Registered Member #1343
Joined: 7:23:40 pm GMT 09/01/08
Posts: 500
Don't play Magic unless you are playing with friend, because you won't be able to resist the urge to punch the douchebag across from you who bought his squirrel deck on Ebay and the Lunchroom monitors frown on this.
I quit playing back in high school. New cardsets come out so fast that your old ones are outclassed before you play a game with them.
Registered Member #820
Joined: 2:59:44 pm GMT 07/25/06
Posts: 1305
As soon as I read that you were just starting, Payne, I went "oh god.."
In my experience from, oh dear lord, 14 years ago (I actually convinced my friends to stop playing at the time, because we were getting broke), the more ridiculous magic decks rely on the real life currency of the player to supe up. I can't even imagine how many new sets and new cards there are now. When I was playing it was just after the Legends and Dark sets were somewhat out of print, so they were worth a lot. I think we stopped when a set called Tempest came out? Tempest rings a bell...and those cards kind of sucked any way.
The direct damage deck is a good idea, because a lot of those cards are cheap and it's fun to just rail on guys. My favorite direct damage red deck I ever had involved direct damage from various sets, and some shivan dragons (badass monsters) for good measure when I had enough mana out. Also other things, obviously, but I don't remember. This was because you're only allowed, I believe, 4 of each card type in your deck. I couldn't throw down a deck made up of 15 red mana and 45 lightning bolts and just bomb the crap out of the guy.
There's all kinds of ridiculous combinations to use, and indeed I think one or two colour decks are ideal. Red's good for damage. Blue's good for spells. Black's good for F-ing with people while using monsters (loved the old hypno specters), among other things.
My friend had a blue deck that I was ridiculously envious of at the time because it had no creatures and involved countering all spells and monsters cast and forcing the other player to draw and discard cards, so my friend would win by the other player running out. It was a beautiful kick in the junk, and he was great at using it.
Anyway...if the fellow has just started becoming a magic fan, you have a chance. If they've become an addict and gone out and spent $500 supping up a good deck, don't bother - just try to enjoy without getting addicted.
Registered Member #34
Joined: 11:01:04 am GMT 02/26/04
Posts: 2778
It's been at least 14 or 15 years since I've played this game, and I still have a phat collection of cards that I'm sure some large greasy kid would love to have.
In general, Payne, you play cards from your hand into the play area (the table in front of you). There's often a cost associated in doing this, and that cost is typically indicated in the top right corner.
To pay the "casting cost" for a card, you draw mana from whatever sources you have. This is typically the land cards. There's black, blue, green, red, white, and colorless mana. If you look at the example Gharos card, it requires 1 white, 2 blue, 1 black, and 3 more (of any color) mana to cast.
To release the mana from land, you have to "tap" it (and you indicate this by turning the card sideways). If, for some reason, you don't use up the mana, then you take damage equal to whatever is unused.
You start the game with 20 life points, and lose (and gain) these by various means.
Creatures can be used to attack and defend. The example Gharos attacks for 2 points of damage, and can take up to 5 points of damage. Once the attacker choses which of his creatures is going to attack (which taps them), the defender then decides which of his creatures, if any, is going to block which attackers. Unblocked creatures deal damage to the player. Blocked creatures fight with the blocker, and they deal damage to each other. This might cause one or both of the creatures to die. BTW, creatures heal damage at the end of every turn (or every phase, or something like that), so beefy creatures can really be a handful for an opponent.
Then there's all sorts of special rules on the cards themselves. Direct damage cards (typically red) do exactly that... you pick a target (a creature or player) and deal damage directly. As a rule, it's generally more useful to save these cards and use them at opportunistic times to kill your opponents creatures, though you might have a lot of these cards in a deck, and so not need to save them.
There are many themes to be found among decks, so all sorts of things can happen. Back in my day, some popular themes (besides the straigh-foward creature or direct damage decks) were decks that ran the opponent out of cards (If you can't draw a card in your draw phase, because there aren't enough in your deck, then you lose), land/mana denial (with lots of cards to destroy the opponents land), and counter-spelling. There were also some first-turn-win decks (that could possibly win in the very first turn if the right combination of cards turned up in the starting hand).
It was an interesting game, but it was a money pit... especially when WotC decided that cards from older sets couldn't be used in "official tournaments", and thus everybody wanted to impose that rule anytime they played.
Curiously, I still have some decks put together, and even a few that faired well enough in early tournaments at our local game store. I also have a deck that fills up a Pop-Tart box that I would use in large multiplayer games. But, like I said, I haven't played in years.
Registered Member #820
Joined: 2:59:44 pm GMT 07/25/06
Posts: 1305
Nivaurum wrote ...
especially when WotC decided that cards from older sets couldn't be used in "official tournaments", and thus everybody wanted to impose that rule anytime they played.
Wow, that's powerfully weak. There were some great strategic cards in the older sets (Dissipate, for example).
Registered Member #1343
Joined: 7:23:40 pm GMT 09/01/08
Posts: 500
Arinoch wrote ...
Nivaurum wrote ...
especially when WotC decided that cards from older sets couldn't be used in "official tournaments", and thus everybody wanted to impose that rule anytime they played.
Wow, that's powerfully weak. There were some great strategic cards in the older sets (Dissipate, for example).
Registered Member #785
Joined: 6:06:48 am GMT 05/27/06
Posts: 526
Google LackeyCCG - it is a totally free virtual desktop for playing TCGs. There are places to download the cardsets for every TCG there ever was, pretty much, including magic.
You can play online, or over a LAN; it isnt automated, but its easy to use and free.
Registered Member #34
Joined: 11:01:04 am GMT 02/26/04
Posts: 2778
I'm old school... Black Lotus, the Moxes, Ancestral Recall, Time Stop, Timetwister, Chaos Orb, and even Channel. I pulled a Mox Pearl and a Timetwister from Unlimited packs, though I eventually sold them.
Personally, I think people should have played with the original ante rule. You each turn over the top card of your deck, and that's what you're playing for. That would help make $1000 decks (of 40 cards, which was the minimum size back in the day) less commonplace.
[ The Island of Thain ]
Magic - The Gathering
