Let's start by telling you mine first.
In the Beginning
I started playing Magic: the Gathering while I was in secondary school (around 8th grade by the American system), when Tempest was the newest block in town. My classmates were having lotsa fun with Slivers and Counter-burn and I joined them and played Standard.The first deck I formed and had any remembrance of was a mono-blue control deck featuring Tradewind Rider. It had tons of counterspells: Mana Leak, Counterspell, Dismiss, Forbid, Rewind, Power Sink, and maybe even Spell Blast (LOL)!
I also enjoyed torturing opponents with bounce! Lotsa them! 2 Wall of Tears + Tradewind Rider, Time Elemental, and of course, Capsize with Memory Crystal to reduce the Buyback cost. I remembered deriving glee from bouncing all my opponent's permanents while I slowly attacked with animated Stalking Stones.
I also remembered being impressed when I saw a Flood tapping down creatures in a game of Emperor.
I vividly remembered a particular match with my friend playing burn with the Pandemonium – Phyrexian Dreadnought combo. Now the reason why I remembered this match wasn't because I thrashed him, but because he won and was exhilarated after doing so. Looking back, perhaps I felt honoured that my friend thinks my deck was something of a real challenge.
And I think I felt good though I lost.
Those were the days.
The Interim
Then I quit.I was spending an unhealthy amount of money and effort on the game. A student like me had something like $5 a day for my meals and I skipped lunch more than once just to save up to buy boosters. I remembered times when I felt hungry but could only afford a single cheeseburger. The pickles don't taste good at all.
I quit right when Urza's Saga came out. Darn. I missed the best block.
Anyway, I dumped my card in a large plastic bag and sold it for a nominal fee to another friend. Yes, my treasured deck, my Tradewind Riders!!! Arghness, but I was determined to quit. I left nothing for myself except for a Sliver deck.
And I jumped to Yugioh in JC (11th grade).
The irony.
A New Life
With only 3 other friends playing Yugioh, it was not surprising to say that my stint in it was short. Perhaps only 1 of them was very into Yugioh, spending more than a thousand dollars on card(board)s. The point when I stopped playing the game came when the involved friend became occupied with other things.Then came national service (all Singaporean males have to undergo 2.5 years of military training at that time) and I got back to playing Magic cause others were playing. Perhaps it was Mirrodin block and the Affinity mechanic, perhaps I was just bored and had nothing to do. Anyway, my involvement grew and I spent much more than I had earlier on, somewhat like $550 on a bunch of duals. Although at that time it really was too expensive considering the condition of the non-blue duals, it's perhaps a good deal looking back 6 years. I shouldn't even have sold them off to recoup my $$$.
The turning point came when I joined a play group during university (college) and played regularly every friday night. I started out as a dude playing a Sliver deck with only 1 Crystalline Sliver and getting thrashed left right centre. Needless to say, I didn't feel good at all. However, my (not playboy) playmates did not mock at me, welcomed me, and did not pressure me into building better decks. This made me feel much better.
The Joy of Winning
As time went by, my involvement increased when I went on to buy over a collection. Fetchlands, shocklands, Vial, Plow, it had almost everything except for the original duals, which I bought some using ebay. Now I started to build decks that can win. But looking back, I don't really remember vividly any single incident of me winning.I mean I sure did feel good whenever I won, but now that days weeks months have passed, I don't remember how I won or how I felt at that time. That joy seemed short-lived, momentous, gone the instant the next game starts.
It's nothing compared this to the time I lost against Pande-Nought.
Pride
After spending much time playing in a small play group, me and my friends were lured by the Mox tourney and finally joined our first tourney. I was such a scaredy cat the first time I joined. I had no experience playing in a competitive setting and hesitated about participating in a tourney I had to pay half a blue dual for and had little chances of breaking even. It was only after much convincing that I finally took the plunge.And boy was it worth it!
I lost again, this time in the finals, and it was exhilarating! The adrenaline rush that made my hunger go unnoticed and my palms sweaty. Hands shaking while thinking through all the possible scenarios that could happen to make my all-out assault end in misery. And going “huh” when my opponent wished for a Tendrils when an Empty the Warrens is clearly the best play (perhaps he had forgotten to de-sideboard?). I lost again, but that felt good.
Back at my usual playgroup, I brought not decks that I piloted during tourneys, but decks that I built using cards I had and ideas I though of. I net-deck many a times to learn how a deck works, but alterations and sometimes overhauls made the deck felt like my baby. Most of the babies died soon after they were born. But seeing the few decks improve and finally achieving what I envisioned made me feel great. Though it probably might not win a tourney, the little success I had proved that my idea worked, that I'm right, much in the same way how performing well in a tourney proved myself.
Other Things I Could Have Done
If I had not played in tourneys, if I were to not have started this blog, I could have use the time to work part-time and earn much more money. If I did not spend so much time reading forums and browsing Magic websites, I could have honed my PHP and master other cool geeky stuff.However, if I had not played Magic, I wouldn't have known the friends in my playgroup who introduced me to so much financial information. I wouldn't have so much fun time laughing with other nerds like me about Cookie Monster and Count Dracula. And I wouldn't have had yummy BBQ and steamboat gatherings, KTV and mahjong sessions with sometimes free chrysanthemum beer (XD), nor friends you know you can rely on when you're down and out.
Why I Play Magic
I play Magic for lotsa reasons. I like the joy of winning. I like expressing myself through my deck ideas. I like to stand out and be recognized. But most of all, I like the memories of playing with cool, great people. I like joking and having fun when I'm with my playgroup. I guess the reason why I continue playing is the same reason as why I started any game – cause my friends play it.Lastly, a word to my friend. Man, if you're reading this, I hope that you'll tide through this tough time. If you need us, you know where to find us.
Now tell me.
Why do you play Magic? Tweet this!
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