Magic: The Gathering News « Magic: The Gathering

a closer look at keywords: wither

to be honest with everyone, this is probably the first thing ive written about magic the gathering, but i figured i might as well start somewhere. in the game of magic the gathering there are countless different keywords, some being common, like trample, or rarely used or seen, like splice. what i wanted to do was take a closer look at some of the different keywords out there, and see just how they change the average game.

Emerald Knights: A Palace of Nerdery

Before last Sunday I hadn't been to a proper game store since I was in middle school. Over ten years ago. If you decide to stop reading right now because I obviously don't care enough about MTG to be writing this thing, I don't blame you. But I tell you, friends, as someone who has denied the utter awesomeness of their hobby for too long, that going to Emerald Knights in Burbank made me feel at home. I want to tell you about it and explain why I will be back many times in the future.

A Symphony of Evil: Javi's Black Deck

My friend Javi (who will join this group eventually that lazy sack) is a masterful MTG player and deck-constructor. Hell, he's damn impressive nerd all around. One time he made a Black deck out of my cards, and it is pretty devestating despite the fact that I never really collected Black and thus don't have multiples of good cards for it. It has more creatures than most Black decks (again, my fault) but uses it's excessive Mana to deal absurd amounts of damage with them.

Blue: The Color of Dishonor and Subterfuge

When I used to play Magic every day during 7th grade, one of my regular opponents was a kid named Eddie. He played an all-Blue, deck, the first I'd ever seen. At that point I was even more creature-obsessed than I am now and my deck were unwieldy hulks practically begging to be shamed by an all-Blue deck. I couldn't hurt him. Every time I tried to do something he had a response, a way to negate what I was doing. He would barely ever hurt me. He would win games just by making me play for so lo...

Old Magic: A Rant

Running this World has prompted me to think about MTG on a deeper level than I ever have before. In attempts to contextualize it, explain it, research it, and understand the parts of it that I don't yet understand, I have come to an unexpected conclusion: I'm old.

News: My deck sends all the boys to the graveyard

Here, ladies and gentlemen, is my main deck. The youngest card in it was printed in 2000. It makes me feel a little crusty and old for one of the first times in my life. But it does mob pretty well against all of the mostly pre-2000 decks I've played it against (none of my friends really have new cards either) and I'll tell you why:

News: Home Improvement - Magic Crafts

This Web site and blog had some cool photos on it from ManaNation. And while it's not a video, he does do step-by-step how to build a Magic card castle in photos.

News: Elder Dragon Highlander, an awesome variant

Elder Dragon Highlander is apparently a MTG variant which emphasizes big decks, playing with a variety of cards, and gives you free Legends. I have never played it and I love it already. This website will teach you how it works. Post your thoughts in the forum.

News: A New Deck, and an Old One Revived

Ladies and gentlemen, I have a confession to make, in case you haven't noticed already: I'm a little reticent about building decks. I've only posted two on this blog, one of which was made by someone else. I have a few thousand cards. Why not make use of a few?

Blue: The Color of Schadenfreude

Does the above card seem a bit unfair to you? I see that Bacheeze has already poisoned your minds with his anti-blue propaganda. These are the words of one who has had his 7 mana-Force of Nature Unsummoned one too many times. He seems to think that those of us who play blue are all a bunch of malcontents who deal with our misery by spreading it around. This is entirely true.

News: A Quick Homage to Our Benefactor

Without Richard Channing Garfield the world would be a much grayer and less interesting place today, at least for all of us. He created Magic in college, playtested it throughout, accidentally found a publisher for it, and wound up the the most well-known and successful paper game designer in the world (sorry Guygax, make something new why don't ya?). He does not seek the limelight, has not had a snappy biography written about him (or his game, amazingly enough) and I thought we should pay a ...

Shadow: Why, God, Why?

Any time a feature is introduced in an MTG set and not replicated in subsequent sets, balancing issues are surely forthcoming. You wind up with one set that can do things the others can't, forcing players to counter that set with other cards from it, and generally limiting the creativity with which one can effectively play the game. Playing these types of cards is like playing trap defense in hockey or boxing like Floyd Mayweather: you might win, but neither you, your opponents, nor the peopl...

News: Modified Magic Cards? Gooo Ooooooon....

Terese Nielsen is a fantasy artist who modifies MTG cards on her own and by request. Force of Will is a favorite, as you can tell from these amazing shots. You used to be able to buy them on eBay, but they appear to all be sold out now so check out her site and shoot her an email if you want to get one.

Fallen Empires: The Worst Ever?

I started playing MTG in 1994, the same year that the Fallen Empires set hit the market. It was, in fact, the first new set released after I started playing, making me one excited nine-year-old. I harangued my father, he took my friends and I to Gameworks again and again, and the booster packs started to mount. The problems only started to occur once we got them open.

News: Pizza Sandwich

I had one day-old slice of Pizza Hut Stuffed Crust. I was going to just make toast. I'm so glad this happened instead. Fusion cuisine bacheeze-stylee.

News: Two dudes, throwing down

Is an MTG game fun to watch? Is it fun to watch Internet videos of? As an online video professional, I take an interest in what is fun or not fun to do online vs. in reality, and so will post some different types of MTG gameplay videos to see if ya'll like 'em. Stay tuned.

News: What $100 will get you nowadays

Some guy bought all this online for $100. How much did all these cost the seller to accumulate? I feel sorry for them, and profoundly jealous of the buyer Master Marf.

Green: The Color of Mana

GreenYou can tell a lot about a person's thought process by MTG color they favor: Red: aggressive, unsubtle, will surpass an obstacle by blowing it to bits with the largest explosives available (or Fireballs, as the case may be

News: Admin's Cards, in Boxes

Your brave, fearless, and redundant Admin's card collection, in boxes, with further boxes added to protect his grandma's identity.

News: My Game

Where were you in 1993? Thinking about starting a tech company? Starting elementary school? Awaiting a 1996 Daft Punk party after which you would be conceived? It's been eighteen years, but the game that solidified my dorkdom for good is still coming out with new sets, still fun as hell to play, and deserves some love dammit. To that end, I have started this World: A Magic: The Gathering Spot.