Magic: the Gathering is a collectible card game. The original collectible card game, in fact. It was invented by Richard Garfield, who is now a professor of combinatorial mathematics. And no, I don't know what that means. Math is not one of my geeky obsessions.
In Magic, each player plays using his own deck of cards. These decks are built using a variety of cards that produce various effects. The decks usually run 60 cards, but that can vary depending on what the deck wishes to accomplish and the style of play the player favors. Competitive decks are 60 cards.
Magic appeals to me for three main reasons. One, I love to collect things. A card game where the cards are collectible? Sign me up. Two, the cards have amazing art. Well, not always, but the art in general is much better now than when I first started playing, back in 1994. Yes, Drew Tucker, I still think your art sucks. Three, the random nature of the game. Each deck is shuffled and cards are drawn. This random aspect, known as variance, allows a chance for each player to win, regardless of how much money they've spent on their cards. Fourth, I love the storytelling aspect of the game.
Story-wise, each player is a Planeswalker, able to launch himself into the Blind Eternities and travel between different planes of existence. When meeting another Planeswalker and engaging in battle with him, a Planeswalker can draw upon the energies of different places he has been to cast spells and summon creatures to battle his opponent.
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| The back of a Magic Card |
There are many different types of cards in the game. Each card is generally associated with one or more colors. There are five colors in magic: White, Blue, Black, Red, and Green. Each color has its own philosophy. The color philosophies can get complicated, but at the most basic level, they are as follows: White: Peace, harmony, and perfection. Blue: Acquisition of knowledge, because knowledge is power. Black: Self-indulgence, parasitism, amorality, and an unfettered desire for power. Red: Impulses. Red is immediate action and immediate gratification. Green: Nature, growth, interdependence, and instinct.
Cards also have a casting cost that includes a cost paid by a specific color of mana and a cost that can be paid by any color.
Land Cards. Land produce the energy(mana) necessary to cast spells. Plains produce white mana, Islands produce blue mana, Swamps produce black mana, Mountains produce red mana, and Forests produce green mana. There are land cards that are more complicated, but these are the Basic Lands. As lands produce mana, they don't have a casting cost.
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| Land Cards. |
Creature Cards. The most basic way to interact with the other player. Creatures are summoned and stay on the field of play until they die and go to the Graveyard. Creatures have power and toughness stats. They also often have special abilities that make them more powerful than other creatures.
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| The Shivan Dragon. He costs 4 mana of any color and 2 mana that has to be red for a total of 6 mana. He has a base power of 5 and a base toughness of 5. He can fly. You can pay 1 red mana to increase his power by one until the end of the current turn. |
Sorcery Cards. A spell that produces a specific effect and can only be cast on the player's own turn.
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| Wrath of God costs 4 mana to cast, 2 white mana and 2 mana of any color. This spell destroys all creatures on the playing field. Yes, your creatures, too. |
Instant Cards. Similar to Sorcery Cards, but can be played during your opponent's turn as well as your own.
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| Cancel costs 3 mana, 1 of any color and 2 blue mana. If a player casts Cancel on your spell, that means your spell, the card you're playing out of your hand, goes to the graveyard. Blue players can be real jerks. |
Enchantment Cards. These can only be played during your own turn. They stay on the field until they are destroyed, and produce a continuous effect. Enchantments can affect one specific target, or be more generalized.
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| Aspect of Gorgon costs 3 mana to play, 2 of any color and 1 black. This gives a creature one 1 extra power and 3 extra toughness. It also makes the creature able to kill any other creature just by damaging it. (The creature becomes Medusa-like) |
Artifact Cards. Very similar to enchantments, but most often lack a color. Their effects are also not usually continuous, but must be activated to produce an effect of limited duration. Artifacts can also be creatures.
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| Howling Mine costs 2 mana of any color to play. This causes each player to draw and extra card each turn. Yep, your opponent gets to draw that extra card, too. |
Planewalker Cards. These cards represent powerful or famous Planeswalkers who come to your aid. They produce one effect at a time on your turn only. Planeswalker Cards have loyalty counters that increase or decrease depending on the ability that was used. If a Planeswalker Card has zero loyalty counters, it is placed in the graveyard. To me, this means that the Planeswalker no longer wishes to help you and has left the field of battle.
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| Elspeth. One of my favorite Planeswalkers. The art is just amazing. Right? |
There's a lot more to a game of Magic than I'm going to be able to explain in a blog post. Each game is different based on which cards the players draw and when they choose to play those cards. How the cards interact changes the game as well. It's a fun game.
If you want to learn how to play, let me know. If you live close by, I can teach you myself, but if you live far away, I can try and help you find someone who can help you learn.
If you want to know more, visit the main Magic website. This link takes you to a page that is specifically for those who are new to Magic. The fiery woman is Chandra, another Planeswalker.
Thanks for reading this huge post.
