“Hi! My name is KarasDjun and I’m a lapsed Magic addict.” There aren’t enough step-programs to keep me away from one of the best and intriguing card games I have ever played. I started back in 1993 with a couple packs of boosters from Antiquities and a brand new Revised starter deck. Since I worked in a retail store that sold the cards, I was able to get good deals on booster boxes. After cherry-picking the rares I needed (via the old transparent plastic wrapping) I sold off the others to those who were desperate. The game wasn’t as accesible then and packs were hard to come by in bulk. I suffered the long months between sets, and even ordered a few boxes from various locations out west to make sure that I got the total mix and was able to complete sets. After several years I had accumulated four large boxes of cards – mainly Unlimited through Planeshift. I’ve sold off a number of the older cards and a few of the Ice Age or Legends rares to continue my habit, but I kept a number of older sets complete in binders, never to be touched or played.

Regardless of how many cards you have, there’s always that need for more. You can never have enough, even though you may only be gathering tons of commons. At one point I had enough cards to supply at least 5 friends with playing cards, supplemental deck material, and more lands than you could ever use. I regret the latter, since lands are now so hard to come by. The tournament scene contrinues to drive the need for more cards since they retire cards or ban entire sets from play. I’ve only played in three tournaments in the entire time I’ve played the game. The first one was local and led to a crushing defeat to a “weenie white deck” in the very first round. The other two were in New York City where I at least got to the second round of the Constructed deck competition. I don’t have the brutal, “must win” mindset with Magic. I play to have fun and see good combos come into play. Tournaments for money and prizes always bring out the worst in people – so naturally I prefer playing locally for fun.

The one aspect of the game I miss is “ante” – nothing gets you more fired up to win than seeing your rare card that makes the deck work up for grabs! I think they really messed up by removing that part of the game. Of course, playing Magic this way could be considered gambling, and you’re always going to have sore losers who reneg on the “bet” when they’re losing. I find it exciting though! I’m certain that many young kids don’t see it that way when the big, hairy dude walks away with all their good cards and all they were able to win was a land….

So, anyway, I found out that someone else I work with plays Magic! A friend of mine has been trying to get me to pull out the cards for years, to play in the cafeteria during lunch. I’ve resisted because you have to put up with the jibes and jokes of those around you who don’t understand the game. Recently I decided, “What the heck!” and brought in a few constructed decks I had found in my old deck box. Once we started playing we attracted a small crowd! Sure, some were poking fun, but one guy was amazed to see others playing his favorite game! The next day he sits down and intently watches our match. It seems he was fairly new to the game and wasn’t sure how to build decks or even understood all the rules. I started explaining my moves as we played – for both his benefit and my friend’s – and then we tried a couple of deck concepts. Now we’re playing almost every day and I’m loving life!

This renewed interest has me contemplating getting back into the game for tournament play. I know a few people who would be willing to go to New York and try to win some prizes or money. The only stumbling block – my recent poverty! Luckily, tenth edition has a number of cool commons and uncommons that work as well or better than the rares. The artwork on the new cards is absolutely gorgeous. In another week, the new block “Lorwyn” is released in a large release-tournament. I printed out the DCI rules from the Wizards of the Coast website and started looking over what I can bring. My recent card sets are very limited in quantity and it seems that you really need a killer combo in order to win. It would be fun to go just to see how far I can get with the few cards I do possess. I wonder if it’s illegal to play a deck concept based on a pre-constructed deck from the Tempest block using new cards? I really liked the “Domain” 5-color deck from Planeshift…. I might consider entering into a sealed deck competition (as I see these as being more “fair”), but I don’t think I can build a functional deck in such a short amount of time.

It seems to me that the game has gone global, but now games have dried up around here. Long Island (my home region) is very fickle when it comes to fads. Everyone is always looking for the next big thing and the older stuff tends to get left behind. I understand that Magic is still alive and well in other parts of the country, but here? Not so much. It took a while to even find someplace that still had a lot of boosters to select from. There aren’t many gaming or hobby stores left here either, so most of what I get are singles from online stores like Icon USA or Cardhaus (thanks for the tip Metaljim). I would love to get together with others and play in a mock tourney – everyone buys a booster and “antes up” when the tourney starts. Then in an elimination match everyone plays against each other to determine who walks away with all the boosters. We used to call this “dork poker” back in the day! Nowadays I would be satisfied with splitting a box of boosters with a few friends and just playing for a few hours once or twice a month. It really is still a great game. I just can’t believe it was ever spotlighted on ESPN. I guess I’ll be holding on to my cards for a few more years at least, and who knows, maybe I’ll actually win a tournament some day….