While you typically will find me over in the Video Games section, I jumped at the opportunity to join the Tabletop team; specifically, I jumped at the chance to write about my newest obsession: Magic the Gathering (henceforth referred to as MTG). Neal Kleinman kicked off our pro-skewed coverage the other day with an excellent primer to the language of the pro circuit. I’m here to officially launch the other side of the coin: a series designed to bring in new players to the flock. I’ll be introducing you to the game, teaching you the rules, and covering news all in the hopes that you’ll graduate and move on to Neal’s pro series articles. There is a lot to cover in any series designed to introduce new players to MTG. Let’s start with a quick biography!
MTG was designed by Richard Garfield while he was pursuing a doctoral degree at the University of Pennsylvania. In 1993, he met with Wizards of the Coast to pitch a board game, which they passed on. Garfield then presented MTG, which WotC immediately picked up and began producing. Though there are some claims to the contrary, MTG is recognized by most as the first collectible card game/trading card game (a game where players create a personalized deck from a larger group of cards). In fact, WotC holds the patent on such an idea. MTG was wildly successful from the start (one of the first sets of cards, Unlimited, had 40,000,000 cards printed). MTG still reigns supreme in the trading card game world, and over fifty expansion sets have been released, featuring over 10,000 different cards. There are professional tournaments all around the world, and each year millions of dollars are awarded as prizes. Thousands of stores around the world participate in Friday Night Magic, a Wizards-sanctioned event series that provides players an opportunity to frequently connect with other local MTG enthusiasts.
So, what’s MTG all about? Why should you play it? As with many typically “nerdy” hobbies, MTG suffers from some stereotypes: “It’s a child’s game,” “It’s all wizards and dragons,” or “It’s boring.” And, as with many of these tragically stereotyped hobbies, most of these falsehoods can be contradicted by a much brighter reality. MTG is a mature product with a fully developed storyline. It’s as much about strategy as it is about customization. So, how does it work?
In its most basic mode, two players create decks of sixty cards (or more) and try to reduce their opponent’s life total from twenty to zero. There are a bunch of different game modes and formats (we’ll get to all of that, don’t worry), but, at it’s core, that’s what the game is all about. MTG offers players of many different playstyles a chance to use their own brand of strategy in their efforts to defeat opponents. As you play against more opponents and learn about new cards, you can modify your playstyle or completely redefine your strategy and deck.
MTG has a great community that you can hop right into, but for the shy gamer, playing among friends can be just as fun (if not more so). One of MTG’s most attractive features is the relatively low buy-in cost. For around $15-20, you can buy an Intro Pack (a basic deck built around an idea with much room for improvement), an Event Deck (a pre-constructed deck designed to be a bit more competitive than the Intro Packs), or a Deckbuilder’s Tool Kit (a collection of roughly 250 cards designed to let players build several types of decks). Of course, once you start to get more interested in MTG, your costs increase (astronomically). Still a $15-20 buy-in isn’t so bad for players just looking to get their feet wet.
That’ll do for a quick look at what MTG has to offer. With our next installment, I’ll show you the various types of formats and game modes that MTG has to offer. We’ll also take a look at some gameplay basics.
Thanks for reading, and, as always, stay tuned to Comic Booked!
Tags: comic booked, Friday Night Magic, Kyle Black, Magic The Gathering, MTG, MTG basics, MTG info, Tabletop
About the Author
Written by Kyle Black
Wow, total flashback to 9th grade. Thank you for that! I love this game and have been trying to get back into it.