in general then you’re probably already addicted. A sickness that is sucking the minds and wallets of literally everyone it comes in contact with. And anyone who is touched by this craziness is usually transformed into a devoted follower who then spreads the word to everyone they meet. This sickness has a name, and that name is “Magic: The Gathering”.

Magic: The Gathering has been around for a long time now and is still one of the top sellers of the gaming world. A mixture of fantasy gaming and card collectibles. Basically, Magic is a series of collectible fantasy trading cards which can be used to play a game, though it’s not quite that simple.

How Does One Acquire This Game?

You can buy Magic cards in two ways. First there are Starter Decks containing a random assortment of sixty cards plus a rule booklet. It comes in a familiar card box, styled to look like a leather-bound tome. Magic can’t be played with just one deck, each player must buy and use his own deck. Few players will be content to stop at that one deck, however. There are over 1000 different cards, to which only a fraction of which will be present in any given deck. Many players will want to collect all of the cards, or at the very least, increase the strength and versatility of their decks. Along with the Starter Deck, Wizards of the Coast offers other options like: Booster Packs. Boosters are foil-wrapped packets of 15 randomly selected cards.

Some Magic cards are common, others are uncommon, and some are rare. Each Starter and Booster contains a fixed number of each class.

The cards themselves are worth collecting. Each card features an original piece of art by one of many artists, each of whom is given credit on the card itself. Art quality ranges from adequate to stunning, and you can expect game-play to be interrupted frequently as cards are passed back and forth for inspection and appreciation.

How About The Game Itself?

So what about the game itself? Despite the randomness of what is essentially a luck-of-the-draw game, Magic is a very unique and entertaining game. Players begin with twenty life points and work hard to be the first to reduce their opponent to zero points. The first step is for each player to assemble their deck, which can be one of the most critical parts of the game. The only restriction on deck building is that each one must have at least forty cards.

Play consists mainly of drawing cards, playing land cards, casting spells, and attacking the opponent. By far the most common cards are lands. There are five types of land, one for each color of spell: swamp (black), islands (blue), forest (green), mountains (red) and plains (white). Cards of each color tend to share a common theme. For example, white cards are generally protection- and healing- related, while blue cards are predominantly counteractions or water/air magic. Lands remain face-up in front of you when played. Each land can provide one point of its color mana per turn. Spells cost mana to cast– typically mana of the same color as the spell. Hence, you can’t cast black spells until you have swamps in play. The more powerful the spell, the more mana required to cast it. Since only one land can be played per turn, it can take a while to accumulate enough lands to cast the more powerful spells.

Spells come in six varieties. Summonings allow you to bring creatures into play on your side during your turn. These creatures can then attack your opponent or defend against attacks by your opponent’s creatures. Creatures have varying power and toughness, and some have special abilities which make them even nastier. Sorcery can only be played during your own turn for a variety of results ranging from disintegrating an enemy or destroying one of his lands to resurrecting a dead creature. Instants can be played at any time to produce any number of unusual effects. Interrupts can interfere with other spells, modifying or blocking them. Enchantments are permanent modifications to a card or the game environment. An enchantment could increase a creature’s strength or make a player resistant to spells of a given color. Finally, Magic includes a number of potent Artifacts which, like creatures and enchantments, remain face-up when played.

A game of Magic can last anywhere from ten seconds to a couple of hours, depending on the players’ decks and the luck of the draw. When you first begin playing, games tend to be evenly matched and long-lasting. Once you purchase a few boosters, you’ll probably want to organize your deck down to a reasonable size.

There are an infinite number of ways to construct a good deck. You could opt for a deck of strong monsters or a deck with lots of direct- damage spells (Fireballs, Lightning Bolts, etc). Or you could go for a deck with lots of small creatures which can get into play quickly, perhaps before your opponent gets any creatures into play to defend. You might concentrate your efforts on only one spell color to maximize effectiveness, or you could include multiple colors for more versatility. Many Magic players enjoy creating thematic decks. The possibilities are endless. The composition of a deck plays a huge factor in its owner’s chances for victory, which is why many players place so much emphasis on deck construction.

Problems with Magic?

On the whole, Magic is a lot of fun. But it does have problems. The game has drawn a lot of criticism for its marketing approach– a single Starter Deck is not really a complete game. Moreover, what you do purchase is only a subset of the complete Magic system. And even if you buy a thousand Booster Packs, you might not get a complete set of all three hundred cards. Personally, I don’t have a problem with this. It’s a great marketing tactic, and one which players should be aware of before getting sucked into the system. However, players who do buy a lot of cards will have access to more powerful cards than someone who has only a Starter and a couple of Boosters, and will therefore have a strategic advantage.

What does bother me is a more subtle problem with the card distribution. Initially, players will be hungry for more land cards. Lands are essential– without them, you’re helpless to do anything in the game. Eventually you’ll have more than enough land for virtually any deck configuration, but you’ll still not have all possible spells. But if you buy more cards, you’re going to get lots of useless land, too– essentially wasting some of your money. I don’t mind the inherent risk of getting cards I already own, but getting lands isn’t a risk– it’s a certainty. I’d be much happier if I could buy Boosters which had no land at all.

As in Cosmic Encounter and Wiz-War, individual cards produce effects not covered by the rules. Sometimes these effects are contradictory or their usage unclear. The rather skimpy rule book is murky on many finer points of the game, and sooner or later you’ll find yourself in a situation where the rules just don’t help. This will cause confusion at least, and arguments at worst. Wizards of the Coast representatives are available on many online services to answer questions about the rules and upcoming products. The company maintains an Internet mailing list which receives a lot of rules-questions traffic. The Frequently Asked Questions list is posted there on a regular basis, and contains many official rules clarifications.

Magic is vulnerable to abusive killer decks. There are numerous combos of cards which will guarantee a win if drawn and played on the first turn. This makes tournament play less attractive to me, unless the tournament places restrictions on deck content. Many players have run closed-system tournaments, where the only cards used are supplied to the players at the start of the tournament. Players win additional cards as the tournament progresses, and may trade with each other to fine-tune their decks.

Final Thoughts

Even with these problems, Magic has created a game that people can play anywhere. It’s a perfect filler for two, or more people who are waiting for something else to happen. Playing for card stakes infuses an extra dose of excitement. The cards are well produced, fun to trade and worth collecting.

And when you get tired of the cards you already own, you can infuse new life into the game with cards from one of the upcoming expansion sets.

All, in all, Magic the Gathering is not for everyone but it has definitely swept the nation for many. And just be careful because I was once a person that did not think the game was that cool until I tried it. Well, lets just say I have my own “collection” now.

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