Magic the Gathering (Magic: The Gathering)

Member Name: Donnabroom

Product:	Magic: The Gathering
Date:	30/07/09 (29 review reads)
Rating:

Advantages: Fun, good mental work out

Disadvantages: People can take it too seriously, can be expensive and addictive

Magic The Gathering:

Being a bit of nerd, (I'm a nerd and proud of it too), I am a huge fan of Magic the Gathering. For those of you not in the know Magic the Gathering is a CCG, (a collectable card game like Pokemon), and one that I have been playing for about seven years.

Now for a beginner Magic the Gathering seems quite complicated to learn but actually I think it just seems that way. Most of the rules are actually written on the cards and the turns follow the same pattern each time so it isn't hard to pick up as you play as long as you play regularly and with nice people who don't take advantage of the fact that you are new to the game. I won't go into the rules and the ins and outs of the game or my review would be unbelievably long and tedious to read!

The basic premise is that you are a wizard engaged in battle with other wizards and your deck of cards, (your 'library'), is your Spellbook and your army. You must play cards which you draw face down from your library and the aim is to kill you're opponent, reducing them to zero life.

The complicated part is that there are literally thousands of different cards to choose from to build your deck from numerous editions. It definitely takes some experience to be able to narrow down the options to the standard sixty cards that a deck contains in a way that they work together and you will have a decent chance of winning. As they say though, practice makes perfect, you will get it eventually.

The rules often change and new abilities and effects are being created all the time which can be confusing but again it isn't really a big deal. I think people sometimes worry too much about remembering all the rules, if you are unsure what something means just make a judgement call, as long as everyone playing agrees it's fine, only read the rules, (there are pages and pages of rules on the website), if you simply can't agree. Like I said earlier most of the rules you need are actually printed on the cards!

Collecting cards can become addictive and very expense. You can buy pre-made 60 card decks for around £6.00 and 15 card booster packs for around £3.00 but the real expense comes in buying specific cards individually. Cards can range from 5p each up to literally thousands of pounds for very rare cards from the earliest sets. I have never paid more than £6.00 for a single card but even that was an extravagant expense. To keep costs down you can buy bulk lots of cards on eBay and that is how I have built up most of my collection. Buying from the states works out cheaper too even with international postage costs.

Game play in Magic is great fun and really relies on your tactics and planning. Building decks takes a lot of patience and forward planning as the cards are drawn blind from your deck after a good shuffle so it is important that no matter what cards come out there are good combos and it all works together. I think games like Magic the Gathering are a great way to exercise the brain and useful for children to develop a tactical way of thinking.

Each turn follows the same pattern; Un-tap, (basically 'resetting' any cards you used on the last turn), Up-keep, (some cards have actions to be preformed in this phase such as adding or removing counters, gaining or loosing life etc), Draw, (Drawing a card from your library), Main phase, (playing cards from your hand, activating abilities etc), Combat phase, (when you can attack with creatures) and then the second main phase, (as first main phase). It sounds complicated but after a few games it becomes second nature.

A word of warning to any would-be Magic player; this game can easily become the main focus of your life, I have seen many people who are just TOO into it. I have seen huge arguments over this game, ones which have destroyed friendships and even split up people. Some people spend all their money on Magic cards and end up in financial strife. This is just a game albeit a brilliant one. Be careful who you play with too, some take the game way too seriously and are annoying about it constantly quoting rules or talking endlessly about "this really cool combo" they have thought of.

I think if Magic isn't taken too seriously then it's a great way to while away the hours with some good friends especially when the weather is rubbish and there is nothing on the TV and it's a good mental work out too without being hard work. Recommended for anyone into table top games or fantasy in general.

Summary: The best CCG out there